I always enjoy Philip French’s film reviews in The Observer, making new links for me which are rooted in his deep knowledge of the cinema. So I particularly enjoyed today’s review of The Eagle which he finds “a most enjoyable film” (apart from a concluding moment whose “facile note” is but a “minor flaw”). Read More »
Category: Novels, Stories & Books
Rosemary Sutcliff was an internationally renowned writer of historical novels, for children, young adults and adults. She also wrote stories for children. This category compiles the posts on this blog by title.
Kevin MacDonald, director of The Eagle (of the Ninth) film, on Scottish TV
Interesting interview on Scottish television with Scot director Kevin MacDonald of The Eagle film based on Rosemary Sutcliff‘s historical novel The Eagle of the Ninth … here.
More about the film The Eagle based on the book The Eagle of the Ninth on this blog
A great film in its own right but … | BBC4’s Front Row reviews The Eagle with girlish hope
Rosemary Sutcliff’s book The Eagle of the Ninth was much loved by Rachel Cooke, writer for The Guardian and The Observer, which left her with “girlish hope in her heart” as she went to see the film, The Eagle. She spoke of the film on BBC 4 in the UK, on the review programme Front Row, with Mark Lawson.
I went to see this with so much girlish hope in my heart because it was one of my favourite books, and what I feel about it is its a great film on its own terms, but if you were a Rosemary Sutcliff fan I think you might be disappointed by it. It’s not as nuanced as the book, it’s not as tender or as lyrical as the book. It’s a very angry frenetic film, it’s very one note, there’s not much light and shade. It’s a buddy film with axes and bearskins.
Source: Listen at 1.05 minutes here
Are you a Rosemary Sutcliff fan, and what did you think of the film? Do post your reactions and reflections in the comments here; or a longer review at the You Write tab (see at the top of the page) … And if you are not someone who has up to now read Rosemary Sutcliff, I do hope the film leads you to the book, and indeed to The Silver Branch and The Lantern Bearers, two books in a trilogy of Roman novels, all published by Oxford University Press in film tie-in versions.
Manda Scott in The Independent newspaper on the ‘power and pleasure of epic fiction’
Anne, a regular reader and commenter of this blog, as well as Google, has pointed me towards n a fascinating article which builds upon the impact on her of the work of Rosemary Sutcliff, Manda Scott (who has been hailed by The Times as ‘one of Britain’s most important crime writers’; and who like Rosemary Sutcliff has written of Romans and Boudica) reflects in The Independent newspaper on the ‘power and pleasure of epic fiction’.
I was eight years old when I read The Eagle of the Ninth, but it opened doors that have never closed. I was captivated not so much by Marcus Aquila and his quest for the lost eagle of his father’s legion, but by Esca, the captured Briton, and the barbarian tribes that lived north of Hadrian’s Wall. They were wild, savage and magical; they spoke to seals, to horses, to hounds and conducted shamanic ceremonies that were closed to outsiders. I was an outsider and hated being so.
Source: Rome recast for today as Eagle of the Ninth is adapted for big screen | The Independent.
‘It would seem that Sutcliff was right after all” | The Eagle and The Eagle of the Ninth | More on The Roman Ninth Legion’s mysterious loss | BBC News
Rosemary Sutcliff‘s The Eagle of the Ninth is grounded in a view about what happened to the ninth Roman legion. The fate of the legion continues to be debated, most recently on the BBC website, by Miles Russell of Bournemouth University.
The British problem was of deep concern to Roman central government. Thanks to a tombstone recovered from Ferentinum in Italy, we know that emergency reinforcements of over 3,000 men were rushed to the island on “the British Expedition”, early in Hadrian’s reign. The emperor himself visited the island in AD 122, in order to “correct many faults”, bringing with him a new legion, the Sixth.
The fact that they took up residence in the legionary fortress of York suggests that the “great losses” of personnel, alluded to by Fronto, had occurred within the ranks of the Ninth.
Archaeological evidence of the legion’s fate is scarce
It would seem that Sutcliff was right after all.
It was the Ninth, the most exposed and northerly of all legions in Britain, that had borne the brunt of the uprising, ending their days fighting insurgents in the turmoil of early 2nd Century Britain.
Source: BC News – The Roman Ninth Legion’s mysterious loss.
See also on this blog a post on The symbolism of The Eagle of the Ninth | What happened to the ninth legion: Part IX?
ROSEMARY SUTCLIFF (1920-92) 