The Eagle film was much covered in earlier years on this blog. It was shown again in the UK on Film 4. Posts here. Last night I was moved to tweet about it too at www.twitter.com/rsutcliff
Now that it is several years since the making of the film The Eagle (2011) of the historical novel The Eagle of the Ninth (1954) by Rosemary Sutcliff, Ipost here in a post some of the material I originally gathered as a separate page on this http://www.rosemarysutcliff.com blog.
The Eagle is the title of the film (movie) based on world-renowned historical novelist Rosemary Sutcliff’s famous historical novel – The Eagle of the Ninth. Academy award-winner Kevin Macdonald directed it; Duncan Kenworthy produced it. Channing Tatum (other films before then included G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Dear John) lead the cast, with Jamie Bell (Defiance, Jumper), Donald Sutherland, Mark Strong (Sherlock Holmes, Robin Hood, Kick Ass) and Tahar Rahim (The Prophet). Jeremy Brock, BAFTA Award-winning screenwriter of Macdonald’s 2006 film The Last King of Scotland, adapted the screenplay of The Eagle from Rosemary Sutcliff’s classic novel. Read More »
Rosemary Sutcliff’s novel The Eagle of the Ninth has been loved by the young and the young-at-heart since its publication in 1954. More thoughtful and certainly more historically informed than the Boy’s Own-style adventure quests to which it has sometimes mistakenly been likened, it has all the ingredients of a terrific adventure thriller: an epic quest narrative, strong characters, the tangled interplay of pride, loyalty and masculinity.
Director Kevin Macdonald (Touching the Void, The Last King of Scotland) is also fascinated by those qualities. Working with screenwriter Jeremy Brock (Last King … , Mrs Brown), he brings his sharp, muscular intelligence to bear on this always enjoyable, if not always successful treatment of a story that was also told just last year, in Neil Marshall’s Centurion.
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 »
Directed by Kevin Macdonald, who previously brought us The Last King Of Scotland and State Of Play, The Eagle’s opening scene is one of the best you’re likely to see all year.
As Marcus’s legion comes under attack from local warriors, swords slice through flesh, horses’ hooves thunder and limbs snap. It’s breathtaking stuff.
In fact, Marcus’s whole odyssey is highly watchable. The relationship between him and his slave is nicely fleshed out and things never getting boring thanks to a big dose of action.
The plentiful use of shaky camerawork really puts you right in the middle of every scene and gives The Eagle a thrilling immediacy.
Source: The Eagle **** (12A) – The Daily Record.
ROSEMARY SUTCLIFF (1920-92) 