The Eagle film (movie), based upon Rosemary Sutcliff‘s novel The Eagle of the Ninth, was released on Wednesday (16th February) in The Phillipines, and today (18th February) in Romania. Maybe some people in those countries will stumble on this blog and post at the You Write tab about your views of Rosemary Sutcliff and how well the book is translated to the screen. The film opens in Indonesia on 23rd February and Thailand on 24th. (I have managed to find a Romanian film poster today, 20 February, but not yet any Romanian reviews)

The Eagle does many things right, especially in the first third of the film. The sets and costumes are high-quality, and the film is beautifully shot in Hungary and the Scottish highlands. Eschewing computer-generated effects, The Eagle does a good job of depicting the brutality of ancient warfare, though the editing during the battle scenes is a bit choppy. The film also illustrates the strategic and technological advantages that helped the Romans win so many battles, as well as the obsessive, almost religious militarism that enabled the Empire’s spread and drives Marcus’ quest.
Source: Jonathan Kim: ReThink Review: The Eagle — Slavery Before Dishonor?

So how is the film of Rosemary Sutcliff’s The Eagle of the Ninth doing on its release in the US? Before we look at the money data, here is an interesting thing! If you look at the ratings to films given by readers of www.boxofficemojo.com, more people give the Eagle an A or B than any other of the new releases; and fewer lowest grade Fs! So fewer people are going to The Eagle than the other films, but more like it a good deal and fewer hate it than any other movie! What may this mean? Of course it depends on sample size, it is a self selecting set of voters, there are ‘lies, damned lies, and statistics’, but I choose to be encouraged! I imagine marketing gurus have algorithims they use to predict future sales from a combination of early takings and how much people like the film , and over time they may be more interested in the number of visitors and what they pay than their satisfaction, but I suspect there is a correlation … and I would be intrigued to know what the forecasts are.Read More »

Writing about The Eagle film of Rosemary Sutcliff‘s historical novel The Eagle of the Ninth movie editor Barbara Vancher of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette interestingly picks up on the remarkable imagination of a severely disabled author. She comments that, shot in Hungary and Scotland:

The Eagle takes flight near the end when the young men have a chance to test their skills as strategists, survivalists, leaders and friends.

With ritualistic tribal dances in what is now the Scottish Highlands and breathless chases and battles, it’s all the more remarkable considering that Ms. Sutcliff contracted a wasting disease at age two and spent most of her life in a wheelchair. But her imagination soared like an eagle.
Source: Uneven ‘Eagle’ finally takes flight in second half.

• Rosemary Sutcliff writes about being an author with physical disabilities

In the new film The Eagle, based upon Rosemary Sutcliff‘s The Eagle of the Ninth – historical novel for children,  young adults and indeed adults – Director Kevin McDonald:

… does an amazing job of recreating Roman life in lower Brittany, staging battles and creating a tribe of “Seal people” with a budget somewhere south of $25 million. According to Richard Billows, a professor of Roman history at Columbia University, who attended the film with us, about the only thing McDonald got seriously wrong was a brief moment in a battle scene where Marcus instructs his men to retreat in the face of a charging chariot…Centurions were trained to form a wall and stand their ground, thereby forcing the horse to stop in its tracks.
Source: Review: “The Eagle” Soars | NBC Connecticut.

• More on the film, movie The Eagle from The Eagle of the Ninth on this blog