Alfred the Great

Why introduce so many inaccuracies when they are not needed. This is a great story and still needs to be told. Edward for example was not Alfred's first child. His wife was never called the queen. Alfred had been fighting along side his brothers as the designated heir since he was 16 at least and possibly earlier. His wife was never traded to the Danes. He "won" in other ways - by converting one Dane ruler to Christianity. The shield wall was NOT his invention - the Danes had been using it for quite some time. Alfred kept the Danes from the easy victories then had been having by building a series of fortification where the population could retreat and defend themselves better. The life of Alfred the Great, his warrior daughter and son and what he accomplished could be the topic of several great movies, but make them accurate please.

I saw this film when it first came out (ever so briefly) in 1969, at the age of 14, and thoroughly enjoyed it. But it was savaged by critics, disappeared for decades, and has only now resurfaced thanks to Warner Archive. The question for me when I ordered a copy was, how well would it hold up after all that time?Surprisingly, it holds up quite well for me ... and not merely because of fond boyhood memories, either. True, it's an uneven film to be sure, clunky at times, and hardly historically accurate in major respects. But it gets the dismal & raw look of the times just right, with its "towns" being little more than a few stone & wooden buildings encircled by a crude wooden stockade, with even the nobles looking quite scruffy. In fact, one of the things I like about it now is that the people look like people, not ripped & sculpted cartoons with six-pack abs; the battles look clumsy, brutal, ugly, rather than perfectly choreographed.For many modern viewers, the film will be slow & talky. It's not so much an epic action film as a study of human beings struggling to live with their passions, and sometimes being overwhelmed by them. Alfred (David Hemmings) is presented as an educated man about to take holy orders when he's summoned to defend Wessex against the invading Danes. He's a complex figure, intelligent & even arrogant at first, but deeply disgusted by his own entirely human feelings. Guthrum (Michael York) is leader of the Danes, the embodiment of a smart, worldly man who embraces the joys of the flesh. The ongoing struggle between the two men is in many ways an externalization of Alfred's inner struggle to balance intellect & piety against anger & desire.It's also very much a film of its own time, the 1960s, which also was marked by that same interior struggle. Period films from the 1960s have a certain look, a certain lighting, a certain tone that I've always found striking. Their characters tend to be both of the historical period depicted & contemporary; "Alfred the Great" is no exception. This may well be an acquired taste for many younger viewers, which is understandable. But there's also the treat of seeing a very young Ian McKellan in one of his first roles, as the marsh bandit who aids Alfred. Even then he displayed charm & wit & presence!As historical period piece, it aspired to the first rank but is clearly second-tier. If you can accept that, then there's still much to be enjoyed here: the battle sequences, the little details, the personal drama. With that in mind, recommended!

I am extremely happy that this movie has become available to collectors of historical epic's!!! While this may not be 100% accurate to history very few movie's dealing with historical events are! I can't believe " Alfred The Great" has not prompted more film efforts. He is a pretty important element in the history of Britain uniting a country that was even more divided than the movie portrays. I love these epics from the 50's & 60's with there bold use of color & opulent sets & costume design...actually they kind of keep this epic closer to reality with less flashy clothing & people that actually get dirt on them. While I can't say this is high adventure it certainly takes you on a roller coaster ride through the range of human emotions...much like Shakespeare. But I don't want you to go away thinking this has no action because there are quite a few well choreographed battle scenes. I never got to see this one as a kid so it was a complete treat for me being a huge fan of historical films & anything to do with sword play & pre gun battle sequences. I love the way Alfred a scholar makes use of the ancient Greek falanks you will have to excuse my spelling on that one. But it is amazing that this ancient battle technique would resurface again & again through out history saving the day for many men that would become legends for their countries like William Wallace adding great long spears & mobilizing the falanks calling it a Shiltron . But back to this movie! It played just fine with a beautiful clear picture & sound quality, apparently this movie was well kept all these years or someone did a great job restoring it!!! It comes with the original poster art ( I Think) in a nice solid case & I feel I got my money's worth. This is a great addition to my collection as like I said there isn't much out there about Alfred the Great!!!

Alfred is played by David Hemmings.This is a bit a bad miscasting as he is rather unconvincing.However, the supporting cast is outstanding and the period feel is well captured by the excellent cinematography.Michael York as the Viking leader Guthrum is very good and there is even Ian Mckellen in a supporting role. Worth the money if you like historical films.Some good battle scenes but if you are looking for action stick to the Kirk Douglas/Tony Curtis classic movie VIKINGS.Alfred the Great's director Clive Donner tries to give an honest appraisal of the King of Wessex.

I saw this film many years ago and never liked it, but watching it again and now think its rather good....

This is an interesting film. Not quite the epic it aspired to be. But very watchable.

Seen it the 1980s & still enjoy it

Arrived OK have been trying to get a copy of this for agesArrived OK! I have trying to obtain a copy of this for ages!