...I think Jeshua missed the most important part of the Saxon Saga...UHTRED. The books are about Uhtred, NOT Alfred. Uhtred represents the original pagan people of northern Europe who were wiped out by the Christians. The stories are as much about Christianitys' war against the native "heathen" as much as the war against invading Danes. Having read all the books recently it's blatantly obvious that the Christians were as much the intolerable invaders as the Danes, probably worse though.
It's very easy for people who don't make films to say this sucks because it was made by Americans (I guess we can boycott the next Batman movie because a Brit is playing an American icon) or Mormons (WTF? What does it matter what the filmmaker's beliefs are?) I produce a medieval-based web series, and believe me, it's not easy. Based purely on the trailer, I'm impressed as hell, and I really want to see this movie. How can I get ahold of a copy?
@AraduinOfRivervale cont. I believe this with most films, Clive Owen's accent in Arthur made me cringe, and Kevin Kostner in Robin Hood was horrible. I'm a hard core history nut, if it aint within a certain degree of accuracy, I'm not entertained. I want to see people covered in shit, greasy hair and with a mouth full of rotten teeth.
A Viking Saga by Michael Mouyal is literally the best historic film I've ever seen due to detail... aside from the heavy metal headbanging bit.
All said and done, it was a blast making this film and working out a plot showing why Alfred the Great came out of the fens a strong and changed man, since no one really knows for sure.....I'm proud of our first movie and it was great fun making the story. All you naysayers eat your heart out.....Linda Hite, Screenplay
It looks like everyone is badly over-acting like some cheap pseduo-historical tv show from the 90's. It also looks like the women are wearing 21st centruy makeup and hair products. The lighting is all wrong and there is no atmosphere. They have american accents which is also very off-putting. All of this could have been rectified for free.
I'm currently half way through the series....I just recently found that King Alfred is my 37th great grandfather, and I am simply intrigued by this man's life....Cornwell's books seem to make use of the actual history as closely as possible and present it in a dramatic fashion.....I simply must see this film, hope I can find it through netfix......granted the production quality is not awesome, but for the money spent I think it is impressive.
@angryredcom Why does it suck that the actors are American? Anyone speaking English can name England as its cultural descendent. They wouldn't have spoken "English" as we now know it anyways (they spoke Old English 1200 years ago in England), and they probably didn't speak with modern English accents. It's better that the actors used their natural voices instead of doing poorly delivered foreign accents.
@AraduinOfRivervale No offense mate, but I don't need a history lesson in my own nations language development; The actors should not of used their natural voices, because Alfred the Great, was from Wessex not Utah. If anything a Germanic accent should of been used. I can appreciate the lack of funding, but the reason films like this never get any recognition (which it does actually deserve) is because of the casting. Americans need to change their accent in any historic film based pre1700. cont.
@angryredcom Their language is wrong outside the gate for speaking modern English, what difference does it make if the accent's wrong? No one alive today even knows what an Old English accent would sound like. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see an historically accurate version of Alfred the Great, but since no one else has made one yet, I'd love to see this one. By the way, a production company in England is making a movie about 1066. I'm DYING to see that one, but it might be on hold.
@AraduinOfRivervale The accent would definitely be leaning towards Germanic. "Your people need you" - this bit is a prime example why these sort of films never ever get air time in England or Europe where these things actually happened; Babe, nice hair, with a valley girl accent. The guy playing Alfred is obviously putting on a "Heroic" voice, so why is it such a stretch to put on a more neutral accent?
(1066: Battle for Middle earth - an English production. Thats how its done. I recommend it)
@AraduinOfRivervale Looks good, I just hope to god Harold doesn't have a Cockney accent.
The one i suggested is a docudrama made by Englands 'channel 4' It is exteremly accurate and looks at the events of 1066 from the view of the common man. It so accurate, the Normans even have there scalps shaved.
My sympathy with the film producers, who did not count on the eagerness of English nationalists.
Although I did not see the film, I find the trailer very promising. The actor of King Alfred is a perfect cast. He has the charisma to play such a character, not to mention of the fact, that he in contrary to his Mainstream Hollywood colleagues can really play.
I´m curious of the whole story, but can´t find a possibility to order it on the net.
I'm not sure why my fellow English nationalists have a problem with this. After all this is US history as well. It tells the story of how our people evolved into the people who travelled the world. How we populated a colony, how some of the English / British people in that colony committed treason in order to take over the running of the colony. Ok they changed the name but its still a colony.
Great film for the budget you mentioned and at least it doesn't star Mel Gibson
Oh lovely, more crappy acting in the vein of "Pendragon - Sword of his Father." I'd rather these no-talents leave history alone instead of making these revisionist turds?
The English nationalists getting all worked up over American imperialism really need to save the outrage for when Michael Bay decides to make a movie out of the Cornwell books and have Matt Damon play Uthred or something. This movie is a bunch of Mormons making a movie for other Mormons to watch.
hey dude, sorry you feel that way, we really just did the film for fun cause we all love the story so much we wanted to play 'pretend', and yeah there were a few Mormons in the production (lead actor, a few extras and our AD) didn't think that was a bad thing though, people are people we try not to persecute people for the beliefs no matter how strange
I didn't mean for that comment to come off that way, I was responding to all hate for Americans making a movie about an English icon. My flippantly stated point was that as small budget film with limited resources and goals (i.e. made for fun because you love the story). Expecting you to go out and find a Alfred you could speak Anglo-Saxon in a proper accent seemed silly to me. Unfortunately my annoyance with some of those detractors found expression in a way that offended. Not my intent.
setting the accent thing aside though, it is good sombody is retelling our stories.Pretty much all we have is channel 4 two part film called 1066-the war for middle earth (yeah,tolkin borrowed heavily from Anglo Saxon culture) about the three battles of that year.Theres also one in production about the same time but that, is the grand total of films about that era.Unless you count the arthurian side (which was anti- saxon) in which case we have a glut of them!
@Daveinmaine Whats your problem dude? This trailer doesnt have anything anti-english. The idea of making a movie about King Alfred no matter how small the scale is nothing but a compliment to the English people.
@bizzerwaaft78 England did'nt exist yet. Alfred was king of Wessex. (west saxons), a saxon kingdom located in south west England. England was not united until the 10th century.
thankyou for the history lesson lascalpab. however england did exist, it just wasnt unified politically. So claiming that Alfred was not english because he only ruled over Wessex is a bit like claiming that George Washington was not American because he only controlled the thirteen colonies and not all of modern America.
The point I was trying to make was that in this film alfred is an american, as were all the other actors, I think this is whats called cultural imperialism.
@bizzerwaaft78 The English crying about imperialism is beyond irony. Want to see some cultural imperialism? Visit the British Museum sometime. Expecting a small budget, independent production to find actors with the proper accents is absurd.
firstly daveinmaine I am not english, secondly what is so absurd about expecting actors to do 'proper accents'
that is what acting is. There are also many low budget indepent productions that do achieve historical accuracy, for example kevin browlow and Andwre Mollo's 'Winstanley'. The point is that the saxon chronicles is a poor film. your better off watching david hemmings Alfred the Great which is far better
If your point was that it was a bad film you failed to make it, instead prattling on about "cultural imperialism" (LOL), Alfred did not speak with an English accent. He did not speak English. Read Beowulf in the original if you think the language of the Saxons was English. The question of the quality or historical accuracy of the movie has nothing to do with the nationality of the actors
No its not absured to expect a telling of an ENGLISH story to be played by ENGLISH actors, same as its not absured for the English to expect historical fact to not be twisted to suit American audiences (u571,memphis belle amongst others, British stories blended to fit American personas).How can i as an Englishman watch somthing on the founding of my country spoken through an accent that didnt exist 500 years ago let alone over a thousand!
With a name like Saxonsoldiers I would assume that you are aware that the English language, much less the English accent did not exist 500 years ago. The English language grew out of Anglo-Saxon, Norman French and the various Viking dialects. Either way you would have a point if this was a big budget movie (and I feel you on U-571, never saw Memphis Belle) but this is a small budget movie, I doubt they had the resources to go get English actors
i afraid you're wrong there, the anglo-saxon language sounds very similar to engish and would have been spoken with an english accent. The anglo-saxons are the english.. The point is, that the American accent amediately tells of a different country the other end of the world.
England didn't exist yet. He was a Saxon from Wessex, therefore, a West Saxon. They were the only saxon kingdom not conquered by the Danes, and that's really because of him. His son and descendants united the island into what is England today.
I believe that Darin Southam, is very good as an actor. He was chosen for this role for a reason, and I believe that they chose well. He is also to posibly play a part in a movie that is in the process of coming together. This movie(s) will be based on the the Worlds of the Crystal Moon series, by Phillip E. Jones.
Thanks, I did. I like both of them. I saw the movie was from 2007. How can I get my hands on it? I have not seen or heard of it until recently. Looks like a great movie, whether it's a large or small budget film does not matter to me. One of my favorites was "El Mariachi," and that was only $5,000. :- )
In the early Middle Ages the Frisian lands stretched from Bruges in what is now Belgium to the river Weser in northern Germany. At that time Frisian language was spoken along the entire southern North Sea coast Today this region is sometimes referred to as Greater Frisia or Frisia Magna and many of the areas still treasure their Frisian heritage even though in most places the Frisian language has been lost. Old Frisian did bear a striking similarity to Old English.
Firstly, wikipedia is not a good source; even if it is, in this case, correct. Old Frisian and Old English are indeed very close. But the ridiculous thing about wikipedia, is that it doesn't use North Frisian as a comparison with Northumbrian English and thus makes the languages look more different than they actually are. As a Northumbrian, I can understand a great deal of North Frisian a bit of the other Frisian dialects.
In my opinion you shoud get a Grad student to translate the script into Old English and have Mod Eng subtitles. Also, it wouold be better if the music was period (an educated guess at best as no music survives from then I don't believe) Saxon harp bone flutes, some bodhran or frame drum, vocals (again see Sequentia's Edda performance.) These are all my personal tastes. What you have is good. I just would enjoy like I described better. Thanks for the clip.
hey lets do an american history film like where the confederates have mancunian accents and the republican northerners have scouse (liverpool) accents, we could have any mexicans talking in a geordie accent and well the french ?, make them sound scottish, lets see what they make of it on the eastern side of the great pond :p rofl
For less than 10.000 this looks pretty slick. But I'm guessing there's no Saxon battles for that money. If you had the choice between American accents or unconvincing English ones, you made the right choice. The renfair crowd should allow you to recoup your budget and finance a bigger one, here's hoping for extensive axe battles and long bow action.
American accent. Fails. Justify it all you want. It is VERY good for comedy and cheesy government thrillers that's about it. Anything to do with History has to be English.
Considering that this is old Saxon English which sounds little like modern English, you might as well use Germans if accents concern you. It's actually closer.
nice point :D look to be honest historical accuracy and acting are always more important than slight american accents, i think this looks rele good, respect
032125, you have to be more specific because I am not sure what I am looking for. The German accent is not closer to Old English if that is what you mean. It is one of the reasons that reenactors discourage the use of German accents for reenactors who wish to sound more accurate and instead tell them to use Northumbrian and Frisian. The vowel shifts in German made the accent more different to Old English that Frisian which is the same language family (Anglo-Frisia) and Icelandic which is archaic
Further more, English would be the most archaic if it didn't have too much loanwords (much like the Northumbrian dialect which people mistake for Norwegians when you go abroad) as it has not gone through as much vowel shifts as German. We still retain the 'w' which hardly any Germanic dialect still has.
what do you mean by North or South Frisian. I am dutch and live in Friesland, and I do wonder wich frisian language you are talking about, for a sort of Frisian was spoken in a lot of countries, for instance Northern Germany, Northern part of Holland, some regions in Danmark, so I wonder what you meant.
No, where I live they also speak Frisian and it is concidered as a real language by the dutch govt and not a dialect and ppl are realy proud of their Frisian heritage here.
I neither said Frisian wasn't a real language but there ARE more than one Frisian dialects. All of what I said is true; Frisian is a language that belongs to the Anglo-Frisian sub-branch of the Western Germanic sub-branch. The North Frisian dialect, is the closest Frisian dialect to English even if it is influenced by German.
@032125 Actually its not, German shares some words with English but if you want to get as close as you can to old English, Frisian is alot lot closer.
Well, they should talk Old Saxon, Old Danish, Gaelic... but as they don't, you can make as in "Attila": Romans speak with English accent and Huns speak with Scottish accent.
Gaelic?!!! There should be no Gaelic characters in a story of Alfred the Great. The nearest thing to a Gaelic character is Asser but he is Britonic not Gaelic.
Have been looking for this film in England but no luck thus far. I like the trailers , it looks a good film for the budget and as it portrays Englands greatest king it gets my vote. Well done Jeshua
actually american accent is as good as any anglo saxon dialect theyre arnt from outer space but from the same people and actually the dialect is more close to old english than british english
you r thinking of middle class english. Normal people in britain have a wide range of dialects. That of East anglia is the closest to anglo saxon dialects.
Actually the American accent is more akin to that of the English west country. My Grandparents referred to Autumn as The Fall, creatures as critters etc.etc.They were from Somerset, the dialect of which is closest to the Saxon language.
Dont quite understand how an American accent is closer to Old English than a British one,your logic on that astounds me lol.Quite simply how can a language that has migrated and changed,sound more like OE than the a language that has stayed in the country of the Saxons? The American accent comes from the English west country and East Anglia, both similar accents. The Australian and South African accents are offshoots of Cockney (London).The North of England Accent is closer to OE than anything.
That's interesting, often wondered myself about the origins of American and Aussie accents, and I do think there are similarities with those British ones you mention.
Im sorry for commenting so harshly on the movie. I suppose I just get a bit irritated when I watch a movie where I expect a certain accent, and find out the actor's/actress's accent for the part is weak.
I believe you did well for what you had, and i know i could not make better because i am not artistic. But, one thing i know i can do with ease is accents... (american is actually hard for me lol, but any english accent, scottish, irish, french, german, finnish, russian accent etc is easy.)
I hate Alfred. I loved the Danes. I loved Uhtred. But if this movie is just about Alfred and no appearance of Uhtred, Ubba, Ivar, or (gods bless) Ragnar, NOT INTERESTED
My god... That movie must be appaulling, i mean... getting Americans to play as Saxons? Thats like getting an Australian to act as a Scotsman... Oh wait.. they already did that. What is with the Film Industry? I mean... is there a shortage of Actors who already have the accents needed for certain films...
Further more, I agree that it should be in Old English, but, on that thought... i dont know if i could stand an American speaking Old English... *shivers*
Appreciate your honest opinion of my movie. Unfortunately this was the best I could do with a less than $10,000 budget and the film being shot only in Provo, UTAH. But if you believe so strongly that you can do much better with those same limited resources I would love to see what you come up with. :-)
I do have to say that when an actor plays a part that requires an accent that isn't his native one and he does a good joh, isn't that part of what makes a good actor...making you believe for a moment that they are the person they are portraying?
I agree with the others about the accents. I would love to see a movie about St. Alfred the Great in the actual language of the time - Old English. However, since this is a low-budget film, you would probably have to settle for modern day English accents (unless, of course you or someone you know is an expert in Old English). Other than that, for a low-budget film this looks good.
Appreciate your honest opinion of my movie. Unfortunately this was the best I could do with a less than $10,000 budget and the film being shot only in Provo, UTAH. But if you believe so strongly that you can do much better with those same limited resources I would love to see what you come up with. :-)
I'm not saying that it looks bad. To be honest, I LOVE the idea of a feature film about Alfred. The film looks good, from the trailer. I was just wondering why a film about ENGLISH history is filled with actors that aren't using ENGLISH accents. It would have really made it more authentic for me, but I'd watch it anyway.
CONGRATS on doing something that most people won't ever do, though (making a movie, I mean)-with all sincerity, my friend.
I have little comment to make, despite holding two degrees in history, other than to say that the trailer looks great and I look forward to seeing the actual movie!
It really surprises me how people from the anglophone world talk about literature and history, while people from the hispanophone world (I am from Argentina) always argue for anything.
At the beginning it says, 'The oldest surviving record of the Anglo-Saxon tells the story of there greatest king.' This is untrue-the Venerable Bede lived aboout two hundred years before Alfred the Great.
the movie made in1969 staring Micheal York and David Hemingway had a profound effect on me in that it related the savagery of the period unfortunately it is almost impossible to buy a oi a oi a oi I can still remember the Vikings banging their sheilds as they went into battle against the saxons
Wisehead, why do you think, that Alfred the Great was not medieval? He lived in second half of the 9th century. Middle Ages is from 5th century to 15th century. Dark Age is just one of few periods of Middle Ages. Undrestand?
There is very litle known about the country until the Danish kings, little enough for it to be described as Dark Age. I think Alfred coould be a tiny glimmer of light in the darkness although there is still a great load of his life that is not known and poor records of the country at that time. Nobody really knows exactly were the battles were.
just glad there is stuff like this on you tube,about my minority race!!! proud and strong ,destroyed the vikings at stamford bridge!!then marched 250 miles to meet the other vikings at hastings...real men!!
"English" comes from the Angles (Aenglaland) who along with Saxons, Jutes and Frisians came from what is now Denmark/Holland/northern Germany area.....Anglosaxon like Celt is a made up word, the people themselves would never have used those decriptions. Hope that helps
The story of Aelfred the Great is the story of the birth of England. This nations was born at Ethandune, where the ancestors of the English made one last stand, and while outnumbered and on the brink of starvation, Anglo-Saxon farmers won an unlikely victory against the professional might of the sword and shield Danes.
England was born in a shield wall, and the telling of the story deserves far more than B-Movie status. For it is a tale that every good man should teach his son.
I think Alfred looks way to pretty boy for a saxon, but that's just me. Looks pretty cool though. Should have thrown some old english in there as well, would have made things interesting.
By the way... The guy who shouts "Kill him my lord" is Patrick Stewarts nephew....if you look closely (since the clip is so fast) you'll see he looks just like Patrick Stewart (Only younger and with hair!)
i almost threw up lol badabadbabdbadbabd
DGKopiusvybez 1 week ago
I want them to make a movie soooo bad!!!! There is one problem though... WHO THE FUCK CAN PULL OFF UHTRED?!?!?!?!?!
TheCremdog 1 week ago
...I think Jeshua missed the most important part of the Saxon Saga...UHTRED. The books are about Uhtred, NOT Alfred. Uhtred represents the original pagan people of northern Europe who were wiped out by the Christians. The stories are as much about Christianitys' war against the native "heathen" as much as the war against invading Danes. Having read all the books recently it's blatantly obvious that the Christians were as much the intolerable invaders as the Danes, probably worse though.
Dainathian 4 months ago
I haven't seen the movie, but can appreciate working on a tight budget. Jeshua, don't let the bitter hearts get you down. Create!
lnlpowner 5 months ago
didint know alfread the great wore hair gel and had a justain beiber haircut ,, who knew
MegaBiscuiteater 7 months ago
this might be a stupid question but is this movie based off from the series "The Saxon Tales by Bernard Cornwell?
evilvikingx 9 months ago
It's very easy for people who don't make films to say this sucks because it was made by Americans (I guess we can boycott the next Batman movie because a Brit is playing an American icon) or Mormons (WTF? What does it matter what the filmmaker's beliefs are?) I produce a medieval-based web series, and believe me, it's not easy. Based purely on the trailer, I'm impressed as hell, and I really want to see this movie. How can I get ahold of a copy?
AraduinOfRivervale 10 months ago
@AraduinOfRivervale cont. I believe this with most films, Clive Owen's accent in Arthur made me cringe, and Kevin Kostner in Robin Hood was horrible. I'm a hard core history nut, if it aint within a certain degree of accuracy, I'm not entertained. I want to see people covered in shit, greasy hair and with a mouth full of rotten teeth.
A Viking Saga by Michael Mouyal is literally the best historic film I've ever seen due to detail... aside from the heavy metal headbanging bit.
angryredcom 10 months ago
All said and done, it was a blast making this film and working out a plot showing why Alfred the Great came out of the fens a strong and changed man, since no one really knows for sure.....I'm proud of our first movie and it was great fun making the story. All you naysayers eat your heart out.....Linda Hite, Screenplay
kingalfred849 11 months ago
If you enjoy the Saxon series (books), try Sigurd's Saga on Youtube.
steleona1 1 year ago
It looks like everyone is badly over-acting like some cheap pseduo-historical tv show from the 90's. It also looks like the women are wearing 21st centruy makeup and hair products. The lighting is all wrong and there is no atmosphere. They have american accents which is also very off-putting. All of this could have been rectified for free.
sefjaguar 1 year ago
English accents would be prefered.
NoenHarTattMittNavn 1 year ago
The music is from the 13th warrior but I hope this movie is as great
UthersDragons 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
were can I see this?
spam1138 1 year ago
I'm currently half way through the series....I just recently found that King Alfred is my 37th great grandfather, and I am simply intrigued by this man's life....Cornwell's books seem to make use of the actual history as closely as possible and present it in a dramatic fashion.....I simply must see this film, hope I can find it through netfix......granted the production quality is not awesome, but for the money spent I think it is impressive.
eeritable 1 year ago
mamma mia kee skifoooooooo
1995mafio 1 year ago
Are you making this into a real full length film? has it been made? where can i see it? i fucking love Cornwells novels.
Sucks the actors are american
angryredcom 1 year ago
@angryredcom Why does it suck that the actors are American? Anyone speaking English can name England as its cultural descendent. They wouldn't have spoken "English" as we now know it anyways (they spoke Old English 1200 years ago in England), and they probably didn't speak with modern English accents. It's better that the actors used their natural voices instead of doing poorly delivered foreign accents.
AraduinOfRivervale 10 months ago
@AraduinOfRivervale No offense mate, but I don't need a history lesson in my own nations language development; The actors should not of used their natural voices, because Alfred the Great, was from Wessex not Utah. If anything a Germanic accent should of been used. I can appreciate the lack of funding, but the reason films like this never get any recognition (which it does actually deserve) is because of the casting. Americans need to change their accent in any historic film based pre1700. cont.
angryredcom 10 months ago
@angryredcom Their language is wrong outside the gate for speaking modern English, what difference does it make if the accent's wrong? No one alive today even knows what an Old English accent would sound like. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see an historically accurate version of Alfred the Great, but since no one else has made one yet, I'd love to see this one. By the way, a production company in England is making a movie about 1066. I'm DYING to see that one, but it might be on hold.
AraduinOfRivervale 10 months ago
@AraduinOfRivervale The accent would definitely be leaning towards Germanic. "Your people need you" - this bit is a prime example why these sort of films never ever get air time in England or Europe where these things actually happened; Babe, nice hair, with a valley girl accent. The guy playing Alfred is obviously putting on a "Heroic" voice, so why is it such a stretch to put on a more neutral accent?
(1066: Battle for Middle earth - an English production. Thats how its done. I recommend it)
angryredcom 10 months ago
@angryredcom Not the same one I was talking about (do a Google search on 1066 the Movie), but sounds interesting nonetheless.
AraduinOfRivervale 10 months ago
@AraduinOfRivervale Looks good, I just hope to god Harold doesn't have a Cockney accent.
The one i suggested is a docudrama made by Englands 'channel 4' It is exteremly accurate and looks at the events of 1066 from the view of the common man. It so accurate, the Normans even have there scalps shaved.
angryredcom 10 months ago
@angryredcom I'll have to see if I can get that one on Netflix
AraduinOfRivervale 10 months ago
@AraduinOfRivervale I watched last year on English TV. I more recently downloaded it via Torrent.
angryredcom 10 months ago
My sympathy with the film producers, who did not count on the eagerness of English nationalists.
Although I did not see the film, I find the trailer very promising. The actor of King Alfred is a perfect cast. He has the charisma to play such a character, not to mention of the fact, that he in contrary to his Mainstream Hollywood colleagues can really play.
I´m curious of the whole story, but can´t find a possibility to order it on the net.
mustardpillow 1 year ago
no movie could ever be as good as the books.
You'd need like 10 movies to cover it all for one.
A super high budget HBO series could do it... mebbe.
IcyScythe 1 year ago
I'm not sure why my fellow English nationalists have a problem with this. After all this is US history as well. It tells the story of how our people evolved into the people who travelled the world. How we populated a colony, how some of the English / British people in that colony committed treason in order to take over the running of the colony. Ok they changed the name but its still a colony.
Great film for the budget you mentioned and at least it doesn't star Mel Gibson
JakartaMick 1 year ago
Oh lovely, more crappy acting in the vein of "Pendragon - Sword of his Father." I'd rather these no-talents leave history alone instead of making these revisionist turds?
joustingdude 1 year ago
The English nationalists getting all worked up over American imperialism really need to save the outrage for when Michael Bay decides to make a movie out of the Cornwell books and have Matt Damon play Uthred or something. This movie is a bunch of Mormons making a movie for other Mormons to watch.
Daveinmaine 1 year ago 4
hey dude, sorry you feel that way, we really just did the film for fun cause we all love the story so much we wanted to play 'pretend', and yeah there were a few Mormons in the production (lead actor, a few extras and our AD) didn't think that was a bad thing though, people are people we try not to persecute people for the beliefs no matter how strange
dehorta183 1 year ago
I didn't mean for that comment to come off that way, I was responding to all hate for Americans making a movie about an English icon. My flippantly stated point was that as small budget film with limited resources and goals (i.e. made for fun because you love the story). Expecting you to go out and find a Alfred you could speak Anglo-Saxon in a proper accent seemed silly to me. Unfortunately my annoyance with some of those detractors found expression in a way that offended. Not my intent.
Daveinmaine 1 year ago
setting the accent thing aside though, it is good sombody is retelling our stories.Pretty much all we have is channel 4 two part film called 1066-the war for middle earth (yeah,tolkin borrowed heavily from Anglo Saxon culture) about the three battles of that year.Theres also one in production about the same time but that, is the grand total of films about that era.Unless you count the arthurian side (which was anti- saxon) in which case we have a glut of them!
Saxonsoldiers 1 year ago
@Daveinmaine Whats your problem dude? This trailer doesnt have anything anti-english. The idea of making a movie about King Alfred no matter how small the scale is nothing but a compliment to the English people.
No need to be snobbish eh
Kingofsomething87 1 year ago
@Kingofsomething87 Did you manage to completely misunderstand everything I have said in these comments?
Daveinmaine 1 year ago
@Daveinmaine dear god (odin?) that would suck a dick..
Uthreds tale deserves to be told in a grand scale.. just not by that hack..
thepissflap 1 year ago
Comment removed
Daveinmaine 2 years ago
I thought Alfred the great was an Englishman
bizzerwaaft78 2 years ago
@bizzerwaaft78 England did'nt exist yet. Alfred was king of Wessex. (west saxons), a saxon kingdom located in south west England. England was not united until the 10th century.
Lascalpab 2 years ago
thankyou for the history lesson lascalpab. however england did exist, it just wasnt unified politically. So claiming that Alfred was not english because he only ruled over Wessex is a bit like claiming that George Washington was not American because he only controlled the thirteen colonies and not all of modern America.
The point I was trying to make was that in this film alfred is an american, as were all the other actors, I think this is whats called cultural imperialism.
bizzerwaaft78 2 years ago
@bizzerwaaft78 The English crying about imperialism is beyond irony. Want to see some cultural imperialism? Visit the British Museum sometime. Expecting a small budget, independent production to find actors with the proper accents is absurd.
Daveinmaine 2 years ago
firstly daveinmaine I am not english, secondly what is so absurd about expecting actors to do 'proper accents'
that is what acting is. There are also many low budget indepent productions that do achieve historical accuracy, for example kevin browlow and Andwre Mollo's 'Winstanley'. The point is that the saxon chronicles is a poor film. your better off watching david hemmings Alfred the Great which is far better
bizzerwaaft78 2 years ago
This has been flagged as spam show
If your point was that it was a bad film you failed to make it, instead prattling on about "cultural imperialism" (LOL), Alfred did not speak with an English accent. He did not speak English. Read Beowulf in the original if you think the language of the Saxons was English. The question of the quality or historical accuracy of the movie has nothing to do with the nationality of the actors
Daveinmaine 2 years ago
No its not absured to expect a telling of an ENGLISH story to be played by ENGLISH actors, same as its not absured for the English to expect historical fact to not be twisted to suit American audiences (u571,memphis belle amongst others, British stories blended to fit American personas).How can i as an Englishman watch somthing on the founding of my country spoken through an accent that didnt exist 500 years ago let alone over a thousand!
Saxonsoldiers 2 years ago
With a name like Saxonsoldiers I would assume that you are aware that the English language, much less the English accent did not exist 500 years ago. The English language grew out of Anglo-Saxon, Norman French and the various Viking dialects. Either way you would have a point if this was a big budget movie (and I feel you on U-571, never saw Memphis Belle) but this is a small budget movie, I doubt they had the resources to go get English actors
Daveinmaine 2 years ago
i afraid you're wrong there, the anglo-saxon language sounds very similar to engish and would have been spoken with an english accent. The anglo-saxons are the english.. The point is, that the American accent amediately tells of a different country the other end of the world.
This film looks ghastly!
300warrior300 1 year ago
England didn't exist yet. He was a Saxon from Wessex, therefore, a West Saxon. They were the only saxon kingdom not conquered by the Danes, and that's really because of him. His son and descendants united the island into what is England today.
temp54 2 years ago
Alfred was OK, not too bad. But both Gordie Brown and Tony Blair are pieces of shit.
sinitskyd 2 years ago
I believe that Darin Southam, is very good as an actor. He was chosen for this role for a reason, and I believe that they chose well. He is also to posibly play a part in a movie that is in the process of coming together. This movie(s) will be based on the the Worlds of the Crystal Moon series, by Phillip E. Jones.
lauree4972 2 years ago
hey lauree4972... watch the second trailer for this... it's way better ...."Saxon Chronicles #2"
dehorta183 2 years ago
Thanks, I did. I like both of them. I saw the movie was from 2007. How can I get my hands on it? I have not seen or heard of it until recently. Looks like a great movie, whether it's a large or small budget film does not matter to me. One of my favorites was "El Mariachi," and that was only $5,000. :- )
lauree4972 2 years ago
In the early Middle Ages the Frisian lands stretched from Bruges in what is now Belgium to the river Weser in northern Germany. At that time Frisian language was spoken along the entire southern North Sea coast Today this region is sometimes referred to as Greater Frisia or Frisia Magna and many of the areas still treasure their Frisian heritage even though in most places the Frisian language has been lost. Old Frisian did bear a striking similarity to Old English.
(Wikipedia)
DirkjeA 2 years ago
Firstly, wikipedia is not a good source; even if it is, in this case, correct. Old Frisian and Old English are indeed very close. But the ridiculous thing about wikipedia, is that it doesn't use North Frisian as a comparison with Northumbrian English and thus makes the languages look more different than they actually are. As a Northumbrian, I can understand a great deal of North Frisian a bit of the other Frisian dialects.
Wodanaz 2 years ago
We need him now
TheWidukind 2 years ago
In my opinion you shoud get a Grad student to translate the script into Old English and have Mod Eng subtitles. Also, it wouold be better if the music was period (an educated guess at best as no music survives from then I don't believe) Saxon harp bone flutes, some bodhran or frame drum, vocals (again see Sequentia's Edda performance.) These are all my personal tastes. What you have is good. I just would enjoy like I described better. Thanks for the clip.
littleegg 2 years ago
hey lets do an american history film like where the confederates have mancunian accents and the republican northerners have scouse (liverpool) accents, we could have any mexicans talking in a geordie accent and well the french ?, make them sound scottish, lets see what they make of it on the eastern side of the great pond :p rofl
LordoftheHornets 2 years ago
Well, Alfred the Great IS English NOT British. Briton is a Norman invention based on a pre-English identity.
Wodanaz 2 years ago
For less than 10.000 this looks pretty slick. But I'm guessing there's no Saxon battles for that money. If you had the choice between American accents or unconvincing English ones, you made the right choice. The renfair crowd should allow you to recoup your budget and finance a bigger one, here's hoping for extensive axe battles and long bow action.
corpsbal 2 years ago
American accent. Fails. Justify it all you want. It is VERY good for comedy and cheesy government thrillers that's about it. Anything to do with History has to be English.
Baledwyr 2 years ago
I agree man, English accents are the best for historicle movies like this.
bb316gun 2 years ago 2
Considering that this is old Saxon English which sounds little like modern English, you might as well use Germans if accents concern you. It's actually closer.
032125 2 years ago 6
nice point :D look to be honest historical accuracy and acting are always more important than slight american accents, i think this looks rele good, respect
caniphobia 2 years ago
German accents are NOT closer. The closest languages to Old English are Northumbrian English, North Frisian, South Frisian and Icelandic.
Wodanaz 2 years ago
Check out the videos by polyglot Alexander Arguelles, Ph.D (aka ProfASAr on Youtube).
032125 2 years ago
032125, you have to be more specific because I am not sure what I am looking for. The German accent is not closer to Old English if that is what you mean. It is one of the reasons that reenactors discourage the use of German accents for reenactors who wish to sound more accurate and instead tell them to use Northumbrian and Frisian. The vowel shifts in German made the accent more different to Old English that Frisian which is the same language family (Anglo-Frisia) and Icelandic which is archaic
Wodanaz 2 years ago
Further more, English would be the most archaic if it didn't have too much loanwords (much like the Northumbrian dialect which people mistake for Norwegians when you go abroad) as it has not gone through as much vowel shifts as German. We still retain the 'w' which hardly any Germanic dialect still has.
Wodanaz 2 years ago
what do you mean by North or South Frisian. I am dutch and live in Friesland, and I do wonder wich frisian language you are talking about, for a sort of Frisian was spoken in a lot of countries, for instance Northern Germany, Northern part of Holland, some regions in Danmark, so I wonder what you meant.
DirkjeA 2 years ago
@DirkjeA Well, there are many Frisian languages or dialects. North Frisiian is spoken most in areas now, I believe, owned by Germany.
Both English and the Frisian dialects belong to the Anglo-Frisian sub-branch of Western Germanic (which is a sub-branch of Germanic family tree).
Wodanaz 2 years ago
No, where I live they also speak Frisian and it is concidered as a real language by the dutch govt and not a dialect and ppl are realy proud of their Frisian heritage here.
DirkjeA 2 years ago
I neither said Frisian wasn't a real language but there ARE more than one Frisian dialects. All of what I said is true; Frisian is a language that belongs to the Anglo-Frisian sub-branch of the Western Germanic sub-branch. The North Frisian dialect, is the closest Frisian dialect to English even if it is influenced by German.
Wodanaz 2 years ago
@032125 Actually its not, German shares some words with English but if you want to get as close as you can to old English, Frisian is alot lot closer.
Saxonsoldiers 9 months ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
"it does not work with american accents"
Sounds ok to me. At least I can understand what the actors are saying, which is more than would happen if they spoke like West Country crusties.
ratmaaan 2 years ago
The American accents need to go i'm afraid!
beowulfsword08 3 years ago 2
Well, they should talk Old Saxon, Old Danish, Gaelic... but as they don't, you can make as in "Attila": Romans speak with English accent and Huns speak with Scottish accent.
Ennio444 3 years ago
Gaelic?!!! There should be no Gaelic characters in a story of Alfred the Great. The nearest thing to a Gaelic character is Asser but he is Britonic not Gaelic.
Wodanaz 2 years ago
great for such a low price! how did you pull it off
gokory 3 years ago
this looks like it cost $2000 in total..talk about low budget films...
mikbar92 3 years ago
it looks shit !!!!!!!!!!!!!
lurpak10 3 years ago
Have been looking for this film in England but no luck thus far. I like the trailers , it looks a good film for the budget and as it portrays Englands greatest king it gets my vote. Well done Jeshua
tommy3lions 3 years ago
Forget the accents, Why are they speaking Modern English? Ic geseah Aelfed on swefne.
Do it right or don't bother.
gillesmustang82 3 years ago
actually american accent is as good as any anglo saxon dialect theyre arnt from outer space but from the same people and actually the dialect is more close to old english than british english
Snolliot 3 years ago
you r thinking of middle class english. Normal people in britain have a wide range of dialects. That of East anglia is the closest to anglo saxon dialects.
Bretwalda1989 3 years ago
yes, I think Texas have an old accent too. Because it reminds me of danish sometimes as do cockney.
Snolliot 3 years ago
Actually the American accent is more akin to that of the English west country. My Grandparents referred to Autumn as The Fall, creatures as critters etc.etc.They were from Somerset, the dialect of which is closest to the Saxon language.
zigimar 3 years ago
That's terms they say though not neccesarilly the dialect
salfordsredarmy 2 years ago
Dont quite understand how an American accent is closer to Old English than a British one,your logic on that astounds me lol.Quite simply how can a language that has migrated and changed,sound more like OE than the a language that has stayed in the country of the Saxons? The American accent comes from the English west country and East Anglia, both similar accents. The Australian and South African accents are offshoots of Cockney (London).The North of England Accent is closer to OE than anything.
Saxonsoldiers 2 years ago
That's interesting, often wondered myself about the origins of American and Aussie accents, and I do think there are similarities with those British ones you mention.
jedsonbass73 1 year ago
Im sorry for commenting so harshly on the movie. I suppose I just get a bit irritated when I watch a movie where I expect a certain accent, and find out the actor's/actress's accent for the part is weak.
I believe you did well for what you had, and i know i could not make better because i am not artistic. But, one thing i know i can do with ease is accents... (american is actually hard for me lol, but any english accent, scottish, irish, french, german, finnish, russian accent etc is easy.)
Saxonnorse 3 years ago
Don't be so upset if English folk criticize your
Film-Who else?It's not bad but almost any Regional accent would help to improve it...The
Actors look the part...Even a ham Scots or
German accent would have been a tad better and
Everyone's not in competition to make films!
the13thmoon 3 years ago
SORRY! I realized this was "Saxon Chronicles" and not the "Saxon Stories" written by Bernard Cornwell...Apologies
AgnotTheOdd 3 years ago
WHERE THE HELL IS UHTRED????????
I hate Alfred. I loved the Danes. I loved Uhtred. But if this movie is just about Alfred and no appearance of Uhtred, Ubba, Ivar, or (gods bless) Ragnar, NOT INTERESTED
AgnotTheOdd 3 years ago
My god... That movie must be appaulling, i mean... getting Americans to play as Saxons? Thats like getting an Australian to act as a Scotsman... Oh wait.. they already did that. What is with the Film Industry? I mean... is there a shortage of Actors who already have the accents needed for certain films...
Further more, I agree that it should be in Old English, but, on that thought... i dont know if i could stand an American speaking Old English... *shivers*
Saxonnorse 3 years ago
To: Saxonnorse:
Appreciate your honest opinion of my movie. Unfortunately this was the best I could do with a less than $10,000 budget and the film being shot only in Provo, UTAH. But if you believe so strongly that you can do much better with those same limited resources I would love to see what you come up with. :-)
~Jeshua De Horta, Director/Producer
dehorta183 3 years ago
I do have to say that when an actor plays a part that requires an accent that isn't his native one and he does a good joh, isn't that part of what makes a good actor...making you believe for a moment that they are the person they are portraying?
DrummerBren13 3 years ago
I agree with the others about the accents. I would love to see a movie about St. Alfred the Great in the actual language of the time - Old English. However, since this is a low-budget film, you would probably have to settle for modern day English accents (unless, of course you or someone you know is an expert in Old English). Other than that, for a low-budget film this looks good.
TolsmaLMC 3 years ago
It would have to be in Wessex dialect as other parts of the country used other dialects too.
beowulfsword08 3 years ago
yanks ruinin it
uhtred13 3 years ago
To Uhtred13:
Appreciate your honest opinion of my movie. Unfortunately this was the best I could do with a less than $10,000 budget and the film being shot only in Provo, UTAH. But if you believe so strongly that you can do much better with those same limited resources I would love to see what you come up with. :-)
~Jeshua De Horta, Director/Producer
dehorta183 3 years ago
I'm not saying that it looks bad. To be honest, I LOVE the idea of a feature film about Alfred. The film looks good, from the trailer. I was just wondering why a film about ENGLISH history is filled with actors that aren't using ENGLISH accents. It would have really made it more authentic for me, but I'd watch it anyway.
CONGRATS on doing something that most people won't ever do, though (making a movie, I mean)-with all sincerity, my friend.
DrummerBren13 3 years ago
Why didn't they at least use English accents of some sort, if not do the film in the Old English language?
DrummerBren13 3 years ago
its...cleverly done with a decent apearing actor to play Alfred...but his wife is an obvious american!
SpartanDfnder 3 years ago
I have little comment to make, despite holding two degrees in history, other than to say that the trailer looks great and I look forward to seeing the actual movie!
charlestuart 3 years ago
Gibson did one good thing with his holy film and
That was the realism of having actors speak in
The languages of the people of that time-This
Should be in Old English for starters.
the13thmoon 3 years ago
I agree. Sam Newton could have taught them!
beowulfsword08 3 years ago
It really surprises me how people from the anglophone world talk about literature and history, while people from the hispanophone world (I am from Argentina) always argue for anything.
ARMANDOPADRO 4 years ago
At the beginning it says, 'The oldest surviving record of the Anglo-Saxon tells the story of there greatest king.' This is untrue-the Venerable Bede lived aboout two hundred years before Alfred the Great.
KapernicusI 4 years ago
Venerable Bede was a Northumbrian Monk - Actually a Briton - a different stock from we Saxons
Matt in Wessex England
matclarence 4 years ago
Yes but his work was about Anglo-Saxons.
KapernicusI 4 years ago
Bede was an Engle ( Angle) from whom the country of England took its name, Northumbria will one day be independent hopefully.
tommy3lions 4 years ago
hahaha, "Northumbria will one day be independant", hahaha, my morning musing for the day lol
Saxonsoldiers 2 years ago
I think they are refering to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles.
velapulsar 4 years ago
They could mean 'Life of Alfred' by the monk Asser. In reference to the above comment, he was also a Briton.
KapernicusI 4 years ago
the movie made in1969 staring Micheal York and David Hemingway had a profound effect on me in that it related the savagery of the period unfortunately it is almost impossible to buy a oi a oi a oi I can still remember the Vikings banging their sheilds as they went into battle against the saxons
karlcrawford 4 years ago
Alfred the Great was NOT Medieval, he was late Dark Age. Why do so many people make this mistake?
KapernicusI 4 years ago
Wisehead, why do you think, that Alfred the Great was not medieval? He lived in second half of the 9th century. Middle Ages is from 5th century to 15th century. Dark Age is just one of few periods of Middle Ages. Undrestand?
SkurvenyTube 4 years ago
Yes I know, I have been educated on that point since I posted that comment. But I think it is odd calling the fifth century 'middle' age.
KapernicusI 4 years ago
if i know, middle age begun when western roman empire lapsed or when begun the moving of nations
SkurvenyTube 4 years ago
I would have said that the Dark Ages in Britain were the 5th and 6th centuries, possibly some of the 7th century.
But in all fairness,I wouldn't call the time of King Offa of Mercia, (late 8th century) a part of the Dark Ages.
velapulsar 4 years ago
There is very litle known about the country until the Danish kings, little enough for it to be described as Dark Age. I think Alfred coould be a tiny glimmer of light in the darkness although there is still a great load of his life that is not known and poor records of the country at that time. Nobody really knows exactly were the battles were.
KapernicusI 4 years ago
I hope the white horse is in there somewhere. It all began in Wantage on Chain Hill imbetwixt Wessex and Mercia.
buran05 4 years ago
Is this supposed to be based on the Bernard Cornwell series?
seandirector 4 years ago
NOt bad for a movie shot in 14 days in Utah.
Mrchips000 4 years ago
Pshh, screw Alfred! Ivar 4 EVER!!!
mothmonsterman18 4 years ago
just glad there is stuff like this on you tube,about my minority race!!! proud and strong ,destroyed the vikings at stamford bridge!!then marched 250 miles to meet the other vikings at hastings...real men!!
anglotribe1 4 years ago
Agreed.
davesamain 4 years ago
But the Saxons and the English were not the same people, right? In the very beginning?
RiverBirch1967 5 years ago
"English" comes from the Angles (Aenglaland) who along with Saxons, Jutes and Frisians came from what is now Denmark/Holland/northern Germany area.....Anglosaxon like Celt is a made up word, the people themselves would never have used those decriptions. Hope that helps
Eoin6661 4 years ago
Put simply, they were the same people, differing only by name.
KapernicusI 4 years ago
The story of Aelfred the Great is the story of the birth of England. This nations was born at Ethandune, where the ancestors of the English made one last stand, and while outnumbered and on the brink of starvation, Anglo-Saxon farmers won an unlikely victory against the professional might of the sword and shield Danes.
England was born in a shield wall, and the telling of the story deserves far more than B-Movie status. For it is a tale that every good man should teach his son.
velapulsar 5 years ago 3
I agree
Mrchips000 4 years ago
I think Alfred looks way to pretty boy for a saxon, but that's just me. Looks pretty cool though. Should have thrown some old english in there as well, would have made things interesting.
Swidhelm 5 years ago
this movie looks great is it going to come out in video any time soon
ChelsieD 5 years ago
great movie!!! I loved it i cant beleive it was made with a budge of 10gran it looks better than any half million budge film ive ever seen
hect980 5 years ago
That looks pretty cool....when does the DVD come out? Long Live King Alfred the Great !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Muadib1983 5 years ago
By the way... The guy who shouts "Kill him my lord" is Patrick Stewarts nephew....if you look closely (since the clip is so fast) you'll see he looks just like Patrick Stewart (Only younger and with hair!)
~Jesh
dehorta183 5 years ago