#richard/mercadier

[angevinyaoiz]

“Make yourself the only person in the world that he truly desires not to kill him. He has only that one fear, not of death, but that you may be the one to kill him. He is yours then”

Some first pass at a Richard/Mercadier concept….

[rosewind2007]

Well it’s the anniversary of the death of Richard I, and someone pointed out that he pardoned the person who shot him (which went gangrenous leading to his death) and actually gave them 100 shillings (which was a lot of money, you could get a ewe and a lamb for a shilling according to this and the date isn’t way off and argh—trying to find a way to convert 1199 prices to today’s is impossible). The person he pardoned was, according to some sources a child, who defended a castle with only makeshift armour and a frying pan for a shield—so I can rather see the reason for the pardon

According to one source Richard’s loyal mercenary Mercadier (who was apparently rocking the “just one name” thing even back then) went off afterwards and flayed the youngster and hanged him…so, yeah

Lots going on back then

Mercadier died a 10th April 1200

I looked all this up because St Bart’s is my children’s school and people always seem surprised that he is usually portrayed as flayed alive holding his skin…

[thebritishmonarchycouk]

On This Day In Royal History . 25 March 1199 . King Richard I is wounded by a crossbow bolt while fighting France, leading to his death on 6 April. . . ◼ In the early evening of 25 March 1199, Richard was walking around the castle (Châlus-Chabrol) perimeter without his chainmail, investigating the progress of sappers on the castle walls. Missiles were occasionally shot from the castle walls, but these were given little attention. . ◼ One defender in particular amused the king greatly a man standing on the walls, crossbow in one hand, the other clutching a frying pan he had been using all day as a shield to beat off missiles. He deliberately aimed at the king, which the king applauded; however, another crossbowman then struck the king in the left shoulder near the neck. He tried to pull this out in the privacy of his tent but failed; a surgeon, called a “butcher” by Howden, removed it, “carelessly mangling” the King’s arm in the process. . ◼ The wound swiftly became gangrenous. Accordingly, Richard asked to have the crossbowman brought before him; called alternatively Pierre (or Peter) Basile, John Sabroz, Dudo, & Bertrand de Gourdon (from the town of Gourdon) by chroniclers, the man turned out (according to some sources, but not all) to be a boy. This boy claimed that Richard had killed the boy’s father & two brothers, & that he had killed Richard in revenge. The boy expected to be executed; Richard, as a last act of mercy, forgave him, saying, “Live on, & by my bounty behold the light of day,” before ordering that the boy be freed & sent away with 100 shillings. Richard then set his affairs in order, bequeathing all his territory to his brother John & his jewels to his nephew Otto. . ◼ Richard died on 6 April 1199 in the arms of his mother (Eleanor of Aquitaine); it was later said that “As the day was closing, he ended his earthly day.” Because of the nature of Richard’s death, he was later referred to as “the Lion (that) by the Ant was slain”. According to one chronicler, Richard’s last act of chivalry proved fruitless when the infamous mercenary captain Mercadier had the crossbowman flayed alive & hanged as soon as Richard died. . . . (at Château de Châlus-Chabrol) https://www.instagram.com/p/B-LDg42JSkd/?igshid=1owlyxn0uhd8n

[qqueenofhades]

I don’t think any of us would say no to a glimpse into the escapades of the notorious Gabriel and Garcia DeClermont from back in the day. Ahem.

France, 1196

It is raining outside the tent, a slow, steady drizzle that is going to be just enough to turn the field to mud and make it a pain in the hindquarters to get their chain mail to dry later. Garcia stirs at the tramp of passing boots, listening for any telltale roaring, or worse. Things have, for once in King Richard Coeur-de-Lion’s life, not been going that well on the field of battle, and he is smarting over Philip’s bastard trick with his nephew, Arthur of Brittany, whisking him off to Paris before Richard could secure him instead. Richard is insisting that they spectacularly punish the Bretons, though Garcia isn’t entirely sure what that’s going to do; the boy is already out of Richard’s hands. But Philip must be made to pay for this duplicity and to be sharply warned against repeating it in future, so here they are.

Garcia rolls over, breathing the sharp, clean scent of the predawn air, and fumbles for his tunic, tabard, chainses, and braies. He gets dressed, shrugging on the clothes and buckling on his sword, shaking his shaggy dark hair out of his eyes and tying it back with a leather thong. Then he pushes aside the tent flap and emerges into the misty dimness; it’s early enough that most of the camp is still abed. Which is fine, because no matter the fact that they only got here last night and the entire duchy hates them, Garcia has a sneaking suspicion that Gabriel did not spend the night alone.

He crosses the damp grass, which squelches beneath his boots, and reaches the tent across the way, wondering if he should cover his eyes before venturing in. All he can see is an entangled, indistinct mass of blankets, which upon further inspection proves to be his brother, satisfyingly asleep with a woman in each arm. There’s still a trace of a smirk on Gabriel’s fine lips, as if to say that only chumps spent the night cold and wet and alone, and Garcia clears his throat as loudly as possible. When this does nothing, he bends down and shakes the nearest limb, which belongs to one of the women. “Excuse me.”

She wakes up, blinks confusedly, sees him, and looks alarmed. There’s a sort of odd chain reaction, which eventually culminates in Gabriel cracking an eye, seeing his younger brother looming over him with a disapproving expression, and letting out a gusty sigh. “Why am I not surprised?”

“Get up,” Garcia says. “The messengers are back.”

“Oh, are they?” Gabriel does not look as if he feels this constitutes a crack-of-dawn disturbance of him and his two lovely demoiselles (perhaps Garcia should be lucky it’s only two, there have been more). “Are we fighting right now?”

Garcia shuffles his feet, trying very hard not to look at the elegant bare breasts that one of the women has revealed by sitting up and making rather a production of tidying her hair out of her face. “No.”

“Well?” Gabriel makes an inviting motion toward the blankets. “Go ahead, then. Sibylla and Clemence won’t mind. Neither would I.”

Garcia feels his ears turning bright red, which is a trick for a vampire to manage, but still. “Pay them and send them on their way. I suppose it’s not even worth asking how you managed to find them so quickly – and if they’re Breton spies, you’re really going to be – ”

Gabriel gives him an insulted stare, as if to ask why on earth Garcia would think he would need to pay to get any woman to spend the night with him. Then he leans over and kisses Sibylla (or possibly Clemence’s) bare shoulder. “As usual, darling,” he informs her, “my brother is being a useless stick in the mud, so I’m afraid that is all for now. Run away far from here, there may be fighting later.”

Sibylla and Clemence get up and dressed, Garcia claps his eyes shut thus as not to be indelicate, but hears Gabriel’s very loud sigh anyway. Once the women are decent and have darted out into the rain, Gabriel stands up and gets dressed himself, with more pointed looks at Garcia. Then he follows him out into the stirring camp, toward the royal pavilion with the three lions flapping from the top. If Mercadier and his men are back, Richard will be hearing him out, and will expect the de Clermont brothers there to advise. As they walk, Garcia says darkly, “If they’re Constance’s handmaidens, or – ”

“Just because you have an uncommonly dour and suspicious mind, little brother, does not mean everyone does.” Gabriel claps him on the shoulder, hard enough to make Garcia trip over a tent peg. “What is it going to take, I ask you?”

Garcia avoids answering until they reach the tent and bow themselves into the king’s presence. As usual, Richard acknowledges them with a nod, shaking his red-gold hair out of his eyes and sipping his breakfast wine, and they sit to counsel and agree how exactly they will hammer the Bretons into submission later. It’s really Philip whose arse Richard wants to kick, as ever, but he’s safely removed in Paris, and examples will have to be made by proxy.

That, therefore, is exactly what they do. The battle is hardly a fair match – a battalion of ragged Breton men-at-arms vs. Richard Coeur-de-Lion and his two vampire generals, and it’s over before the bells of the village church call Sext. Gabriel and Garcia stroll among the detritus of the field, wiping the blood off their swords and comparing their successes, and Gabriel raises an eyebrow. “You know, I imagine the lovely ladies may still be around somewhere. I could – ”

“No,” Garcia says hastily. “No, I don’t think.”

“You,” Gabriel says, draping an arm around his shoulders, as the ravens descend to investigate the dead and Garcia, despite all his complaining, does not ever want to be anywhere but here, with his king and his brother and the scent of blood and victory fresh on the spring wind. “Are utterly hopeless.”

[valiantlionheart]

                                                                Head canon 

                           The trust of a King that ended in betrayal, but only one anger. 

Richard holds a lot of trust among people, considering how much he’s often time is betrayed for his life by those close to him. He’s willing to forgive them and let the matter slide very easily in the matter, even inviting the one whom had shot the fatal shot to be part of his noble phantasm,  which gives him a rather naive sense of judgement by most as over trusting in seeing good then the bad of things.      The biggest example is that of his blood brother John attempt to usurp the throne. Instead of having his brother be put to death, he forgave him and reasoned that he were still young and foolish.      Then there were the man whom with a frying pan beating arrows away while trying to invade the castle to kill him. Richard just clapped- impressed by the man’s skill and probably humoured of the ability that a pan had been used as a defensive and method attack weaponry.          And then there were the kid ( Pierre Basil ) had shot the near fatal arrow at Richard’s back, instead of allowing him death he in his last few moments, of also calling into orders of giving possession to John,  had pardon the kid and even gave him money.                                          His last wish were to allow this kid to live on.. 

BUT of all the things he cannot forgive is the DISRESPECT of his wish being violated after his DEATH. Richard whom had pardoned the kid, even gave him money, was in the end betrayed and killed ( Flayed and hung) by a close man of his army, the right hand man name Mercadier. Even if it had been an ‘act of vengeance for the king’ it was still an absolute DICK move to Richard’s last wishes who did not want the Kid to die.                Oh- and Richard may have come close to harming his brother too over the matter of Loxley in one story as there were another story of when Loxley had been apparently killed by a Monk, he executed the man for the betrayal of his friends life, whom Loxley had TRUSTED. 

STARES at @unusdesilva for giving more details of the frying pan wielding man ( Give this man a gold star because I AM AMAZED ) and  Mercadier as well of  WHY he were not invited to the Noble Phantasm party and making me realize now why ‘Pierre Basil’ is covered in bandages.

Note: The kid was actually unnamed in the stories, there has been saying that was the name but in most cases the kid is kept unnamed, but because Fate Strange Fake had named Pierre Basil as the Archer whom had shot him, I shall associate the kid as ‘Pierre Basil.’ 

[dannyreviews]

Film/TV People Turning 90 (between 8/1/2018 and 12/31/2018)

Here are the latest members to the nonagenarian club.

George Maharis - actor (9/1)

Allene Roberts - actress (9/1) † 5/9/2019

Serge Bourguignon - director (9/3)

Jerome Hellman - producer (9/4)

Abhumanya Sharma - actor (9/5)

(no photo available)

Brenda Hogan - actress (9/6)

Ivan Vanícek - production designer (9/9)

Earl Holliman - actor (9/11)

Monique Plotin - costume designer (9/13)

(no photo available)

Lubos Sluka - film composer (9/13)

Jochen Stern - actor (9/13)

Fay Chaldecott - child actress (9/14)

Ján Kramár - actor (9/14)

Julie Robinson - actress (9/14)

Henry Silva - actor (9/15)

Giuseppe Pinori - cinematographer (9/15)

Neelam - actress (9/17)

Kåre Santesson - actor (9/19)

Laird Koenig - novelist, screenwriter (9/24)

Harold Becker - director (9/25)

Bill Mosher - editor (9/25)

(no photo available)

István Hildebrand - cinematographer (9/26)

Bob Van der Veken - actor (9/26)

Garry Watson - child actor (9/27)

Stefan Maritan - production designer (9/28)

(no photo available)

Ed Setrakian - actor (10/1)

Rudy Challenger - actor (10/2)

Yôko Yokota - actress (10/3)

(no photo available)

Andrew J. Fenady - producer/screenwriter (10/4)

Raymond Lévesque - actor, film composer (10/7)

Susumu Hani - director (10/10)

Yildiz Kenter - actress (10/11) † 11/17/2019

Lana Gogoberidze - director, screenwriter (10/13)

Giorgio Stegani - director, screenwriter (10/13)

Don Collier - actor (10/17)

Ferenc Baracsi - actor (10/18)

Zev Braun - producer (10/19) † 10/17/2019

Wim Van den Heuvel - actor (10/20)

Pim Lambeau - actress (10/22)

Marthe Mercadier - actress (10/23)

Günter Rohrbach - producer (10/23)

Marion Ross - actress (10/25)

Gianni Minervini - producer (10/26)

Maria Fernanda - actress (10/27)

Gilles Vigneault - film composer, songwriter, actor (10/27)

Yôko Sugi - actress (10/28)

Jack Donner - actor (10/29) † 9/21/2019

Pat Green - producer (10/29)

(no photo available)

Dianne Foster - actress (10/31)

Lew Palter - actor (11/3)

Irena Kosecka - makeup artist (11/4)

Jean Flechet - director (11/5)

Hüseyin Güler - actor (11/6)

John Lasell - actor (11/6)

Ennio Morricone - film composer (11/10) † 7/6/2020

Mircea Muresan - director (11/11) † 4/24/2020

Myvanwy Jenn - actress (11/12)

Ninet Dinar - actress (11/13)

Karl-Ulrich Meves - actor (11/13)

Gianfranco Baldanello - director (11/13)

Clifford A. Pellow - actor (11/13)

Kathleen Hughes - actress (11/14)

Claude Pelletier - sound mixer (11/14)

Clu Gulager - actor (11/16)

Max Turilli - actor (11/18)

Leo Fong - martial artist, actor, screenwriter, producer, director (11/23)

Richard Greer - editor (12/1)

(no photo available)

John Francis Lane - actor (12/1)

Julia Sandoval - actress (12/3)

Dena Dietrich - actress (12/4)

Barbara Krafftówna - actress (12/5)

Nesbitt Blaisdell - actor (12/6)

Shlomo Bar-Shavit - actor (12/7)

Karl-Maria Steffens - actor (12/8)

Michael Snow - director (12/10)

Kevin Scott - actor (12/10)

Ludwig Thiesen - actor (12/10)

Lionel Blair - actor, dancer (12/12)

Terry Carter - actor (12/16)

Phillip Casson - director (12/20)

(no photo available)

Colleen Townsend - actress (12/21)

Bunny Levine - actress (12/22)

Regine Lutz - actress (12/22)

Diana Herbert - actress (12/25)

Dick Miller - actor (12/25) † 1/30/2019

Éric Duvivier - director (12/26)

Lina Rosales - actress (12/27)

Ernest Chambers - producer/screenwriter (12/28)

(no photo available)

Harry “Bud” Hester - animator (12/28) † 2/3/2020

Bernard Cribbins - actor (12/29)

[katherinelbone]

Captain Jack Interviews Author Barbara Bettis!

Captain Jack Interviews Author Barbara Bettis!

Unfurl the sails! Man the braces! Jack is back and he’s more clever than ever. Join us today as Author Barbara Bettis joins us on deck for an interview! Jack: “Lady Barbara.” Sweeps a gallant bow. “It’s a pleasure to have ye aboard.” Pops open a jug of rum. “Drink?” Bows head. “I wouldn’t want anyone to think I’d forgotten me manners.” Downs a dram and pounds the stopper. “Where was I? Oh yes,…

[alexlacquemanne]

Mars MMXXI

Films

Network : Main basse sur la télévision (Network) (1976) de Sidney Lumet avec Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Peter Finch, Robert Duvall et Ned Beatty

Agent secret (Sabotage) (1936) d’Alfred Hitchcock avec Sylvia Sidney, Oskar Homolka, Desmond Tester et John Loder

Les Vieux Fourneaux (2018) de Christophe Duthuron avec Pierre Richard, Roland Giraud, Eddy Mitchell et Alice Pol

Elle boit pas, elle fume pas, elle drague pas, mais… elle cause ! (1970) de Michel Audiard avec Annie Girardot, Bernard Blier, Mireille Darc et Sim

L'Ombre d'un doute (Shadow of a Doubt) (1943) d’Alfred Hitchcock avec Teresa Wright, Joseph Cotten, Macdonald Carey et Hume Cronyn

Spectacles

Rumeurs (1991) de Neil Simon avec Jean Poiret, Pierre Mondy, Eva Darlan et Claire Nadeau

Drôle de couple (1989) de Neil Simon avec Daniel Prévost, Etienne Draber, Jacques Balutin, Jean-Pierre Gernez, Julien Cafaro, Kelvine Dumour et Sylvie Le Brigant

La Poule aux œufs d'or (1995) d'Alexandre Vial avec Michel Galabru, Marthe Mercadier, Roger Muni, Cécile Perrier et Michel Caccia

Trois partout (1991) de Ray Cooney et Tony Hilton avec Michel Leeb, Odile Mallet, Charlotte Kady, Christian Pereira et Francis Lax

Noix de Coco (1972) de Marcel Achard avec Caroline Silhol, Didier Haudepin : Antoine, Madeleine Robinson, Jean Richard, Christiane Muller, Gaëlle Romande, Jean-François Calvé, Jacques-Henri Duval et Jean Degrave

Les Petites Têtes (1979) de d’André Gillois avec Michel Roux, Geneviève Fontanel, Hélène Duc, Roland Armontel,  Francis Lax et Jean Berger

Hold Up (1980) de Jean Stuart avec Katy Amaizo, Christiane Jean, Jacques Ferrière, Katia Tchenko, Tony Librizzi, Jacques Balutin,  Louisa Colpeyn, Marie-Claude Mestral, Armand Mestral, Jean Raymond et Michel Vocoret

Duos sur canapé (1989) de Marc Camoletti avec Marcel Philippot, Jacques Balutin, Marilys Morvan, Michèle Charry et Daniel Prévost

Délit de fuites (2007) de Jean-Claude Islert avec Roland Giraud, Elizabeth Bourgine, Patrick Zard', Arlette Didier, Pascale Louange et Delphine Depardieu

Vacances de rêve (1997) de Francis Joffo avec Marthe Mercadier, Olivier Lejeune et Jean Pierre Castaldi

Séries

The Grand Tour Saison 2, 1, 3

Coup de vieux - Les bras cassés à la Barbade - Spéciale Colombie : Première partie - Spéciale Colombie : Seconde partie

Top Gear Saison 12, 7, 10, 20, 14, 8, 9, 21

12000Km en un plein - Supercars petit budget - Les pires voitures anglaises - Ils ont roulé sur l'eau! - A l'abordage ! - Du grand art ! - Peugeot 207 contre free runners - Un train peut en cacher un autre - Défilé à Buckingham - Mercedes, folle du desert

L’agence tous risques Saison 2

Les mustangs 1re partie - Les mustangs 2e partie - La guerre des taxis - Agitateurs - La pêche miraculeuse - Histoire d'eau - Acier - Le candidat - La vache maltaise - Eclipse - Tirez sur le Cheik

Dark Side of The Ring Saison 2

Les dernier jours d'Owen Hart

Kaamelott Livre III, IV, VI

Les Tourelles - La crypte Maléfique - La Baliste - Arthur in Love II - La Grande Bataille - L’attaque nocturne - La Restriction II - La Baraka - Les Auditeurs libres - La Fête de l’Hiver II - Le Tribut - Alone in the Dark - Le justicier - Le Mangonneau - Sous les Verrous II - Le Culte Secret - La Dispute 1er Partie - La Dispute 2eme Partie - Le Trophée - Hollow Man - Tous les matins du monde 1er Partie - Tous les matins du monde 2eme Partie - Raisons et Sentiments - Le Dédale - Les Tartes aux Fraises - Les Pisteurs - La Faute 1er Partie - La Faute 2eme Partie - L’Ascension du Lion - Le Traitre - Præceptores

Friends Saison 4, 5

Celui qui avait des menottes - Celui qui apprenait à danser - Celui qui avait une nouvelle copine - Celui qui fréquentait une souillon - Celui qui poussait le bouchon - Celui qui était dans la caisse - Celui qui savait faire la fête - Celui qui draguait au large - Celui qui posait une question embarrassante - Celui qui gagnait les paris - Celui qui se gourait du tout au tout - Celui qui n'avait pas le moral - Celui qui jouait au rugby - Celui qui participait à une fête bidon - Celui qui avait la chaîne porno - Celui qui cherche un prénom - Celui qui faisait de grands projets - Celui qui va se marier - Celui qui envoie l'invitation - Celui qui était le pire témoin du monde - Celui qui se marie (partie 1) - Celui qui se marie (partie 2) - Celui qui avait dit Rachel - Celui qui embrassait - Celui qui a des triplés - Celui qui accepte l'inacceptable

Chapeau melon et bottes de cuir Saison 5

Le Dernier des sept - Le Joker

Livres

Pour en finir une bonne fois pour toutes avec la culture de Woody Allen

Superman Poche N°28

Lucky Luke contre Pat Poker de Morris

Indiana Jones et la cité de la foudre de Claude Moliterni et Giancarlo Alessandrini

Le Flambeur Flambé de John Garforth

[what-is-sibling-test]

I don’t think any of us would say no to a glimpse into the escapades of the notorious Gabriel and Garcia DeClermont from back in the day. Ahem.

France, 1196

It is raining outside the tent, a slow, steady drizzle that is going to be just enough to turn the field to mud and make it a pain in the hindquarters to get their chain mail to dry later. Garcia stirs at the tramp of passing boots, listening for any telltale roaring, or worse. Things have, for once in King Richard Coeur-de-Lion’s life, not been going that well on the field of battle, and he is smarting over Philip’s bastard trick with his nephew, Arthur of Brittany, whisking him off to Paris before Richard could secure him instead. Richard is insisting that they spectacularly punish the Bretons, though Garcia isn’t entirely sure what that’s going to do; the boy is already out of Richard’s hands. But Philip must be made to pay for this duplicity and to be sharply warned against repeating it in future, so here they are.

Garcia rolls over, breathing the sharp, clean scent of the predawn air, and fumbles for his tunic, tabard, chainses, and braies. He gets dressed, shrugging on the clothes and buckling on his sword, shaking his shaggy dark hair out of his eyes and tying it back with a leather thong. Then he pushes aside the tent flap and emerges into the misty dimness; it’s early enough that most of the camp is still abed. Which is fine, because no matter the fact that they only got here last night and the entire duchy hates them, Garcia has a sneaking suspicion that Gabriel did not spend the night alone.

He crosses the damp grass, which squelches beneath his boots, and reaches the tent across the way, wondering if he should cover his eyes before venturing in. All he can see is an entangled, indistinct mass of blankets, which upon further inspection proves to be his brother, satisfyingly asleep with a woman in each arm. There’s still a trace of a smirk on Gabriel’s fine lips, as if to say that only chumps spent the night cold and wet and alone, and Garcia clears his throat as loudly as possible. When this does nothing, he bends down and shakes the nearest limb, which belongs to one of the women. “Excuse me.”

She wakes up, blinks confusedly, sees him, and looks alarmed. There’s a sort of odd chain reaction, which eventually culminates in Gabriel cracking an eye, seeing his younger brother looming over him with a disapproving expression, and letting out a gusty sigh. “Why am I not surprised?”

“Get up,” Garcia says. “The messengers are back.”

“Oh, are they?” Gabriel does not look as if he feels this constitutes a crack-of-dawn disturbance of him and his two lovely demoiselles (perhaps Garcia should be lucky it’s only two, there have been more). “Are we fighting right now?”

Garcia shuffles his feet, trying very hard not to look at the elegant bare breasts that one of the women has revealed by sitting up and making rather a production of tidying her hair out of her face. “No.”

“Well?” Gabriel makes an inviting motion toward the blankets. “Go ahead, then. Sibylla and Clemence won’t mind. Neither would I.”

Garcia feels his ears turning bright red, which is a trick for a vampire to manage, but still. “Pay them and send them on their way. I suppose it’s not even worth asking how you managed to find them so quickly – and if they’re Breton spies, you’re really going to be – ”

Gabriel gives him an insulted stare, as if to ask why on earth Garcia would think he would need to pay to get any woman to spend the night with him. Then he leans over and kisses Sibylla (or possibly Clemence’s) bare shoulder. “As usual, darling,” he informs her, “my brother is being a useless stick in the mud, so I’m afraid that is all for now. Run away far from here, there may be fighting later.”

Sibylla and Clemence get up and dressed, Garcia claps his eyes shut thus as not to be indelicate, but hears Gabriel’s very loud sigh anyway. Once the women are decent and have darted out into the rain, Gabriel stands up and gets dressed himself, with more pointed looks at Garcia. Then he follows him out into the stirring camp, toward the royal pavilion with the three lions flapping from the top. If Mercadier and his men are back, Richard will be hearing him out, and will expect the de Clermont brothers there to advise. As they walk, Garcia says darkly, “If they’re Constance’s handmaidens, or – ”

“Just because you have an uncommonly dour and suspicious mind, little brother, does not mean everyone does.” Gabriel claps him on the shoulder, hard enough to make Garcia trip over a tent peg. “What is it going to take, I ask you?”

Garcia avoids answering until they reach the tent and bow themselves into the king’s presence. As usual, Richard acknowledges them with a nod, shaking his red-gold hair out of his eyes and sipping his breakfast wine, and they sit to counsel and agree how exactly they will hammer the Bretons into submission later. It’s really Philip whose arse Richard wants to kick, as ever, but he’s safely removed in Paris, and examples will have to be made by proxy.

That, therefore, is exactly what they do. The battle is hardly a fair match – a battalion of ragged Breton men-at-arms vs. Richard Coeur-de-Lion and his two vampire generals, and it’s over before the bells of the village church call Sext. Gabriel and Garcia stroll among the detritus of the field, wiping the blood off their swords and comparing their successes, and Gabriel raises an eyebrow. “You know, I imagine the lovely ladies may still be around somewhere. I could – ”

“No,” Garcia says hastily. “No, I don’t think.”

“You,” Gabriel says, draping an arm around his shoulders, as the ravens descend to investigate the dead and Garcia, despite all his complaining, does not ever want to be anywhere but here, with his king and his brother and the scent of blood and victory fresh on the spring wind. “Are utterly hopeless.”

from 'RittenhouseTL' for all things Timeless https://ift.tt/2K522PL via Istudy world

[classicfilmfreak]

New Post has been published on http://www.classicfilmfreak.com/2017/08/24/robinmarian/

Robin and Marian (1976) starring Sean Connery and Audrey Hepburn    

“They reckon it’s a good life to have reached forty.  We’re both past it, and look at us!”— Robin to Little John

People don’t go to the movies as much as they used to, certainly not the way they did in the ’30s and early ’40s, when attendance reached its high point in 1943-44.  The first large decline, which began in the mid-’60s and has continued, was, and is, due to TV, DVDs, Internet screening and the ever-increasing ticket price.  Also have been the gradual changes on screen: an anything-goes, yet highly limited subject matter, the adolescent level of appeal and the larger-than-life monsters and superheroes which exist in an unreal world engineered by CGI.  Just as the average reading level ofNew York Times bestsellers has dropped from an eighth-grade level in the ’60s to sixth grade in this decade, movie subject matter grows more and more simplistic.

And what is inside the theater has also discouraged the traditional movie-goer: the ring of cell phones, the light from IPads, the deafening IMAX sound and the talking—people are gradually becoming less and less considerate of one another.

Robin and Marian, then, is, in a sense, the victim of its time, forty years ago when it was made.  Its title suggests a romantic adventure film, perhaps a revival of the traditional, idealized love story of the “old school.”  Sadly for some movie-goers, it is neither a romantic adventure nor a revival.

In fact, R&M reiterates a quite different, still on-going trend, best represented by the Peter O’Toole/Katharine Hepburn Lion in Winter (1968) and Kevin Costner’s Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves (1991).  All three films endeavor to be authentic, to portray the way it really was in medieval times—the cold, dirty castles, chickens and pigs running loose, the unwashed, smelly people, even their bad teeth.  At the same time, and contradictorily inauthentic, everyone speaks contemporary English, including modern-day slang—”Oh, it’s only my snack” in Becket (1964)—which seems to bother no one.

This striving for realism makes even more sharp any comparison with the definitive Robin Hood depiction, the idealistic steal-from-the-rich-to-give-to-the-poor 1938 Errol Flynn version, The Adventures of Robin Hood.  Here, Robin is immaculately dressed, golden hair in place, doing good for a totally pure and righteous Lady Marian in her resplendent bliauts fresh from the wardrobe department, with no danger of being soiled in the clean castles with their well-scrubbed walls.

In R&M, battle is portrayed realistically, with plenty of blood, and accurate hand-to-hand combat shows the awkwardness of handling heavy broadswords, though decidedly unawkward in the hands of a first-class knight of the time.  Flynn and Basil Rathbone fight with undersized broadswords more in the manner of rapiers.

Whatever the realism and accuracy in R&M, it doesn’t seem right; it seems to betray a long-standing code of movie tradition.

Many h

umorous touches suggest that, perhaps, the film is all tongue in cheek anyway.  In the beginning, a soldier pinches his finger while placing a heavy stone on a catapult.  One of the merry men complains, “We’re too old for this sort of thing,” as he climbs a tree to watch for the sheriff’s army.  Robin and Little John (Nicol Williamson) are exhausted scaling a portcullis and wall.  Robin helps up the Sheriff of Nottingham (Robert Shaw) after they’ve kissed their swords and prepare to fight one another.  Robin later exclaims to a foe that their combat has tired him.

Life has changed drastically for Robin and Marian since they stepped outside those enormous doors of Nottingham Castle in 1938 and waved farewell to King Richard the Lion-Heart (Ian Hunter), with a presumption they will live happily every after.

Sean Connery as Robin and Audrey Hepburn as Marian, now an abbess in an isolated convent, aren’t the “newer” versions of 1938 but the older ones.  Now, twenty or so years later, the couple are middle-aged, self-analytical and philosophical.  They seem burdened with the trials and turmoils of the twentieth century, and strangely “modern,” dissatisfied with their times, their contemporaries and, yes, even themselves and their lives.

Robin has been disillusioned by the “Holy” Crusades and by the barbarism of Richard (Richard Harris).  In one of the best dialogues of the film, he describes Richard’s only victory in the Holy Land, how the king was sick in bed, but roused himself in time to slaughter the Moslem prisoners, even “opening their insides” in search of jewelry—contrary to the almost saintly image of the 1938 Richard, however inaccurate.  This scene reflects the abundant talking—screenplay by John Goldman who also scripted The Lion in Winter—but there are too few good dialogue scenes.

Marian, however, suffers a greater disillusionment than Robin.  She confides to him that she doesn’t know who she is—whether the woman he knew or the abbess—and she decides she’d be glad to be either one if she could find a trace of one or the other in herself.  Although in her early scenes she seems to be of great will and of high principles, she soon becomes a bit wishy-washy.

In the first shot of the film, three apples sit in a windowsill, then, in the next frame, the apples are shriveled—a motif and meaning yet to be revealed?  Well over half way into the film, just before Robin and Marian are reunited, she is mixing something in a bowl and adding a liquid from a purple bottle.  Giving a bedridden old woman the bowl, she comments causally, “This will relieve your pain.”  Could it be that Marian’s time is devoted to pursuits other than vespers and healing, like “relieving” the sick of their misery, a practitioner of euthanasia?

Following a wagon mishap in a creek, the two reunited lovers have perhaps their most romantic love scene.  She touches her fingers to the scars on his chest and shoulders and bemoans how firm and unmarred his body used to be, implying an intimacy that is never even remotely suggested—prohibited by the censoring Hays Office—between Flynn and his Maid Marian, Olivia de Havilland.

In the ludicrous climax, using the same purple bottle, she poisons herself and Robin, who, strangely, calmly, accepts his fate—the best way, he reasons.  The two die together, but not before Robin has shot an arrow out of the window into the blazing sun.  “Where this falls, John, put us close, and leave us there.”  It’s the familiar window, and on the sill are the three shriveled apples.

The supporting cast consists of the best of British screen stars: Denholm Elliott (A Room with a View, Raiders of the Lost Ark) as Will Scarlett, Ian Holm (Chariots of Fire) as King John, Ronnie Barker (many British TV series) as Friar Tuck, Kenneth Haigh (Cleopatra, 1963) as Sir Ranulf, Bill Maynard (also mainly in British TV) as Mercadier and Esmond Knight (Olivier’s Hamlet) as an old defender.

The color in Robin and Marian is acceptable, subdued and smoky, hardly the clean, clear, brilliant three-strip Technicolor of Flynn’s masterpiece.  The shaking camera, shooting into the sun, the distortions and reflections are expected in today’s cinematography, here by David Watkin (Out of Africa, Chariots of Fire).

Knowing the looming impact of that 1938 film, it’s impossible, even with a deliberate effort, to justly compare Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s score with John Barry’s.  Korngold’s is a fairytale accompaniment to a fairytale; Barry’s is often nondescript, even when in the foreground, maintaining the pessimistic atmosphere of the narrative.

The acting is a mixed bag, perhaps the result of a lack of attention by director Richard Lester (A Hard Day’s Night).  Harris’ shouting and almost mock oratory as Richard borders on over-acting and satire.  By contrast, as the sheriff, Shaw, already a more subtle, subdued actor than Harris, seems to amble through his lines, quite a contrast with Alan Rickman’s eccentric, though clearly memorable take on the role in Costner’s movie.

Connery is steadfast in his characterization of Robin, the middle-aged, mellowed warrior, tired of war and, to a degree, tired of a life that has changed since his return from the Crusades.

Hepburn must receive the highest honors for her underplayed, well-controlled performance, avoiding the possible extremes of her character’s two-sided personality.  It’s not her fault that she can’t make her suicide and her murder of Robin plausible, despite her speech about loving him more than morning prayers, more than fields she had planted with her own hands, more than sunlight and more than God.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKPVGIdJr-k

[angevinyaoiz]

What would everyone look like as adults in the BK universe? What would they all be like?

omg anon this made me think a lot… I went and made a bunch of really quick doodles of Burger King: Future kids. Probably they all grow up to be boring adults who still are kind of weirdo may win how they relate to each other and but like, a lot less cursed than their historical counterparts since they exist on a smaller scale

Geoff - exits the story early just Leaves and becomes irrelevant but because of that Becomes a family man, boring job which opportunities for raises and advancement, but living happily amongst his in-laws and 2 kids.

John - he plays around but gets serious studying something maybe like law or forensics. Hooks up w married women. Still loves to bother his big bros. Occasionally hangs out w Arthur and lil Eleanor to be a Bad Influence (affectionate) shows them scary movies, etc

Richard - he can follow his nepobaby dreams and pursue his cringe music career (since I made him more a music guy in the AU) which will probably involve inevitably getting into very annoyingdrama with different people every year which leads to lots of discourse and complaints but probably happier. Maybe he can get a Dom instead of projecting his issues on everyone

Philip - goes into some tech or engineering field and is very successful. Discovers the magic of finasteride

They can all get worse or better but maybe they finally reach a sort of Burger King equilibrium…I love it when everyone has intense mundane interpersonal drama obviously which is why I made the AU in the first place but also not gonna lie I enjoy seeing the characters be kind of chill as well

[angevinyaoiz]

A new Evil Boyfriend Appears

[angevinyaoiz]

I know it's not the case but it is very funny to me thinking of Gillingham as not necessarily a Richard yumejo as much as he is just a RichPhil anti....like NOOOO my oshi MUST have higher standards...this is a frenchtwinkphobic zone....anyways this is spurred on by him having the more Rich/Mercadier agenda a teensy bit more (in my delusions)

[thebritishmonarchycouk]

On This Day In History . 6 April 1199 . King Richard I died . . ◼ In March 1199, Richard was in the Limousin suppressing a revolt by Viscount Aimar V of Limoges. In the early evening of 25 March 1199, Richard was walking around the castle perimeter without his chainmail, investigating the progress of sappers on the castle walls. One defender in particular amused the king greatly, a man standing on the walls, crossbow in one hand, the other clutching a frying pan he had been using all day as a shield to beat off missiles. He deliberately aimed at the king, which the king applauded; however, another crossbowman then struck the king in the left shoulder near the neck. . ◼ He tried to pull this out in the privacy of his tent but failed; a surgeon, removed it, "carelessly mangling" the King's arm in the process. The wound swiftly became gangrenous. . ◼ Accordingly, Richard asked to have the crossbowman brought before him, the man turned out (according to some sources, but not all) to be a boy. The boy claimed that Richard had killed his father & two brothers, & that he had aimed at Richard in revenge. . ◼ The boy expected to be executed; Richard, as a last act of mercy, forgave him, saying, "Live on, & by my bounty behold the light of day," before ordering that the boy be freed & sent away with 100 shillings.Richard then set his affairs in order, bequeathing all his territory to his brother John & his jewels to his nephew Otto. . 👑 Richard died on 6 April 1199 in the arms of his mother (Eleanor of Aquitaine); it was later said that "As the day was closing, he ended his earthly day." Because of the nature of Richard's death, he was later referred to as "the Lion (that) by the Ant was slain". According to one chronicler, Richard's last act of chivalry proved fruitless when the infamous mercenary captain Mercadier had the crossbowman executed as soon as Richard died. . ◼ Richard's heart was buried at Rouen in Normandy, his entrails in Châlus (where he died), & the rest of his body at the feet of his father at Fontevraud Abbey in Anjou. . . . (at Châlus) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bv7W7mGlKq8/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1rj1dc8r3fw7c