"Best Renaissance Movie for Wargamers?" Topic

Which movie, set in the Renaissance (1400-1700), would you recommend to your fellow wargamers?

The Last Valley, with Michael Caine.

With Fire and Sword

The Last Valley

+1 Alan in Can'tberra.

The three Musketier (1973 version with Michael York)

Last Valley

Everything by Kurasowa that's correct time period

Rutger Hauer in Flesh and Blood (adults only).

Alatriste, Last Valley, and Kurosawa as mentioned above…

Renaissance is a floating date as it spread out from Florence… Agincourt and Henry V are 1415, but not exactly Renaissance.

Kurosawa is also correct time-frame, but not exactly Renaissance as a European cultural movement.

Dear Editor, care to specify the parameters more, or not?

Sticking to more of the Ren fare not nominated yet:
The Sea Hawk
The Black Swan
Cyrano de Bergerac (1990, French with subtitles)
Zorro and the Three Musketeers (waragamers delight!)

I would say "last Valley" and the '73 "Three/Four Musketeers."

A Man for All Seasons

Cromwell

A couple of French films:

Queen Margot

Henri IV

All have great battle scenes and can be found on YouTube.

Mircea Cel Batran (Mircea the wise old man) English subtitles.
Vlad Tepes (1979) English subtitles.
Mihai Viteazul (1970) English subtitles.
Prince of Foxes (1949) (Tyrone Power, Orson Welles)
Taras Bulba (2009) Russian, English subtitles.
There is Taras Bulba (1962), Italian production, English dubbed.

These are of brilliant quality, however, no subtitles.

Proti Vsem (1956) (Against All / Jan Ziska)
Kryzacy (1960) Teutonic-Polish war,
Pan Wołodyjowski (1960) (Colonel Wolodyjowski – part 1 & 2)

With Fire and Sword

Potop (The Deluge)

Colonel Wolodyjowski

These are a trilogy from the books by Henryk Sienkiewicz. The DVD's are good but not great, English subtitles and the one of the DVD's skips, I know because I bought a new set and it was in the new set.

Captain Blood fits in that time period. I don't really think of it as Renaissance, but for gamers it's great inspiration.

The Man of La Mancha. Though not really a wargamer film.

A Man for All Seasons

Queen Margot

Two of my favorite historical films, period.

That said, I have to go with Richard Lester's Musketeers films. The cast, costumes and sets are superb, but it's really GM Fraser's screenplays that make them shine.

The Last Valley – Michael Caine and Omar Sharif are outstanding.

Cromwell – Richard Harris and Alec Guinness

A Man for All Seasons – stole McQueen's Oscar in 66.

No one mentioned "Barbarians". It deals with 1525 when Imperial troops captured Rome. Italian film with good Romeo and Juliet theme and great battle scenes. Looks like generally accurate clothing and armor. If I remember correctly, it's in color.

The Black Arrow is set in the 1400s, so nominally Renaissance.

And this time period would also include

Henry V (Olivier)

Henry V (Branagh)

Among other Shakespearean films.

Wolf Hall. Okay technically not a movie, but the staging is impeccable, soundtrack written for period instruments, and the genius that is Mark Rylance (rest of the cast not too shabby either)

Sir Alec Guinness's Charles in Cromwell is absolutely spot on, even if the rest of the film is absolute tosh factually (but it is a great watch).

If we're including WOR movies, Olivier in Richard III is terrifying. The look he gives the Young Princes when they mock him gives me chills.

I've not seen it but the 2001 Italian film "Il Mestiere delle armi", English title "The Profession of Arms", looks pretty good.

Cromwell. Pretty much a lie from beginning to end, but a good movie.

Alatriste

With Fire and Sword

Cyrano de Bergerac

Another vote for Alatriste.