But observing the rape of his motherland, he puts aside his religious vows to take up arms against the invaders. Alfred the great 1969 mpg 2h 2min drama, history, war 1 october 1969 hong kong while old england is being ransacked by roving danes in the ninth century, alfred is planning to join the priesthood. To the best of my knowledge, this is the only film about alfred the great, and it is a disappointment. When the invading danes kidnap his wife aelthswith prunella ransome, he goes to battle. When the vikings invade england, alfred david hemmings is about to take his priesthood vows.
His father died when he was young and three of alfred s brothers. Alfred the great is an entertaining film with perhaps too much battle scenes. Find movie and film cast and crew information for alfred the great 1969 clive donner on allmovie. For anyone interested in the film, there is a book by mary murphy, that describes the making of the film. This promotional short for the feature film alfred the great 1969 briefly tells of the. Historically a great man, made small by a film like this. Alfred the great dvdr 1969 warner archive collection. Imdb later informed me that the film was alfred the great 1969, starring david hemmings and michael york, but to my grief, it had never been rereleased on dvd. Before joining the priesthood, alfred is forced to lead the people of west saxon england against the invading danes, a fight that proves alfred is a great and fearless leader. Movie alfred the great 1969 ninth century english nobleman alfred david hemmings puts his plans to become a priest on hold, because his country has been invaded by vikings.
Michael york is more convincing as danish war lord guthram. Were your movie poster source for new releases and vintage movie posters. Alfred the great 1969 clive donner cast and crew allmovie. Probably michael yorks greatest performance as a viking king. But observing the rape of his land, he puts away his religious vows to take up arms against the invaders, leading the english christians to fight for their country. Alfred the great 69 soldier on a horse with a sword ebay. While old england is being ransacked by roving danes in the ninth century, alfred is planning to join the priesthood. The making of alfred the great galway advertiser, thu, nov 27, 2008.
Alfred the great 1969 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Wikimedia commons has media related to 1969 films for convenience, all 1969 films should be included in this category. David hemmings of recent blow up fame is an unlikely warrior king. This includes all 1969 films that can also be found in the subcategories. Read the full synopsis of alfred the great, 1969, directed by clive donner, with david hemmings, michael york, prunella ransome, at turner classic movies.
Alfred is the only english king to be called great. Alfred the great 1969 rotten tomatoes movie trailers. Alfred the great first appeared on the screen back in 1969. Alfred soundly defeats the danes and becomes a hero. But observing the rape of his land, he puts away his religious vows to take up arms. Alfred the great david hemmings changes his plans to becomes a priest and aspires to political greatness. Alfred the great is a 1969 epic film which portrays alfred the greats struggle to defend the anglosaxon kingdom of wessex from a danish viking invasion in the. Movie info alfred the great david hemmings changes his plans to becomes a priest and aspires to political greatness. While old england is being ransacked by roving danes in the 9th century, alfred david hemmings is planning to join the priesthood. Would movie goers recommend alfred the great to friends. David hemmings is alfred the great in the epic story of the legendary saxon king.
Alfred the great came into the theatres in 1969 when epic films had already lost their appeal to larger audiences. The film was shot in different parts of county galway. While old england is being ransacked by roving danes in the 9th century, alfred is planning to join the priesthood. Find low everyday prices and buy online for delivery or instore pickup.
Nov 4 movie alfred the great 1969 east hampton, ny. The staring role of alfred the great was played by david hemmings. Tho about a famous english king the movie was shot largely on location in ireland. Epic film of alfred the great s struggle to rid wessex of the invading danes, in the 870s. Alfred the great disambiguation alfred the great c. Alfred the great movie posters from movie poster shop.
Undeterred, i eventually found a website prepared to supply. The story of english hero alfred the great is told in this epic tale of a king who is torn between his love of the battle and his need to take on religious vows. Other members of the cast not necessarily in the movie still. Clive donners alfred the great, the saga of the ninthcentury king of wessex who made the first attempts to unite england, is not what the authors of 1066 and all that might have described as. I saw this film when it first came out ever so briefly in 1969, at the age of 14, and. The two leads are convincing but the part of the queen is too underwritten. Alfred the great 1969 clive donner releases allmovie. Alfred david hemmings gives up the priesthood to become king of wessex in 849 ad after the death of his brother. I saw this movie once on tv in early 1970s on late night tv.
Find release information for alfred the great 1969 clive donner on allmovie. But observing the rape of his land, he puts away his religious vows, to. Alfred the great 1969 ninth century english nobleman alfred david hemmings puts his plans to become a priest on hold, because his country has been invaded by vikings. Alfred bishop, 10th century bishop of sherborne alfred the great comics, comic by al colombia alfred the great film, 1969 film wikipedia. This vintage original still shows a very rare photo of a soldier on a horse with a sword. Alfred the great is a 1969 epic film which portrays alfred the great s struggle to defend the anglosaxon kingdom of wessex from a danish viking invasion in the 9th century. When the invading danes kidnap his wife aelthswith prunella ransome, he goes.
Alfred the great managed himself to unify the small angloxaxons states in order to battle and beat the invaders barbarians vikings. Epic film of alfred the greats struggle to rid wessex of the invading danes, in the 870s. The first scenes between david hemmings and prunella ransome are good though. But observing the rape of his land, he puts away his religious vows, to take up arms against the invaders, leading the english christians to fight for their country. Aug 12, 2017 the end title music from alfred the great, the 1969 epic film which portrays his struggle to rid wessex of the invading danes in 870 ad.
The screenplay distorts history for dramatic impact. We encourage you to leave comments regarding the alfred the great subtitles. What other subtitles would you like to see from us. For a film with numerous battles, the fight choreography is surprisingly weak, but i have to praise the decision to show exhausted armies take a break during a battle, which i have never seen before. The movie shows the times when some of the english kingdoms were ruled by danish vikings danelaw. With david hemmings, michael york, prunella ransome, colin blakely. Alfred vanquished the invading danes and freed the london city, besides he promoted the angloxaxon culture and the civilized values such us learning read latin. Sep 19, 2010 alfred the great king alfred s struggle. Alfred the great 69 soldier on a horse with a sword. A lot of preparatory work had gone into selecting three main locations in kilchreest, ross lake, and knockma, each of which encompassed 90 acres.
The film was released in 1969 in both 35mm and 70mm, but only 35mm was shown in this country. Oct 28, 2011 british conductor raymond leppard produced a majestic score for this 1969 cliver donner directed account of the rise of the famous 9th century english king alfred. Oct 03, 2016 this is music from the rare vinyl copy of the ost of alfred the great 1969, filmed in galway ireland. In 1968 mgm came to galway to make a swords and sandals epic film called alfred the great. Alfred the great soundtrack raymond leppard 1969 youtube. After marrying the beautiful aelhsweth prunella ransome, he gives himself over to his dark side and aggressively rapes his wife. The year 1969 in film involved some significant events, with butch cassidy and the sundance kid dominating the u. Clive donners alfred the great, the saga of the ninthcentury king of wessex who made the. Scant, but entirely factual, material on the film can be found on imdb. Alfred the great alfred the great galway alfred the. Buy alfred the great movie posters from movie poster shop. Find similar and related movies for alfred the great 1969 clive donner on allmovie.
Michael york is guthrum, the viking leader of the invaders. Alfred the great 1969 clive donner related allmovie. Alfred david hemmings gives up the priesthood to become king. Alfred soundly defeats the danes and becomes an english hero. I am well aware of the part alfred played in the formation of england as a political entity, but since my blog post was about the film of alfred the great and not about the historical figure, there was no opportunity to go into this. Alfred the great is a film directed by clive donner with david hemmings, michael york, prunella ransome, colin blakely, year. The film opens as alfred is about to take his vows as a. The film opens as alfred is about to take his vows as a priest when the danes invade to pillage and rape their way across england. The greatness of alfred was that he learned from his enemies and from his own mistakes.
But now, although alfred still longs for the priesthood, he is torn between his passion for god and his lust for blood. By 870 the danes had overthrown the kingdoms of east anglia, northumbria, and mercia, and were preparing to do the same to wessex. With clive donner, david hemmings, prunella ransome, michael york. Alfred the great i 1969 trivia 5 add new second theatrical movie of sir ian mckellen roger. A 34sized replica of the white horse in berkshire was recreated on the slopes of knockma hill in county galway. A touch of love 1969 was his debut, having been released sooner. Undeterred, i eventually found a website prepared to supply me with this rare delicacy, albeit at a premium price. The end title music from alfred the great, the 1969 epic film which portrays his struggle to rid wessex of the invading danes in 870 ad. Alfred is preparing to join the priesthood, but, angered by the invasion his country by the danes, he puts aside his religious vows to lead the west saxon english. It was hoped to mark the 50th anniversary of the making of the film in ireland this year, i dont know if that is still going ahead. Alfred the great is a 1969 epic film which portrayed alfred the great s struggle to rid wessex of the invading danes, in the 870s ad. Kind of a dumb movie, but this scene was excellent. Alfred the great film alfred the great is a 1969 epic film which portrays alfred the greats struggle to defend the anglosaxon kingdom of wessex from a danish viking invasion in the 9th century. This promotional short for the feature film alfred the great 1969 briefly tells of the virtues of the warriorking, and comments on the three major players in the film.