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Cast: Rutger Hauer, F. Murray Abraham, Raz Degan
In Italy, year 1100, the Northern lands are ruled by the German Emperor Barbarossa. His dream is to also conquer the lands in the center and the South to revive the empire that once belonged to Charles the Great. But in the North, a young man from Milan named "Alberto Da Giussano" has formed an army of 900 men all from different cities known as the company of death. His dream is to defeat the Emperor and give freedom back to the Northern lands.
Originally released in 2009 in Italy under the title "Barbarossa," the story is about German General Barbarossa's military might and his venture into Italy. Barbarossa would wage several military ventures into Northern Italy, before giving in to old age on a final journey to the crusades. Based on historic fact or maybe even myth but either way fan's of such film's as "Braveheart" are going to want to check this out even if you never heard of these events. The film can be a little slow at times but the beautiful cinematography and wide-shot battle scenes are sure to please any fan of the genre. The acting can be hit or miss at times but the film's two main leads, F. Murray Abraham and Rutger Hauer as Federico Barbarossa both give strong and convincing performances. I know that the characters and historical events shown here might not have the impact on many of you out there simply because you never heard about it before but it doesn't take long to get into the story and have some feelings towards it's characters.
I already talked about the production but it's only fair to mention the direction which I felt was very good and the costumes and settings are also very well done. Filmed on a meager budget I was impressed with the film over-all and think fan's of the genre will find the film to be entertaining, plus who isn't a fan of the great Rutger Hauer? Over-all an enjoyable film and I learned a little history I didn't know about so it was a positive film experience on all counts.
You can order the DVD HERE.
Released by Lions Gate Entertainment/Lightning Entertainment
*** 1/2 Out Of *****
You can check out the trailer for the film at Lightning Entertainment's web site HERE.