James Bond is 50

Today is the 50th anniversary of the first James Bond film, Dr No, opening in cinemas. There are all sorts of celebrations going on, culminating with the release of the latest film, Skyfall, at the end of the month. In the meantime, here is an article from the Economist exploring why the Bond series has endured for so long.  There is lots of material over at the Guardian, where writers explain which films are their favourite (Nonsuch HP likes "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" best...) Finally, here is a rather more academic article on the relationship between James Bond and the Cold War by a professor from the Exeter University.

PS: If you're interested in a career in spying, have a look at this article, or even MI6's homepage - there are even some games to play to test your skills!

Elizabeth on Film

The Guardian runs a regular column reviewing historical films and considering their accuracy - covering everything from Spartacus to The Social Network. Recently the author has reviewed several films with Elizabethan themes, including Shakespeare in Love (Entertainment: A-, Accuracy C+), Young Bess from 1953 (E: C+, A: B) and 1999's Elizabeth. The latter comes in for a particular roasting because although it is undeniably entertaining (A-), it plays extremely fast and loose with historical accuracy (E) - indeed it gets a lower rating than the recent Cuban-Missile-Crisis-based X-Men: First Class (D+!)

Problems include: portraying Lord Burghley as a 75 year old at the start of her reign when he was in fact in his 30s, over-emphasizing her romantic interest in Robert Dudley, and including him in an amalgamation of various Catholic plots against her, which was highly unlikely as he was a staunch Protestant. The film-makers would argue that their job is to emphasize the dramatic nature of Elizabeth's insecure and lonely position, but clearly a large historical health-warning is needed at the beginning of the film for those who might consider it a reliable source for research... PS: Here is a detailed list of many of the factual errors from the film plus other useful information in an FAQ. PPS: The film's sequel: "Elizabeth: The Golden Age" isn't very accurate either, as Alison Weir explains here...

Film Night

There's a Politics Film Night this afternoon in the Common Room. The film will be Legally Blonde 2, which follows Elle Woods' (Reese Witherspoon) attempts to lobby Congress on behalf of her chihuahua. It will be at 3.30 and all Year 12s are welcome to attend.

PS: Here are 124 other films set in Washington DC. Let us know if you can recommend any of them!

King John on Film

A new film about King John, "Ironclad", will be released on Friday. It is of particular interest to Nonsuch students as it focuses on the Siege of Rochester Castle, which took place after John was forced to sign the Magna Carta in 1215. Early reviews suggest that this won't win many Oscars next year, but that the Siege itself is quite exciting, and that Paul Giamatti puts in an enjoyable performance as the devious monarch. This BBC article wonders why John is so often portrayed as a villain, and why he has such a reputation as a poor king. Some contemporary chroniclers such as Matthew Paris and Roger Wendover wrote at length about various acts of cruelty he was said to have performed, but, as most Year 7s will know, these were often full of inaccuracies. The Tudors were more sympathetic to John as was involved in a dispute with the Pope, which obviously would have been well received following the break with Rome. The popular view of John, and in particular his connection with the Robin Hood stories, comes from 19th Century. His chaotic personal life was viewed as morally dubious by the Victorians, and the Whig view of History identified the signing of the Magna Carta as a crucial moment in England's political development, pushing the barons forward as heroes against John's repressive rule.

Whatever the film might say, John eventually recaptured Rochester Castle in November 1215 (bringing down one of the towers after tunnelling under it and then setting fire to the wooden supports with the fat of 30 pigs) and looked set to complete the rebelling barons completely. However, he failed to seize the opportunity and then, after a "fit of over-indulgence", died of dysentry in October 1216. His son Henry III was declared King and the Magna Carta reissued. His reign was over, but his reputation for incompetence and cruelty had been sealed.

You can read more about King John here, and about other incompetent Kings here. For the Disney interpretation of John, look here.

The Social Network

"The Social Network" - the film about Mark Zuckerberg, the creator of Facebook - is released this Friday. As Facebook and social networking in general has becoming an increasingly significant part of our lives (and is beginning to affect political campaigning and lobbying), this blog is certainly curious to know how Zuckerberg's story will be told. Aaron Sorkin, creator of The West Wing, is the chief writer, and although he has "fictionalised" some elements in the interests of drama and legal propriety, Zuckerberg's character and motivation (he created the initial version of Facebook at Harvard as a kneejerk reaction to being dumped by his girlfriend) come across very clearly. Whether this can be classed as a "History" film depends on whether Facebook will last long enough to be considered sufficiently significant, and whether you consider the events of 2003 too close to the present to be reflected on in this way.

If you go to watch it, we would be really interested to hear your opinion (including Justin Timberlake's acting performance...) so please leave your comments below...

PS: Here is a review from the Guardian and an interview with Aaron Sorkin.

To Kill a King

"To Kill a King" was shown in Stuart Week and it was interesting to see a different take on the Civil War compared to the familiar scenes from "Cromwell". It focused on the increasingly strained relationship between Thomas Fairfax and Oliver Cromwell, the principal Parliamentary generals, as well as giving plenty of time to Fairfax's relationship with his royalist-inclined wife, Lady Anne. Here is a review of the film, and here is some insight into the problems made making it - basicly they ran out of money twice!

We would like to repeat the "History Film Club" experience in the future. What other films would you like to see shown?

Elizabeth FAQ

Here is a useful set of FAQs on Elizabeth I, including a list of all the errors (and there are many!) made in the Cate Blanchett film. The website also contains a useful Tudor reading list alongside lots of other Elizabeth info.

BBC Archive

The BBC has started a new film / radio archive, including a section with material on the USSR during WW2 and one on the Cuban Missile Crisis. Updates and further archives can be seen by clicking on "collections".

The BFI also has an archive, full of film, TV and news clips, including a section on the Suffragettes. Please let us know if you find anything interesting! (You may have to log on from a school computer to see these clips for free)

Historical Film Reviews

Here is a list of films with a historical theme. They are reviewed for entertainment value and historical accuracy! It includes Elizabeth and Essex (1939) and The Other Boleyn Girl (2008 - "Hollyoaks in Fancy Dress")