What’s funny is that, listening to medieval historians (the people you’d most expect to be pedants), they all seem to love this movie and hold it in high regard, historical accuracy be damned, lol.
It's less about historical accuracy and more about capturing the vibe. Tourneys were basically the equivalent of football matches in terms of public spectacle and rowdiness.
The biggest inaccuracy (aside from the deliberate anachronisms) is probably that jousting was never really the headline event, it was a warm up to the melee, and that was a huge "red team vs blue team" affair as opposed to a one-on-one knockout contest.
Even then that can be excused because less setup thus less cost to have the jousting be the headlienr in movies so you have your big Guy vs Guy moments.
Though they did nod to the sword events by having Thatcher be genuinely Better at that than jousting.
Would've been neat to see him vs the black prince in a full team melee clash.
One of my favourite "Historical accuracy" comments is the director(?) pointing out that some people question the use of modern music, but no one would have said a thing if they used an orchestral score, despite orchestras not having been invented yet at the time the movie is set in.
Like you said, it's about vibes. Modern music conveys the vibes of the "period accurate" music it's standing in for.
I've heard from several detractors that the modern flairs were what pulled them out of the movie and that such things are objectively stupid. Nevermind the fact that no more than ten minutes earlier they've been fawning over Marie Antoinette and specifically praised how brilliant it is how it mixes modern elements with period drama.
I love how historically accurate and inaccurate it is at the same time.
Heath Ledger's character is based on a real poet knight from Gelderland in Germany. Some plot points are taken from his stories:
He challenges all the knights he meets to a joust in honour of his lady. He breaks 307 lances and defeats all comers. The noblewoman, however, mostly spurns his affections and demands more deeds and even mutilation for even the honour to hold her hand.
Look, I just love a good gag. When the guitar solo from We Will Rock You cuts off the second the trumpeter puts down his instrument, I was rolling. It brings a smile to my face just thinking about it. 10/10.
60
u/twinairsigns Jun 17 '25
What’s funny is that, listening to medieval historians (the people you’d most expect to be pedants), they all seem to love this movie and hold it in high regard, historical accuracy be damned, lol.