Black Plague

source: Black Plague

By the way, the bubonic plague, though it really got traction in medieval Europe, if you read history, and this is well documented, began with infested rats in China and just like Wuhan, came knocking elsewhere. Of course now we have one that has infected more people then any plague in history and some genuinely reputable people (I work in health care) think that the 4 million death toll could be as much as 12 times higher as I type on May 18, But NO plague in history has destroyed an entire world economy before....... Genghis Kahn has returned. But back to the business at hand..... The Buboes that make their appearance in this pretty remarkable movie, are really subthematic. It is the strange personal and sexual and intrigues of court, not traffic court, that are at the center. In that sense we have a sort of recreation of The Name of the Rose, remember that one? This is a detective story set in medieval times. The performances are excellent. It has a slow general pacing but there is a lot to uncover. The film maintains a sense of imminence throughout, you know you are being led somewhere, and you are, and I am not going to 'spoil' on that count. Part of what I enjoyed here, beyond the passionate dignity the actors invest, they are really into this, and it often feels like a stage play, something Shakespearean, is the deepening mystery as things appear to solidify. It is intelligent, extremely well acted, peopled with very memorable characters and an intriguing plot. It will require your attention but what's going on pretty well demands and compels that. It is a long ride, yes, but the scenery is worth looking at, and you are literally with (a) good company. Not everyone's cup of tea, this is not AVATAR........a lot of it is grim and muddy and gross, and it is an actorly exercise all the way, It is unique and i can't decide if it's just an above average medieval/horror/drama/passion play/ mystical/sexual/theological/brutal thing, or something that's verging on terrific with all the above modifiers. I thing it just misses a bullseye so I'll give it a 9 but what it is missing may be intentional, because when all is said and done and more or less laid out for you, there can be questions of interpretation. No question though that I recommend it.

In 1349 Walter (Jon Finch) is fighting those pesky French. His manor is in the hands of his wife Lady Miltilda (Lena Headey). Walter gets captured and is ransomed. Nicholaus (Jason Flemyng) his nephew has also taken a hostage, the son of the Count, Jacques de Saint Amant (David La Haye) oddly the only man with any class in this British film. There is an air of mystery around this man who appears to be something other than we think. He has a scar of a cross on his chest. There are also uneven flash back scenes that are basically meaningless until an hour and twenty-two minutes into the film when we find out about Walter's first wife (Elizabeth Marmur) a story every villager knows about...except his current wife Matilda, The story is slow to develop and once it was developed it moves slow to the climax, at which point I realized the film wasn't worth watching. Poorly conceived and executed. "Black Plague" was a 2002 film called "Anazapata" a word that is explained at an hour or so into the film and then becomes meaningless. "Black Death" was a far better film. Most films about the Black Plague are better (even that zombie one). In fact most films that have the word "Black" or "Plague" in their title are better. Parental Guide: F-bomb, sex, rape, male nudity, graphic sexual drawings...and all done rather poorly.

a village keeps a grievous evil as a secret, and thirty years later retribution comes in the form of a man who is meant to be their salvation. it all starts with greed. this village is as corrupt as can be. they are willing to * out their queen for money from the bishop, and the irony is that the black plague that comes upon the village is payback for a terrible thing that occurred to a previous queen who had another lover. there is a lot of Christian symbolism. it's hard to tell if the stranger in town is the Antichrist, a demon, pure evil; meant to be hated, or just another unloved and mistreated bastard. you feel sorry for the poor guy until he kills someone. the upside down cross he was branded with marks him to be evil, but he is actually quite charming and seductive. this man uses talisman sorcery to send out demons to do his work; both to kill and seduce. its ironic that this man causes forces of lust and obsession when it is those forces exactly that he is come to gain revenge from. he bonds with Matilda who is a kind and gentle soul. she is the only non- grotesque character in the film. Matilda burns these sexual paintings and the only one not burnt is wadded up. It's of two women and one has a phallus. I don't really understand what that means. Maybe it's the only one that doesn't make Matilda think of her suitor. Basically, this grotesque, corrupt, and evil town is brought down by their own creation which is slightly poetic. I won't tell you how, but they are. Lena Headey is brilliant as Matilda. She is kind and compassionate and as I said the only non-grotesque character in the film. She did a brilliant job in this role.

A small English village in 1348, at the beginning of the Hundred Years' War. Lady Matilda Mellerby (p/b Lena Heady)'s husband is taken prisoner by the French, but her nephew comes home with an important French prisoner who Matilda tries to exchange for her husband through the local bishop. The bishop, however, is a greedy perverted charlatan who wants favors from Matilda, and the Frenchman turns out to be someone more than they bargained for. Meanwhile, the Black Death is breaking out. . . This British Indie really tries: The props and costume design are pretty realistic, and there is a very solid storyline. Though it's not exactly Middle English, the script is also decent. ANAZAPTA ("Black Plague") is nowhere near as cheesy as its cover suggests. The problem is that it's laughable as an historical drama because the characters are mostly fictitious, the plot is entirely so, and the horrific/ supernatural elements kill any attempt at realism. On the other hand, most modern horror fans are likely to find it quite dull. There is some violence, gore, (male) nudity, and ucky plague stuff; however, most of ANAZAPTA consists of bickerings and finaglings between Matilda, the bishop, the mysterious Frenchman, and various others. The true extent of the plague is not actually shown here, nor is the war in France. Finally, it just isn't particularly scary. NOTE: ANAZAPTA (aka BLACK PLAGUE) should not be confused with the similarly titled and covered BLACK DEATH, which, though also set in 1348, is a completely different (and much better) story.

BLACK PLAGUE is one of those old straight-to-video medieval films that today has found a new lease of life as a GAME OF THRONES cash-in complete with a bethroned Lena Headey staring out of the video cover. However, it couldn't be less like THRONES if it tried. This is instead a small-scale melodrama involving various unpleasant characters doing their very best to get the upper hand on their rivals. The plague plays a part in the proceedings but otherwise this is very much a morality tale that reminded me of a Bergman film a little. The cast is well-chosen, with Headey excelling alongside Ian McNeice, Christopher Fairbank and Jason Flemyng, but the real star is the great and underrated Jon Finch who has never put in a bad performance. Sadly, BLACK PLAGUE as a whole is dreary and uninteresting, overlong and bogged down by its own self-importance.

It makes sense, like some other reviewer said, that this movie was only released on dvd to cash in on the GoT hype. Juding by he cover of the dvd, this was exaclty the case. To me, judging by the cover, I expected a horror movie.. I quickly found out it wasn't. Not really a big deal, I loved Name of the Rose, so if it was a medieval thriller, I would be okay with it. Well, I still don't know what it is. Either way, it failed miserably. The movie takes place somewhere around 1348, just after the plague arrived in Europe. A group of English soldiers return from war in France and with hem a French prisoner. Soon after, people die under mysterious circumstances and the Frenchman may not be who he claims to be. Sounds exciting ? Yes. Is it ? Heck no. The movie very slow paced, confusing and just downright boring. Very few scenes make any sense. For example, there is this scene where this idiot with the whistle in his mouth attempts to murder the Frenchman, gets caught when the lady walks in and quickly disappears. And gues what ? The lady doesn't even aks wtf he's doing there, as if she doesnt care ? WTF is up with that ?The costumes and settings were okay, but that's it.

The movie takes its time and overall I think what it tries to do is recommendable. Putting a face to something that was a horrible event in history is not a bad idea. But until we get there, you may get bored or at least a bit annoyed. The acting is good and there is quite a few things you may like. Not the over the top cliches at points probably. We have Jason Flemyng and Lena Headey, the latter probably having some training or at least getting accostumed to something she later revised (GoT). So for them it seems like it was fun. It doesn't quite translate to the screen. Some of the symbolism (sexual frustration, being in charge as a woman and so forth) really don't shine as much as they could. Still there have been worse movies out there

5/22/18. I only watched this because Headey was in it. Other than that the sets and costumes were nice, but the plot was not that great. Could have been better.

Story about amoral revenge, cold, dark, seductive, cruel and brutal, splendid reflection of Middle Age atmosphere, mixture of tension and strange romance, tale about price of gestures and powerful force of past errors, about values and trust, about ghosts and crime as projection of community's soul. In same aspects, a love story and, in fact, subtle exploration of existence significance. A debate-film, with some aspects from Shakespeare or Marlowe, with flavor from Dostoevki and taste of Ingmar Bergman's "The Seventh Seal" but, very personal as structure and construction of end. Film about old moral debt, about cruelty of a bleak era," Anazapta" is a mirror, with Greek tragedy as mat, image of human instincts, desires and secret fears, notion of justice and faith, greed, poltroonery and black angels. It is lucid introspection in the loops of deep reality beyond the words. The acting, the dialogs, the lights and location are bones of a social corpse, without coffin, funeral or grave. The innocence or the mercy are only illusions for a character in which single limb is memory beyond facts, illusions or regrets. A destiny's butcher and his way. And a very interesting presence of Lena Headey in magnificent role who transforms,in delicate and subtle manner, the nuances of atmosphere and the respiration of action.