This week’s Thursday Movie Picks (about The Renaissance), hosted by Wandering Through the Shelves, has an entirely unintentional link. That link is Orson Welles, he starred in two of the films I selected and in the final pick Welles starred in another film adaptation of the famous Scottish Play.
As this week’s theme is The Renaissance it seems appropriate that we lay our scene in fair Italy, the heart of the resurgence in knowledge regarding art, science, and culture. Prince of Foxes stars Tyrone Power and Orson Welles, and concerns Cesare Borgia (Welles) who assigns Andrea (Power) to infiltrate nearby Ferrara (which is halting Cesare’s conquest of Italia) but Andrea falls in love with Camlia (Wanda Henridix) and betrays the powerful lord Cesare Borgia.
I don’t think colour is a necessity to enjoy a film, but there are cases where colour may have enhanced the picture. Prince of Foxes, where possible, makes use of the real locations (that is actually Venice). As good as the black and white cinematography was, a colour picture would really make the most of the rolling Tuscany fields, epic battle scenes and make Leon Shamroy’s fine cinematography stand out even more. Minor quibbles aside, Prince of Foxes is a fine film with Welles in great form.
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Kings tend to get their own way so when The Pope refused to grant Henry VIII a divorce, Henry threw his toys out the pram and created the Church of England so he could get his own way. Many people accepted the oath to accept this church, except for Thomas More who stood up the most well-known King in English History and suffered the consequences.
A Man for All Seasons won the Oscar for Best Picture in 1966 and it remains a film with top class performances from the likes of Robert Shaw (Henry VIII), Paul Schofield (More) and a very young John Hurt (a back-stabbing arsehole who name doesn’t deserve a mention). Orson Welles makes an appearance as Cardinal Wosley in this pretty accurate and interesting historical drama.
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| Throne of Blood |
