Heroic Dreams - All Things Medieval

Film Making is a fascinating craft. And making a film about a subject like the Dark Ages must be quite an experience!

Have you ever wondered what it was like to make a movie? Have you ever thought about how great it would be to make a movie grounded in research and fact? I have.

And I have been given the opportunity to ask some questions of the Director of the upcoming History Channel film called The Dark Ages. His name is Chris Cassel and he lends us some interesting insights into the making of this film.

In particular I wanted to ask him questions that you might be interested in, and seeing as this blog is all about medieval times with a big focus on weapons and castles I thought it would be interesting to find out what happens to all the weapons, armor and other stuff that is used to make a film. So my interview in entitled :

“ The Making of a Medieval Film: The Dark Ages or “What do they do with all those swords?” 

Here is the beginning of the interview:

Will: Hi Mr. Cassel, You have just completed a project for The History Channel called: The Dark Ages. Could you tell us a little bit about this project?

Chris: It’s a two-hour special that delves into the chaos that reigned in Europe between the sacking of Rome in 410 AD and the First Crusade in 1095 AD. It’s a period that is usually glossed over in history books, if it’s addressed at all, yet it contains some of the most compelling characters and events in world history. And this period, perhaps more than any other, really shaped the course of modern Europe and through it, the world.

The film was shot in Lithuania for The History Channel, by Kralyevich Productions, Inc. (KPI) in association with Baltic Film Services. We had a total of about 850 actors and 70 horses that participated. Our locations were mainly medieval structures and sites in the area of the capital, Vilnius. We shot it over the course of five weeks.

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He gives us some interesting insights into where and how the film was shot (They did a lot of shooting in a very famous Medieval Castle), how they procured all the weapons, armor and other things and I ask him the big question of “What do they do with all those swords after the shooting is done!” Read the interview to find out his answer! 

Here is a link to the complete interview:

“ The Making of a Medieval Film: The Dark Ages or “What do they do with all those swords?” 

I also have lots of other interesting stuff about the Film and about the Dark ages including a look at the main characters of the period and you can play the official Dark Ages game right on my website. Learn more About the Dark Ages! 

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