Cromwell

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England is torn apart by civil war in this classic all star production.

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Review by Arthur Chappell on 5th November 2003

Dreadful, dull and boring with an utter disregard for historical accuracy. Only Alec Guiness seems to make any genuine effort in his depiction of a hapless king, while everyone else including Richard Harris, (Cromwell) Timothy Dalton (Prince Rupert) and Robert Morley as Lord Manchester seem to treat it all like a pantomime. Cromwell comes across as a pious well meaning man of common sense, rather than a deeply passionate religious fanatic. He is listed as one of the five Members Of parliament who Charles attempted unsuccessfully to arrest, They were Pym, Hampdon, Holles, Strode and Haseling, all of who fled before the King arrived to take them into custody. Here, Cromwell is himself depicted as one of the five and he stays to taunt the King defiantly rather than flee.

The war starts at Edgehill with Cromwell, exasperated by the long wait for the sides to fully line up before one takes shots at the other, defying orders from Manchester to lead a charge straight away. The battle ends with a decimated parliament army and Cromwell spends much of the film raising a new one from scratch. This is absolute nonsense. Edgehill was highly indecisive and certainly did not leave either side in such dire straights.

We then plunge directly to Naseby where Prince Rupert is still seen carrying Boy, his poodle into battle though the Dog perished at Marston Moor (a battle not depicted at all) and then there is a dull presentation of the trial and execution of Charles and Cromwell trying to be all Shakespearean about whether to take the English Crown for his own or not. The film makes exciting and dynamic events frightfully tedious Few films could do justice to such complex events as the Civil Wars of England that spanned a twenty-year period from Bishops War of 1639-40 to the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660, but this film barely even tries. For re-enactors and history buffs this is a film filled with unintentional light relief and a fun film for late night drinking parties.

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