Knightfall is a historical fiction drama television series created by Don Handfield and Richard Rayner for the History channel. Filmed in the Czech Republic and Croatia, it premiered on December 6, 2017 in the United States.
Knightfall recounts the fall, persecution, and burning at the stake of the Knights Templar, as orchestrated by King Philip IV of France on October 13, 1307. The series focuses on the fictional Templar leader Landry du Lauzon, a brave warrior discouraged by the Templars' failures in the Holy Land who is reinvigorated by news that the Holy Grail has resurfaced.
Video Knightfall (TV series)
Cast
Main
- Tom Cullen as Landry du Lauzon, a senior brother of the Knights Templar and a veteran of the Crusades, Landry is a noble, courageous, and headstrong knight, who began his service with the Templars as Godfrey's squire - Godfrey tutored and trained him into a skilled and respected warrior monk. After the Siege of Acre, Landry witnesses the failure of the Crusade, the conquest of the Holy Land by the Saracens and the loss of the most-prized relic in all of Christendom: the Holy Grail. 15 years later, Landry, his faith shaken and frustrated with the Order's inactivity, becomes Master and Commander of the Paris Temple after Godfrey's assassination, the subsequent investigation revealing the Grail is now in France. His hope reignited, Landry leads his fellow Templars on a journey to uncover the reasons behind his mentor's death and location of the Grail.
- Jim Carter as Pope Boniface VIII, a warm and avuncular man and a seasoned politician, who acts as a stabilizing, incorruptible force within a corrupt medieval world. The Templar Knights value him as their Holy leader, and they're willing to execute his orders without question. Boniface personally appoints Landry the new Master and Commander of the Paris Temple after Godfrey's assassination and entrusts him the mission of finding the Holy Grail, hoping to use it to launch a new Crusade and reclaim the Holy Land.
- Pádraic Delaney as Gawain, the greatest swordsman of the Templar Order who was crippled by a leg injury sustained in the Siege of Acre while protecting Landry. 15 years later, after Godfrey's assassination, he is told by the new Master Landry he can no longer fight. Unable to serve in the field, Landry assigns him as the training master to the Order's initiates, teaching future knights, including the commoner Parsifal. Feeling his heroism is no longer celebrated, he struggles to maintain his loyalty to the Order, just as he struggles to come to terms with his physical limitations. Gawain feels that, of all the Templars, he has the most to gain from the recovery of the Holy Grail, due to its reported ability to heal.
- Simon Merrells as Tancrede de Hautville, a veteran Templar fiercely loyal to the order. Unlike most Templars, Tancrede was once married, but he gave up married life in order to join the Templars. As the steadfast, brave, and resolute knight who venerates his Templar vows above all else, Tancrede imagines himself as the heir apparent to Godfrey, the Master and Commander of the Paris Temple, although he concedes to Landry following Godfrey's assassination. With the revelation that the Holy Grail is now in France, Tancrede aids and advises Landry on his quest, and comes to understand what his role must be.
- Julian Ovenden as William de Nogaret, King Philip's scheming counsellor, pragmatic lawyer and right-hand man. De Nogaret is unashamedly godless, and a calculating manipulator ahead of his time. He is driven to destroy the power of organized religion, in revenge for his parents being burned at the stake as heretics. Cool and supremely calculating, De Nogaret is more involved in the quest for the Holy Grail than he appears. He also secretly desires Philip's daughter, Isabella, while seeking to make her the next Queen of England.
- Olivia Ross as Queen Joan of France and Navarre, the Queen of France and Queen Regnant of Navarre, Joan is both King Philip's wife and a powerful Queen who is a formidable diplomat and strategist. Joan is a devoted mother who seeks to ensure her children, especially her daughter, marry for love rather than duty like she was to Philip, who she has grown to fear. She and Philip are friends of Landry after he saved them from being murdered by brigands - against Landry's vows of celibacy, and without Philip's knowledge, the two pursued a secret romance and Joan is secretly pregnant with his child.
- Ed Stoppard as King Philip IV of France, the King of France, known for his good looks (hence the nickname "The Fair"), Philip struggles both as a King and a husband. He seeks to control his family while dealing with the politics and power moves that are an inevitable part of running his kingdom. Philip longs to be a great monarch and to transform France into the greatest power in Europe. He and Joan are friends of Landry after he saved them from being murdered by brigands, and Philip considers him a teacher, confidant and friend (although he is unaware of their secret romance).
- Sabrina Bartlett as Princess Isabella, Queen Joan and King Philip's daughter. Isabella is a beautiful, energetic and self-aware young woman whose youth belies a capacity to go to extraordinary lengths to get what she wants. Now of legal age, her impending marriage promises a strong political alliance for France.
- Bobby Schofield as Parsifal, a young peasant farmer who is decent and honest, although is brash and recklessly brave; aiming to do what he feels is right, even faced with great peril. He was happily engaged to a young woman, Marie, but is left consumed with grief and a desire for vengeance when she is murdered by Godfrey's assassins. Adrift and wanting to pursue her killers, he accepts an offer from Landry to join the Templars.
- Sarah-Sofie Boussnina as Adelina, a homeless thief who previously lived in Acre, but was rescued as a child by Landry and the Templars. Now living in France with her father, she is secretly involved with the unknown forces surrounding the Holy Grail.
Recurring
Guest
Maps Knightfall (TV series)
Episodes
Production
Development
In January 2016, History announced it had picked up Knightfall for a 10-episode straight-to-series, executive produced by and likely guest starring actor Jeremy Renner. The series was conceived by Renner's production partner Don Handfield and Los Angeles-based British writer and journalist Richard Rayner. British writer-producer Dominic Minghella serves as showrunner.
A Czech-American co-production presented by History, the first season of Knightfall was developed and produced by A+E Studios. Dominic Minghella, Josh Appelbaum, Andre Nemec, Jeff Pinkner, Scott Rosenberg, Barry Jossen, Jana Bennett, Douglas MacKinnon, Jeremy Renner, Don Handfield, Richard Rayner, and Sonny Postiglione are credited as executive producers, while Philip G. Flores acts as co-executive producer. The season was produced by Michael Wray for the first four episodes and Gideon Amir for the last six episodes. Jason Grote, Alex Shevchenko, David Minkowski and Matthew Stillman acted as co-producers, while David Elliot served as supervising producer.
The production team includes casting director Debbie McWilliams, costume designer Diana Cilliers, composer Andrew Price, production designer Ondrej Nekvasil, editors Nathan D. Gunn for the first, sixth and tenth episodes, Stephen Mark for the second episode, John Coniglio for the third and seventh episodes, Patrick McMahon for the fourth and eighth episode, Peter Mergus for the fifth and ninth episode, and Joe Sawyer for the fifth and sixth episodes, and cinematographer Christopher Manley.
Filming
The production started with three days of filming during the last week of June 2016 in Dubrovnik on Croatia's southern Adriatic coast, with Douglas Mackinnon (Outlander) as director. Set mainly around the Walls of Dubrovnik's Fort Lovrijenac (St. Lawrence Fortress) and the bay of Pile, these scenes depict The Siege of Acre. PAKT Media is offering services, and over 140 Croatian film workers will be involved with the production.
Mackinnon served as the principal director, handling most episodes. Metin Hüseyin and David Petrarca (Game of Thrones) will also direct a block each. Knightfall will shoot primarily in Prague, Czech Republic, with its base at the Barrandov Studios. Several exteriors imitating medieval Paris has been built in surrounding suburbs/villages including Pr?honice, and Doksany. Streets in Old Town and ?vihov Castle will also be utilized. Filming started on July 8. This is the same studio that was used for the TV series Borgia, season 2 of Legends, Casino Royale, and The Bourne Identity. According to Barrandov CEO Petr Tichý, the studio was chosen partially based on the quality of the 15th century interior they had previously built for Borgia. This total cost for the series will be CZK 1.1 billion.
According to Tom Cullen, the main cast had a two and a half week "boot camp" with French stuntman and fight choreographer Cédric Proust. Cullen had taken fencing classes note past, but hadn't swung a sword in about eight years.
On August 26, 2016, a fire broke out at the backlot of Barrandov Studios, destroying the exterior sets for Knightfall, with estimated damage of 100 million CZK ($4.5 million USD). Only a small part of the set, representing a medieval city, was saved. The following Monday, shooting resume at another location in the city. The fire will have an impact on the production schedule but the production will not be moved to another city and will focus on street locations. David Minkowski, a senior producer at Stillking Films, added "In conjunction with our insurers and Barrandov construction, we are planning to rebuild the destroyed backlot set as soon as possible and complete filming in Czech Republic," he added.
Filming wrapped up in mid-December 2016.
Marketing
A teaser trailer debuted on February 1, 2017 on History Channel, depicting a bloody Templar helmet. The series premiered on December 6, 2017.
Broadcast
The series was pre-sold to SBS in Australia. HBO, its subsidiary Cinemax, and FilmBox Premium also obtained the rights in Central and Eastern Europe. History, which developed the original series, aired Knightfall in North America.
Reception
On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the series has an approval rating of 63% based on 15 reviews, with an average rating of 5.25/10. On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating to reviews, the series has a weighted average score of 60 out of 100, based on 16 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Only two of the six Top Critics published a review that was favorable overall. The review by Maureen Ryan in Variety said, "This is a lumpy, awkwardly paced, derivative show that doesn't boast much in the way of impressive visuals or engaging characters. Those looking for a little light history will also likely be disappointed; the story's scattered nuggets about the context and history of the Templars are not typically made compelling in any way".
Accolades
Other media
In May 2017, it was announced that A+E Networks had partnered with Titan Publishing to develop original novels and an eight-part comic book series based on the series.
References
External links
- Official website
- Knightfall on IMDb
Source of article : Wikipedia
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