Ironclad (film)
Encyclopedia
Ironclad is a 2011 action film directed by Jonathan English. Written by English and Erick Kastel, based on a screenplay by Stephen McDool, the cast includes Paul Giamatti
, James Purefoy
, Brian Cox, Mackenzie Crook
, Jason Flemying, Derek Jacobi
and Kate Mara
. The film chronicles the siege
of Rochester Castle
by King John
in 1215. The film was shot entirely in Wales
in 2009, produced on a budget of $25 million.
, aided by the Knights Templar
, rebelled against King John in a war that lasted three years and ended with King John signing the Magna Carta
("Great Charter"), a document granting equal rights to all Englishmen and reducing the power of the monarchy. Not long afterwards he breaks his word and begins a bloody campaign of revenge against the barons who humiliated him, commanding an army of Danish mercenaries to whose leader he has promised that the Pope would keep his missionaries out of Denmark.
The abbot Marcus, leading three Templar knights who have taken vows of silence, shelters from a storm at Darnay Castle on his way to Canterbury for pilgrimage. Abbot Marcus speaks with Thomas Marshall and promises he will secure Marshall's release from the Templar Order once they reach Canterbury. The next day King John arrives with his Danish army. John orders Darnay's execution by hanging, and Abbot Marcus has his tongue sliced off by the Danes when he tries to intervene. Marshall and the two other knights fight the Danes, during which Marshall manages to escape the castle on horseback, carrying the abbot but the other two knights are slain. The abbot dies of his wounds shortly after and Marshall breaks his vow of silence to swear that his sacrifice will not be in vain.
Once he has reached Canterbury
, Marshall meets with Archbishop Langton, the author of the Magna Carta, and Baron William de Albany, a former soldier turned wool merchant. Langton reveals that the Pope has sided with King John and that he himself is to be excommunicated for writing the Great Charter. The three men agree that John must be stopped, and that the place to do it is Rochester Castle
, a strategically important stronghold that controls the route from southern England.
Albany persuades three of his men to join him, including his squire Guy, but a fourth turns down the baron's call to arms. A party of seven finally leaves for Rochester where, on arriving, they discover six of the King Danish mercenaries have already claimed the castle after the fourth man had betrayed them to the king. Albany's party fights and kills the Danish scouts and then claims Rochester Castle in the name of the rebellion. When John's army finally arrives and lays siege to Rochester, the garrison holds fast and manages to beat back the initial Danish assault. In the aftermath, Albany offers his men the chance to leave if they wish; none accept.
For the second assault the Danes build a siege tower, but the defenders destroy it with a makeshift catapult and the attackers are repulsed again. The King's army holds back and begins to starve the defenders out. The Archbishop is informed that Prince Louis is biding his time in France and negotiating with John, and sets off immediately to expedite affairs. As weeks become months the hunger and suffering of the castle's occupants increase, Marshall leaves under cover of night and steals food from the Danish camp, making it back just ahead of his pursuers. The defenders' morale is bolstered for the first time in months, and Marshall finally succumbs to Isabel's advances, breaking his Templar vows.
The Danish leader, Tiberius, adopts a different approach in his next assault and manages to sneak a small force of men over the walls before dawn to open the castle gates from within. Guy discovers the infiltrators and sounds the alarm, but it is too late. Tiberius leads the charge into the castle grounds while his Danes slaughter the garrison. During the chaos Albany is wounded and falls off the garrison. Marshall recovers in time to don his knight's battle armour and charge the Danes on his war-horse, buying time for the survivors to pull back to the keep.
Albany is dragged before the King and forced to watch as the hands of two prisoners are chopped off. After a defiant verbal exchange with John, he is subjected to the same fate and then killed by being flung from the makeshift catapult against the keep walls. Cornhill tries to surrender but after being stopped, he goes upstairs to his bedroom and hangs himself instead. John's royal engineers then collapse part of the keep after tunnelling under its foundations, and the final assault begins.
The last defenders are killed except Guy, Marshall and Isabel. Guy goes out to die fighting where he encounters Tiberius and is almost killed until a recovered Marshall intervenes. Tiberius challenges Marshall to single combat, and Marshall triumphs after an exhausting duel. Horns are heard in the distance as the French army arrives at last, and the Danes disperse in panic. Marshall meets Prince Louis and Archbishop Langton at the castle gates; the latter tells him that he is now free of the Templar Order. Acknowledging England's new king with a nod, Marshall rides off with Isabel, while Guy tells his dead baron that "We held".
The film ends with an epilogue describing King John's death during his retreat and the reconstruction of Rochester Castle
, and how it, like the Magna Carta
, still stands today.
who was not a Templar Knight at the time (he was knighted on his deathbed), William d'Aubigny who was not an ennobled wool merchant (nor was he tortured and killed in the siege).
was attached to the film when the film's production company, Mythic, began promoting it to investors at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival
. Fox left the film and was later replaced by Kate Mara
. Due to the decreased amount of credit and financing available in 2009, the budget of the film was reduced and the entire supporting cast was changed, with the exception of actors James Purefoy
and Paul Giamatti
. Producer Andrew Curtis described the financing of the film as "more complex than a London Underground map" to Variety
magazine; the film ended up crediting 18 executive producers.
Principal photography
for the film began at Dragon International Film Studios
near the village Llanharan
in Wales
on October 9, 2009. A replica of Rochester Castle
was built on the studio complex. Producer Rick Benattar strove to make the film as historically accurate as possible, recreating the historical violent siege of Rochester Castle, and letting viewers experience the battle as if they were there. Ironclad was the largest independent production that has been filmed in Wales, and was among the largest independent films shot in Britain in 2009.
Paul Giamatti
Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti is an American actor. Giamatti began his career as a supporting actor in several films produced during the 1990s including Private Parts, The Truman Show, Saving Private Ryan, The Negotiator, and Man on the Moon, before earning lead roles in several projects in the...
, James Purefoy
James Purefoy
James Brian Mark Purefoy is an English actor best known for portraying Mark Antony in the HBO series Rome.-Early life and work:...
, Brian Cox, Mackenzie Crook
Mackenzie Crook
Paul Mackenzie Crook is a British actor and comedian. He is best known for playing Gareth Keenan in The Office and Ragetti in the Pirates of the Caribbean films.-Life and career:...
, Jason Flemying, Derek Jacobi
Derek Jacobi
Sir Derek George Jacobi, CBE is an English actor and film director.A "forceful, commanding stage presence", Jacobi has enjoyed a highly successful stage career, appearing in such stage productions as Hamlet, Uncle Vanya, and Oedipus the King. He received a Tony Award for his performance in...
and Kate Mara
Kate Mara
Kate Mara is an American television and film actress. Beginning acting in her hometown of Bedford, New York, she moved from the stage to her first film, Random Hearts...
. The film chronicles the siege
First Barons' War
The First Barons' War was a civil war in the Kingdom of England, between a group of rebellious barons—led by Robert Fitzwalter and supported by a French army under the future Louis VIII of France—and King John of England...
of Rochester Castle
Rochester Castle
Rochester Castle stands on the east bank of the River Medway in Rochester, Kent, England. The 12th-century keep or stone tower, which is the castle's most prominent feature, is one of the best preserved in England or France. Located along the River Medway and Watling Street, Rochester was a...
by King John
John of England
John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...
in 1215. The film was shot entirely in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
in 2009, produced on a budget of $25 million.
Plot
The film opens with a prologue describing how the barons of EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, aided by the Knights Templar
Knights Templar
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...
, rebelled against King John in a war that lasted three years and ended with King John signing the Magna Carta
Magna Carta
Magna Carta is an English charter, originally issued in the year 1215 and reissued later in the 13th century in modified versions, which included the most direct challenges to the monarch's authority to date. The charter first passed into law in 1225...
("Great Charter"), a document granting equal rights to all Englishmen and reducing the power of the monarchy. Not long afterwards he breaks his word and begins a bloody campaign of revenge against the barons who humiliated him, commanding an army of Danish mercenaries to whose leader he has promised that the Pope would keep his missionaries out of Denmark.
The abbot Marcus, leading three Templar knights who have taken vows of silence, shelters from a storm at Darnay Castle on his way to Canterbury for pilgrimage. Abbot Marcus speaks with Thomas Marshall and promises he will secure Marshall's release from the Templar Order once they reach Canterbury. The next day King John arrives with his Danish army. John orders Darnay's execution by hanging, and Abbot Marcus has his tongue sliced off by the Danes when he tries to intervene. Marshall and the two other knights fight the Danes, during which Marshall manages to escape the castle on horseback, carrying the abbot but the other two knights are slain. The abbot dies of his wounds shortly after and Marshall breaks his vow of silence to swear that his sacrifice will not be in vain.
Once he has reached Canterbury
Canterbury
Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....
, Marshall meets with Archbishop Langton, the author of the Magna Carta, and Baron William de Albany, a former soldier turned wool merchant. Langton reveals that the Pope has sided with King John and that he himself is to be excommunicated for writing the Great Charter. The three men agree that John must be stopped, and that the place to do it is Rochester Castle
Rochester Castle
Rochester Castle stands on the east bank of the River Medway in Rochester, Kent, England. The 12th-century keep or stone tower, which is the castle's most prominent feature, is one of the best preserved in England or France. Located along the River Medway and Watling Street, Rochester was a...
, a strategically important stronghold that controls the route from southern England.
Albany persuades three of his men to join him, including his squire Guy, but a fourth turns down the baron's call to arms. A party of seven finally leaves for Rochester where, on arriving, they discover six of the King Danish mercenaries have already claimed the castle after the fourth man had betrayed them to the king. Albany's party fights and kills the Danish scouts and then claims Rochester Castle in the name of the rebellion. When John's army finally arrives and lays siege to Rochester, the garrison holds fast and manages to beat back the initial Danish assault. In the aftermath, Albany offers his men the chance to leave if they wish; none accept.
For the second assault the Danes build a siege tower, but the defenders destroy it with a makeshift catapult and the attackers are repulsed again. The King's army holds back and begins to starve the defenders out. The Archbishop is informed that Prince Louis is biding his time in France and negotiating with John, and sets off immediately to expedite affairs. As weeks become months the hunger and suffering of the castle's occupants increase, Marshall leaves under cover of night and steals food from the Danish camp, making it back just ahead of his pursuers. The defenders' morale is bolstered for the first time in months, and Marshall finally succumbs to Isabel's advances, breaking his Templar vows.
The Danish leader, Tiberius, adopts a different approach in his next assault and manages to sneak a small force of men over the walls before dawn to open the castle gates from within. Guy discovers the infiltrators and sounds the alarm, but it is too late. Tiberius leads the charge into the castle grounds while his Danes slaughter the garrison. During the chaos Albany is wounded and falls off the garrison. Marshall recovers in time to don his knight's battle armour and charge the Danes on his war-horse, buying time for the survivors to pull back to the keep.
Albany is dragged before the King and forced to watch as the hands of two prisoners are chopped off. After a defiant verbal exchange with John, he is subjected to the same fate and then killed by being flung from the makeshift catapult against the keep walls. Cornhill tries to surrender but after being stopped, he goes upstairs to his bedroom and hangs himself instead. John's royal engineers then collapse part of the keep after tunnelling under its foundations, and the final assault begins.
The last defenders are killed except Guy, Marshall and Isabel. Guy goes out to die fighting where he encounters Tiberius and is almost killed until a recovered Marshall intervenes. Tiberius challenges Marshall to single combat, and Marshall triumphs after an exhausting duel. Horns are heard in the distance as the French army arrives at last, and the Danes disperse in panic. Marshall meets Prince Louis and Archbishop Langton at the castle gates; the latter tells him that he is now free of the Templar Order. Acknowledging England's new king with a nod, Marshall rides off with Isabel, while Guy tells his dead baron that "We held".
The film ends with an epilogue describing King John's death during his retreat and the reconstruction of Rochester Castle
Rochester Castle
Rochester Castle stands on the east bank of the River Medway in Rochester, Kent, England. The 12th-century keep or stone tower, which is the castle's most prominent feature, is one of the best preserved in England or France. Located along the River Medway and Watling Street, Rochester was a...
, and how it, like the Magna Carta
Magna Carta
Magna Carta is an English charter, originally issued in the year 1215 and reissued later in the 13th century in modified versions, which included the most direct challenges to the monarch's authority to date. The charter first passed into law in 1225...
, still stands today.
Fictional elements
The film is only loosely based on reality. William d'Aubigny commanded the garrison but contemporary chroniclers do not agree on how many men that was. Estimates range from 95 to 140 knights supported by crossbowmen, sergeants, and others. John did take the castle, most of the higher nobles being imprisoned or banished; and the French did not arrive in England until some six months after the siege had ended. Characters departing significantly from the historical record include William Marshal, 1st Earl of PembrokeWilliam Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke
Sir William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke , also called William the Marshal , was an Anglo-Norman soldier and statesman. He was described as the "greatest knight that ever lived" by Stephen Langton...
who was not a Templar Knight at the time (he was knighted on his deathbed), William d'Aubigny who was not an ennobled wool merchant (nor was he tortured and killed in the siege).
Cast
- James PurefoyJames PurefoyJames Brian Mark Purefoy is an English actor best known for portraying Mark Antony in the HBO series Rome.-Early life and work:...
as Thomas Marshal - Brian Cox as William d'Aubigny
- Kate MaraKate MaraKate Mara is an American television and film actress. Beginning acting in her hometown of Bedford, New York, she moved from the stage to her first film, Random Hearts...
as Lady Isabel - Derek JacobiDerek JacobiSir Derek George Jacobi, CBE is an English actor and film director.A "forceful, commanding stage presence", Jacobi has enjoyed a highly successful stage career, appearing in such stage productions as Hamlet, Uncle Vanya, and Oedipus the King. He received a Tony Award for his performance in...
as Reginald de CornhillReginald de CornhillReginald de Cornhill was an English administrator under King John.His father, Gervase, had also been High Sheriff of Kent in 1170-74 and his brother Henry de Cornhill sheriff of London. He became the King's Justiciar, High Sheriff of Kent from 1189 to 1193 and 1196 to 1215 and High Sheriff of... - Paul GiamattiPaul GiamattiPaul Edward Valentine Giamatti is an American actor. Giamatti began his career as a supporting actor in several films produced during the 1990s including Private Parts, The Truman Show, Saving Private Ryan, The Negotiator, and Man on the Moon, before earning lead roles in several projects in the...
as King John of England - Charles DanceCharles DanceWalter Charles Dance, OBE is an English actor, screenwriter and director. Dance typically plays assertive bureaucrats or villains. His most famous roles are Guy Perron in The Jewel in the Crown , Dr Clemens, the doctor of penitentiary Fury 161, who becomes Ellen Ripley's confidante in Alien 3 ,...
as Stephen Langton, Archbishop of CanterburyStephen LangtonStephen Langton was Archbishop of Canterbury between 1207 and his death in 1228 and was a central figure in the dispute between King John of England and Pope Innocent III, which ultimately led to the issuing of Magna Carta in 1215... - Jason FlemyngJason FlemyngJason Iain Flemyng is an English actor. He is known for his film work, which has included roles in British films such as Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch , both for Guy Ritchie, as well as Hollywood productions such as Rob Roy along with the Alan Moore comic book adaptations From...
as Becket - Jamie ForemanJamie ForemanJamie Foreman is an English actor best known for his roles as Duke in Layer Cake and Bill Sikes in Roman Polanski's Oliver Twist . He played opposite Ray Winstone and Kathy Burke in Gary Oldman's Nil by Mouth and also featured in Elizabeth , Gangster No. 1 and Sleepy Hollow...
as Coteral - Mackenzie CrookMackenzie CrookPaul Mackenzie Crook is a British actor and comedian. He is best known for playing Gareth Keenan in The Office and Ragetti in the Pirates of the Caribbean films.-Life and career:...
as Marks - Rhys Parry JonesRhys Parry JonesRhys Parry Jones is a Welsh actor most famous for his role in the S4C children's series Plismon Puw. Rhys has also featured in episodes of Eastenders, Tracy Beaker and the BBC Wales sitcom High Hopes....
as Wulfstan - Aneurin BarnardAneurin Barnard-Early life:He was born in the former borough of Ogwr in Mid Glamorgan and trained at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama alongside Kimberley Nixon and Tom Cullen, graduating in 2008...
as Guy - Vladimir KulichVladimir KulichVladimir Kulich is a Czech-Canadian actor.He is best known for his roles as Buliwyf in the film The 13th Warrior and as The Beast in the television series Angel. In 1995 he appeared as Olafsson in the X-Files episode "Død Kalm."...
as Tiberius - David Melville as Baron Darnay
- Annabelle ApsionAnnabelle ApsionAnnabelle Apsion is an English actress, best known for playing Monica Gallagher in the hit television comedy-drama Shameless, which she played intermittently between 2004 and 2006, before becoming a regular cast member for the show's fourth series in 2007. She left the show in 2008 in order to...
as Maddy - Steffan RhodriSteffan RhodriSteffan Rhodri is a Welsh film actor, best known for portraying Dave Coaches on Gavin & Stacey and as Reg Cattermole on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part I and II.-Film work:* Ironclad...
as Cooper - Daniel O'Meara as Phipps
- Bree Condon as Agnes
Production
Actress Megan FoxMegan Fox
Megan Denise Fox is an American actress and model. She began her acting career in 2001 with several minor television and film roles, and played a regular role on Hope & Faith. In 2004, she launched her film career with a role in Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen...
was attached to the film when the film's production company, Mythic, began promoting it to investors at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival
2008 Cannes Film Festival
The 61st Annual Cannes Film Festival was held from May 14 to May 25, 2008. In addition to films selected for competition this year, major Hollywood productions such as Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Kung Fu Panda had their world premieres at the festival.The British press...
. Fox left the film and was later replaced by Kate Mara
Kate Mara
Kate Mara is an American television and film actress. Beginning acting in her hometown of Bedford, New York, she moved from the stage to her first film, Random Hearts...
. Due to the decreased amount of credit and financing available in 2009, the budget of the film was reduced and the entire supporting cast was changed, with the exception of actors James Purefoy
James Purefoy
James Brian Mark Purefoy is an English actor best known for portraying Mark Antony in the HBO series Rome.-Early life and work:...
and Paul Giamatti
Paul Giamatti
Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti is an American actor. Giamatti began his career as a supporting actor in several films produced during the 1990s including Private Parts, The Truman Show, Saving Private Ryan, The Negotiator, and Man on the Moon, before earning lead roles in several projects in the...
. Producer Andrew Curtis described the financing of the film as "more complex than a London Underground map" to Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
magazine; the film ended up crediting 18 executive producers.
Principal photography
Principal photography
thumb|300px|Film production on location in [[Newark, New Jersey]].Principal photography is the phase of film production in which the movie is filmed, with actors on set and cameras rolling, as distinct from pre-production and post-production....
for the film began at Dragon International Film Studios
Dragon International Film Studios
The Dragon International Film Studios, also known as Valleywood, is a complex of film and television studios currently being constructed at Llanilid in Wales, United Kingdom about 14 miles from the Welsh capital, Cardiff...
near the village Llanharan
Llanharan
Llanharan is a small village in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Llanharan thrived during the British industrial revolution, with several tin and coal mines in the location providing employment to the town's residents...
in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
on October 9, 2009. A replica of Rochester Castle
Rochester Castle
Rochester Castle stands on the east bank of the River Medway in Rochester, Kent, England. The 12th-century keep or stone tower, which is the castle's most prominent feature, is one of the best preserved in England or France. Located along the River Medway and Watling Street, Rochester was a...
was built on the studio complex. Producer Rick Benattar strove to make the film as historically accurate as possible, recreating the historical violent siege of Rochester Castle, and letting viewers experience the battle as if they were there. Ironclad was the largest independent production that has been filmed in Wales, and was among the largest independent films shot in Britain in 2009.