I saw this two-episode TV mini-series condensed into a film that was about three hours long. I don't think I lost much. There is little point in talking about the script because the lives and achievements of Attila, the great leader of the Huns, are known and one only has to consult a good encyclopedia to get a sense of what he did. What we have to understand is that this mini-series is fiction, so it is quite far from the reality of the facts.
Historically, Attila was a powerful leader who, for twelve years, co-ruled the Huns with his brother Bleda, who he will assassinate just later, probably for power. So it seems to me that the relationship between the two brothers was cordial and collaborative for much longer than the series showed. Together, both will transform the Huns into a terrible fighting force that, in the name of gold and wealth, will turn against the Roman Empire in a campaign of terrorism and blackmail: the Huns extorted very high sums of gold to spare the Roman cities, erasing those that resisted from the map. When they conquered a city, they massacred the entire population, looted everything and set fire to what they left behind. The city of Constantinople itself was surrounded. In 451, when the Roman general Flavius Aetius finally defeated the Huns in the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains (at the head of a coalition of Western Romans and Visigoths), Átila takes revenge by invading Italy in a campaign of annihilation to which the Romans escaped only because the Plague infected the Huns and forced them to withdraw. According to Prisco's account, Attila was a dedicated family man and had even built some Roman model baths in his home... but he never wanted to be an emperor or builder of empires. He was a destroyer and a looter, whose interest was to obtain the maximum wealth in the shortest time, at the expense of as many enemy lives as possible. The more corpses, the better for his reputation.
Despite being imaginative and creating a completely wrong and romantic idea of Átila, the series is good in that it entertains the audience very well, with a lot of action, romance, betrayal and intrigue, in addition to incredible battles and a pleasant epic sense. Of course, we are also entitled to some hotter scenes, with Roman orgies highlighted. Sex sells, doesn't it?
The cast is led by an effective Gerard Butler, in the role of the Hun. He showed that he feels at ease, knows how to lead and uses all his charisma to do so. Powers Boothe gave life to his nemesis, general Aetius, the last great Roman general, and was equally happy in his effort. Simmone Mackinnon seems underutilized in the role of Ildico and appears very little, despite the protagonism he receives at the end. Tommy Flanagan looked good and Alice Krige was pleasantly calculating in the role of Galla Placidia, but Red Rogers is weak and somewhat histrionic and Kirsty Mitchell is overly sexualized. Liam Cunningham and Kate Steavenson-Payne also did an interesting job in discreet roles.
Technically, it is clearly a job for the small screen, as can be seen from the way cinematography and visuals were handled. However, it is a work thought in great and has the word "epic" written everywhere, especially in the battle scenes, in the soundtrack, in the grand and detailed scenarios and finally in the costumes, which come to seem somewhat out of place as that could perfectly be used for more backward chronologies of the history of Rome. But who said that this series respected historical truth?
Historically, Attila was a powerful leader who, for twelve years, co-ruled the Huns with his brother Bleda, who he will assassinate just later, probably for power. So it seems to me that the relationship between the two brothers was cordial and collaborative for much longer than the series showed. Together, both will transform the Huns into a terrible fighting force that, in the name of gold and wealth, will turn against the Roman Empire in a campaign of terrorism and blackmail: the Huns extorted very high sums of gold to spare the Roman cities, erasing those that resisted from the map. When they conquered a city, they massacred the entire population, looted everything and set fire to what they left behind. The city of Constantinople itself was surrounded. In 451, when the Roman general Flavius Aetius finally defeated the Huns in the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains (at the head of a coalition of Western Romans and Visigoths), Átila takes revenge by invading Italy in a campaign of annihilation to which the Romans escaped only because the Plague infected the Huns and forced them to withdraw. According to Prisco's account, Attila was a dedicated family man and had even built some Roman model baths in his home... but he never wanted to be an emperor or builder of empires. He was a destroyer and a looter, whose interest was to obtain the maximum wealth in the shortest time, at the expense of as many enemy lives as possible. The more corpses, the better for his reputation.
Despite being imaginative and creating a completely wrong and romantic idea of Átila, the series is good in that it entertains the audience very well, with a lot of action, romance, betrayal and intrigue, in addition to incredible battles and a pleasant epic sense. Of course, we are also entitled to some hotter scenes, with Roman orgies highlighted. Sex sells, doesn't it?
The cast is led by an effective Gerard Butler, in the role of the Hun. He showed that he feels at ease, knows how to lead and uses all his charisma to do so. Powers Boothe gave life to his nemesis, general Aetius, the last great Roman general, and was equally happy in his effort. Simmone Mackinnon seems underutilized in the role of Ildico and appears very little, despite the protagonism he receives at the end. Tommy Flanagan looked good and Alice Krige was pleasantly calculating in the role of Galla Placidia, but Red Rogers is weak and somewhat histrionic and Kirsty Mitchell is overly sexualized. Liam Cunningham and Kate Steavenson-Payne also did an interesting job in discreet roles.
Technically, it is clearly a job for the small screen, as can be seen from the way cinematography and visuals were handled. However, it is a work thought in great and has the word "epic" written everywhere, especially in the battle scenes, in the soundtrack, in the grand and detailed scenarios and finally in the costumes, which come to seem somewhat out of place as that could perfectly be used for more backward chronologies of the history of Rome. But who said that this series respected historical truth?