Ironclad

"Heavy metal goes medieval."

2011 2h 1m EN

😐

6.2

MID

🥫

43%

ROTTEN

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

6.1

IMDB

★6.2TMDB · 837🥫43%Rotten Tomatoes●42Metacritic★6.1IMDB · 45,047

RomanceAdventureActionHistory

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In the year 1215, the rebel barons of England have forced their despised King John to put his royal seal on the Magna Carta, a seminal document that upheld the rights of free men. Yet within months of pledging himself to the great charter, the King reneged on his word and assembled a mercenary army on the south coast of England with the intention of bringing the barons and the country back under his tyrannical rule. Barring his way stood the mighty Rochester castle, a place that would become the symbol of the rebel's momentous struggle for justice and freedom.

“Heavy metal goes medieval.”

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Cast

James Purefoy
Thomas Marshall
Kate Mara
Lady Isabel
Jason Flemyng
Becket
Paul Giamatti
King John
Brian Cox
Albany
Derek Jacobi
Cornhill
Charles Dance
Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury
Aneurin Barnard
Guy

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Jonathan English
Writers: Jonathan English, Erick Kastel
Languages: Danish, English, Hungarian, Latin
Countries: United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 21% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 15 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 4 languages: Danish, English, Hungarian, Latin.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Ironclad Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Jonathan English, shot by David Eggby. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Lorne Balfe. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Peter Amundson shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Jonathan English directs. David Eggby behind the camera. Lorne Balfe scores. Peter Amundson cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in Danish, English, Hungarian, Latin.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 21% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
2Released 15 years ago.
3Dialogue crosses 4 languages: Danish, English, Hungarian, Latin.
4International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.
5Part of the "Ironclad Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
6Directed by Jonathan English, shot by David Eggby. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Lorne Balfe. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Peter Amundson shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9James Purefoy and Kate Mara and Jason Flemyng carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "Heavy metal goes medieval.".
11IMDB entry: tt1233301 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Classified under 10 themes, including "hero", "ambush", "fight", "castle".
13Released under 16 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: David Eggby
Original score: Lorne Balfe
Editing: Peter Amundson
Production design: Joseph C. Nemec III
Costume design: Beatrix Aruna Pasztor
Makeup / hair: Flora Moody
VFX supervisor: Paul Norris
Sound: Mike Prestwood Smith
Runtime: 121 min · 2h 1m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $25,000,000
Box office: $5,151,023
Return: 21% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Ironclad (2011)
Rotten Tomatoes: 43% 🥫 Rotten
Metacritic: 42/100
IMDB rating: 6.1/10 · 45,047 votes
MPAA: R

Part of

Ironclad Collection

Adventures of the Templars

Also by

Jonathan English

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Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Filipe Manuel Neto2024-02-23
★ 3/10
A film about a true fact in history, which is entertaining, but not very rigorous. In 1215, during the First Barons' War, which occurred in the aftermath of a revolt and the signing of the Magna Carta, King John of England had to lay siege to Rochester Castle, a strategic point in his kingdom which, in the meantime, had fallen into power of the barons who revolted against him. What the film tries to do is to show us that siege, and give us a good story around it. And being a relatively well-known historical fact (at least for those who have studied English history), I believe that spoil does not apply if we talk a little about what happened at the time. Of course, a film like this is not a documentary, but the more rigorous it is, the better it is, in my opinion. And this film, despite making an effort, is not rigorous in its portrayal of the historical moment. It is true that the siege of Rochester was a landmark in this war, and the castle was defended by a force significantly inferior to the attacking force. The siege, however, only lasted a few weeks whereas the film suggests months passed. As the film reveals, the castle was targeted by a mine. That was true, but before, the king's troops did the same thing to the outer wall, and none of these operations were done by burning dozens of pigs alive! And although the film shows the castle isolated on a plain, the truth is that Rochester was already a city of considerable size and even had a cathedral, which was then looted and used as a stable by the king's troops. At the end of the siege there were dozens of survivors (including William d’Aubigny) and, despite being punished, the truth is that John did not massacre them. As for the participation of the Templar's, I have doubts. It is true that they were active in the English kingdom, but I have not read anything that proves their participation in the conflict. I can also assure you that they did not dress the way the film shows them. And having said that, I believe I managed to say some of the differences between the historical truth and the portrayal made in the film without spoiling it. The best thing about this film are the action scenes. Despite the lack of verisimilitude, the fights are impressive enough to make the film spectacular and give fans of the genre everything they like: the combats look formidable, and the sword blows split men in half like puddings. The catapult attack also has its charm, even though the shots almost have the effect of explosive artillery bullets, which is ridiculous for a historian. The cinematography is very good, the props, costumes and sets do the job, even if they are not historically accurate, and the soundtrack has an understated epic sense that sounds good and harmonizes with the film. At one point, the film reminded me of “300”, but here they don't fight using just their panties. Another very strong point of this film is Paul Giamatti's extraordinary performance in the role of a perfidious and sadistic King John. He is an actor for whom I have a certain sympathy and for whom I recognize talent, as I have already had the opportunity to say before, and despite having played a character worthy of being execrated, he did so with enormous panache and avoided making the mistake of being histrionic or transforming the character into a bloodthirsty without purpose. James Purefoy and Brian Cox try to keep up, and at least Cox manages to do so. Purefoy was not so successful: his character is never more than a lone vigilante, a “Batman” on horseback who will save the day at the last moment when everything seems lost. Kate Mara, of course, is the bored damsel of the day, and is fatally doomed to become romantically involved with one of the heroes. Derek Jacobi makes an effort, but his role is not very interesting.

Production companies