Centurion (2010), starring Michael Fassbender, presents an interesting mix of facts and folklore, reveals a historian. Directed by Neil Marshall, the historical action film follows a small group of Roman soldiers in northern Britain after their legion is destroyed in a brutal ambush. Fassbender leads the Centurion cast as Centurion Quintus Dias, with supporting cast members including Olga Kurylenko, Dominic West, Andreas Wisniewski and David Morrissey.
In a recent video for History of success on YouTube, historian Tristan Hughes analyzes scenes from Centurionrevealing that the film is one of his favorites. Despite this, Hughes reveals that the film contains some inaccuracies, especially regarding the destruction of the Roman Ninth Legion, a story that lacks supporting archaeological evidence.
The film, however, mixes other elements of the real story into an exciting mix, including aspects of the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest and the story of Boudica.an ancient tribal leader who rebelled against the Romans. Watch the video or read selections from Hughes' comments on Centurion below:
“Here, the setting is supposed to be Scotland, northern Britain today. The whereabouts are unclear. But this legion, the Ninth Legion, has marched north of Hadrian's Wall and I think it's to try to flex the military power of Rome in the North. What I love about this story is that it is a combination of three of my favorite tales from Roman history. You can see elements of Boudica in one small part… You can see elements of the story of the Ninth Legion that became very. popular today, and contains elements of a disastrous battle that took place in the forest of Germania in 9 AD.
“Flaming balls, the flaming balls of fury, there is no direct evidence that they were used. I don't see why they wouldn't be used, why they couldn't be used. to make sure they rolled… It's certainly possible they could have done that.
“And that's the vibes of the Teutoburg Forest, the barbarians coming out of the trees, hit-and-run ambushes. They showed off a lot with big brutal weapons, throwing axes, big two-handed weapons, but curiously enough the lack of spears would still have been an essential weapon of the attackers.
“It's brutal, it's absolutely brutal, this battle scene, I must admit. But I like it because it gives Teutoburg Forest vibes and I find this battle very interesting….
“The history of the Ninth Legion is interesting. Archaeologically, in Britain, there is evidence of the disappearance of the Ninth Legion in 108 AD, I think the last archaeological evidence is a dedication… which talks about the involvement of the Ninth Legion in the rebuilding of the legionary fortress in York We never hear of the Ninth Legion in Britain again. It is not building Hadrian's Wall a few years later in 122 AD until the 120s. that the Ninth Legion is no longer in Britain at that time.
“The popular story today… is that the Ninth Legion headed north before the construction of Hadrian's Wall and was destroyed in northern Britain. However, archaeological evidence suggests that in fact the Ninth Legion was relocated to another place of the Empire.
“There is evidence of a detachment in Nijmegen, there is a beautiful tomb from Petra… all of this suggests that the Ninth Legion existed in the 2nd century and was probably relocated somewhere or disbanded or destroyed elsewhere. The likelihood of it having been destroyed in northern Britain as portrayed in this film is very, very light.”
What Centurion's Mixed Historical Accuracy Means for the Film
Michael Fassbender's 2010 film was not a success
Centurion received somewhat lukewarm reviews from critics at the time of its release and currently boasts a 60% score on Rotten tomatoes. The public, however, was less forgiving, giving the film only 43%. Critics' main complaints revolve mainly around the fact that, although Centurion features lots of bloody, gruesome battles and some impressive vistas, the story and characters aren't particularly compelling or three-dimensional. Made with an estimated budget of US$12 million, the film failed to break even at the box office, grossing just US$6.9 million worldwide.
The film's historical accuracy on the Roman Empire, however, or lack thereof, is apparently not one of the reasons for its poor critical or commercial performance. A fundamental problem is that Centurion There were no big name actorswith Fassbender himself evidently not being enough of a draw on his own. This would be proven again a few years later, in 2016, with the disappointing Assassin's Creed film, which had the added benefit of being based on popular source material.
Our Take on Centurion's Historical Accuracy
The story's deviations don't serve the characters
Often a movie or TV show will make changes to the story in the interest of telling a more dramatically compelling story. Unless a film sells itself as a completely accurate portrayal of an event or figure, I'm generally okay with that as the main purpose of a film is to entertain, not to serve as a perfect recreation of something from the past.
Centurion features a collection of real historical elements and pure fiction, as Hughes explains above, and this evidently makes for an entertaining battle sequence. The film's deviations from the story, however, do not serve the story or the charactersand these are the elements that elevate a film beyond being something disposable.
Other films as brutally accurate as Centurion
There are a lot of accurate violent historical films out there
There are some parts of the brutal story of life in Roman Britain that Centurion got it right. However, it's not the only film that accurately depicts the ancient era (especially when it comes to violence). Nor is it the most accurate representation. The most obvious comparison is, of course, the Gladiator. Also set during the height of the Roman Empire, director Ridley Scott's epic action film has been praised by historians for its realism. This includes an additional video about the History of success YouTube channel with historian Dr Simon Elliott.
As Centurion, There are, of course, ways Gladiator it wasn't necessary. Overall, however, it continues to receive praise for what it got right. For example, the way Gladiator It portrayed the loyalty of the Roman legions and their rivalry with the Praetorians was incredibly realistic. Besides the Roman Empire, there are also many brutal historical films like Centurion which take place in the obscure British Isles of the ancient and dark ages.
Netflix The Last Kingdom: Seven Kings Must Die is the independent feature-length finale of the epic historical series The Last Kingdom. Occurring several hundred years later Centurion, Seven kings must die focuses on the brutal and bloody war between Saxons and Vikings in 9th century Britain. Very similar Centurion, Seven Kings Must Die It has been praised for some aspects of its historical accuracy but criticized for others. However, when it comes to brutality, it matches the unflinching depiction of ancient violence with equal brilliance.
However, although there are films that are much more accurate than Centurion, There are films that are even more liberal with the facts. Surprisingly, some are among the most acclaimed historical films of all time. 1995 Brave heart, for example, it is dramatized to the point of being more or less fictional. Many elements were invented for the film, including the Scots' iconic blue face paint. Another is from 2005 Kingdom of Heaven, which oversimplifies the story to fit a Hollywood narrative and loses most of its authenticity in the process. Centurion It may not be the most accurate brutal historical film out there, but it's far from the least.
Source: History of success