Coming soon to a house near you is Petr Jákl’s violent historical epic Medieval. The film, which featured Emmy nominee Ben Foster as the renowned warrior Jan ika, caused a stir as the most costly Czech film ever produced due to its ambitious attempt to give life to one of the country’s most venerated figures. Until its official release on Blu-ray and DVD on December 7, you may purchase this epic tale of love, war, and politics online beginning on October 25. Filmmaker Jákl’s third feature as writer and director is a biopic about the mercenary leader and future Hussite commander ika.
After the death of the Holy Roman Emperor’s monarch, a power struggle breaks out between Czech King Wenceslas and Hungarian King Sigismund. ika goes out to do what is right by his monarch, in whose word he has a great deal of faith, and kidnaps Lady Katherine (Sophia Lowe), the fiancee of Lord Rosenberg (Til Schweiger). Even though he owes it to his king to aid in toppling the corrupt push for power between kings and lords for the good of the people, ika is won over by Catherine’s commitment to saving her people and falls in love with her. Foster, whose acting in Hell or High Water and 3:10 to Yuma wowed viewers, directs a stellar cast that also includes the likes of Academy Award winner Michael Caine, Matthew Goode, Roland Mller, and William Moseley.
Its budget of over $23 million and large-scale production made it Jákl’s most expensive and high-profile picture to date, surpassing the budgets of his previous two movies, Kajnek and Ghoul. Jákl’s Medieval marks the end of a lengthy and huge development process that was first announced in 2013 with a far lower budget. It’s also not the first time ika has been depicted on film; nevertheless, Jákl chose to focus on the hero’s early life rather than his later years, when his beliefs and abilities were already well-established. The original script was written by Marek Dobe and Michal Petru, while Jákl’s adaptation was co-written by Peter Bok and Petr Jákl Sr.
Tomorrow, October 25, Medieval will be available digitally, and on December 7, it will be available in stores, making it the ideal Christmas present for the mediaeval epic fan in your life.