Medieval follows Jan Žižka, a knight, mercenary, and future leader of the Hussite army who leads a mercenary group. Žižka is tasked by Lord Boresh to kidnap Rosenberg’s fiancée Katherine which would force Rosenberg to keep his word and help Wenceslas IV to be crowned the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
Medieval (Jan Žižka or Warrior of God) is a 2022 English-language Czech historical drama film directed by Petr Jákl. It is about the life of Jan Žižka, a Bohemian military commander who never lost a battle. The film is set prior to the Hussite Wars (1419–1434), when Žižka was young. It tells the story of how Žižka became a famous military commander. With a budget of KČ500 million ($20.3 million), it is the most expensive Czech film ever made.
The film is based on the youth of the famous Hussite commander Jan Žižka, one of the most successful military leaders of his time, who had never lost a battle. Director Petr Jákl (who had been known to film audience especially thanks to the popular thriller Kajínek about a well-known Czech prison escapee) said he wanted to promote Czech Republic in the world and so this time he chose one of the biggest Czech national heroes as the main character for his film.
Unlike other auteurs, he chose the early period of Žižka’s life because he wanted the audience to see how his character was formed.[34] At the same time it allowed him to make the film different from his predecessors which focused on his glorious Hussite period. Jákl admitted that although he tried to be faithful to the facts, cooperating with the Czech historian Jaroslav Čechura, he did not consider them as important as the overall impression, especially as many facts of Žižka’s early life are not known at all or are a matter of dispute among historians. Thus also a love story was added.
The film opened in the Czech Republic with 114,244 spectators during previews and 104,921 spectators during first weekend. It grossed 18,825,068 Kč as a result. It is the fourth best opening of the year. In the United States the film grossed $821,991 from 1,311 cinemas, finishing 14th.
Medieval (2022)
Directed by: Petr Jákl
Starring: Ben Foster, Michael Caine, Til Schweiger, William Moseley, Matthew Goode, Sophie Lowe, Karel Roden, Roland Møller, Werner Daehn, Vinzenz Kiefer, Alistair Brammer
Screenplay by: Petr Jákl
Cinematography by: Jesper Tøffner
Film Editing by: Steven Rosenblum
Costume Design by: Katerina Mirová
Set Decoration by: Barbora Bucharova
Art Direction by: Petr Grig. Jirí Sternwald
Music by: Philip Klein
MPAA Rating: R for strong and grisly violent content throughout, and some nudity.
Distributed by: The Avenue Entertainment
Release Date: September 8, 2022
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