King of the last kingdom. Why did your father leave you his sword and my cross?
King Æthelred I to his brother Prince Alfred.
It is even surprising that before the appearance of the TV series “The Last Kingdom” and “Vikings”, the image of the first king of united England, Alfred the Great, was practically not captured on the screen.
In this context, Clive Donner’s film Alfred the Great, set in the era of “pre-computer and non-digital cinema,” acquires special value.
In their vision of the image of the first king of England, the screenwriters rely on a deep and wise understanding of the interaction in the main character of the film of the main male archetypes.
At the beginning of the film, we meet Prince Alfred, who actively engages in the manifestation of the archetypes of the Monk Philosopher. We meet him in the temple at the service at the moment when Alfred is thinking about the monastic way of serving God.
God has other plans for him. Events develop in such a way that Alfred will have to switch in his life to the development and manifestation of completely different male archetypes. Monarch and Warrior.
Clive Donner clearly demonstrated this change in Alfred’s life in a symbolic shot, where instead of a hero in a monastic robe, a hero appears in the crown of a prince. The Monk Philosopher looked into the face of the Warrior Monarch.
Further in the film (and surprisingly, in the history of the real Alfred according to historical studies), everything happens according to the passage of the Way by the Monarch and Warrior archetypes.
How the Warrior Alfred will have to solve the problem of protecting the weak and fighting for justice, pass lessons of defeat and management of anger and aggression, learn to control his own strength and get out of the trap of committing rash tragic acts committed in a state of affect.
The archetype of the Monarch will appear most vividly in Alfred. In a landmark event (the gathering of troops at the Egbert stone), yesterday’s opponents of Alfred the King recognize him as the Monarch after his heartfelt speech about a single law for all, the responsibility of the king for affairs in the kingdom and the understanding of the dependence of human fates on royal decisions. These are the main tasks of the Monarch archetype, in the solution of which his yesterday's opponents believed and went into battle for their recognized king.
In Alfred, his supporters saw the future. We saw not a cruel, ambitious and wayward king revelling in his own power (the trap of the Monarch archetype) as he was at the beginning of his reign, but an attentive charismatic leader ready to make wise and balanced decisions. To realize this, the screen (and historical) King Alfred had to go through isolation, deprivation and lessons of losing influence, control over the situation.
The 1969 film about Alfred and his time from modern historical series about that era distinguishes the drama in the clash of ideological positions of the characters. Losing to the series in the intensity of the plot, atmosphericity and staging of combat scenes, Clive Donner’s film wins with the script depth and acting psychology.
My opinion is good.
7 out of 10