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Attila (2001)
Customer Reviews
Rating:  - Attila the huney
A very entertaining mini-series about a powerful leader in history
who helped Rome in its demise as a mighty empire. Attila is played by
a scottish actor relatively unknown, Gerard Butler. He fills the role
with all the charisma and virility of a larger than life leader of the
Huns. Powers Boothe is excellent as his adversary of the Roman General.
Butler, however, is not the image I've always had of Attila the Hun, but
what the heck, if he'd looked like Gerard, there would have been a lot less
pillaging, raping and sacking on his way to victory!
Rating:  - An engaging and magnificent epic
Attila is an engaging and magnificent epic, with a full cast of exciting characters, and plenty of exciting action, battle scenes, intrigue, drama, pageantry and beautiful women.
Of course it is not historically accurate. But it should be enjoyed as the modern classic that it is.
The movie begins with Attila at 10, who see's his father and family butchered by local tribesman, somewhere in the plains of Eastern Europe, and the adorable little red haired boy (who could just as easily resemble the young King David of Israel or the young King Arthur of Britain), soon proves his mettle by stabbing one of the Barbarians in the leg and then stealing his horse.
Attila grows up at the camp of his uncle King Ruah of the Huns. With the aid of a local young sorceress, Gaylin, who has visions of his greatness, and his own magnetic personality and prowess in battle, he soon makes a name for himself (played by Gerard Butler) , before helping the Romans to defeat the Visigoths, traveling to Rome with the Roman General Aetius, where we see the full pomp , intrigue and decadence of the imperial court, and where Attila makes a mark for himself, meeting the pathetic Roman Emperor Valentinian and his wicked mother, bedding the sexy but scheming Princess Honoria.
When he returns back to Germany he defeats and kills his evil brother Bleda, seizing the Hunnish crown, marrying a red headed slave girl and carving for himself, through warfare, an empire stretching across Europe, before threatening the Roman Empire.
Attila was known in history as `The Scourge of G-D'. In this movie, although his cruel side is shown, it is an entirely sympathetic portrayal, of an officer and a gentleman, a true king, even with the touch of a magic sword that he has found as s sign that he is the ordained King of the Huns, al a Arthur.
Rating: - Amazing a Thrill to watch!
This is an exciting film, Powers Booth and Gerard Butler give such true to life performances.
Gerard is a pleasure to watch, a very good actor, he played Attila with a wide range of emotion and zeal.
He truly looked like a King, and had command of his army and its people. A believable performance.
This film is, for the most part, historicly correct.
They did not skimp on the costumes or scenery, and the locations looked authentic.
This film is worth watching; educational and entertaining,
a "must see"!
Rating:  - mildly entertaining, having Scottish Huns!
As a student of history, I was curious to see how "the Scourge of God" was going to be handled. I went in there realizing that it would not be the exact story, but all the same I was disappointed. I would not recommend that anyone who wants to know about the real Attila gets this filem, because you will not do well on the history quiz. Case in point: In the film Attila bravely kills his older brother Bleda in a duel and then takes the throne himself. In real life the two ruled jointly until Attila had Bleda murdered. Personally, I gravitated towards Bleda in this film. It's not easy being in someone's shadow!
That being said, it was actually rather fun to watch.
Rating: - An intense Attila, arrogant and brooding.
Television is making bold strides in its competition with the big screen, making powerful, big-budget movies and mini-series such as The Mists of Avalon and, now, Attila. It's possible to quibble over details of history -- no film ever seems to get it right, and this one plays extremely loosely with numerous facts about Attila and his era -- but this is a dramatic, colorful production sure to please anyone who loves tales of epic conflict. The battle scenes are undermanned but are well executed and convincing, particularly in the final 30 minutes of the three-hour saga. There is also a great deal of pageantry, with excellent costumes and sets and a lush setting for the tale. But this story doesn't end on the battlefield and, while some will say the final portion is anticlimactic, it does add a historically accurate wrap to events.
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