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Eagle of the Ninth

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Macdonald Raises The Eagle Of The Ninth

With Jamie Bell & Channing Tatum

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

 

Many of you may remember The Eagle of the Ninth from recommended reading lists as a young teenager / your parent's bookshelf, so it's good news today that Kevin Macdonald is set to turn the classic 1954 novel into a film, starring Jamie Bell and (probably; he's in talks) Channing Tatum.

 

The story is set in Roman Britain, where a young man called Marcus Aquila (Tatum, possibly) ventures north of Hadrian's Wall to discover the whereabouts of the Ninth Legion, which his father commanded, which vanished 15 years before*. With him is a young Celtic slave, Esca (Bell), rescued from a gladiatorial arena and helping him in his quest, as he disguises himself as an occultist to travel north of the Wall.

 

The film of course rests on the same subject matter as Neil Marshall's horror-y approach to the story of the Ninth in Centurion, which is currently shooting: one of the odder subject overlaps in recent Hollywood history.

 

The script's been written by Jeremy Brock, who also worked with Macdonald on The Last King of Scotland, with production due to start in August. Apparently Hungary will stand in for Roman England, but Scotland will be playing itself. We're not sure what that says about Scotland. In the meantime, Macdonald's State of Play opens on April 24.

 

*When Rosemary Sutcliffe wrote the novel, historical thinking was that the Ninth really had vanished oop north, but since it has emerged that they were probably wiped out in either Palestine or somewhere near the Caspian Sea, fighting the Parthian Empire. So there.

 

(source: empireonline)

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*When Rosemary Sutcliffe wrote the novel, historical thinking was that the Ninth really had vanished oop north, but since it has emerged that they were probably wiped out in either Palestine or somewhere near the Caspian Sea, fighting the Parthian Empire. So there.

 

(source: empireonline)

That wont bother me too much - I dont mind fictional plot lines in Roman films, as long as the gear, buildings and contexts are authentic.

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Funnily enough I've just recently read "The Silver Branch" which was the follow up to the "Eagle of the Ninth".

 

I'd forgotten how good these books were. Hopefully the film will do the books justice.

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That is an awesome book. When I was up on Hadrian's Wall digging, I picked up that book at the local gift shop. I have been looking to buy all of her books. They are very good.

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I love this book. when I like a book this much, I dont go see the movie. it never agrees with the pictures and voices in my mind.

I have 3 of Sutcliffe's books now.

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HERE'S a recent article about this long awaited film, it sounds like it's going to be quite an interesting movie. Kevin Macdonald has a good track record of making good award winning box office films so fingers crossed he'll do a good job with the Eagle of the Ninth.

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I just finished "The Eagle of The Ninth", the first book in the series and got "The Silver Branch" from the library this morning. So, the third book in the series is "Frontier Wolf" or "The Lantern Bearers"? Then the last "Dawn Wind"? I thought I read in a discussion about this book series in another thread on UNRV that there were only three books. ???? The librarian was kind enough to order them sent to our local lib. from a larger city library, where there were only one or two copies of the last three available.

 

On the internet I found this info:

 

1. The Eagle of the Ninth (Oxford University Press, 2000)

2. The Silver Branch (Oxford University Press 2001)

3. Frontier Wolf (Puffin Books, 1984)

4. The Lantern Bearers (Oxford University Press 2001)

5. Dawn Wind (Puffin Books, 1982)

 

Has anyone read all five books?

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I just finished "The Eagle of The Ninth", the first book in the series and got "The Silver Branch" from the library this morning. So, the third book in the series is "Frontier Wolf" or "The Lantern Bearers"? Then the last "Dawn Wind"? I thought I read in a discussion about this book series in another thread on UNRV that there were only three books. ???? The librarian was kind enough to order them sent to our local lib. from a larger city library, where there were only one or two copies of the last three available.

 

On the internet I found this info:

 

1. The Eagle of the Ninth (Oxford University Press, 2000)

2. The Silver Branch (Oxford University Press 2001)

3. Frontier Wolf (Puffin Books, 1984)

4. The Lantern Bearers (Oxford University Press 2001)

5. Dawn Wind (Puffin Books, 1982)

 

Has anyone read all five books?

I have not read all 5, but out of the 3 there that I have read, The Lantern Bearers is by far the best I think.

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I have not read all 5, but out of the 3 there that I have read, The Lantern Bearers is by far the best I think.

 

Thank you Macro. It was you who brought these books to my attention, I had forgotten your name.

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This thread has reminded how much I enjoyed Rosemary Sutcliffes books when I was younger and I did a bit of research as I didn't remember some of the books which have been mentioned - probably in most cases as they were written after I stopped using that part of the library.

 

There seem to be at least one if not more books which are loosely connected through inclusion of people owning the dolphin ring, originally owned by Marcus in the 'Eagle of the Ninth' book, up to the early 'Dark Ages' primarily 'Sword at Sunset' which is also part of the Arthurian series.

 

Wikipedia currently mention 'Sword Song' and 'The Shield Ring' as also being part of the loose series although there is no write-up of either book so how accurate any of this later 'Wiki' information is I won't know for certain until I get my hands on her books again. :D

 

Melvadius

Edited by Melvadius

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I've got "Eagle of the Ninth" coming from Amazon in the next couple of days. It's referred to as young adult and it appears that many on this thread read the story when they were young, so I'm going to share this with my son and daughter (9 and 12).

 

I'd never heard of it until I saw it mentioned on UNRV a couple of weeks ago.

 

Looking forward to the read...and then the movie.

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Apaprently principal shooting has now commenced according to 'comingsoon.net':

 

'The Eagle of the Ninth Starts Principal Photography

Source:Focus Features August 24, 2009

 

 

Filming begins today on the Roman epic adventure The Eagle of the Ninth, directed by Academy Award winner Kevin Macdonald and produced by Duncan Kenworthy. Shooting entirely on location in Hungary and Scotland, the film is co-financed by Film4 with Focus Features, which holds worldwide rights excluding U.K. free-TV.

 

The cast is headed by Channing Tatum (G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, the upcoming Dear John), Jamie Bell (Defiance, Jumper), two-time Golden Globe Award winner Donald Sutherland, and Mark Strong (the upcoming Sherlock Holmes and Robin Hood). Macdonald is reunited on the new film with Jeremy Brock, BAFTA Award-winning screenwriter of his 2006 film The Last King of Scotland, who has adapted the screenplay of The Eagle of the Ninth from Rosemary Sutcliff's classic novel of the same name.

 

Duncan Kenworthy, an Academy Award and Golden Globe Award nominee for Four Weddings and a Funeral, developed and is producing The Eagle of the Ninth through his Toledo Productions. Caroline Hewitt is co-producer. Focus senior vice president, European production Teresa Moneo

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This thread has reminded how much I enjoyed Rosemary Sutcliffes books when I was younger and I did a bit of research as I didn't remember some of the books which have been mentioned - probably in most cases as they were written after I stopped using that part of the library.

 

There seem to be at least one if not more books which are loosely connected through inclusion of people owning the dolphin ring, originally owned by Marcus in the 'Eagle of the Ninth' book, up to the early 'Dark Ages' primarily 'Sword at Sunset' which is also part of the Arthurian series.

 

Wikipedia currently mention 'Sword Song' and 'The Shield Ring' as also being part of the loose series although there is no write-up of either book so how accurate any of this later 'Wiki' information is I won't know for certain until I get my hands on her books again. :D

 

Melvadius

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This thread has reminded how much I enjoyed Rosemary Sutcliffes books when I was younger and I did a bit of research as I didn't remember some of the books which have been mentioned - probably in most cases as they were written after I stopped using that part of the library.

 

There seem to be at least one if not more books which are loosely connected through inclusion of people owning the dolphin ring, originally owned by Marcus in the 'Eagle of the Ninth' book, up to the early 'Dark Ages' primarily 'Sword at Sunset' which is also part of the Arthurian series.

 

Wikipedia currently mention 'Sword Song' and 'The Shield Ring' as also being part of the loose series although there is no write-up of either book so how accurate any of this later 'Wiki' information is I won't know for certain until I get my hands on her books again. :D

 

Melvadius

 

 

Well I replied to this post, but evidently it disappeared. I'll try again: I also found that info about the titles you mentioned. So far the books are a fun read and I'll probably read them all. The librarian was excited about finding the missing books for me, and I could have told her they were for my niece or nephew but I didn't. :)

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