"The Saracen Blade" is a film based on a novel by Frank Yerby and is very similar to several of the stories from Rafael Sabatini...who also wrote fiction set, at times, in the late middle ages.
The story is utterly ridiculous. Bear with it and try not to question the difficult to believe plot!
It begins with the next emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, Frederick II, being born in Italy. At the same time, Pietro Donati (Ricardo Montalban) is born. The pair would be fated to meet later in life and become friends...which seems highly unlikely considering Pietro's lowly birth.
Pietro's family is destroyed by a nobel family...and Pietro vows vengeance against the Siniscolas. However, it sure seems unlikely. But when the Siniscolas try to kill Pietro, Pietro instead meets the Emperor and they become friends...and the Emperor agrees to marry Pietro to one of the Siniscolas (Caroline Jones). So how is this going to help Pietro with his quest for revenge? And, how do the Crusades relate to all this?
The idea of a working man becoming friends with the Emperor as well as marrying into nobility is silly. The same would go for a noblewoman who loves Pietro...such things just didn't happen back in the 12th and 13th centuries.
So is this costume drama worth seeing? Well, it's certainly NOT something you should rush to see. It's an okay film with some stilted dialog and unlikely situations. I see it as a pretty time-passer, as it is in color and looks pretty nice....but is nothing more.
The story is utterly ridiculous. Bear with it and try not to question the difficult to believe plot!
It begins with the next emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, Frederick II, being born in Italy. At the same time, Pietro Donati (Ricardo Montalban) is born. The pair would be fated to meet later in life and become friends...which seems highly unlikely considering Pietro's lowly birth.
Pietro's family is destroyed by a nobel family...and Pietro vows vengeance against the Siniscolas. However, it sure seems unlikely. But when the Siniscolas try to kill Pietro, Pietro instead meets the Emperor and they become friends...and the Emperor agrees to marry Pietro to one of the Siniscolas (Caroline Jones). So how is this going to help Pietro with his quest for revenge? And, how do the Crusades relate to all this?
The idea of a working man becoming friends with the Emperor as well as marrying into nobility is silly. The same would go for a noblewoman who loves Pietro...such things just didn't happen back in the 12th and 13th centuries.
So is this costume drama worth seeing? Well, it's certainly NOT something you should rush to see. It's an okay film with some stilted dialog and unlikely situations. I see it as a pretty time-passer, as it is in color and looks pretty nice....but is nothing more.