Tagline: Before Romeo & Juliet, there was…
Tristan and Isolde movie storyline. This longtime dream project of executive producers Tony Scott and Ridley Scott explores the medieval legend of a princess and warrior’s love affair, which threatens to tear apart an uneasy peace between England and Ireland. A tale of epic battles, royal intrigue and a timeless, star-crossed passion.
After the fall of Rome, the warlords of England are brutally kept in line by the forces of Irish King Donnchadh. One of these leaders, Lord Marke (Rufus Sewell) seeks to unite the English tribes to form one strong nation to rule itself. His greatest knight is Tristan (James Franco), whom Marke raised since he was orphaned in an Irish attack that also took Marke’s family. With Tristan by his side, Marke believes he can unify his people and rid England of Irish rule. But Tristan harbors a terrible secret…
Wounded and left for dead after battle, he is nursed back to health by Isolde, a mysterious Irish beauty who hides him from her father, King Donnchadh’s, forces and brings him back to life. But their passionate affair is cut short when Tristan must return to England, not knowing if he will see Isolde again.
Still seeking to throw the English tribes back into chaos, King Donnchadh gives away his daughter as the prize in a tournament between all the champions of England. Tristan wins the princess’ hand for Lord Marke, whose vision of a united England may finally be realized. Tristan is horrified to see that the woman he has won for his Lord, the woman whom Marke will marry, is his Irish savior Isolde. Worse, Marke is a good and worthy future king, whose belief in Tristan has made the young knight who he is.
First separated by countries at war, and now by loyalty to King and country, Tristan and Isolde must suppress their emotions for the sake of peace and the future of England. But the more they deny their passion, the more fiercely it burns. Despite their efforts to stay apart, Tristan and Isolde are driven inexorably together, risking everything for one last moment in each other’s arms.
Tristan & Isolde is a 2006 epic romantic drama film directed by Kevin Reynolds and written by Dean Georgaris based on the medieval romantic legend of Tristan and Isolde. Produced by Ridley Scott (who had been working on an adaptation since the mid-1970s) and Tony Scott, the film stars James Franco and Sophia Myles, alongside a supporting cast featuring Rufus Sewell, Mark Strong, and Henry Cavill. This was Franchise Pictures’ last film before bankruptcy.
About the Story
A tale of epic battles, royal intrigue and a timeless, star-crossed passion, TRISTAN & ISOLDE is a long-time dream project of executive producers Tony Scott and Ridley Scott. “You have two people who are on two separate sides where a relationship is impossible, yet they come together,” says Ridley Scott, director/producer of the Academy Award-winning epic “Gladiator” as well as the acclaimed “Kingdom of Heaven.” “It’s a story with epic scope, rooted in common human behavior that is timeless.”
The myth of Tristan & Isolde originated as a Celtic legend from the Dark Ages, an historical period about which little is known, that took place between the fall of the Roman Empire and the Renaissance. A tragic story about forbidden love between a man and woman, the tale predates the legend of Arthur and Guinevere in Camelot as well as Shakespeare’s “Romeo & Juliet.” “I continue to be drawn by the tragic nature of the love story,” comments Ridley Scott. “It is so powerful dramatically and emotionally that it transcends any setting or time.
Fascinated by the material, Scott developed it on and off for nearly two decades, originally intending to direct the film himself. Knowing of Scott’s affinity for the myth, screenwriter Dean Georgaris sent his screenplay to Scott Free, the production company headed by Scott and his brother, the director/producer Tony Scott. The company acquired the property, which transposed the setting from a more magical Dark Ages period to one more grounded in what the reality of that era must have been.
Though Ridley Scott remained involved, he sought a director for the project who would pursue his own vision from the rich material. “As a producer on this, the most important thing was choosing the right director and letting him have the freedom and reign to do what he wants, in order to get his vision across,” comments co-producer Anne Lai.
Scott immediately contacted Kevin Reynolds, who brought depth and emotion to such large-scale adventures as “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves,” “Rapa Nui” and “The Count of Monte Cristo.” “There is something about the story that is so compelling,” Reynolds comments. “It’s intensely romantic and sad, a beautiful tragedy that’s Romeo and Juliet-esque in the way it unfolds.”
The story is set among English tribes struggling for control over their territories following the fall of Rome. With that fall comes an end to roads and general infrastructure and, amid this chaotic climate, the Angles, Saxons and Jutes invade Britain from the east while Irish King Donnchadh’s (David Patrick O’Hara) forces invade Cornwall from the west.
In one of these villages, Tristan (James Franco) is raised by Lord Marke (Rufus Sewell), who lost his hand trying to protect the boy during the Irish raid that killed Tristan’s family. As a young man, the charismatic, headstrong Tristan leads guerrilla attacks on Irish occupying forces, ultimately defeating King Donnchadh’s best warriors. “Tristan is full of rage at the Irish for taking his family,” notes James Franco, who starred in the highly successful “Spider-Man” franchise and won a Golden Globe award for his portrayal of James Dean in the eponymous television production. “He also sees his surrogate father as the ideal leader to take control of England. He would take on all.
Lord Marke, notes Rufus Sewell, is distinguished by his dignity and leadership. “Here is a king – who is a king in all things and a great leader – but for the fact that, because he’d lost his right hand, he literally can’t defend,” says the actor. “He is no longer the best warrior amongst them because that was the greatest qualification.”
Following a raid in which Tristan fights fiercely but is overcome, the young knight is believed to be dead. “But in fact he has been put in a boat and sent out to sea, in a Viking funeral,” explains Franco. “But rather than die, Tristan washes up on the shores of Ireland and meets a woman, who essentially saves his life.”
Unbeknownst to Tristan, his saviour is Irish Princess Isolde, who herself is motherless and living under the strict rules set down for her by King Donnchadh. “Isolde is part of the royal family in Ireland and so she is desperate for freedom,” explains Sophia Myles (“Underworld”). “She also has a very spiritual side and gets a sense that a big change is about to happen in her life. One day she finds a man washed up on the beach, shipwrecked. She falls in love with him at first sight.”
The two fall helplessly in love and, for a brief moment, are content to be together, away from the troubles plaguing both their lands. “He’s a warrior, but everything changes when he meets Isolde,” Franco says, “his perception of who he is and how he relates to the world.”
“There’s such strong love between them,” adds Myles. “She comes from an upbringing with so much structure and he comes from a lifestyle where he has had no structure, and he has spent all his life fighting, so they’re each other’s yin and yang, as it were. They fit together perfectly.”
The King would have Tristan killed on sight if he were discovered, so Isolde returns him to the safety of England. Returning to Lord Marke, Tristan never reveals to anyone where he has been.
In the meantime, King Donnchadh has invited the English lords from the various factions to fight for Isolde’s hand, hoping to cause further discord among the English barons. “So, Lord Marke sends his champion, Tristan, out to Ireland, who wins and brings back the daughter, little knowing that the daughter is the same Isolde he fell in love with,” explains Rufus Sewell, an accomplished stage actor who has also starred in such films as “Dark City,” “A Knight’s Tale” and, most recently, “The Legend of Zorro.”
“Here is this young man, whom Marke has put his hopes into – his surrogate son, in effect – already in love with the bride who has been brought back for Marke to marry.”
Marke weds Isolde and prepares to become King of the now united England, ruining Donnchadh’s plan to destroy the tribes once and for all. “Marke is ignorant of the fact that his bride is in love with Tristan,” Sewell continues. “Marke not only loves her, but he loves Tristan, his surrogate son, so it becomes a terrible love triangle between them.”
“Tristan is the classic tragic hero who becomes torn between loyalty to his king and the overpowering love he has for this woman,” says Franco. “His tragedy consists of those two warring sides of loyalty.”
Franco was the first actor to be cast in the film. “James is not only a very gifted actor but incredibly dedicated and focused to his craft,” says Ridley Scott. “By the end of our first meeting, we knew that his passion and love for this story matched our own.”
Following a reading with Franco, the filmmakers immediately cast newcomer Sophia Myles, who has appeared in such films as “Thunderbirds,” “Underworld” and “From Hell,” but makes her motion picture starring debut in TRISTAN & ISOLDE. “Sophia is very talented and very instinctual,” says executive producer Jim Lemley. “We felt that she was innocent enough, smart enough and daring enough to be Isolde. We knew that as soon as she walked out of the reading. Everyone else saw the tape and was blown away by her.”
“I was incredibly moved by the script,” Myles recalls. “I couldn’t put it down. This was so rich and compelling to read but at the same time it’s a frustrating story because you desperately want them to be able to be together, but they can’t be.”
Rufus Sewell was brought in to complete the love triangle as Lord Marke. “We were looking for someone to embody not only strength, nobility and paternal qualities of Marke, but also to reveal a vulnerability without being weak,” comments director Kevin Reynolds. “Although he is known more for his darker roles, Rufus is actually quite charming with a very sharp wit. We hope to show another side to his work that people have not seen of him yet.”
Lemley had worked with Scottish-born actor David Patrick O’Hara on “Braveheart” and thought of him immediately for King Donnchadh. “The role is malevolent and powerful, evil but not cartoon-ish evil,” says Lemley. “Here is a person who has a hair trigger temper, but is also powerful and stoic, which are difficult things to get. When David came to meet on it he was perfect.”
Because of the sheer ferocity of the battles as he envisioned them and relatively short shooting schedule, director Reynolds knew he would need a stunt coordinator with vast knowledge of fighting through the ages. “These are not huge nation states in this film,” Reynolds notes. “And there weren’t many of them, in terms of numbers, in reality anyway then. But it is a more personalized kind of fighting, which makes it sometimes more vicious.”
For stunt coordinator, Reynolds selected Nick Powell, who helped create the hallmark battles of such films as “Braveheart,” “Gladiator” and “The Last Samurai.” “There’s a general rule that I follow, which is to have an authenticity of style in whatever type of film I’m working on,” comments Powell. “A certain style should be imposed on a film from the beginning. Obviously, this film’s style would be dictated by the Dark Ages but no one really knows how they fought. However, you can get a good idea simply from the weapons they use.”
The first job, however, was to prepare the film’s hero. Franco dedicated himself to training nearly six months before production began. Once Powell joined the crew, he began working with the actor on stunt and fight coordinating and further training. “I started with him about four weeks before his first action sequence,” Powell recalls. “We worked seven days a week for the first month, choreographing and practicing the fights. He worked really hard to get into the shape he’s in and to learn to use the sword as well as he does.”
Most of the cast was required to undergo some type of training, be it with horses, swords or bow and arrow. “We’ve been very lucky because the actors on this film have been very good,” says Powell. “They’ve all put time in and all learned to use a sword and any other weapon believably. They understand the importance of authenticity and have worked very hard to achieve it.”
Tristan and Isolde (2006)
Directed by: Kevin Reynolds
Starring: James Franco, Sophia Myles, Rufus Sewell, David Patrick O’Hara, Mark Strong, Henry Cavill, Bronagh Gallagher, Ronan Vibert, Lucy Russell, Graham Mullins. Leo Gregory
Screenplay by: Dean Georgaris
Production Design by: Mark Geraghty
Cinematography by: Arthur Reinhart
Film Editing by: Peter Boyle
Costume Design by: Maurizio Millenotti
Set Decoration by: Johnny Byrne
Music by: Anne Dudley
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for intense battle sequences and sexuality.
Distributed by: 20th Century Fox
Release Date: January 13, 2006
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