Redbad (film)

Redbad is a 2018 Dutch drama film directed by Roel Reiné.[3] It is based on the life of Redbad, the medieval king of Frisia. The film was intended as the middle part of a trilogy about iconic Dutch/Frisian heroes, starting with the film Michiel de Ruyter about 17th century admiral Michiel de Ruyter and ending with a film about William of Orange.[4]

Redbad
Film poster
Directed byRoel Reiné
Produced byRoel Reiné
Klaas de Jong
Written byAlex van Galen
StarringGijs Naber
Music byTrevor Morris
CinematographyRoel Reiné
Edited byRadu Ion
Production
company
Farmhouse Film & TV
Distributed bySplendid Film
Release date
  • 28 June 2018 (2018-06-28)
Running time
160 minutes
CountryNetherlands
LanguageDutch
English
Budget€8 million
Box office$482,992[1][2]

Cast

Production

Casting

In August 2017, Gijs Naber, was announced as the lead actor for this film and Huub Stapel would play Redbad's father Frysian king Aldgisl [5] Soon afterwards it was confirmed that Derek de Lint, Egbert-Jan Weber, Loes Haverkort, Lisa Smit, Martijn Fischer, Tuin Keulboer, Aus Greidanus sr., Jack Wouterse, Renée Soutendijk and Birgit Schuurman where all cast [6] and in October 2017 actor Jonathan Banks is cast for the film.[7]

Filming

The film was shot in the prehistoric village-museum in Eindhoven,[8] De Alde Feanen National Park,[9] Ameland, Moddergat,[10] the Wadden Sea, Denmark, the German city of Wallsbüll and the Bouillon Castle in Belgium.[5] The film was shot in 42 days and used more than 10,000 extras, which is a record amount for a Dutch production. The final shooting day was on 19 November 2017.[11] The sound for film movie was produced by Dolby Atmos.[12]

Before the film's release it was already sold to multiple countries and territories, among them Germany, France, China, Spain, Turkey, South Korea, Poland, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, the Middle East and the Commonwealth of Independent States.[13] In February Epic Pictures Group bought the North American distribution rights.[14] Early testfootage of the film was shown on 31 March and 1 April at Dutch Comic Con in the Jaarbeurs in Utrecht.[15]

Trailer controversy

In May 2018, the producers of the film announced that YouTube and Facebook had sent an email to them that they would not show the trailer of the film on their platforms because it was considered offensive to large groups of people. Producer Klaas de Jong also mentioned he got hundreds of angry mails from Christians who did not agree with their depiction of historical events.[16]

Release

Box office

The film premiered on 23 June 2018, in an open air screening on the Wilhelminasquare in Leeuwarden, as part of the celebrations around the European Capital of Culture,[17][18] a week later, on 28 June, it was released in cinemas nationwide. After its first month it only earned €332,785 back from its 8 million euro budget, making it the biggest box office bomb in the country's history. The producers of the film claimed this was because the warm weather and World Cup kept the public outside of cinemas.[19][20] The film was released in 4DX in two Pathé-cinemas in Amsterdam and Rotterdam, making it the first Dutch film released in 4DX.[12] Seven weeks after its release it was already moved to video on demand-platform Pathé Thuis. This was at the time the shortest window between a theatre release and home release for a big Dutch production, which normally takes a period of three months.[21] The film was also later edited into a four-part television miniseries, where they showed unused footage of the film.[22]

Critical response

The film received overwhelmingly negative reviews from the major Dutch newspapers.[23] The Algemeen Dagblad said that everything in this movie takes too long, “the fight scenes, the introductions of the characters and the explanatory dialogue slow down the movie”.[24] De Volkskrant gave it two stars, praising the fight scenes but finding the screenplay clearly lacking in logic and tension.[4] NRC Handelsblad said the movie was weighed down by a very top-heavy screenplay and an over reliance on drama.[25] Trouw praised actor Gijs Naber but complained about the awful dialogue which was clearly written from a 21st-century perspective.[26] De Telegraaf while praising the ambition of the movies said that it takes too long and is overly reliant on close-ups and slow motion-scenes. They also praised Jonathan Banks his role and remarked that it looked as if actor Jack Wouterse was in a completely different movie.[27] Het Parool praised the fact that director Roel Reine put his own signature on the film and that the troubled production was barely noticeable. However they do mention that it is sometimes noticeable that they did not have enough extras in some of the fight scenes.[28]

Historical inaccuracies

In an article by Asing Walthaus of the Leeuwarder Courant, historian Han Nijdam noted several historical inaccuracies. He pointed out that the castle in the film and the knights with chainmail armour are from the late middle ages and not from the early middle ages that the film depicts. He also complained that the film portrays the Frysians as barbarians in animal hides living in leaking huts even though it is proven that they lived in wooden houses with woven tapestries on their walls. It was his conclusion that the film puts spectacle over any form of historical accuracy.[29]

Awards and nominations

The film was selected for the international Look-competition of the Ostend Film Festival.[30] In July 2018, it was one of nine films shortlisted by the EYE film institute to be the Dutch entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 91st Academy Awards, but it was not selected.[31] The film played at the Netherlands Film Festival [32] but was, to the surprise of some major newspapers, not nominated for any Golden Calves.[33][34]

YouTube lawsuit

In November 2018, the producers of the film announced that they would be suing YouTube for 200,000 euros because illegal copies of the film were viewed half a million times on the website.[35]

References
  1. "Redbad (2018)". The Numbers. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  2. "Redbad (2018)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
  3. "Dutch historical drama 'Redbad' starring Jonathan Banks scores US deal with Epic". ScreenDaily. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
  4. "Spektakelfilm Redbad is door
    haperende spanningsopbouw en eenduidige dialoog geen waardige opvolger van Michiel de Ruyter (twee sterren)"    . Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  5. "Gijs Naber krijgt hoofdrol in nieuwe film Roel Reiné - NU - Het laatste nieuws het eerst op NU.nl". www.nu.nl. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  6. "Egbert-Jan Weeber, Loes Haverkort en Derek de Lint in nieuwe film Redbad - NU - Het laatste nieuws het eerst op NU.nl". www.nu.nl. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  7. "'Breaking Bad' star Jonathan Banks boards Dutch epic '754 A.D. Redbad' (exclusive)". Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  8. "Cookies op ed.nl - ed.nl". www.ed.nl. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  9. "Vechtscenes opgenomen in Earnewâld voor film Redbad - Omrop Fryslân". 1 October 2017. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  10. www.tsjil.nl, Tsjil internet solutions -. "Ameland en de Noordzee decor van film Redbad - Persbureau Ameland". www.persbureau-ameland.nl. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  11. "Laatste draaidag voor historisch epos Redbad". RTL Boulevard. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  12. "Redbad eerste Nederlandse film in 4DX". Metronieuws.nl. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  13. "First full trailer for Dutch epic 'Redbad', more sales announced (exclusive)". Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  14. "Dutch epic 'Redbad' starring Jonathan Banks scores US deal (exclusive)". Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  15. "Reiné toont beelden Redbad op Comic Con". RTL Nieuws. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  16. "YouTube wil trailer Redbad weg: 'hij is beledigend'". Metronieuws.nl. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  17. "Vol plein voor 'Redbad'". www.lc.nl. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  18. "Openluchtpremière Redbad in Leeuwarden - Friesland.nl". Friesland.nl. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  19. "Cookies op AD.nl - AD.nl". www.ad.nl. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  20. "Film 'Redbad' (over Friese koning) grootste flop ooit in Nederland". Leeuwarder Courant (in Dutch). Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  21. "Wereldprimeur voor bioscoopflop Redbad". Telegraaf. 14 August 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  22. "Cookies op AD.nl - AD.nl". www.ad.nl. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  23. "Recensieoverzicht: 'Redbad overschreeuwt met tenenkrommende teksten' - NU - Het laatste nieuws het eerst op NU.nl". www.nu.nl. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  24. "Cookies op AD.nl - AD.nl". www.ad.nl. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  25. "Redbad is een wrotfilm". Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  26. "Blendle – Historisch spektakel met tenenkrommende teksten". blendle.com. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  27. De Telegraaf (27 June 2018). "'Razendknappe Redbad overschreeuwt zichzelf' - DE RECENSIE". Retrieved 29 July 2018 – via YouTube.
  28. "Actie, bombast en een afgetrainde Redbad als atheïst - Kunst & Media - PAROOL". Het Parool. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  29. "Redbadkenner: 'Historisch zit de film er meestal naast'". www.lc.nl. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  30. "Redbad gaat naar filmfestival Oostende". 9 July 2018. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  31. "Feature Film Academy Entry". EYE Film Institute Netherlands. 20 July 2018. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
  32. "Redbad". Nederlands Film Festival. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  33. "'Bankier van het verzet' sleept elf Kalfnominaties in de wacht". Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  34. "Cookies op AD.nl - AD.nl". www.ad.nl. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  35. "Cookies op AD.nl - AD.nl". www.ad.nl. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
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