RomanArmyTalk

Any opinions about how authentic the clothes and armour would be for AD 117? I am not an expert, but looks good for me.

Nah....close, but no banana, as they say. The wrist things are real 'sword and sandal' with little/no evidence for them and the ptreruges just don't look right.....the look is 'costume' rather than re-enactment..... :evil: :twisted:

Yea, though if I recall right, some sort of "vambraces" were used in Dacian Wars?

I was wondering about that strange pteryges & mail combo too after second glance.

Hi

For a movie the legionary at the back is pretty good. With regards to the Centurion, well you can see where they are coming from. They do have mail, sword on left side, a decent set of military awards and a belt based on M.Favonius Facilis possibly even the one sold by Adrian, perhaps he can confirm. Compared to what we are used to seeing in films this is a big improvement but I agree with Paul about the 'things' on his wrists! They basically let everything down.

The Centurion's helmet though, (not visible in this picture) owes more to Russell Crowe than Russell Robinson!

Graham.

Quote:The Centurion's helmet though, (not visible in this picture) owes more to Russell Crowe than Russell Robinson!

Brilliant !.... :lol: :lol: :lol:

My God, the armor looks like METAL!! I mean, it's not black or brown or gray! I'm staggered.

On the down side, everything ELSE is brown/black/gray, but I guess Trajan's Column proves that color hadn't been invented in Roman times... Yeah, the armguards have to go, but that would violate Hollywood's ban on showing a male wrist in a "historical" movie. Like others said, the pteruges are iffy, and aren't generally seen *over* the armor. And if Hollywood wanted to really shock their audience, they could actually have a tunic withOUT a ragged edge.

Overall, compared to most other movies, it's spectacular! Whether or not it's actually a good movie remains to be seen...

Matthew

I think our Legionary would be better if his trousers didn't look like ex army /navy store, the Centurian well Hummm for I don't think he would be wearing Phalerae in battle.

Matt Amt has it right as far as being compared to other films of recent or even not so recent years. I agree about the pants worn by the legionary. It looks like it is supposed to be cold - but even in movies set during warmer months, Hollywood and others have not only a phobia about showing manly wrists, but also manly legs! Though, maybe that is the actors and the extras who won't show a bare legionary leg! Perhaps it is that "men in dresses" thing. The armor on the legionary is an attempt but clearly shows Trajan's column influence and the "hinges" on the shoulder sections look a little odd. I get "starved" for Romans in film. Like Matt, I hope it is a movie worth seeing. Now, the question may be: Will it be shown in the States?

Quote:...but even in movies set during warmer months, Hollywood and others have not only a phobia about showing manly wrists, but also manly legs!

I think part of the problem may be that actors most modern actors, who spend their time in the gym or acting class when they're not waiting tables between gigs, never develop the classic working-class "Popeye" forearms that the repetitive stress of swinging a hammer, dolabra, or gladius will cause. As to the legs...if you're going to reenact as a Roman you'd better have the legs for it or you'll wind up looking like a "dustbin on skittles" :wink:
Overall the armor isn't as bad as we've come to expect. Matt's right, pteruges over the hamata but under the doubling?? Is it me or is the apron a bit long for the era as well?

I have to agree that it is an improvement in that metal is being used. However, I think that the phalerae being worn in battle is not wrong since I think there is evidence that they were (I do not exactly recall where I read this). However, the phalerae are a little small although the images are not bad compared to the Lauresfort pieces they used. On the other hand, the shoulder doublers on that hamata are too big. They literally droop over the sides. The doubler is used theoretically, to protect the chest, upper shoulders, and trap muscles. The doubler should not be protecting the bicept, tricept, and nealry the elbow.

The wrist pads have to go and the color black for a cloak? From the evidence in Sumners book with respect to the sources, I do not recall black under the usual battle circumstances.

The pteryges are oddly shaped and over the armor as mentioned above is not really seen in any artistic sculpture.

The sword of that legionary is rather large for it to be a pompeii style gladius-no? Of course it could also be a spatha? If not, it really is big for a Pompeii style gladius. Just look at the pommel. That thing is huge. However, if the movie is based in the second century, were not some of those pommels a little larger than the 1st C AD.

However, I do not look at a movie for historical accuracy of the armor because as has been pointed out, certain features must remain irrespective of how wrong or right they may be to continue the usual iconic appearence of a Roman soldier so that people can identify who the Roman is.

As Matt said, hopefully, the movie will be good.

As far as the helmet is concerned, it is an invisible force field around the centurios head. It has a Robinson classification of E.T. Come on guys, did you not know that in battle a centurion was identified by not wearing a helmet. All jokes aside, may be he lost it during battle or has just taken it off to show the ladies in the audience his manly expression after battle.

the chainmail looks like it got too large in the laundry ^^

Paolo.
I don't think I agree with Phalerae being worn in battle as these are military honours that would be used in other situations, such as ceremonial or parade occasions.

I think there were references for them been worn in battle in ancient sources, but I don't recall anything right now.

Quote:Any opinions about how authentic the clothes and armour would be for AD 117? I am not an expert, but looks good for me.

Other than 'meh'? It's Hollywood; the wristguards say it all.

Looks to me, however, like a prime candidate for a caption competition. How about

Quote:That's the last time I go paintballing with re-enactors!

Mike Bishop

I'm with all the other comments, and yet, it is a great improvement over most of the other Roman films. It's also possible that the seg is made from plastic made to look like metal. Actors don't like the weight of metal armor in endless lights, camera, action routines. Sometimes a two minute scene will take all day to set up and shoot, reshoot, re-angle and reshoot, reshoot because "hey, who left the candy wrapper on the ground over there?", and... I takes many months to make a feature movie. Most of the actors haven't really been wearing the gear for years, as a Roman soldier would have.

Yep. Hope it's a good movie. I'll probably see it even if it's not.