CENTURION is the story of a group
of Roman soldiers who are behind enemy lines as they try to get back to safety after the Ninth legion is wiped on in an ambush
by the Picts in Scotland. The seven Romans are being hunted by the Picts in an action chase picture.
Director Neil Marshall loves his action
and he has a respect for any type of 1980s action film. He dives into the
historical adventure arena this time where his previous effort, DOOMSDAY, was a homage to Mad Max and the 1980s films of John
Carpenter. CENTURION started when Marshall
was intrigued by the myth behind the mysterious disappearance of the Ninth Legion.
He has created an epic chase film with plenty of stunts, a sweeping score, and cinematography that shows off the beautiful
landscapes of Scotland. The actors portray the characters
as real human beings where both sides aren't good or bad. They all have their reasons for doing what they do. Olga
Kurylenko is great in a very speechless role as the warrior tracker Etain. I would watch CENTURION again for the above
reasons.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Audio commentary with Writer/ Director
Neil Marshall, Sam McCurdy (Director of Photography), Simon Bowles (ProductionDesigner), and Paul Hyett (Special Make-Up Effects
Designer)
Six deleted scenes (with optional commentary
by writer/ director Neil Marshall) which were cut for pacing or didn’t fit the film Marshall
was making.
Outtakes from a few scenes
BLOOD, FIRE & FURY: BEHIND THE
SCENES OF CENTURION-
THE LOST LEGION- the origins of the film and why Neil Marshall wanted to do a film on the myth of what happened to
the Ninth Roman Legion
GETTING DOWN & DIRTY- shooting on location in remote areas of Scotland
and building sets (Roman fort and the Pict village
GUTS & GORE- the make-up effects of CENTURION
FIREBALLS, STUNTS & MAYHEM- a look at the Fireballs created for the battle scene and the various stunt work
for the fight (and action) scenes
Interviews with Neil Marshall, Producer
Robert Jones, and actors Michael Fassbender (Quintis Dias), Dominic West (General Virilus), Olga Kurylenko (Etain), &
Noel Clarke (Macros). I think Olga comes across better in the interview footage
for BLOOD, FIRE & FURY where she does come across with a few ums and such.
Still she is fantastic as Etain. The interview footage has the cast
and crew answers various questions which are also answered to some degrees in the main making-of fetaurette and the audio
commentary.
Behind the Scenes footage from the
two battles in the film showing what is going on during takes and between them. The
Production Galleries show the Production Design and stills from the film. HDNet:
A LOOK AT CENTURION is promo fluff on CENTURION. The trailer for CENTURION
isn’t included on the disc- only trailers for other Magnolia Home Entertainment releases that are out or going to be
out soon.
FINAL ANALYSIS: CENTURION is a relentless action chase film from a director who loves his action films done in a 1980s
epic style.
This DVD review is ©11-3-2010 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission. Send all comments to lord_pragmagtic@hotmail.com
