Solomon Kane Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Solomon Kane
Like Conan the Barbarian, Solomon Kane is a creation of author Robert E. Howard, though most of us have probably never heard of the character. This lavishly produced effects/action/fantasy extravaganza is looking to change that. and it looks pretty awesome. No U.S. release date just yet.

Disney's A Christmas Carol
Robert Zemeckis's 3D animated flick looks far flashier than anything Charles Dickens had in mind. Then again, since everyone knows the story forward and backward, embellishment is almost mandatory. This looks like a nice slice of holiday movie fun and you can watch for it on November 6.

I have this pet theory about movies, and that is sometimes I think it's much more fun to watch everything go wrong than go right. What I mean by that is that when you get that feeling that the film had every intention of being a straightforward action, drama, whatever, and instead winds up as a comedy. Call me crazy, but it makes me like a film just a little bit more. The reason I mention this is that after watching the first English language trailer for Solomon Kane, in two minutes flat I was able to figure out that this film might look silly, but I don't mean that it looks bad. Instead, this particular flick shapes up to what I like to call a 'Cornball delight' -- and to give you an idea of what I mean, think of a movie like Reign of Fire.

Kane is based on Robert E. Howard's series, and stars James Purefoy (clad in an leather coat and hat combo that looks like a reject from the Van Helsing costume department) as a cursed swordsman tasked with defeating an evil wizard and saving a village from a demonic army.

Usually for a film to earn the 'Cornball' moniker from me, it comes down to my personal tastes. But sometimes you have to respect a movie more for being willing to take it so far over the top that you can't see the ground anymore. Then again, maybe I'm wrong, because in the midst of all the silliness, the film is chock full of respectable actors like Pete Postlethwaite (The Omen) and Max von Sydow (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly). But I'm going to go with my gut and saying that, yes, the cheese factor might be strong with this film, but I'm kind of digging it ... how about you?

After the jump: the English language trailer for Solomon Kane...

Last year, Jessica was keeping us up-to-date on the beginning morsels of the Solomon Kane project. First, James Purefoy signed on to star, and then a poster was released, although the rest of the cast had yet to be named. Finally, Empire has reported on the growing cast, which is one hell of a great collection of character actors. Production is about to begin, and these are the guys and gals that will be joining Purefoy on the big screen -- Pete Postlethwaite (The Omen), Max von Sydow (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly), Rachel Hurd-Wood (Perfume), Alice Krige (Star Trek: First Contact), and Mackenzie Crook (the one-eyed dude from Pirates of the Caribbean).

This project is planned to be the first of three films, and with more of these guys to come, here's who they will play -- von Sydow will play Kane's father, Hurd-Wood will play Meredith, Kridge will play Meredith's mother, Postlethwaite will take on the role of her dad, and finally Crook will play Father Michael. Solomon Kane is about, believe it or not, a somber Puritan who travels the world and saves it from all forms of evil. I wonder how Robert E. Howard came up with that. Puritans aren't the sort of people that usually bring to mind heroism. Anyway... Production begins really soon in Prague, with Michael J. Bassett (Deathwatch) directing.

When you consider that the big-screen adaptation of Solomon Kane only just found a lead a little over a month ago, the producers certainly seem to be wasting no time in getting the film in gear. The Movie Blog now has a first look at the teaser poster for the action-adventure flick. The film is based on the adventure series of the same name by Conan the Barbarian creator Robert E. Howard about a cursed 16th Century swordsman. Back in October, Rome's James Purefoy had signed to star as Kane, an immortal swordsman who is forced out of 'retirement' for an all-out battle between good and evil. In the stories Kane was described as "a somber and gloomy man of pale face and cold eyes, all of it shadowed by a slouch hat". One look at this poster and you can see that Purefoy is an excellent choice.

The first appearance of Kane was in back 1928 in the magazine Weird Tales. Over the years, the character has appeared in over 13 stories and was even the subject of a 1976 Marvel Comic. A lot has changed since 1928, and some of the text has become the subject of criticism over its shall we say 'antiquated' views on race and women -- you know you're in trouble when you describe African tribesmen as, 'closer to mankind's beast ancestors'. Then again, it was written in 1928, so what are you going to do? I guess we will just have to hope that Michael J Bassett (writer and director for the film) has some serious re-writes in mind. Solomon Kane is set for release in 2008.

Check out the full-size poster after the jump ...

While everyone was busy fighting over the rights to Conan the Barbarian, another Robert E. Howard property has been quietly chugging along toward production. Variety reports that James Purefoy (Rome) has signed to star in the adaptation of Solomon Kane. The story focuses on a 16th century swordsman who has been cursed because of his bloody past. Kane vows to never fight again, until he is forced out of retirement to battle evil just one more time -- so I guess, in this cast, he really would be "too old for this s**t". The film underwent a personnel change last year when Michael J Basset (Wilderness) was hired to write and direct with no mention of the film's previous producers, Don Murphy and Gregg Hoffman. Kane will now be a joint production between Wandering Star and Davis Films (Brotherhood of The Wolf) and according to Variety, the producers are planning on a trilogy.

When Purefoy's casting was announced, Basset told ComingSoon.net, "Purefoy's ability to embody Kane's complex heroism, struggles and failings as he wages a mortal battle, made him the perfect modern hero in this epic fantasy". Like so many other English actors, Purefoy started his career with The Royal Shakespeare Company, so the man knows his way around a period piece. His face might ring a bell as 'The Black Prince' in 2001's A Knight's Tale with Heath Ledger. Purefoy was most recently on HBO's Rome as the famous Marc Anthony, but this summer HBO announced that the show was on its final season. Once Purefoy finishes his commitments for two upcoming TV projects, he will have plenty of time to start work on Kane.

A bit of interesting news from the world of fantasy literature properties - the rights to characters created by Robert E. Howard, one of the early fathers of the fantasy genre, have been snatched up by Paradox Entertainment. In addition to his most famous character, Conan the Barbarian, Howard's most recognizable characters include the legendary Solomon Kane, the unusual Bran Mak Morn- last king of the Picts, the Atlantean Kull the Conquerer, and the continually popular Red Sonja. Paradox plans on licensing off the properties to other companies interested in using the characters.

Fans have been clamoring for a new Conan flick for ages, but it is apparently still trapped in "development hell," as an IGN article puts it. However, a fancy new Brak Mak Morn picture is in development, and we can of course always hope that new action of the Howard properties may inspire someone to finally get to work on that Solomon Kane flick we've all been wanting to happen. Okay...at least I've been wanting it to happen. I presume that other people out there do as well. Right?

[via IGN]