In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale
Encyclopedia
In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale is a 2006 fantasy
action film
directed by Uwe Boll
, inspired by the Dungeon Siege
video game series. It was produced by Brightlight Pictures
and distributed by Freestyle Releasing
and Vivendi Entertainment
in the United States
and Canada
. 20th Century Fox
took distribution overseas. It premiered at the American Film Market
on November 3, 2006. It was released in Germany
on November 29, 2007 and was released in the United States
on January 11, 2008.
Set in the kingdom of Ehb, the story follows a man called Farmer (Jason Statham
), an orphan who was adopted by the village. When Farmer's wife, Solana (Claire Forlani
), and his son leave to sell vegetables at the town of Stonebridge, his farm is attacked by creatures called Krug. With the help of his friend and mentor
, Norrick (Ron Perlman
), he fights off the Krug and travels to Stonebridge. However, the Krug kill his son and capture his wife. Accompanied by Norrick and Bastian (Will Sanderson
), his brother-in-law, Farmer intends to find and rescue his wife.
The Krug are being controlled by the wizard Gallian (Ray Liotta
) who is amassing an army to overthrow King Konreid (Burt Reynolds
), with the assistance of the King's nephew, Fallow (Matthew Lillard
).
Loken previously played the lead role in Uwe Boll's BloodRayne
. Will Sanderson has also been featured in all but one of Boll's video game-based films, starting from House of the Dead
.
Boll has said that two versions will be produced due to length. The first will run for 127 minutes as a single movie trimmed down for cinematic release. The second, a director's cut
, will be for DVD and run for approximately 156 minutes.
The film was shot near the Municipality
of Sooke, the westernmost area of the Greater Victoria, Capital Regional District (CRD), British Columbia
. Locals and First Nations
people were recruited as extras and for other duties.
band Blind Guardian
recorded the movie's main theme, "Skalds and Shadows". The British progressive metal
band Threshold
contributed the song "Pilot in the Sky of Dreams" from their album Dead Reckoning
. The Swedish power metal
band, HammerFall
, also contributed a track, "The Fire Burns Forever". Wolfgang Herold
was the executive soundtrack producer.
, grossing $2.98 million in its U.S. opening, not cracking that week's top ten. As of February 13, 2008, it has grossed $10.3 million worldwide, including $2.47 million in Germany, $1.39 million in Russia and $1.22 million in Spain. Afterwards, Uwe Boll announced that this would be his first and last movie with a large budget.
reported that 4% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 44 reviews. Not only that, it was ranked 49th in Rotten Tomatoes's 100 worst reviewed films of the 2000s and in 2009, Time
listed the film on their list of top ten worst video games movies. Metacritic
reported the film had an average score of 15 out of 100, based on 11 reviews — indicating "extreme dislike or disgust."
Many critics bemoaned the film's close resemblances to other fantasy films, especially the popular Lord of the Rings films
.
The film was nominated for five Razzie Awards, including Worst Picture, Worst Screenplay, Worst Supporting Actor (Burt Reynolds
) and Worst Supporting Actress (Leelee Sobieski
), with Uwe Boll
winning Worst Director.
. Filming began on December 1, 2010 for a 2011 release. Dolph Lundgren
and Natassia Malthe
are starring.
, released on April 15, 2008, does not include the 156-minute version. The Blu-ray
release in December 2008 contains this edition. 813,147 units were sold, gathering a revenue of $14,865,984, more than its box office grossing.
Fantasy film
Fantasy films are films with fantastic themes, usually involving magic, supernatural events, make-believe creatures, or exotic fantasy worlds. The genre is considered to be distinct from science fiction film and horror film, although the genres do overlap...
action film
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
directed by Uwe Boll
Uwe Boll
Uwe Boll is a German director, producer and screenwriter, whose work includes several films adapted from video games. He finances his own films through his Boll KG production company. He is often cited as the worst director of all time.-Early life:...
, inspired by the Dungeon Siege
Dungeon Siege
Dungeon Siege is a computer role-playing game developed by Gas Powered Games and published by Microsoft Game Studios. Chris Taylor showed Dungeon Siege years in production for the first time at E3 2000...
video game series. It was produced by Brightlight Pictures
Brightlight Pictures
Brightlight Pictures Inc. is a Canadian film production and television production company based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The company was founded in 2001....
and distributed by Freestyle Releasing
Freestyle Releasing
Freestyle Releasing is an independent film studio founded in 2003, specializing in helping other people/companies to release their films theatrically for getting distribution fees...
and Vivendi Entertainment
Vivendi Entertainment
Vivendi Entertainment is an independent film, television, DVD and digital distribution company operating in the United States and Canada. It is also a distribution partner for independent content providers....
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
took distribution overseas. It premiered at the American Film Market
American Film Market
The American Film Market is a film industry event held each year at the beginning of November in Santa Monica, California. About 8,000 people attend the eight day event to network and to sell and acquire films...
on November 3, 2006. It was released in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
on November 29, 2007 and was released in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on January 11, 2008.
Plot
Set in the kingdom of Ehb, the story follows a man called Farmer (Jason Statham
Jason Statham
Jason Statham born 12 September1967) is an English actor and former diver, known for his roles in the Guy Ritchie crime films Revolver, Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels...
), an orphan who was adopted by the village. When Farmer's wife, Solana (Claire Forlani
Claire Forlani
Claire Antonia Forlani is an English actress.-Early life:Claire Forlani was born in Twickenham, London, the daughter of Barbara , who was English, and Pierluigi Forlani, a music manager from Ferrara, Italy. At the age of 11, Forlani entered the Arts Educational School in London, where she began to...
), and his son leave to sell vegetables at the town of Stonebridge, his farm is attacked by creatures called Krug. With the help of his friend and mentor
Mentor
In Greek mythology, Mentor was the son of Alcimus or Anchialus. In his old age Mentor was a friend of Odysseus who placed Mentor and Odysseus' foster-brother Eumaeus in charge of his son Telemachus, and of Odysseus' palace, when Odysseus left for the Trojan War.When Athena visited Telemachus she...
, Norrick (Ron Perlman
Ron Perlman
Ronald N. "Ron" Perlman is an American television, film and voice over actor. He is known for having played Vincent in the TV series Beauty and the Beast , a Deathstroke figure known as Slade in the animated series Teen Titans, Clarence "Clay" Morrow in Sons of Anarchy, the comic book character...
), he fights off the Krug and travels to Stonebridge. However, the Krug kill his son and capture his wife. Accompanied by Norrick and Bastian (Will Sanderson
Will Sanderson
Will Sanderson is a Canadian television and film actor.He is known for having a long working relationship with director Uwe Boll, having appeared in most of his video-game based movies such as House of the Dead, Alone in the Dark, BloodRayne and In the Name of the King.In 2007 he played the...
), his brother-in-law, Farmer intends to find and rescue his wife.
The Krug are being controlled by the wizard Gallian (Ray Liotta
Ray Liotta
[File:Ray Liotta is an American actor, best known for his portrayal of Henry Hill in the crime-drama Goodfellas, directed by Martin Scorsese and his role as Shoeless Joe Jackson in Field of Dreams...
) who is amassing an army to overthrow King Konreid (Burt Reynolds
Burt Reynolds
Burton Leon "Burt" Reynolds, Jr. is an American actor. Some of his memorable roles include Bo 'Bandit' Darville in Smokey and the Bandit, Lewis Medlock in Deliverance, Bobby "Gator" McCluskey in White Lightning and sequel Gator, Paul Crewe and Coach Nate Scarborough in The Longest Yard and its...
), with the assistance of the King's nephew, Fallow (Matthew Lillard
Matthew Lillard
Matthew Lyn Lillard is an American actor and producer. He is best known for his roles as Stu Macher in Scream, Stevo in SLC Punk , and Shaggy Rogers in the Scooby-Doo film series and the Animated reboot series.-Early life:Lillard was born in Lansing, Michigan, and grew up in Tustin, California...
).
Cast
- Jason StathamJason StathamJason Statham born 12 September1967) is an English actor and former diver, known for his roles in the Guy Ritchie crime films Revolver, Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels...
as Camden Konreid/Farmer - Leelee SobieskiLeelee SobieskiLiliane Rudabet Gloria Elsveta Sobieski , known professionally as Leelee Sobieski, is an American actress. Sobieski achieved recognition in her mid-teens for her performance in the 1998 film Deep Impact...
as Muriella - John Rhys-DaviesJohn Rhys-DaviesJohn Rhys-Davies is a Welsh actor and voice actor. He is perhaps best known for playing the charismatic Arab excavator Sallah in the Indiana Jones films and the dwarf Gimli in The Lord of the Rings trilogy...
as Merick - Ron PerlmanRon PerlmanRonald N. "Ron" Perlman is an American television, film and voice over actor. He is known for having played Vincent in the TV series Beauty and the Beast , a Deathstroke figure known as Slade in the animated series Teen Titans, Clarence "Clay" Morrow in Sons of Anarchy, the comic book character...
as Norrick - Claire ForlaniClaire ForlaniClaire Antonia Forlani is an English actress.-Early life:Claire Forlani was born in Twickenham, London, the daughter of Barbara , who was English, and Pierluigi Forlani, a music manager from Ferrara, Italy. At the age of 11, Forlani entered the Arts Educational School in London, where she began to...
as Solana - Kristanna LokenKristanna LokenKristanna Sommer Loken is an American actress known for her work in both film and television, and as a fashion model.-Early life:Loken was born in Ghent, New York, the daughter of Rande , a model, and Merlin "Chris" Loken, a writer and apple farmer. All four of her grandparents were born in Norway...
as Elora - Matthew LillardMatthew LillardMatthew Lyn Lillard is an American actor and producer. He is best known for his roles as Stu Macher in Scream, Stevo in SLC Punk , and Shaggy Rogers in the Scooby-Doo film series and the Animated reboot series.-Early life:Lillard was born in Lansing, Michigan, and grew up in Tustin, California...
as Duke Fallow - Ray LiottaRay Liotta[File:Ray Liotta is an American actor, best known for his portrayal of Henry Hill in the crime-drama Goodfellas, directed by Martin Scorsese and his role as Shoeless Joe Jackson in Field of Dreams...
as Gallian - Burt ReynoldsBurt ReynoldsBurton Leon "Burt" Reynolds, Jr. is an American actor. Some of his memorable roles include Bo 'Bandit' Darville in Smokey and the Bandit, Lewis Medlock in Deliverance, Bobby "Gator" McCluskey in White Lightning and sequel Gator, Paul Crewe and Coach Nate Scarborough in The Longest Yard and its...
as King Konreid - Brian WhiteBrian J. WhiteBrian Joseph White is an American actor, dancer, football player, lacrosse player, stock broker and youth activist.-Personal life:...
as Commander Tarish - Mike DopudMike DopudMike Dopud is a Canadian-born film actor, television actor, voice actor, stuntman, stage actor and athlete. He is best known for playing Detective Smits in White Noise the 2005 action-horror film, Agent Turner in Alone In The Dark a 2005 action-horror film, playing Vic Hadfield in the Canadian...
as General Backler - Will SandersonWill SandersonWill Sanderson is a Canadian television and film actor.He is known for having a long working relationship with director Uwe Boll, having appeared in most of his video-game based movies such as House of the Dead, Alone in the Dark, BloodRayne and In the Name of the King.In 2007 he played the...
as Bastian - Tania SaulnierTania SaulnierTania Saulnier is a Canadian actress, perhaps best known for her role in the film Slither. Saulnier was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Once a competitive dancer, and motor-sport enthusiast Tania's first notable acting role came in 1998 with a small part as Marcey Bennett, in one...
as Talwyn - Gabrielle RoseGabrielle Rose (actress)Gabrielle Rose is an accomplished Canadian actress. She has an extensive resume that includes multiple nominations for Genie Awards and Gemini Awards...
as Delinda - Terence Kelly as Trumaine
- Colin FordColin FordColin Ford is an American child actor and voice actor. He is best known for his role as young Sam Winchester in the 2005 TV Series, Supernatural.-Biography:...
as Zeph
Loken previously played the lead role in Uwe Boll's BloodRayne
BloodRayne (film)
BloodRayne is a 2005 action and horror film, set in 18th century Romania, and directed by Uwe Boll. The film stars Kristanna Loken, Ben Kingsley, Michael Madsen, Billy Zane, Meat Loaf and, Matthew Davis...
. Will Sanderson has also been featured in all but one of Boll's video game-based films, starting from House of the Dead
House of the Dead (film)
House of the Dead is a 2003 action-horror film adaptation of the successful 1996 light gun arcade game of the same name produced by Sega. The film was directed by Uwe Boll. The film was universally panned by critics.-Plot:...
.
Production
The production budget was $60 million.Boll has said that two versions will be produced due to length. The first will run for 127 minutes as a single movie trimmed down for cinematic release. The second, a director's cut
Director's cut
A director's cut is a specially edited version of a film, and less often TV series, music video, commercials, comic book or video games, that is supposed to represent the director's own approved edit...
, will be for DVD and run for approximately 156 minutes.
The film was shot near the Municipality
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
of Sooke, the westernmost area of the Greater Victoria, Capital Regional District (CRD), British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
. Locals and First Nations
First Nations
First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...
people were recruited as extras and for other duties.
Soundtrack
The German power metalPower metal
Power metal is a style of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. The term refers to two different but related styles: the first pioneered and largely practiced in North America with a harder sound similar to speed metal, and a...
band Blind Guardian
Blind Guardian
Blind Guardian is a German power metal band formed in the mid-1980s in Krefeld, West Germany. They are often credited as one of the seminal and most influential bands in the power metal and speed metal subgenres...
recorded the movie's main theme, "Skalds and Shadows". The British progressive metal
Progressive metal
Progressive metal is a subgenre of heavy metal originating in the United Kingdom and North America in the late 1980s...
band Threshold
Threshold (band)
Threshold is a progressive metal band, formed in Surrey, UK in the late 1980s.-History:Threshold began their career in 1988, initially playing covers of metal groups like Ratt and Testament. As they continued playing together, they began to write their own songs, and eventually stopped playing...
contributed the song "Pilot in the Sky of Dreams" from their album Dead Reckoning
Dead Reckoning (album)
Dead Reckoning is the eighth studio album by progressive metal band Threshold. It is their first album since the departure of founding member Nick Midson, and their only one to feature guest vocals . It is also their first album on their current label, Nuclear Blast...
. The Swedish power metal
Power metal
Power metal is a style of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. The term refers to two different but related styles: the first pioneered and largely practiced in North America with a harder sound similar to speed metal, and a...
band, HammerFall
HammerFall
HammerFall is a power metal band from Gothenburg, Sweden. The band was formed in 1993 by ex-Ceremonial Oath guitarist Oscar Dronjak.- Early days :...
, also contributed a track, "The Fire Burns Forever". Wolfgang Herold
Wolfgang Herold
Wolfgang Herold works as a film producer and sound supervisor.He gained his first experience working with sound at the AFN TV and radio stations in Germany and created production music for his own publishing company. Wolfgang Herold has been giving films a "voice" since he founded his sound...
was the executive soundtrack producer.
Box office
In the Name of the King was a box office bombBox office bomb
The phrase box office bomb refers to a film for which the production and marketing costs greatly exceeded the revenue regained by the movie studio. This should not be confused with Hollywood accounting when official figures show large losses, yet the movie is a financial success.A film's financial...
, grossing $2.98 million in its U.S. opening, not cracking that week's top ten. As of February 13, 2008, it has grossed $10.3 million worldwide, including $2.47 million in Germany, $1.39 million in Russia and $1.22 million in Spain. Afterwards, Uwe Boll announced that this would be his first and last movie with a large budget.
Critical reception
The film received extremely negative reviews from critics. The review aggregator Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reported that 4% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 44 reviews. Not only that, it was ranked 49th in Rotten Tomatoes's 100 worst reviewed films of the 2000s and in 2009, Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
listed the film on their list of top ten worst video games movies. Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
reported the film had an average score of 15 out of 100, based on 11 reviews — indicating "extreme dislike or disgust."
Many critics bemoaned the film's close resemblances to other fantasy films, especially the popular Lord of the Rings films
The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
The Lord of the Rings is an epic film trilogy consisting of three fantasy adventure films based on the three-volume book of the same name by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. The films are The Fellowship of the Ring , The Two Towers and The Return of the King .The films were directed by Peter...
.
The film was nominated for five Razzie Awards, including Worst Picture, Worst Screenplay, Worst Supporting Actor (Burt Reynolds
Burt Reynolds
Burton Leon "Burt" Reynolds, Jr. is an American actor. Some of his memorable roles include Bo 'Bandit' Darville in Smokey and the Bandit, Lewis Medlock in Deliverance, Bobby "Gator" McCluskey in White Lightning and sequel Gator, Paul Crewe and Coach Nate Scarborough in The Longest Yard and its...
) and Worst Supporting Actress (Leelee Sobieski
Leelee Sobieski
Liliane Rudabet Gloria Elsveta Sobieski , known professionally as Leelee Sobieski, is an American actress. Sobieski achieved recognition in her mid-teens for her performance in the 1998 film Deep Impact...
), with Uwe Boll
Uwe Boll
Uwe Boll is a German director, producer and screenwriter, whose work includes several films adapted from video games. He finances his own films through his Boll KG production company. He is often cited as the worst director of all time.-Early life:...
winning Worst Director.
Sequel
Despite being considered a bomb, Boll has begun work on a sequelSequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
. Filming began on December 1, 2010 for a 2011 release. Dolph Lundgren
Dolph Lundgren
Dolph Lundgren is a Swedish actor, director, and martial artist. He belongs to a generation of film actors who epitomise the movie action hero stereotype including Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Chuck Norris, Steven Seagal and Jean-Claude Van Damme.A graduate in chemical...
and Natassia Malthe
Natassia Malthe
Natassia Malthe is a Norwegian model and actress.-Biography:Natassia is the younger of two daughters. She was born in Oslo, Norway. She is half Filipino. She is usually credited by her birth name however is sometime credited as 'Lina Teal'...
are starring.
Home media
The DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
, released on April 15, 2008, does not include the 156-minute version. The Blu-ray
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
release in December 2008 contains this edition. 813,147 units were sold, gathering a revenue of $14,865,984, more than its box office grossing.
External links
(Germany)- Interviews at Movieset.com