Mise en Scene: Location/Settings in the opening sequence

There are various locations throughout the narrative but we begin our journey in Messina, Sicily. In 1195 this was a legitimate base for the crusaders who were on there way back from the failed 2nd Crusade. The Christian Knights were morally wounded after Richard had forged a truce with Saladin. I could've centred the narrative around Richard but I was rather more intrigued with leaving him on his historical path to his ultimate kidnapping and demise and allow Valten the adventure. The film begins in Messina Cathedral, a gathering point for the crusaders. where some remain and recuperate and some disperse. It is the evening, Valten and Richard have bathed and are now in their evening bathrobes. I can imagine their hair slightly damp after months of dirt and blood having been spattered on them. This is the scene where we allude to a homosexual union between the two characters or rather Richard's longing for Valten. Valten is aware of his masters passion for him but his denial in not only borne out of his religious faith but denied as he is not homosexual. Homosexuality has been part of many ancient civilisations from Greece to Roman empires so it is nothing new in that period There have been many historical accounts which have suggested or implied that King Richard was homosexual, which for me is a great character trait that may contradict Richards Anglo Saxon masculinity as a man amongst men. For me his sexual desires have no beaing on his ability to fight like a man. Ronnie Kray was no less menacing because he was gay. I like this aspect of historical speculation as it hasn't been shown or speculated on before and why can't a male hero of a narrative have a preference for sexual union with another man. Valten's rejection of Richards very tender touch to his bearded face is a powerful image for any English king , let alone Richard the Lionheart. This may be a controversial representation of a former monarch but so what!. This scene also allows a contemporary audience to recognise that homosexuality is NOT a new phenomenon and even the most powerful men in the world could've had such passions and found them equally hard to suppress then as they do today due to religious and monarchical traditions.

As his life's love rides off into the sunset with the band of (initially scary) Teutonic Knights we learn more about Valten in the 1st Ten pages. The most loyal knight to King Richard, well respected and listened to by young German knights. Valten is submissive in front of his King but dominant in front of others and he allows little nonsense from Princess Alys, another historically true character that was actually betrothed to King Richard. Whether she found herself in Messina or not, attempting to seduce the most vibrant and powerful King is another matter. I had a quite radical idea for the opening the other day. The first 10 pages are a pre-title sequence setting the scene for the narrative and introducing most of the main/major characters. The title sequence itself was going to be a montage of key images from the rest of the narrative inspired by the central aspect of the 'Book of Hozzenlorren' being opened and pages flickering with essentially ancient images to help cement the storyline. The superimposition of the knights on horseback, dissolving through forests, maps of Europe, Crucifixes appearing alongside images of Vampires and passages of the Bible all blended together to create a tapestry. My new radical concept (which i haven't seen done before) is to have more visual sequences of the Knights riding on horseback and the Princess travelling in her Carriage across various terrains with various dissolve transitions. With Valten keeping an eye on the carriage and back and forth between the party, following the lead of the Lazarus as he takes them towards France. I wanted.............Princess Alys to sing one of the most atmospheric and filmic songs of all time - the one and only "Teardrop" by Massive Attack. Princess Alys is a blonde, pale and angelic beauty who would sing the song as a performance and this would act as a diegetic soundtrack over the visuals. The titles would fade in and fade out and as they approach the Black Forest, indeed "Black flowers blossom" would happen on route in a CGI Esq way. The black flowers that are wilted and dying come back to life as the group passes which implies the supernatural and positive energy that passes with the group. This would indeed by a nice touch. Princess Alys would perform the whole song whilst looking out the window onto the beauty of Europe and the busyness of knights around her.