ATTILA directed by Dick Lowry (USA, 2001)
There are no known photos or You Tube videos to tell us what the real life Attila The Hun looked like. We can only speculate as to his actual appearance. Some accounts suggest that he was nasty, brutish and short. Others describe him as a tall, athletic,with a well-trimmed beard, piercing eyes and an impressive mane of long wavy hair – exactly like Gerard Butler, in fact.
Of course, historical accuracy is always a bone of contention. Pedants have noted that corsets and thongs did not exist in the 5th century, although these can be seen during the relatively tame orgy scenes of this lame TV mini-series turned movie. Scholars also point out that Attila did not kill his brother Bleda immediately after returning from his fact-finding trip to Rome and that Aetius was not murdered directly following Attila’s death.
Neither can it be verified that the Hun war cry (nnnaaaaaaaaarrrrgggghhhhhhh!!!!!!) is linguistically precise although I personally would like to think that Attila really did urge his followers into battle shouting “Go….go….go” like the head of a squat team on a drug raid. Continue reading
