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The Weston Front
Reviews and Commentary from the Heartland
"Crusade" original screenplay by Kamran Pasha
Welcome back to commentary from America’s heartland – far from the undue influence of the studio muckity-mucks. This is a much safer place to be right now with Oscar fever having struck on the coast and with reports coming in of rabid publicists roaming the streets of LA snapping at the ankles of all who cross their paths. It seems somehow appropriate with the various film types crusading for Oscar gold that we should venture back into time (okay, if this were Sherman and Peabody we’d climb into the Way Back Machine for this one but in this case we’ll have to settle for words). It’s been quite a while since we’ve had a good yarn about Medieval happenings and one immediately thinks back to Excalibur, Prince Valiant, The Long Ships, Ivanhoe, Robin and Marian, The Lion in Winter, and perhaps even Robin Hood and its latter day version in Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves – some of these are treasures, some just guilty pleasures. The screenplay we’ll look at today falls into the treasure category.
The screenplay which arrived in the mail the other day could well be one of the great pictures in this genre should it ever get picked up and produced and, with a current run on period films, this is not beyond the pale. I should point out going into this that there are two other similarly themed projects theoretically in the works at the present time. One is likewise entitled "Crusade" and involves, at last report, Arnold Schwarzenegger and James Cameron (your guess as to which one will be the Crusader) which has been stuck in development for several years now. The other project is the brainchild of Sean Connery and purports to tell the story of the Crusades from the point of view of Saladin, the commander of Muslim forces. Incidentally, while there has been considerable buzz about them from time to time I have seen the scripts for neither of these two projects so there’s no telling how good they are, nor how far along they are in development.
Now, just for handy reference, the Crusades were a series of Christian holy wars fought during the Middle Ages, for both religious and political purposes, with European Christians attempting to liberate Palestine from Muslim influence. The Crusade we’re talking about here (and there were many) is the campaign which occurred from 1187-1192 and pitted Saladin (Salah-al-din Yusuf ibn-Ayyub) against Richard I – a.k.a. Richard the Lionheart. For those looking for a general literary time reference consider that the Robin Hood films are set in England about the time that Richard I is theoretically in Austrian captivity having been nabbed on his return from the Crusades. With me so far? Good. Let’s get right into this screenplay shall we?
The tale starts with a brief introduction in the form of a voice-over delivered by Maimonides describing the events of a previous Crusade of 1099. Maimonides is not who one might expect to deliver the tale from the Muslim viewpoint as he is both a healer and a rabbi. Yes, Maimonides is Jewish. Living well and happily in Jerusalem under Muslim rule you ask? Yes, in fact he is both physician and advisor to Saladin – the Muslim leader himself. While some would look askance at this relationship it is a very real reflection of life and the social order during Saladin’s reign. An enlightened and intelligent ruler, any number of different faiths co-existed peacefully under his protection. Saladin is shown in the opening pages to be an astute politician and a man of both taste and compassion. While this portrait of a Muslim leader may not square with contemporary American audiences it is nonetheless a wonderfully accurate portrait of a remarkable historical figure.
The real threat to Maimonides is from the approaching armies of Crusaders. While led by the so-called flower of European knighthood, the bulk of the invading force of Christians are essentially thugs who despoil everything in their path. The Crusaders are led in this instance by the redoubtable Richard I known also as "The Lionheart." It’s an apt description as Richard, a bit of a renegade and hothead at home, is in his element here. The man seems to thrive on battle and destruction and his prickly personality – easily matched by those of his lieutenants – is assuaged only by the essential goodness of his friend and companion Sir William Marshall. Marshall is the good and yet tragic figure of this tale. Sir William, a man of honesty, intelligence and character, is a mollifying and sobering influence on his liege lord. Much to the annoyance of some of the less honorable circle of Crusader leadership. While Saladin’s Muslim compatriots face a formidable opponent, their fate promises to be rosy compared to the prospects faced by men such as Maimonides and his beautiful daughter Miriam should the Crusaders triumph.
What follows is a fascinating collision of cultures in the arid wastes of the Middle East – heavily armored European combatants against their more lightly armed but agile Muslim opponents. As might be expected there is an effusion of blood in the subsequent encounters. Here is where things get more subtle and more interesting. Saladin finds himself drawn to the mysterious figure of the beautiful Miriam, despite the fact that he already has four wives. His senior wife, Yasmeen, is not at all pleased by this development and becomes insanely jealous of the fetching young Jewess despite the fact that Yasmeen has other tastes, notably her lesbian lover. Miriam is flattered by Saladin’s attentions and finds him a magnetic force but resists his advances as their cultural mores are so different. Meanwhile, Richard has fallen deathly ill and his friend William Marshall crosses the lines to seek Saladin’s assistance as he knows that Arabic medical practices are far superior to anything the Europeans have to offer.
Maimonides urges Saladin to let his most deadly foe succumb to his illness but the Muslim leader rejects that view as unchivalric. If he is to beat Richard it will be on the battlefield. Much against his own instincts Maimonides soon finds himself in the Crusader camp ministering to the recumbent Richard and assisted by his lovely daughter. What follows is a fascinating exercise in which Richard is restored to health, Miriam becomes the target of a plot by Yasmeen, William sacrifices himself in combat, and the Crusader alliance begins to come apart at the seams. This however, is a plot to which I do not want to give away the ending nor the contributory resolutions of a number of subplots which include an appearance of the shadowy Cult of the Assassins. Suffice it to say that there is intrigue, romance, combat, and sacrifice sufficient for every taste. So now we come to the judgment. This is a worthwhile project... a good script... a good story. This could be a marvelous film. Whatever Schwarzenegger and Connery are up to (if they ever get their respective projects moving) they have a hard one to beat in this script.
Now this is a very propitious time for this tale to appear as Hollywood currently has a number of "historical epic" projects in the works -- think Alamo, Alexander the Great (a number of competing projects), Hannibal (as in the fellow who crosses the Alps with elephants, folks, not the one who likes liver), a follow-on Gladiator project, Master and Commander (Russell Crowe as British naval commander Captain Aubrey during the Napoleonic period) – so for lovers of engaging cinema based on real human drama and conflict this could well be a golden period. Let’s hope that someone in development has the intelligence to seek out this script and put it into the works. Judging from the scale and settings this will not be an inexpensive project but it will most certainly be worthwhile."
Frederick J. Chiaventone, an award-winning novelist and screenwriter, is a retired Army officer and Professor Emeritus of International Security Affairs at the U.S. Army’s Command and General Staff College. His most recent book, Moon of Bitter Cold, a novel of Red Cloud’s war, has just been nominated for the Pulitzer. His most recent piece for American Heritage magazine (October 2002) is on Native American leadership.
Novel "Moon of Bitter Cold" Named Winner of Prestigious 42nd Annual "Wrangler Award"
Frederick J. Chiaventone has been selected to receive the annual "Wrangler Award" for "Moon of Bitter Cold" as the Best Novel of the American West 2002. The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum announced the 2002 winners of the 42nd Western Heritage Awards. The black-tie awards gala will be held on April 12, 2003 in the Museum's majestic Sam Noble Special Events Center. The event will honor principal creators in six literary categories. Popular actor, William Devane, will serve as emcee for the event. Other recipients of the award this year include Jeffery Katzenberg of Dreamworks SKG and actor Patrick Stewart. Past recipients of the coveted award include actors Clint Eastwood, Kevin Costner, Tom Selleck, and Sam Elliott, and authors A.B. Guthrie, Dr. Brian Dippie, David McCullough, Alvin M. Josephy, Thomas Berger, and James A. Michener. Chiaventone's previous novel "A Road We Do Not Know" about the disastrous battle of the Little Bighorn won the Ambassador William Colby Award for Literature. A screenwriter as well as novelist, Chiaventone is managed by Michael Prevett of The Firm.
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