Solomon Kane is a 2009 sword and sorcery film based on the pulp magazine character of the same name created in 1928 by Robert E. Howard. Written and directed by M. J. Bassett, the film stars James Purefoy in the title role.[3] Despite obtaining the rights in 1997, filming did not begin until January 2008.
The film is an original story for the Kane character and was intended to be the first of a trilogy. The plot follows a redemption story for Kane, from the end of his life as a privateer, through the salvation of his soul by rescuing a Puritan girl and the beginning of his life as the Puritan avenger of the source material. It was produced by a consortium of French, Czech, and British companies and mostly filmed in the Czech Republic. The film was first shown at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival. It went on general release in France, Spain, and the UK over the end of 2009 and the beginning of 2010. It has a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 67%.
The screenplay was novelised by award-winning fantasy author Ramsey Campbell.
| Solomon Kane | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | M. J. Bassett |
| Written by | M. J. Bassett |
| Based on | Characters by Robert E. Howard |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Dan Laustsen |
| Edited by | Andrew MacRitchie |
| Music by | Klaus Badelt |
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Production
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| Distributed by | Metropolitan Filmexport (France) Entertainment Film Distributors (United Kingdom)[1] |
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Release dates
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Running time
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104 minutes[1] |
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| Language | English[1] |
| Budget | $40 million |
| Box office | $19.6 million[2] |
Plot
In the year 1600, in North Africa, English privateer Solomon Kane leads his ship’s crew into battle against the Ottoman defenders of a fortress town. After defeating the defenders, Kane and his men raid the fortress, where most of the crew are killed by demons. Kane fights his way to the throne room, but, before he can loot the riches, he is confronted by the “Devil’s Reaper”, a demon who tells him his soul is forfeit to Satan after his life of sin. Kane rejects his fate and jumps out of a window to escape.
One year later, Kane has returned to England and found sanctuary in a monastery, renouncing violence and donating his wealth to the Church in hopes of finding redemption. After a prophetic dream, the abbot expels Kane. On the road, Kane is ambushed by robbers who mock his vow of pacifism and leave him for dead. He is found and treated by the Crowthorns, a Puritan family traveling west to the New World. They find a witch, who marks Meredith Crowthorn. Later, they are ambushed by followers of sorcerer Malachi who kidnap Meredith and kill her father and brothers. Kane renounces his vows and swears to rescue Meredith.
Kane battles Malachi’s followers across the countryside, rescuing many captives but not finding Meredith. On his journey, he meets a deranged priest who explains Malachi’s followers are taking the weaker survivors of their raids as slaves and corrupting the strong into soldiers. The priest tries to feed Kane to his parishioners, who have become ghouls, but Kane escapes, only to face the robbers who attacked him earlier, now corrupted servants of Malachi. He kills two robbers and interrogates the survivor, who says Meredith is dead. Kane throws the robber to the ghouls, and, believing his quest for redemption has failed, drinks to excess at a country inn. Former shipmates recognize him and try to recruit him as a leader of a resistance against Malachi, but Kane refuses. The inn is attacked by Malachi’s followers, led by his lieutenant the Masked Rider. They crucify the leaders of the resistance, including Kane. As Kane hangs on the cross, Meredith cries out his name from her cage in the back of the raiders’ wagon; Kane realizes he still has a chance to save her and pulls himself free. Before Malachi’s remaining men can finish him, they are killed by survivors of the resistance, who take Kane to safety. Kane is healed by a pagan woman and becomes anxious to confront the raiders.
Malachi used to be a healer before making a bargain with the Devil. He now lives in Kane’s ancestral home, from which Kane had been expelled in his youth after defying his father. Kane leads the rebels into the castle via an underground passage, and, as they fight Malachi’s minions, Kane heads for the dungeons and frees many captives. There, he finds his father, who reveals the Masked Rider is Kane’s older brother Marcus, whom Kane thought he had accidentally killed after his banishment. Instead, Marcus was rendered comatose, and when healers failed to revive him, his father turned to Malachi. Disfigured and turned to Malachi’s will, Marcus became the Masked Rider. Kane reluctantly kills his father at his request, then heads to the throne room to confront Malachi. Kane finds Meredith in a cage, and as she warns him of a trap, Marcus stabs him in the back. Kane tries to reason with Marcus, but they engage in a duel; Kane wins after setting Marcus on fire and decapitating him. Malachi uses Meredith’s blood to release a demon sent to claim Kane’s soul, but Kane kills Malachi and sacrifices himself to close the portal; both Malachi and the creature are sucked back through it, leaving Kane unconscious on the floor. He awakens and explains to Meredith that he has finally redeemed his soul. Kane buries his father and brother and reunites Meredith with her mother. He assumes a new mission: to roam the Earth combating the forces of darkness.
Cast
- James Purefoy as Solomon Kane
- Max von Sydow as Josiah Kane
- Rachel Hurd-Wood as Meredith Crowthorn
- Mackenzie Crook as Father Michael
- Pete Postlethwaite as William Crowthorn
- Ian Whyte as The Devil’s Reaper
- Alice Krige as Katherine Crowthorn
- Ben Steel as Fletcher
- Jason Flemyng as Malachi
- Samuel Roukin as Marcus Kane
- Philip Winchester as Henry Telford
- Rory McCann as McNess
- Geoff Bell as Beard
