Introduction

Lionheart, also known as Lionheart: The Children’s Crusade, is a 1987 adventure film directed by Franklin J. Schaffner and produced by Talia Shire and Stanley O’Toole.

Shire’s brother, Francis Ford Coppola, initially planned to direct the film but instead opted to be executive producer along with Shire’s husband, Jack Schwartzman.

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Outline

Loosely based on the historical Children’s Crusade, the story follows an exiled young knight, played by Eric Stoltz, who leads a band of orphans to join the Third Crusade with King Richard the Lionheart while protecting the children from the Black Prince (Gabriel Byrne), a disillusioned crusader turned child slave trader (not to be confused with the real-life Edward, the Black Prince).

Cast

• Eric Stoltz as Robert Nerra.
• Gabriel Byrne as Black Prince.
• Nicola Cowper as Blanche.
• Dexter Fletcher as Michael.
• Deborah Moore as Mathilda.
• Nicholas Clay as Charles De Montfort.
• Bruce Purchase as Simon Nerra.
• Neil Dickson as King Richard.
• Penny Downie as Madelaine.
• Nadim Sawalha as Selim.
• John Franklyn-Robbins as The Abbot.
• Chris Pitt as Odo.
• Matthew Sim as Hugo.
• Paul Rhys as Mayor of the Underground City.
• Sammi Davis as Baptista.
• Wayne Goddard as Louis.
• Courtney Roper-Knight as David.
• Michael Sundin as Bertram.
• Louise Seacombe as Girl from Plague Village.
• Patrick Durkin as Fat Peasant.
• Haluk Bilginer as Merchant.
• Ralph Michael as William Nerra.
• Barry Stanton as Duke De Bar.
• Jan Waters as Duchess De Bar.
• Ann Firbank as Catatonic Woman.

Trivia

• Lionheart was a big budget film. It was filmed in Hungary and Portugal, utilising several castles and hundreds of Slavic children hired as extras.
• The film was Schaffner’s penultimate film and represented the final collaboration between the director and his friend Jerry Goldsmith (together they previously worked on Planet of the Apes, Patton, Papillon, and The Boys from Brazil).
• The distributor, Orion Pictures, delayed its theatrical release but when the film was finally shown in August 1987 in Canada, the limited release garnered negative reviews.
  • Therefore, the movie was largely unseen until being shown on pay television and finally released on VHS tape and DVD.

Production & Filming Details

• Director(s): Franklin J. Schaffner.
• Producer(s): Talia Shire and Stanley O’Toole.
• Writer(s): Menno Meyjes and Richard Outten.
• Music: Jerry Goldsmith.
• Cinematography: Alec Mills.
• Editor(s): David Bretherton and Richard Holmes.
• Production: Hungaro, Mafilm, and TaliaFilm II Productions.
• Distributor(s): Orion Pictures.
• Release Date: 14 August 1987.
• Running time: 104 minutes.
• Country: US and Hungary.
• Language: English.

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