The Eagle - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts

[discussimdb]

Fan of The Eagle or just want to share your movie knowledge? This topic is dedicated to all trivia and questions related to The Eagle

[miriam]

The main character's name is Marcus Aquila. Aquila is the Latin word for "Eagle".

[edgar]

The battle between Marcus's soldiers and the Celts was planned to be longer with some Celts jumping over the circle and being defeated by Marcus, who would have suffered an injury. Due to a low budget and a rather difficult set-up for the crew, it was cut short.

[ivan]

Historical advisor for the film, Lindsay Allason-Jones, gave a talk to Newcastle University Archaeology Society about her experiences working on the film. She explained that the production company decided to use stirrups, despite their being anachronistic, because there would have been issues getting insurance for the lead actors, especially as Jamie Bell had never ridden before.

[chad]

It is only speculation that the Ninth Legion disappeared in Britain. There is mention of them in what is today the Netherlands from c. 120 A.D.

[kylie]

Because of budgetary consideration, cast and crew had only one night to shoot the night battle scene, which gave it the disorganized, raggedy look they wanted.

[ethel]

An elaborate chariot race was shot between Marcus and the druid but because of time and pacing considerations, it was ultimately cut. It can be found on the Blu-Ray as a deleted scene.

[morris]

In the original novel the "Seal People," we're not as significantly different from the other Celtic groups as in the film. For the film, Kevin Macdonald conceived them as a pre-Celtic remnant that adopted some of the Celtic culture and modeled them on Inuits and Native American tribes as a homage to "The Last of the Mohicans."

[kim]

The two lead actors in this film both had breakthrough roles playing dancers: Jamie Bell in Billy Elliot (2000) and Channing Tatum in Step Up (2006).

[victoria]

Jamie Bell never rode a horse before filming this movie. He had to learn on set.

[elmer]

When the troops are being woken up before the night attack on the fort, one of the soldiers complains about the helmets. As he laces the cheek plates, an injury is visible on his chin. This is derived directly from contemporary accounts of the laces on the helmets cutting into soldiers' chins being a common complaint.

[francisco]

Plenty of fan-made Marcus/Esca videos inspired by the film The Eagle can be found posted on the Web.

[marc]

The statue that Marcus glances at at the fort before the first Celt attack is a bust of Antoninus Pius, who was emperor of Rome at the time this film is set, AD 140. His reign is considered one of the calmest in Rome's history.