Fighting

Age of Heroes (2011)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Age of Heroes cast members standing in a row in uniform with guns. Snowy mountains can be seen behind.

Age of Heroes cast L-R John Dagleish as Rollright, Danny Dyer as Rains, William Houston as Mac, Guy Burnet as Riley, Sean Bean as Jones, Askel Hennie as Steinar © Age of Heroes Ltd.

Director: Adrian Vitoria

Writers: Ed Scates, Adrian Vitoria

Starring: Sean Bean, Danny Dyer, Aksel Hennie,  James D’Arcy

Production Company: Atlantic Swiss Productions/Cinedome/Cinema Five/Giant Films

Kent Filming Locations: Connaught Barracks, Dover, Gravesend Civil Defence Bunker, Pluckley

Sean Bean laying on the dirt staring into a gun looking at the camera

Age of Heroes Sean Bean as Jones © Age of Heroes Ltd.

Age of Heroes is a film based on the real-life events of Ian Fleming’s 30 Commando during the Second World War; a team that was one of the most secretive and exclusive Special Forces regiments and created the mould for the modern day SAS.

The film captures the mentally and physically gruelling training endured by the men before they are assigned to a highly dangerous mission behind enemy lines in occupied Norway.  The mission doesn’t go to plan and they find themselves in a deadly situation, outnumbered by enemy soldiers.  It’s then that they rise above being normal soldiers and become heroes.

Adrian Vitoria (The Crew Hollyoaks: Crossing the Line) directs as well as co-wrote the screenplay alongside Ed Scates. Sean Bean (The Lord of the Rings, The Martian), Danny Dyer (Doghouse, Eastenders), Aksel Hennie (Headhunters, Hercules) and James D’Arcy (Master and Commander, Cloud Atlas) star.

In 2010 film crews arrived in Kent to shoot the action packed thriller – local village Pluckley, famous as the setting for the popular TV programme The Darling Buds of May, were used in several driving shots with actor Sean Bean.

James D'Arcy as Ian Fleming sitting at a wooden desk with a map of the united kingdom pinned to the wall behind him

James D’Arcy as Ian Fleming © Age of Heroes Ltd.

The Gravesend Civil Defence Bunker, built in 1954 as an underground command post to be used in the event of nuclear attack during the Cold War, features in the film. It was used to represent the Cabinet War Rooms in London’s Whitehall.  Nearby Cobham Hall, currently a boarding school for girls is a firm favourite for filming in the district of Gravesham. The site was the perfect location to feature as a boarding school in the 2008 film Wild Child (2008).

Another Ministry of Defence location, the Connaught Barracks were also used for filming as a WWII training base. Situated in the district of Dover, the Connaught Barracks are not the only location to have been used for filming in recent years. The historic Dover Castle is a Kent film location favourite as it has been the star location in a number of productions from Lady Jane (1987) to The Other Boleyn Girl (2008).

Age of Heroes was released in 2011 and is now available on DVD.

For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map. 

The Princess Bride (1987)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
The Princess Bride film poster- cartoon image of characters from the film underneath a castle gate in blue mist. The Princess Bride written in yellow.

The Princess Bride © Lionsgate Home Entertainment

Directed by: Rob Reiner

Written by: William Goldman

Starring: Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Mandy Parinkin, Chris Sarandon, Fred Savage, Peter Falk and Andre the Giant

Production Company: Act III Communications, Buttercup Films Ltd., The Princess Bride Ltd.

Kent Locations used: Penshurst Place

Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin) and Count Rugen (Christopher Guest) duelling in a hall next to a long wooden table with food on it. Candles are in the background behind them.

Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin) and Count Rugen (Christopher Guest) duelling © Lionsgate Home Entertainment

The Princess Bride is cult fantasy film, based on the 1973 book of the same name, written by William Goldman. A stable boy named Westley (Cary Elwes) confesses his love to an enchanting woman named Buttercup (Robin Wrigh) but their happiness is cut short when Westley is reportedly murdered by blood thirsty pirates. Fearing that her love will never return, Buttercup becomes engaged to a cruel king and they plan to wed. However, as the wedding ceremony begins, so does an invasion of the castle by an unlikely trio of men. Will there be a happy ending after all?

This film is a unique and daring spin on the classic fairy tale formula, complete with sword fights, damsels in distress, magic potions and heroic heroes.

The films cast includes  Cary Elwes (Twister, Saw), Robin Wright (Forest Gump, Beowulf), Mandy Parinkin (Homeland, Dead Like Me) Chris Sarandon (The Nightmare Before Christmas, Childs Play), Fred Savage (The Wonder years, Little Monsters), Peter Falk (Columbo, Murder Ink) and Andre the Giant (WWF, Conan the Destroyer).

Production visited Penshurst Place and used the Barons Hall as the setting for the confrontation between Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin) and Count Rugen (Christopher Guest). Penshurst Place is a grand estate located in the Weald of Kent with extensive grounds spanning 48 acres. Due to its medieval architecture, the house and grounds are a popular filming location and have previously been used in The Other Boleyn Girl (2008), the BBC fantasy series Merlin (2008), and thriller movie The Gathering (2003).

The Princess Bride was first released in November 1987 and is now available to buy on DVD.

 

For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map.