In an interview with Digital Trends, director Petr Jákl talks about making the Czech version of Braveheart with Medieval, which depicts the life of Jan Žižka.
When it comes to the great generals of all time, most people have heard of Alexander the Great and his successful conquest of most of the known world, but does anyone recall Jan Žižka? The 14th-century figure is a hero to the people of the Czech Republic, and Petr Jákl’s new film Medieval, starring Ben Foster as the title hero, aims to educate the masses using equal parts history and bloodshed.
In a conversation with Digital Trends, Jákl talks about the challenges of directing the most expensive Czech film of all time, working with Foster and The Dark Knight trilogy‘s Michael Caine, and his wish to show the glory of Žižka’s historical exploits and the beauty of Prague and the Czech Republic.
Note: this interview has been condensed for length and clarity purposes.
Digital Trends: Medieval is based on the true story of Jan Žižka, who is something of a folk hero in the Czech Republic. What made you want to make a film about him?
Petr Jákl: Jan is my country’s big hero, one of the most famous people of all time, because he was never defeated in battle. And I had already learned a lot about him in my youth. I was very interested about who he was and what happened around him. I had always dreamed about doing a movie like Braveheart, so once I got a chance, I decided to make an epic about Jan.
Did you look to similarly scaled epic movies like Braveheart or Gladiator for inspiration when you thought about making a movie about Jan?
Jan was already the subject of a number of films, the most famous being the Hussite Revolutionary trilogy by Otakar Vavra that was released about 60 years ago.
