Cannon behaving like cannon, solid iron cannon balls not behaving like mini-nukes packed with napalm, cavalry behaving like cavalry when confronted by an infantry square and a push of pike that actually looks like a push of pike. Damn! This director deserves an Oscar

I don't know what's more terrifying, standing still while a barrage of canons come at you, or slowly walking into the enemy with their pikes pointed at you.

This was amazingly accurate. The cavalry attacked correctly, and broke away when confronted with pikes. The push of pike was excellent, and not something you usually see in a movie. The outfits looked great and they where using period appropriate firearms and armor! Whoever put that much detail in this deserves a raise, they went all out.

Non-CGI battles are so great even if we are just watching smaller skirmishes. The bodies have mass...not just a computer generated "flood". The costumes, the weapons..just fantastic!

This makes Napoleon's movie like a 5th grade's project.

Makes sense that Aragorn would join the Spanish Tercios, one of the greatest infantry forces in European history. One third swordsman, one third riflemen, one third pikemen.

as a child I wanted to look like the hero of a western, as a teenager I wanted to look like the heroes of Marvel, as an adult I want to look like Captain Alatriste from this marvelous film that I have seen and seen again.

Darn, this was a good depiction of a tercio in battle. Even the dreaded 'Push of Pike' was included...and well done.

Wish they made more movies or shows set during this time period. Kind of tired of seeing knights and men at arms charging into each other into a huge mosh pit comprised of individual duels. Imagine the audiences reaction seeing the birth of early modern warfare tear down the once powerful knights and the honourable way of fighting taken over by gun powder.

When a great empire is falling, it has to know how to fall gracefully, and nobody ever knew how to do it like the Spanish. The sunset of an empire was never so glorious .

duke of enghien: how many were you? a spanish survivor: count the dead

HEY...cannons that actually move back when fired...

The cinematography in this movie is amazing. Every single shot looks like a Renaissance painting brought to life, and many of them actually *are.*

the Spaniards were fucking badass at sea and on land....incredible victories over England and France...and these Tercios....Incredible.

Proud of our heritage! Spanish native regiments were always granted frontline positions in the Royal Armies, as they were the most reliable troops of the empire. Always first to fight, never retreated from battlefield. Santiago y Cierra España!

I have renewed respect for the production of this scene. After seeing so many over-the-top "historical" movies relying on CGI, this is battle scene is a breath of fresh air.

The ambientation and costume of this film is just flawless, no joke that many of the material used comes from weaponry museums as original weapons of the time. Also the garments are very accurate. I think of historical movies this is a masterpiece for relatively low budget production. Also it is quite impressive for Viggo Mortensen play a role in Spanish. This aged so well, just so hyped that this film exists so well adapted

Spanish Tercios, a formation and battle discipline that will forever be remembered.

You can’t help but feel the deepest admiration for those men who fought and died in battles like this. They literally knew they were outgunned and outnumbered, but stayed and fought. Courage, indeed the highest form of bravery.

"España mi natura, Italia mi ventura, Flandes mi sepultura". "Spain my nature, Italy my fortune, Flanders my grave". This is how the soldiers of the Tercios defined themselves

that pike battle scary

Reading the book there was a description of a regiment retreating from battle not running but walking out in good order and managed to get away from battle. Alatriste's comment was something like " we were to tired to run."

He was not the most honest man, nor the most pious. But he was brave.

Los temibles tercios españoles, la infantería más poderosa de su tiempo, dominaron los campos de batalla europeos durante más de siglo y medio. Saludos desde México, viva la hispanidad!!

I'm French, but I really liked this film! It represents Spanish pride well. Especially at that time when Spain was one of the most powerful nations (if it was not the most powerful)

The way La Madruga started playing at the realization they were doomed but remained unwilling to just give up helped nail this as one of the most powerful cinematic moments I've ever seen.

Para que ninguém diga que um Espanhol morre sem honra. Rocroi 1643, foi o fim da invencibilidade dos Terços. Como Português e com raízes Espanholas, ninguém tenha dúvidas da coragem dos soldados ibéricos, a história prova-o e, se for necessário, estaremos aí de novo. Um abraço aos nossos irmãos.

Imagine polish cavarly, ottoman artillery, and spanish tercios in one army. It would be unstoppable.🇵🇱🇪🇸🇹🇷

This is my favorite period of military history. The military revolution that took place in the 16th and 17th centuries. I love the "pike and shotte" tactics. It was also a period characterized by "wars of religion." The Battle of Rocroi was a part of "the Thirty Years War." It was the last of the so called "wars of religion."

French Wikipedia about Rocroi battle. This is de version of the winners: "(...) La victoire était alors certaine mais encore incomplète: au centre de cette plaine jonchée de morts et parcourue en tous sens par les fuyards, un gros bataillon espagnol reste immobile. C'est le noyau dur de cette armée. Ils sont quatre mille cinq cents vieux soldats, sous les ordres d'un général presque septuagénaire perclus de douleurs mais d'une indomptable énergie, Paul-Bernard de Fontaine qui se fait porter en fauteuil à la tête de ses troupes. Les Espagnols nommaient le comte de Fontaine, Fuentes. Son fauteuil est conservé aux Invalides à Paris". Translation : "(...) The victory was then certain but still incomplete: in the center of this plain strewn with dead and traversed in all directions by the fugitives, a large Spanish battalion remains motionless. It is the hard core of this army. They are four thousand five hundred old soldiers, under the orders of a general almost septuagenarian crippled of pain but of an indomitable energy, Paul-Bernard de Fontaine who is carried in armchair at the head of his troops. The Spaniards named the Comte de Fontaine, Fuentes. His chair is kept at the Invalides in Paris". Traducción: "(...) La victoria era entonces segura pero todavía incompleta: en el centro de esta llanura sembrada de muertos y atravesada en todas direcciones por los fugitivos, permanece inmóvil un gran batallón español. Es el núcleo duro de este ejército. Son cuatro mil quinientos viejos soldados, a las órdenes de un general casi septuagenario lisiado de dolor pero de una energía indomable, Paul-Bernard de Fontaine que se lleva en sillón al frente de sus tropas. Los españoles llamaron Fuentes al conde de la Fontaine. Su sillón se conserva en los Inválidos de París.

Pikeman sees soldier next to him getting flattened by cannonball: “Never liked him much, anyway.”

Greetings from Ukraine! 🇺🇦🇪🇸 Spanish history is so rich and magnificent! It is a shame that because of the "black legend" Spain and its incredible achievements were shunned by the rest of Europe for so long. Spanish Tercios were a truly ingenious and formidable military formations, a true juggernaut that rolled over its enemies for many decades and brave Spanish warriors were true gods of war of their time! Let the Cross of Burgundy flag fly forever! Be proud, Spain! Greetings from Ukraine 🇺🇦🇪🇸!

One of the best battle scenes ever, in terms of realism, costumes, weapons, tactics.

Spain was the most powerful empire in the world. in its best moments they fight against, Netherland, France , Sweden, England, North Africa Arabic, Japanese samurais in Asia, native Indians in its American colonies, Etc and stop the powerful Turkish army in Lepanto battle. most of the time these tercios fought with disadvantages in numbers against their enemies.

As a Peruvian, it's my personal opinion not so common here, but I'm also proud of my former compatriots of the Spanish Empire. This movie not only represent the bravery of the Spanish Tercios, but also the cohesion of the Empire, obviously imperfect, but far more advanced than any other in that time: Many citizens of outer territories of the empire were treated as "equals" even in Madrid, just like Malatesta, Italian but also Spanish in that time. A lot of Peruvians got high ranks in both military and politic charges, and many of them fought in the Tercios in Netherlands, Italy, North America and the Caribbean (there were even Peruvian Viceroys in charge of the Viceroyalty of Nueva España). Everything was far from perfect for non-iberical Spanishmen, but it was far better that anything the British, French of Germans could ever settle for their colonies and their very well known genocides. Beautiful movie. From Peru, Former Viceroyalty of Peru, Former province of the Spanish Empire. Peru was not from Spain, Peru was Spain.

Alatriste and Alexander have some of the most realistic movie battles I’ve ever seen.

For those that are curious or simply don't know, the piece of music that plays from 10:29 until the end is named "La Madrugá". It is a funeral march, composed to be performed during Holy Week's "Pasos". This particular one is dedicated to "Cristo del gran Calvario" brotherhood, one od the many cofradies in Seville, Spain. I find this piece very fitting as it represents both the suffering of this tercio and the cultural background of its members. The sort of "Passion" that trails a direct analogy with Christian Catholic tradition as in the images convey a similar feeling to that of the passage where Jesus drags the cross, commonly refered to as "The Passion". I happen to have played this piece of music in one of the many bands that come with the parades in Holy Week, and it was marvellous to hear this piece being put to great use.

- “POUR LE ROI!!!” - “VIVA ESPAÑA!!”

The Spanish Tercios was one of the most Brave Troops in History. In the end of Real battle of Rocroi the French allowed Spain to march out the battlefield with all His Flags. Signal of Respect and Honor to this legends of bravery..

True character shows itself not in victory but in defeat.

I appreciated the balance of discipline and brutality they showed here. War of the time was certainly not glorious but it certainly wasn't just a random mosh pit of gore either.

One of the most realistic battle scenes I've ever seen. 10/10

The Spanish Tercios constituted a multinational strike force unparalleled in its day. In addition to fighting, they also carried out garrison, escort, fortification and demolition tasks. Its soldiers, long featured the best infantry in the world, were not defeated in the open field until Rocroi, more than a hundred years after its creation. But the defeat at Rocroi was not as overwhelming as French propaganda has led to believe, as the Spanish Tercios recovered Rocroi and continued fighting in Flanders during the second half of the 17th century. PLUS ULTRA

Estaban entrenados matando a musulmanes durante 800 años en la reconquista desde Asturias, y sus ancestros resistieron 200 años a los romanos. España siempre ha sido guerrera, por esto en la época actual intentan desunirla más desde muchos países, sobre todos anglosajones. El día que el país se una, volverá a ser temida a la vez que respetada.

I wish more melee weapon battle scenes were like this, doesn't need to be completely realistic, just less one on one duels and stuff.

Admiración, solo admiración por los Tercios de España, una infantería tan efectiva como no veía el mundo desde las legiones romanas (y como seguramente no volvió a verse jamás). Mis respetos desde La Muy Fiel y Reconquistadora Ciudad de San Felipe y Santiago de Montevideo. Viva España!

How fascinating to see that despite a viceral hatred between our two countries (France and Spain) for centuries, today Spanish Cinema respect much more it's neighbor than english/american does. When they produce an absolute garbage on Agincourt battle spanish produce this, whith a bit of "romance" but far more accurate and respectful.

_"When God ask Humanity for a feat, his Angels look to Spain"_

¡Saludos desde Ucrania! 🇺🇦🇪🇸 ¡La historia de España es tan rica y magnífica! Los tercios españoles fueron formaciones militares verdaderamente ingeniosas y formidables, un verdadero monstruo que aplastó a sus enemigos durante muchas décadas y los valientes guerreros españoles fueron verdaderos dioses de la guerra de su tiempo. ¡Que la bandera de la Cruz de Borgoña ondee para siempre! ¡Siéntete orgullosa, España! Saludos desde Ucrania 🇺🇦🇪🇸!

These fuckers had everything. Guns, horses, guns on horses, cannons, spears, hand to hand combat, etc. must’ve been hard to create a battle plan with this many options

So realistic,no fancy move,just everyone trying their best to put the knife on each other

Remember when movie studios could actually form masses of people?

Espanha e Portugal foram os maiores de seu tempo sem dúvidas, a Ibéria pôs sua influência e mudou o mundo conhecido. Heróis do mar e da terra

The fight against the Moors made Spain unstoppable in its momentum for several centuries, removing the Turk from the work in Lepanto and Malta, in the third islands the French, to unify Portugal, the English too, but in the end like a lion harassed by hyenas Their Empire fell like so many others, not without leaving their mark on Latin America, which without a doubt when they know or want to, they will have to lead a new union in Hispanidad. Regarding the film, despite good moments it fails to capture Alatriste's literary saga, it would have been enough for several films.

"This is a Spanish regiment."

Aragorn!.... Hijo de Arathorn

I absolutely love this scene. The scrimmage with pikes, musketeers operating like clockwork before the Tercio, the conflict between the waning superiority of cavalry and the rise of the infantryman. It looks messy, sloppy, and confusing like a battle should be.

"Dígale que le agradezco sus palabras, pero esto es un Tercio Español." Nosotros NUNCA nos rendimos, preferimos morir, la muerte es sólo un paso. VIVA ESPAÑA HOSTIAS!!!!.

One of the best Pike and Shot scenes ever captured on cinema. Wow. 😮😮

"Los tercios españoles" uff one of the best infantry in European history. strong men. The movie is a joy, I really loved it!

Nosé si le pasa a algún hispano más, pero el sentimiento de que estos hombres en muchos casos ancestros nuestros dieron todo por la Patria, me hace saltar las lágrimas( sobre todo en la escena de la despedida de Diego y Sebastián) y repensar si España e HispanoAmerica debería seguir desunidas. Ambos lados tenemos ancestros españoles y ancestros que aún no siendolos lucharon por España, sin importar el Rey ( no desmereciendolo).

"... but this is a spanish tercio". No more words needed, no further explanation required. Its was just simply unconcievable for a spanish tercio to surrender, no matter how favourable were the terms.

Grande fu la fanteria spagnola e imperiale, che grazie al suo superbo addestramento e inquadrata nella formazione chiamata tercio (forgiata nelle guerre d'Italia) dominò per quasi 2 secoli i campi di battaglia di tutta Europa vincendo folgoranti e spettacolari battaglie, come ad esempio nel 1634 a Nordlingen. In questa occasione i tercios viejos di Napoli e Milano, tutti formati da formidabili veterani, grazie a una magistrale azione difensiva riuscirono, nonostante fossero sottoposti a un intenso bombardamento da parte dell'artiglieria svedese, a respingere ben 15 cariche combinate di fanteria e cavalleria svedese. Le perdite degli attaccanti furono spaventose, e in un secondo momento i tercios lanciarono un veemente contrattacco che distrusse totalmente l'esercito avversario. I tercios non erano affatto inferiori alle formazioni "in linea" protestanti (svedesi, sassoni e olandesi) anzi erano di gran lunga superiori a queste perché gli ufficiali imperiali e spagnoli modificarono la disposizione degli escuadron dei picchieri in modo da rendere mobilissime le unità dei moschettieri tale da ottenere sempre una superiorità di fuoco rispetto agli avversari. Gustavo ll Adolfo Vasa se ne accorse tardi a Lutzen nel 1632. Sbaglio' la carica di cavalleria e venne colpito 2 volte da palle di moschetto e poi infilzato dalle picche. In questa battaglia vennero annientati i migliori reggimenti di fanteria svedesi, solo che von Wallenstein comandante supremo degli imperiali non volle contrattaccare e così si lasciò sfuggire una travolgente vittoria. Gustavo Adolfo fu un buon generale ma non un "fulmine di guerra" come ci racconta la faziosa propaganda protestante. I tercios combatterono anche come fanteria di mare. Nel 1571 a Lepanto furono imbarcati sulla nave ammiraglia cristiana 400 elementi sceltissimi appartenenti al tercio di Sardegna, ottimi tiratori e maestri indiscussi nell'utilizzo della picca, spada e daga, arrembarono furiosamente l'ammiraglia ottomana uccidendo il comandante supremo della flotta avversaria.

The Italian tercios fled, then the Walloons.. but the Tercio viejo fough to the end in Rocroi.

En colombia todos sienten un odio hacia la hispanidad y de lo que habita de ella en nos, muy pocos sentimos vibrar la sangre viendo escenas cómo estás... una leyenda oscura y difundida trata de opacar esa gloria, esa valentía de aquellos hombres que defendieron una idea y conquistaron el mundo... Dios quisiera despertara esa memoria en la sangre y depurara la inmundicia a la que nos ha arrojado la falta de memoria

no phones. no cameras. just lads living in the moment

When Aragorn and Jordi Alba made Spain proud

Love the song at the end of this, especially having looked it up and finding out it's a funeral march.

Looks really authentic.

This I easily the best depiction of pike and shot warfare I've ever witnessed

The French fought for their king whereas the Spaniards fought for the Spanish Empire. That's one hell of a morale

8:55 You got to love the officer in the left like, "its what it is man"

It had to be really nerve wrecking when you see your enemy crawling under you with a dagger while you and your friends are trying your best not to drop the pike and lose cohesive formation.

I usually have some kind of criticism for battle scenes, but this seemed to fairly represent what I'd imagine real combat, pikes, and cannons would be like.

I would be crying "Hijos de puta" too!

When two pike walls come at one another it has to be among the most vicious of combats one could witness

Viva La Hispanidad.Saludos desde Alta California,Nueva España. 🇲🇽🇪🇸

Excellent demonstration of the tactics of the day.

Sin duda la mejor infantería de su tiempo y quizás la mejor del mundo.

One of Viggo's best roles. My favorite movie!

For anyone who wants to know more, the spanish gunmen are called "arcabuceros", and the gun they use is an "arcabuz" (arquebus), it was the first kind of musket

Es la infanteria que represento españa con todo su orgullo y honor , perdieran o ganaran. Eso es ser un soldado de los tercios.

2:30 Wirklich gut gemachte Szene. Kein hirnloses "Ineinander-hinein-Rennen" wie in vielen Historien-Filmen, sondern ein langsames Vorrücken - jeder versucht, den gegnerischen Piken-Spitzen auszuweichen und seinerseits einen Feind zu erwischen. Ein paar besonders Tapfere versuchen, unter dem Wall aus Piken an den Gegner heran zu kommen. 🤔👍

Un pasado glorioso el de España, fiel hasta el final

Putting Aragon in your front rank is a kind of a power move.

this make me want to play Europa universalis 4

I have wanted to watch this movie, but it is only in Spanish with English subtitles. I have been studying Spanish for the last 2 months, so maybe I am ready???? Hahahaha! The battle scene is one of the few that even attempts at realism. No exploding canon balls, fairly accurate portrayal of how cavalry was used in the day -- the caracole where the cavalry charged in quickly and fired the many pistols or carbines into the infantry at more or less point blank range, and then wheeled away to reload (they missed the wheeling away to reload but this was a very difficult and complicated maneuver to pull off). And the joining of the pike blocks in battle. Terrifying. Many Spanish Tercios were known to have died to the last man before surrendering the field even under honorable terms.

"Diga al duque que agradecemos sus palabras, pero somos un Tercio Español." España en pocas palabras.

Nunca me imaginé una marcha de procesión en una película y hoy la disfruto en esta escena. Bravo por el director😍🥺👏

J’adore ce film. Rocroy marque la fin d’une époque glorieuse où les tiercos étaient la terreur des champs de bataille. Alatriste est un personnage vraiment bien écrit !

1:35 "Espana" in unison as the pikes lowered was my favorite scene.

When fighting a war was done by men with incredible courage! Meet and fight your enemies eye to eye, with no real advantage in technology.

Notice how at the beggining you can see a stray bullet breaking the tip of a pike. Noten como al comienzo de la escena hay una bala perdida que rompe la punta de una pica.

Best depiction of a pre-modern land battle I've ever seen. Thanks.

El. Final es muy conmovedor, el héroe se enfrenta a su final con valor, la película es una joya en cuanto a dirección, arte, fotografía vestuario, épico, nada que envidiar al cine de hollywood, que vivan los tercios españoles!!!! Y que viva España!!!

One of the greatest historical dramas ever.

This scene is so much filled with testosterone that my beard grew up his own beard.

1:35 VIVA ESPAÑA 🇪🇦 The Spanish tercios, created by the house of Austria (Spanish Habsburgs) were the first professional European army, considered the rebirth of the infantry on the battlefield, comparable to the Roman legions. They constituted the best infantry of the time during the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, the Tercios defeated the French (Pavia) the Swedes (Nördlingen) and the Dutch (Breda) on many occasions. The fearsome Spanish war effectiveness was based on an armament system that united the knife (the pike) and the firearm (the arquebus), and it was in the tercios where the synthesis of this fundamental duality of infantry with portable firearms. PLUS ULTRA

Accurate battle tactics of that time era

Awesome scene. I can't believe how unique, at least in my mind, that pikemen duel was. I've so rarely seen that period in battle scenes, and I can't believe how unusual it was to see brave/mental men scampering across the ground to dagger each other beneath a ceiling of pikes.