Ken Follett’s
WORLD WITHOUT END
Production Notes Set against a backdrop of war, rebellion and plague, World
Without End follows the epic story of the award-winning miniseries,
The Pillars of the Earth. It again centers on the fictional English
village of Kingsbridge, which, 200 years later, is a thriving 14th
century town with growing wealth and population. World Without
End explores classic themes of love, power, family loyalty and
sibling rivalry through the lives of a community confronting some of
the most tumultuous events in history.
The international production is adapted from the 2007 best-
selling novel by Ken Follett, published 18 years after The Pillars of
the Earth. The epic eight-hour series re-teams Munich-based
Tandem Communications with Scott Free Films, renewing the
successful partnership the companies formed on the CIA Cold War
drama The Company, The Pillars of the Earth and Labyrinth, based
on the worldwide bestseller by author Kate Mosse. Production
partners include Toronto-based Take 5 Productions and Budapest-
based Mid Atlantic.
World Without End features an acclaimed ensemble cast,
including Cynthia Nixon (Sex and the City), Miranda Richardson
(Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire), Peter Firth (MI5), Ben Chaplin
(The Thin Red Line) and Rupert Evans (Hellboy). In starring roles
are Charlotte Riley (Wuthering Heights), Tom Weston-Jones
(Copper), Oliver-Jackson Cohen (What’s Your Number), and Nora
von Waldstätten (Carlos).
Directed by Michael Caton-Jones (Rob Roy, This Boy’s Life) from a
script by John Pielmeier (The Pillars of the Earth), the series is a
German/Canadian coproduction with Executive Producers Rola
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Bauer, Tim Halkin and Jonas Bauer from Tandem
Communications, David W. Zucker, Tony Scott and Ridley
Scott from Scott Free Films, John Weber from Take5 Productions ,
with co-producer Arnie Gelbart from Galafilm, and Producer Howard
Ellis from MidAtlantic Films.
The cast of more than 100 includes co-stars Blake Ritson, Aure
Atika, Sarah Gadon, Carlo Rota, Tom Cullen, Indira Varma and
Kostja Ullmann. Shot over the course of five months on
soundstages and on location in Hungary, Austria and Slovakia,
World Without End filmmakers include director of photography
Denis Crossan (Pink Panther 2), production designer Marek
Dobrowolski (The Pillars of the Earth), costume designer Mario
Davignon (Romeo + Juliet), SFX supervisor Paul Stephenson (A
Good Day to Die Hard) and props master John Allenby (The
Borgias). Most of the shooting took place on the enormous
constructed backlot set of Kingsbridge, covering some 11,000
square meters, and at Hungary’s Korda Studios, which features six
soundstages, including the world’s largest.
The highly acclaimed 2010 miniseries The Pillars of the Earth,
which earned Emmy® and Gemini® awards, along with multiple
Golden Globe® nominations, concerned the building of a new
cathedral in Kingsbridge in the 12th century. World Without End
encompasses another monumental construction project: a new
bridge. This Renaissance design stone structure will replace a
shattered wooden bridge that first began crumbling beneath the
surface, like the medieval world itself.
“The collapse of the decrepit bridge is iconic in Ken’s book and
in our show.” says Executive Producer Rola Bauer. “It took a week
to shoot, and is just one example of how we have upped the ante
from Pillars in all aspects of story and production. More battles.
More stunts. Bigger sets. Kingsbridge itself is much larger, showing
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how the town has grown and developed in the intervening two
centuries.”
Executive Producer David Zucker, who runs the television
division for Ridley Scott and Tony Scott’s Scott Free Films, agrees
that World Without End blazes a new trail from its predecessor, and
is a more extensive undertaking.
“While Pillars was a thrilling experience and we couldn’t be
more proud of the result, we were equally inspired to chart a unique
course for World Without End,” he remarks. “That’s not only due to
the more expansive story, but also the good fortune of having
Michael Caton-Jones at the helm. He brings a sense of intimacy to
the characters along with an incredible cinematic scope. We’re
dealing with much greater sweeps of history, and Michael’s
determined to capture that in every respect.”
Ridley Scott, a fan of Caton-Jones, “He carries a serious body
of work that I’ve always admired. When Rola and David said they’d
like to get Michael, I got on the phone and talked to him about it.
We’re lucky to get him.”
For his part, Jones was intrigued by the project because of
profound historical context and the opportunity to depict the age
through a contrasting sensibility.
“I was drawn to the ideas and images of the pre-Raphaelite
painters, who held a very romanticized view of the Middle Ages,”
says Caton-Jones. “They depicted vivid colors and rich textures,
with great appreciation for the beauty of natural landscapes. Their
promotion of chivalry and idealized beauty are quite different from
the dreary, squalid portrayals of this period normally seen on film
and television.”
Epic clashes occur throughout World Without End – between
old and new, the rulers and the ruled, the reasoned and the
superstitious. It is a time of jarring transitions.
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“What’s interesting about the 14th century is that it’s slowly
emerging from the Dark Ages into a period of enlightenment,” says
scriptwriter John Pielmeier. “It’s the beginning of the middle class
and the rumblings of what eventually became democracy.”
Autocratic institutions, however, seldom surrender willingly,
and they are still very much in play and in control over Kingsbridge.
Both the monarchy and the church have their sites trained on the
town, coveting its wealth and manpower, and looking to crush its
“heretical” ideas of peasant’s rights and insubordination to the Earl
and the Prior. The church, having grown increasingly cynical and
corrupt, orders the hanging of women accused of witchcraft to
reinforce its authority and provide an entertainment spectacle for
the masses. Meanwhile, it is utterly powerless against the most
diabolical and destructive pandemic in history: the Black Death.
Ken Follett remarks, “It’s a huge crisis. Between a third and
one-half of the population of Europe is killed. Imagine walking down
the street, and one house in every three is empty because of a
monstrous disease. That’s a horrific human drama.
“So I imagined setting a story in Kingsbridge, the town I’d
created for The Pillars of the Earth, and telling the everyday lives of
these medieval people. Their loves, hates and fortunes. And then
suddenly, in the middle of the story, everything is turned upside
down from this terrible plague.”
Follett wasn’t motivated to write a sequel to The Pillars of the
Earth until 15 years later, after he’d received countless requests,
indeed pleas, from his fans to continue the story. The filmmakers
of The Pillars of the Earth, however, had their eye on adapting
“WWE” into a series even as they were making Pillars.
“We hoped we were creating a world that people would want
to see – and then see again,” says Rola Bauer.
The effective shorthand and mutual respect that the principals
at Tandem and Scott Free had developed made them keen to work
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together again–“We understand each other,” Ridley Scott succinctly
states–and the global success of The Pillars of the Earth created the
financial wherewithal to proceed.
Says producer Howard Ellis of Budapest-based production
company Mid Atlantic, “I first sat down with Rola, David and Tim in
November 2010, and we began shooting in July 2011. In terms of
sets, cast, location and challenges, this is almost twice the size of
Pillars. Weaving the fabric between two continents, six countries,
and 500 international cast and crew has been a complicated
process.”
ABOUT THE STORY & CHARACTERS
After his mother, Queen Isabella, overthrows his father, King
Edward II, the young King Edward III rules over a defiant and
changing landscape in England. Edward and Isabella’s hold on
power is tenuous, and a shocking secret held in the town of
Kingsbridge could rip it from their hands altogether.
It is 1327. Kingsbridge has a thriving industry selling wool.
Its residents enjoy a prosperous, peaceful existence. But over the
next 15 years, they will confront some of the harshest and most
trying events imaginable: the Peasant Revolt, the beginning of the
Hundred Years’ War and the Black Death. Yet even in the midst of
these traumas, the people of Kingsbridge do what people have
always done: struggle to survive, learn to adapt, and seek as much
joy, love, achievement and comfort as the times and conditions
permit.
“Life back then is cruel, dangerous and brutal.” says Ken
Follett. “And in this violent world, people nevertheless do normal
things. Small boys act naughty, adolescents fall in love, people have
children. That’s where these stories come from – the contrast
between the grim lives these people lead and their aspirations.”
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There are more than 100 characters in World Without End.
The narrative focuses on four lead and several principal roles. At
the core of the story are two brothers, Merthin (Tom Weston-Jones)
and Ralph (Oliver Jackson-Cohen), whose lives take divergent paths
after the execution of their father. Central to Merthin’s journey is
his star-fated love for the proud and determined Caris Wooler
(Charlotte Riley), daughter of the town’s richest wool merchant,
whose refusal to submit to established societal roles for women
places her in danger.
Possessing a similar independent streak is Gwenda (Nora von
Waldstätten), a German émigré from a broken family who inspires
her eventual husband Wulfric (Tom Cullen) to lead a fight against
the slavish institution of serfdom.
Mother Cecilia (Miranda Richardson) is Prioress of the convent.
Her resolve and rectitude incite frequent opposition from Prior
Godwyn (Rupert Evans), a vain, smarmy man, less a servant of God
than of his own interests. He is under the thumb of his devious
mother, Petranilla (Cynthia Nixon), a shrewd political operative
fulfilling personal ambitions through her son. A knight seeking
refuge from the crown joins the priory as Brother Thomas (Ben
Chaplin), a strong, compassionate contrast to the cold,
unsympathetic Prior.
Ruling over the entirety of Kingsbridge is Sir Roland (Peter
Firth), the Earl of Shiring. A fearless, bawdy man, Roland gains his
position and estate by usurping and executing, as an alleged traitor,
the previous Earl, Gerald, father of Merthin and Ralph. Gerald’s
death turns the two young brothers from heirs to a powerful
earldom into penniless knaves. The opposing paths they take in life
as a result of this tragedy will have enormous consequences to their
relationship and the fate of Kingsbridge.
Says Oliver Jackson-Cohen, “Ralph’s whole world is taken
from him. His future and family are destroyed, including his
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relationship with his brother, with whom he was once close. He is
then turned over to the man who murdered his father, and ends up
living a life he was not meant to lead. He’s left embittered and
vengeful, determined to do whatever is necessary to get back his
land and title.”
As played by Jackson-Cohen, Ralph is a well-rounded, even
somewhat sympathetic figure, a victim of crushing circumstances as
much as his own pride and rage.
Rola Bauer states, “Ralph is a fascinating character –
confused, angered and desiring to prove himself. He uses violence
to achieve his aims and justifies that based on all the wrongs done
to him. He’s not one-dimensional or evil. He is a layered, tragic
figure – a true antagonist.”
She adds, “One of the wonderful things about an eight-hour
series is that it allows the characters to fully develop, and for the
actors to really get under the skin of their roles. They can play them
with nuance, complexity and contradiction.”
Merthin, unlike his brother, possesses an artistic and
mechanical mind, and pursues an interest in architecture. He
becomes apprenticed to a brutish man named Elfric (Ian Pirie), who
controls all building and construction through the local guild. The
two immediately clash.
Tom Weston-Jones remarks, “While Ralph seems destined to
forever look back on what he lost, Merthin wants to move forward.
He senses dramatic change lies ahead and wants to be part of it.
He’s a man of reason and doubt, who questions the status quo. His
progressive way of thinking will bring him into conflict with Elfric’s
outdated building methods and ideas.”
In one pivotal scene, Merthin and Elfric compete at the
Guildhall for the contract to build the new bridge. Elfric advocates
traditional wooden construction, while Merthin proposes a
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pioneering stone design favored in Italy. Merthin wins the contract,
but his triumph will be short-lived.
Their sour relationship is poisoned when Elfric weds the
woman Merthin loves – Caris Wooler. The arranged marriage,
deviously orchestrated by Petranilla, becomes a cauldron of
arguments, abuse and animosity.
Charlotte Riley explains, “At one point in the story, Caris says
to her father, ‘Maybe I don’t want to get married!’ And he says,
‘Well, what on earth would you do then?’ This is a salient point
about that period. But Caris is determined to have a life other than
what’s been offered to her. And in this story we get to follow her on
a journey of discovery, and find out who she is and what she really
wants.”
Despite her husband’s boorish behavior –“He’s not evil, he
just lashes out in frustration and humiliation because Caris doesn’t
love him,” explains Ian Pirie–Caris’ far more dangerous nemeses
are her cousin, Godwyn, and her aunt, Petranilla, who steers her
son’s career with sociopathic brilliance.
“Petranilla is a stage mother from hell,” says Cynthia Nixon.
“She appears to be a dutiful aunt, sister and mother, but as the
story unfolds we discover she has tremendous thwarted ambition
that drives her to a very veiled, murderous place.
“She is smarter than Godwyn, always ten steps ahead,
waiting for him to catch up. But one of the interesting things that
often happens to domineering parents is they underestimate their
children. She’s teaching him viciousness and duplicity without
realizing it may be turned against her.”
Godwyn has his eye on becoming bishop to gain his mother’s
approval and find some kind of meaning in his world, explains
Rupert Evans.
Says Evans, “Godwyn is a character who’s been alienated as a
child, perhaps even bullied, I suspect. He’s a classic case of an only
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child with a doting mother, whom he cherishes and places on a
pedastal. His whole life is lived through her, and when she is
revealed to have terrible faults, everything crumbles. He clings even
tighter to the church as the only refuge where he feels confident
and safe. Then he becomes dangerously fanatical in his devotion
and self-righteousness.”
Godwyn also struggles with his physical attraction to Caris.
He decries her as a temptress, though she does nothing to entice
him. He also, Evans elaborates, feels threatened by Caris‘ bold
personality and her embrace of new ideas.
“Old versus new is a key theme in the show. Godwyn looks to
the past to re-assert his authortity and understanding of the world.
He feels the Bible is clear about the subordinate role of women, and
is threatened by her independent thinking and desire for self-
determination.”
Godwyn also tangles with the formidable Mother Cecilia. As
Prioress of the convent, she controls the purse strings and is not
easily intimidated.
Miranda Richardson says, “Being a nun wasn’t the first idea
Cecilia had for her life. She entered the church at a later age, which
was not uncommon for women. It’s one of the few places they can
seek emotional and physical refuge. So Cecilia has a secular
backstory, which helps her relate to Caris in urging her to join the
convent.”
Caris has aroused Godwyn’s ire by associating with the
naturalist healer Mattie Wise (Indira Varma), who has become her
mentor. Mattie, explains Varma, is the multi-racial daughter of an
Arabic-English union. She learned new concepts in science and
medicine from her deceased parents, and they radically contradict
accepted church doctrines.
“Arab culture at that time was advanced in scientific discovery,
astronomy, philosophy and medicine,” Varma says. “But the church
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is suspicious of anything that is different, and hearing these ideas
emanate from a woman, of mixed race no less, makes them heresy.”
The priory’s chief medical practitioner, Brother Joseph (David
Bradley), rejects Mattie’s advice when a badly wounded soldier is
brought to their care. He amputates the arm of the patient, who
turns out to be Sir Thomas Langley (Ben Chaplin), a knight
harboring a secret so damaging it endangers the whole of
Kingsbridge.
“Thomas fought against Edward III and has fled to sanctuary.
He endures a slow recovery from his injuries and undergoes a
spiritual journey in the process.” Ben Chaplin says. “I think he sees
himself as a secular priest. He connects with the people of
Kingsbridge, wants to help them, and is particularly close to Caris
and Brother Matthias (Jason Langley).
The relationship between the two priests is rumored to go
beyond that of friendship, which risks severe punishment. Likewise,
young Sister Mair (Tatiana Maslany) harbors an attraction to Caris,
which surfaces when the two nuns are sent by Mother Cecilia on a
perilous mission to France to petition their warring King to stop
Godwyn from raiding the priory’s treasury.
“Sister Mair is in awe of Caris, who defies stereotypes, and is
beautiful, brave and gracious.” says Tatiana Maslany. “She embarks
on this trip with Caris–the first time Mair has ever left the convent–
and is suddenly confronted with war and carnage. Their bond and
need for each other are strongly influenced by the fact that they are
completely alone in this very intense, dangerous environment.”
Having once treated King Edward III (Blake Ritson) while he
was enlisting soldiers in Kingsbridge, Caris uses that history to
plead her case with him. King Edward III is a strained but focused
leader, forceful but not without compassion, and haunted by his
own personal tragedies. He has launched an invasion against
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France, the beginning phases of the Hundred Years’ War, and will
eventually turn his attention toward Kingsbridge.
“King Edward III is not well known partly because there’s
nothing particularly salacious about him, although he was
immensely successful,” says Ritson, who read biographies of the
King in preparation for the role. “He revolutionized warfare with the
introduction of the longbow, won virtually every battle, made
England a military might and solved its debt crisis. He was very
good at his job.”
To become a rich and powerful ruler, Edward must first throw
off the yoke of his mother, Queen Isabella (Aure Atika), and her
paramour, Mortimer (Hannes Jaenicke). He cows Isabella into
submission by forcing her to watch Mortimer being hanged for
treason. She will meddle no further.
The King, however, intends to meddle with Kingsbridge,
through the enthusiastic proxy of Ralph, now a prominent knight in
the royal army. Ralph is infuriated that the serfs on his new land at
Wigleigh are refusing to work for only food, insisting on fair wages.
He intends to lead a contingent of soldiers in an attack on the
village to reinforce the king’s authority and settle some old scores.
Opposing him is a makeshift militia of farmers, laborers and
villagers, led by Gwenda and her husband, Wulfric who has risen
from a humble farmer to a leader of what will become known as the
Peasant Revolt.
Tom Cullen states, “Wulfric is a simple man of the soil. He
sees things in black and white, and cares only about the land. But
then he meets Gwenda, a strong, determined German woman, and
he changes. She opens his eyes to the bigger picture around him
and makes him realize he has a voice. He can help change the
world.”
Nora von Waldstätten adds, “I fell in love with Gwenda
immediately. She had a difficult start in life – very poor with a
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brutal father who molests her. But she learns to stand up for herself
and overcome obstacles. She fights for the right to a better life. She
fights for the people she loves. And she sees the best in them,
which is why she pushes Wulfric to believe in himself. Ultimately he
becomes a very brave man.”
Dozens of other courageous men and woman stand with
Gwenda and Wulfric to defend their town, including Caris’ father,
Edmund (Carlo Rota), Gwenda’s brother, Holger (Kostja Ullmann),
an expert bowman recently returned from war, and the maternal
Madge Webber (Sally Bankes), a big-hearted woman who shelters
orphans.
Sally Bankes describes her character as “the voice of the
village, in many ways. She speaks up on behalf of those who are
getting a raw deal. She’s suffered terrible losses in her own family,
and ends up taking in other children whose parents have
succumbed to the plague. She’s a really good sort, but not someone
you want to try to push around.”
As Madge and the people of Kingsbridge anxiously await an
attack by Ralph, he is becoming, day by day, even more bitter and
vengeful, owing to a tragedy surrounding his newly-wed wife, the
beautiful princess Philippa (Sarah Gadon).
“Philippa is somewhat of a symbolic character – she
represents the ‘pre-Raphaelite’ visual inspiration that (director)
Michael wanted in the film,” says Sarah Gadon. “She has a very
iconic look, with big, blonde curly hair, very pale skin, rosy cheeks,
almost ethereal in appearance.”
Philippa refuses to accept her arranged marriage to Ralph,
whom she detests, and takes a shocking course of action to end it.
Gadon says, “Although this is a time when women have
minimal rights or power, I loved the strength of the female
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characters in the story. I respect the limited but courageous choices
that Philippa, Caris and Mattie make. They refuse to be victims.”
Ken Follett, whose novels center on characters who reject the
societal limits imposed on them, echoes her sentiment.
“Most people accept their assigned roles. A few do not, and
they’re the ones who reveal society’s fault lines.” he states. “Caris
fights against all kinds of restraints in an attempt to be herself. I
think people like her have existed in all ages, and they’re the ones
whose stories I always want to tell.”
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
Under a scorching early July sun, Oliver Jackson-Cohen is on
set reviewing the shooting schedule, reflecting that in the first two
days alone, his character Ralph commits a rape, beats a serf, and
threatens to harm a child.
“Hang on…Rola, it seems I’m playing the bad guy.” Jackson-
Cohen quips.
“You’re not the only one. Just the worst.” Bauer laughs.
The production, on day two, is shooting in a large field in an
area known as Cszakvar, an hour-and-a-half drive outside Budapest.
Few trees are available to provide shade, and the temperature has
climbed to 44 degrees celsius, a record for the date. Tom Cullen
and Nora von Waldstätten, as Wulfric and Gwenda, are plowing a
priory field when an angry Ralph arrives on horseback and orders
them to return to his property at Wigleigh.
Tom Cullen remembers, “It was a huge shot, three minutes
long, that starts with Oliver riding his horse all the way in,
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delivering an amazing speech, and then Gwenda responds. And I
simply have to say, ‘We’re being paid to work this land. What do
you pay?’ But because of the heat, my brain had stopped working,
and I couldn’t get the line out. It was my first day, my first line, and
I kept missing it. I felt bad because Oliver doesn’t particularly like
being on horses, and he kept having to get back in the saddle and
start the whole scene over.”
Jackson-Cohen admits to an initial fear of horses, which he
gradually overcame during the shoot.
“I was scared to death. So they sent me to a place in London
where an amazing teacher started me off on several different
horses and I became more comfortable. They’re really quite
wonderful animals once you get used to them.”
Cszakvar, known for its rolling hills, some of them the color
of chalk, is one of several practical locations the production used
that needed to be free of all signs of contemporary life – no
highways, telephone poles, planes, or even modern farms.
“We avoided locations with large crop fields because industrial
farming didn’t occur until the 19th century,” says production
designer Marek Dobrowolski. “Certain crops were not grown back
then, so we paid a few farmers to not plant them.
“On the other hand, when Gwenda and Wulfric harvest wheat,
we used a field matching the size and condition of what you would
have seen then. It’s part of our desire to be as authentic to the time
period as is reasonably possible.”
Marek’s biggest challenge was not errant fields of corn,
however, but constructing the massive Kingsbridge set in just 12
weeks. Shooting was scheduled to begin on that set in late July
after two weeks of interior shooting at Korda Studios. Bordering a
small lake on private land known in abbreviation as “Gobol,” the
Kingsbridge location was only an eight-minute drive from Korda,
and offered everything the filmmakers wanted.
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Unlike The Pillars of the Earth, where parts of the smaller
Kingsbridge set were located in different places, Rola Bauer wanted
to create the entirety of the huge village exterior (and some
interiors) on a single location – one that offered unlimited camera
angles and 360 degree panoramas.
During one of the many recesses that occurred over four
months of location scouting, director Michael Caton-Jones stood on
a hill in a wide field, looking in all directions, and couldn’t spot a
single building that suggested the modern world.
“We knew we’d found our Kingsbridge.” says Bauer.
A horse stable and a few small farmhouses were the only
structures in the area. Marek and his team immediately got to work
designing the medieval village, which ultimately covers some
11,000 square meters. It encompasses facades of the priory,
cathedral and Guild Hall, as well as exteriors and interiors of private
homes, a tavern, garth, hospice, workshop, entrance gates, stone
walls, animal pens, covered market square, and an assortment of
horses, cows, pigs, chickens, and ducks.
Marek based the town’s design on paintings, sketches and
research he conducted in England, especially places like Cotswold,
Oxfordshire, which, typical of the period, has town squares with a
central cross, where the church or priory was located. Buildings
were primarily made of yellowish sandstone, limestone and flint.
He combined architectural elements from the 10th century (priory),
11th century (cathedral), 12th century (garth), and 13th century
(Edmund’s house). The beautiful garth and cloisters were loosely
based on England’s Laycok Abbey (completed in 1238) while the
town square was modeled after Chipping Campden, a small village
in Gloucestershire.
Then, as now, the wealth and privilege of residents was
demonstrated by the size and location of their homes. Edmund, the
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richest man in Kingsbridge, has the largest house in a prime
location, with a backyard and a warehouse.
Says set decorator Lee Gordon, “Merchants were the rising
class at this time. They were earning lots of money from wool,
which was England’s largest export.
“Edmund’s house is adorned with tapestries and fabrics, a
display of conspicuous consumption, which, along with the grand
meals he serves, reflects his social status.”
Elfric also has a prominent home, with a large barn workshop
where Merthin labors, while Petranilla lives in a small old house –
that is, until she manages to do away with Edmund’s wife and move
into his grand abode. Kingsbridge is a busy, prosperous village,
enjoying the calm before the storm.
“In keeping with our pre-Raphaelite influence, this is not a
dark environment, such as in ‘Hamlet’, but a place full of color and
life.” explains Marek.
The core of that life gathers at the busy marketplace at the
center of the cobblestone square. With a big fleece fair sequence
scheduled for July 27th, the art and props departments worked
through the night of the 26th prepping 90 wooden stalls, each
selling a variety of food and goods. The kiosks serve as backdrop,
along with 150 extras, for some dramatic scenes that include a fight
between Merthin and Ralph, accusations of witchcraft against Caris,
and poor Edmund receiving excruciating punishment for alleged
treason, ordered by Roland.
“In what must be the worst case of good news/bad news ever
received, Edmund is told, just as a noose is tightening around his
neck, that his life will be spared,” explains Carlo Rota. “However,
his legs are to be broken by sledgehammer.”
Rota is just one of many cast members who praised the
stunning scope and realism of Kingsbridge for “creating a marvelous
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environment that really helps getting into, and staying in,
character.”
Says Charlotte Riley, “I sometimes wander around pretending
I live here. I pick out which pieces of furniture I’d like to have in my
house – you know, that really helps me get into character, choosing
a nice big kitchen table for my flat.”
Oliver Jackson-Cohen says that after spending 14 hours on
set, he forgets about the outside world and is sometimes
disoriented by the sight of a car or trailer.
“You think, ‘Where the hell did that come from?’ Everything
feels so real on set you become lost in this time and space. The
place is enormous and the attention to detail is astounding. It’s one
of the most incredible sets I think I’ve ever seen.”
Sally Bankes remembers walking through Kingsbridge one
afternoon on her way to the bridge set and wondering, “’Hey, where
have all the people who live here gone?’ Then, of course, I
remember, ‘This is a set, Sally, c’mon, get it together. Those people
are extras, they don’t actually live here, for goodness sakes.’”
The filmmakers’ concern with realism and detail is one of the
primary reasons Ken Follett was enthusiastic about entrusting his
books to their series adaptations. He recalls walking onto the
Kingsbridge set and being “gobsmacked.”
“You stand in the middle of the market square and look
around and you can’t see anything but the Middle Ages,” Follett
describes. “It’s overwhelming. The sets, the costumes and the
props are so detailed and accurate. And that’s what I strive for in
my books. I describe small, curious or unexpected things that are
evocative of the era. The designers here have done the same thing,
and I’m delighted.”
Attesting to that attention to detail, Daniel Ansleigh, who
plays the role of William, eldest son of Roland and suitor of Philippa,
recalls a day his mare was nibbling a piece of grass when suddenly
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“An art department crewmember comes over to say, ‘Excuse me,
your horse is eating the set.’ And I’m thinking, ‘You mean even this
random tuft of grass was actually placed here?’”
Along with high temperatures, occasional heavy summer rains
deluged the set, causing rivers of mud to flow over the cobblestones.
The conditions challenged cast and crew—“If you ask me what I’ll
take away from this experience, I’ll tell you a pair of muddy shoes,”
joked Tom Cullen—but no one more than director of photography
Denis Crossan. With the sun darting in and out of clouds on many
days, he had to continually make corrections for light levels, or wait
it out.
“We were prepared for this, so we’ve done a good job of
tracking the sun, moving people around, and making necessary
adjustments,” Crossan says. “We’re using natural light as much as
possible. For interiors at Kingsbridge we light through a window to
mimic sunlight, or hide a light inside. We also use a lot of candles.”
Crossan shot with state-of-the-art ARRI Alexa digital motion
picture cameras (introduced in mid 2010), which he says allowed
him to push the stops and even adjust the aperture during scenes.
“When we have scenes with actors going from an interior to
an exterior, rather than trying to match the light levels for both the
outside and inside, I simply adjust the aperture to equalize the
amount of light coming into the camera.”
Crossan was able to do that, he explains, because with digital,
he can see immediately how the light levels appear on screen. With
film stock, he would have to wait until the rushes were available to
check, a day or so later.
Crossan used at least two cameras for each scene, more for
the bigger sequences, such as the trial and hanging of Mattie Wise
– who’s accused of witchcraft for administering homeopathic
19
remedies. Though located off the main square, Mattie’s garden and
small home are intentionally within sight of the cathedral.
Says Production Designer Marek Dobrowolski, “I thought it
was important that the church, by which she will stand in judgment,
always have a visual lurking presence over her garden. She can’t
escape its prejudice or condemnation.”
Mattie’s garden is replete with raked beds and garden tools,
where she pulls, dries, cuts and mixes her herbs into various
potions. Her Muslim ancestry is displayed through various Arabic
artifacts, such as an Ottoman tapestry and teapot, and a little
heater with coals, widely used by the Middle Eastern cultures.
Indira Varma says she identified with Mattie’s herbal
medicines because “I have a little garden of my own, and my Dad
was brilliant at gardening – he was Indian, and into Ayurvedic
medicines and the concept of healing plants. In fact, I’ve got a bit
of ginger in my bag to nurse my sore throat.”
Unfortunately for Mattie, Godwyn nurses a grudge against her,
and, with the fleece fair approaching, convinces Prior Anthony
(Kevin Moore) that such an occasion would be an opportune time
for a hanging.
Mattie’s trial was shot over the course of two days, August 9th
and 10th, with the fleece market as a backdrop. Bishop Richard
(Oliver Maltman), Roland’s other son, attends the show trial,
although he hasn’t much of a stomach for the gruesome.
“Bishops wielded enormous power,” says Maltman. “They
could sentence people, such as Mattie, to death. It’s fascinating and
appalling that it was so easy to condemn someone just because of
rumors or some kind of mole on their skin. My character has no
interest in that kind of bloodshed, especially since he’s dealing with
his own sins, which include an affair with his father’s betrothed.”
During his research for World Without End, Ken Follett read a
book called Witch Trials of the 14th Century, and says that the
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accusers were often people who had a dispute with the accused –
over such random things as a property boundary or the ownership
of livestock.
“Accusing your rival of being a witch was a smart move
because it was easy to whip up hysteria, especially if she was an
older single woman. Everything that happens to Mattie is authentic.”
Declared guilty, Mattie is hauled in a cart, hands bound to a
wooden post, through the village on the way to the bridge, where
she will be hung. Excited citizens hurl objects at her in derision.
Some of the extras, having waited all day for this moment, toss
things with a little too much exuberance.
“It was an awful scene to shoot, actually,” Varma recalls. “The
extras were throwing plums, peaches and apples at me. I had to
ask them to take the stones out of the peaches cause I was getting
battered. The ADs were yelling, ‘Not the face! Don’t throw them at
her face!’”
Arriving at the bridge, with hundreds of spectators in tow,
Mattie is placed on a platform, noose around her neck. She is not
the only one on the verge of death. That rickety overpass, which
Merthin had warned about, will momentarily hurl dozens of people
into the river below.
The spectacular collapse of the bridge, which utilized both 1st
and 2nd units, began shooting in reverse sequence on August 18th.
Principal cast, along with stuntmen and horses, are already in the
water in the aftermath of the fall. Panicked survivors flail in the
water amongst debris and dead bodies.
Says stunt coordinator Gaspar Szaba, “This is a time when
not many people learned to swim. Most of the bodies of water were
too swift.”
Director Michael Caton-Jones, Director of Photography Denis
Crossan and some 20 other crew members don wetsuits and stand
in waist-to-chest high water below the bridge. The lake bed has
21
been elevated with seven feet of gravel to ensure everyone’s head
remains safely above water. Electric pumps create a stream to
mimic river flow. Eight cameras are positioned on barges, on the
shoreline, or atop the bridge. Filming in water is risky and
exhausting, so rescue teams and boats are stationed on the lake,
and a head count is undertaken immediately after each take.
Says Rola Bauer, “When I considered the bridge collapse in
the script, I had three thoughts – ‘How are we going to produce this,
how are we going to produce it safely, and how can we afford it?’
We addressed all three issues, and here we are.”
In the scene, Ralph saves a drowning Roland, while Gwenda
and Wulfric struggle to stay afloat. Caris, Merthin, and Godwyn
view the spectacle in horror from the shore. Petranilla, unsatisfied
to merely observe the disaster, manages to add to it.
After two days of shooting with principal cast in the water, the
2nd unit takes over on September 3rd for three additional days of
capturing the actual collapse, as well as insert and pickup shots.
The “stunt” bridge spans 100 meters, and is partially
comprised of metal interior beams covered in wooden casings,
manipulated by hydraulic lifts. On command, it can collapse in
three places, sending six pieces in various directions. Special
effects supervisor Paul Stephenson coordinated the design and
construction with Dobrowolski and a team of technicians. The
collapse is rehearsed a few days prior to shooting to ensure safe
operation and gauge how it works for camera angles.
“We decided to slow the speed of the collapse from our
original test to give the camera time to pick up some of the specific
action and movements.” says Stephenson. “The hydraulics are
operated from the shore using a timing box, so we have control
over what it does. We can stop it if something goes wrong.”
Second unit Director James Gillespie, who has helmed hit
horror features such as I Know What You Did Last Summer and
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Venom, is a fellow Scotsman of Michael Caton-Jones, who
personally asked him to direct some of the action sequences.
“This shot is quite difficult to choreograph because we’ve
already shot some of the aftermath, and now we have to make sure
what we do today–the structural collapse–matches up with that,”
Gillespie explains. “We’ll have 24 angles on it, and will do it twice,
with about three hours to reset the bridge.”
Some 60 stuntmen and women, dressed as character doubles
and villagers, along with 130 extras, crowd the bridge prior to the
collapse. Onshore, several VIPs have come to watch the anticipated
event, including Hollywood Hungarian film producer Andy Vajna and
real estate mogul Sandor Demjan.
Tensions mount as the 1st AD counts down the seconds.
Gillespie calls “action!” and the crowd begins screaming as the
bridge falls, sending dozens of people and several horses tumbling
10 feet down into the water. Applause erupts from the shore after
“cut” is called, and the crew and stuntmen haul themselves from
the water. The stunt is a success, but one of the three collapse
points on the bridge did not fully activate, so Gillespie’s intent is to
do another take in a few hours.
“It went very well“, says a relieved Paul Stephenson moments
after the stunt. “It looks good, and most importantly, no one was
hurt; everyone got out of the water. That was months of
preparation realized in a 12-second shot.”
Visual effects supervisor Roberto Biaggi is on hand to
calculate the work he will need to do to complete the scene in post-
production.
“Our task is to enhance the collapse by adding more debris
and flying wood, and digitally show heavy boards and pieces coming
down, hitting characters in the water,” Biaggi says. “We’ll also
23
duplicate more people on the bridge falling into the river. It will
make the scene even more dynamic.”
Is the disaster the wrath of God for the unjust hanging of
Mattie? Godwyn insists it is punishment for insufficient rectitude.
Scores of dead and injured line the floors of the cathedral, attended
to by nuns. The overwhelming casualties inspire Caris to create a
hospital on priory land, causing another conflict with Godwyn.
With Kingsbridge now dependent on a slow, inefficient ferry,
the construction of a badly needed new bridge becomes a pivotal
storyline. The competition between Merthin and Elfric to win the
construction contract occurs during a meeting at the interior Guild
Hall, with much of the community in attendance.
Tom Weston-Jones researched Renaissance building
techniques and Gothic architecture, and was therefore familiar with
some of the nomenclature. Nonetheless, he says he was “petrified”
about that scene because it required his character to champion the
technical merits of a cofferdam and the concept of sectioning off
water in a pillar to make it airtight.
“I thought my nerves would help the scene because Merthin
would be even more frightened to defend his unorthodox ideas and
contradict his master in public.”
The riveting scene epitomizes the clash of old and new that
occurs throughout the story, and touches on a timeless trauma of
experienced workers being made obsolete by the advent of new
technologies and methodologies.
Says Ian Pirie, “Elfric is old-school. Everyone knows him and
hires him. Then this 23-year-old whippersnapper starts telling him
how to do things, which gets his back up. Elfric is like, ‘Now wait a
minute, I know how to do my job, I’ve been doing it a long time.
This is how you build a bridge.’ But Merthin is the future. He knows
new ways of doing things that Elfric doesn’t, and it’s demoralizing,
as it would be for anyone, when Elfric realizes he’s no longer
24
needed. He’s being replaced. And this sets him on a dark path,
fostering a lot of hatred for Merthin.”
Merthin’s design calls for two separate bridges that meet on a
small island, which once housed leper victims.
“We couldn’t find any suitable locations for this, so we not
only had to make the two sections of bridge, but also create an
island,” says Marek Dobrowolski.
The bridge construction had to be coordinated within the
narrative timeline in the script – a complicated process for both the
art department and the assistant directors.
Before Edward III can deal with Kingsbridge, however, he
must lead his troops in a fight against French forces at the banks of
the river Somme. These battle sequences began shooting
September 20th in Nagyeghaza, Hungary, and are depicted with
graphic destruction. Prosthetic dummies of dead horses and
soldiers, with arrows protruding from various parts of their bodies,
are scattered over the battlefield.
SFX makeup artist Balazs Novak and makeup head Colleen
Quinton work with 12 makeup artists preparing hundreds of extras
for various stages of carnage, from deadly wounds to trace cuts to
missing limbs. Beginning at 4 a.m., waves of sleepy arrivals
receive their “injuries” in the makeup tent, lending it the
appearance of an army field hospital. One nonchalant soul has an
arrow embedded in his head, which must remain there the entire
day. Sitting outside the tent, calmly smoking a cigarette, he is
nonplussed by the ordeal.
“It’s not uncomfortable, just restrictive,” he says through an
interpreter. “A real arrow in the head would feel much worse, so I
can’t complain. This is not a normal situation.”
Eighty percent of the wounds are applied with makeup; the
remaining twenty percent are created with prosthetics. The trick
with these types of graphic scenes, Quinton says, is not necessarily
25
the substantial amount of prep, but just getting the blood tones to
match.
“Inevitably, each department–makeup, props, costumes–
brings their own blood colors from different companies, and it’s
always a case of “Oh, no, how are we going to make all these colors
match?’”
Blood flows freely at the Somme, where the British rout the
French largely owing to their use of the longbow, which proved to
be far superior to the French crossbows, according to prop master
and medieval military weapons authority John Allenby.
“The longbow is fired by a single archer from a greater
distance, while the crossbow requires three people and is effective
at shorter distances,” Allenby explains. “The English archers simply
pull more arrows from their quill and rain them down on the
decimated French ranks.”
Another cutting-edge weapon of the time was the halberd – a
menacing 12-foot-long pike that had a small spike at the side, near
the top, that was used to catch a rider’s armor and yank him off the
horse. The spear was then used to finish him off.
These new weapons essentially ushered out the “chivalric”
age of knights, while the battles at the Somme marked the
beginning of the Hundred Years’ War – a conflict that went on
intermittently for 116 years for control of the French throne. Years
often passed between major battles, as much of the war was
comprised of smaller skirmishes.
“Creating an army required a lot of money and manpower,
especially during economic duress and plague,” Allenby says. “Kings
and Earls were constantly regrouping and rebuilding their military,
which took time.”
26
Allenby and his five-person crew created scores of halberds in
their workshop at Korda, along with thousands of other weapons
and props, flags (each royal family had its own crest), shields,
swords, leather quivers, personal characters props (such as
Merthin’s tools) and much more.
“We made the flags of silk, bigger than those of the time, with
long, flowing tails, because Michael wanted to see them blowing in
the wind,” Allenby says.
The weapons were made of steel or rubber, depending on its
use. Other than some crossbows, which he rented from Three
Brothers in Prague, Allenby’s team made everything by hand in
Budapest, including 40 professional bows and 1500 arrows, created
by an expert Hungarian, which took four months. “They had to be
top-quality because of safety reasons, as our cast will be shooting
them. There are wonderful craftsmen and designers here“, Allenby
says.
Indeed, during the siege of Kingsbridge, shot in late
November/early December, actor Kostja Ullmann (Holger), fires live
arrows over the walls, surrounded by cast and extras. An errant
shot could have resulted in injury.
“To be honest, I was a little worried about all the guys
standing around me“, he says. “But I had practiced a lot, and the
bow was perfect, so I felt confident.”
One of Allenby’s most prized props was a beautiful sword
purchased in Prague for $1,000, which Blake Ritson wields as King
Edward III. (Rola Bauer presented the sword to Ritson as a gift at
wrap).
“It’s always good to be King – or to play a King,” Ritson
smiles. “You get nice costumes and get to ride horses and carry an
awesome sword.”
27
Ritson has used swords on previous films, and fenced in
school, but still spent many hours rehearsing his climactic dual with
Thomas, “hence the nicks on my hand.
“Michael mentioned that the scene is influenced by American
Westerns and a kind of Kabuki, a big one-on-one showdown to
settle things once and for all.”
Ritson suffered the summer wearing eight layers of clothing
and very heavy chainmail, which transfers heat like a solar panel.
Through it all, he looked forward to winter, “when I thought I’d be
the lucky person who’d be warm. Instead, I discovered that
chainmail also harvests the cold, so it was like being inside a
refrigerator. I can see why these things went out of fashion.”
Edward III and Queen Isabella share numerous scenes
together at Westminster Palace, and for those, the production
traveled in mid-October to Austria and Slovakia.
First stop is Vienna’s Kreuzenstein Castle, which doubles for the
Westminster courtyard, where Mortimer is executed and Edward
learns of his mother’s treachery.
Hannes Jaenicke, whose character hangs from a rope by
evening’s end, spent an hour exploring the castle – a fascinating
mix of architectural styles pieced together by an eccentric Viennese
industrialist at the turn of the 20th century.
“I was a bit confused by Kreuzenstein at first,” says Jaenicke,
“because it combines Medieval, Gothic, and early Renaissance
elements. I was told the builder took large and small sections from
other castles around Europe and pieced them together into one. It
looks like something Disney might do, but it’s a perfect film set.”
Kreuzenstein also served as the Westminster chapel set, and
stood in for exterior Shiring Castle shots involving Roland, Ralph,
and Petranilla.
Scenes occurring in Edward and Isabella’s Westminster
private quarters and hallways were filmed the following week at
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Bojnice Castle in Slovakia. The 12th century Gothic structure, later
modified in Renaissance and French romantic styles, is a designated
Slovakian national treasure. The castle provided gorgeous
backdrops for several important scenes, including Edward’s decision
to invade France (after a map bleeds mysteriously); his mourning of
beloved daughter Joan; a sexual liaison between Mortimer and
Isabella; and the latter’s angry confrontation with Edward
surrounding details of his father’s death.
Aure Atika says of her role, “It’s quite intimidating to play a
Queen and order people around. Isabella is rather mean, to be
honest, and my goal was to find her personal qualities and try to
discover the source of that meanness, which I think was frustration.”
From Bojnice, the production returned home to Budapest for
two days of interior shooting at Korda Studios before traveling to
Kosice, Slovakia, for major scenes to be shot at St. Elizabeth
Cathedral.
This stunning 14th century church doubles for Kingsbridge
Cathedral, where weddings are held for Roland and Margery (Hera
Hilmar), Caris and Elfric, and Gwenda and Wulfric. It also serves as
the main gathering place for important town meetings, and as a
makeshift hospital/morgue after the bridge collapse.
“Ours is the first movie allowed to film inside St. Elizabeth“,
notes producer Howard Ellis. “We’re very lucky to be here because
there aren’t a great deal of historically accurate cathedrals or
basilicas remaining in Central and Eastern Europe.”
The largest church in Slovakia, St. Elizabeth was built in the
High Gothic style from 1378 to 1508, undergoing several
restorations over the centuries. Glorious paintings and sculptures
adorn its interior.
“St. Elizabeth is a jewel in this part of Europe“, states Marek
Dobrowolski. “All the altars are original. They were restored in 1896,
and new stained glass windows were put in, but consistent with the
29
style of the late medieval period. By contrast, most church interiors
are renovated into contemporary designs over the centuries — for
example, you’ll find a Romanesque church but inside are Baroque
interiors. This one is still in its original state.”
All electric lights and modern decorations were removed
before filming, while a sarcophagus and a few other elements were
added – including a statue of the “Weeping Lady” (a pivotal holy
relic in The Pillars of Earth). This priceless icon is dropped by
Brother Carlus (John Owens) during Roland’s wedding procession.
Despite the ominous accident, Roland’s wedding is a gala
affair, and was shot on a date that holds great significance to Peter
Firth.
“My character is wearing a fabulous costume and marrying a
beautiful 22-year-old woman, while I myself am celebrating a
birthday, so it couldn’t be a grander occasion,” Firth grins.
Firth describes Roland as a “man from modest beginnings,
who will use any means at his disposal to further himself. He
ignores the bad omen of the broken statue and marries the wrong
woman. She is not nice and must be dealt with harshly.”
Rola Bauer says Firth brilliantly portrays Roland’s “demonic
side with lightness and a twinkle in his eye, a smile that says he
could go crazy on you at any moment.”
Roland’s ruthless ambition makes him a similar sort as
Petranilla, with whom he has been romantically involved, off-and-on,
for most of their lives.
“They have quite a history“, Firth explains. “When you’ve
known someone for 30 years, there’s a complicated bond, even
when you are at odds with each other. Roland and Petranilla are as
bad as they come, so they’re well matched.”
Cynthia Nixon says, “Roland wields tremendous power over
the community, and holds particular sway over Petranilla because
she’s still in love with him.”
30
Firth is an accomplished horseman, capable of riding bareback,
and performed ably in all his horseback scenes. Some of his fellow
cast members, however, had to acquire riding skills during prep, as
well as undergo extensive fighting and weapons training during both
pre-production and principal photography.
“I trained with swords in drama school, and was excited to
have a chance to do some fight scenes, even though my character
always seems to lose,” says Tom Weston-Jones. Weston-Jones
nearly lost his sense of smell while filming a brawl with Oliver
Jackson-Cohen, who accidentally landed a punch on Jones’ face
during a take, fracturing his nose.
“Oli is a big strong guy, but gentle as a puppy, and he felt
awful about it. I didn’t mind – it’s part of the job.”
When Merthin loses his job to Elfric, and then Caris to a
convent, he decides to journey to Italy in 1334, where the
Renaissance is already beginning to unfold. Merthin’s star-crossed
love for Caris appears to be at its end. He marries an Italian
woman in Tuscany, begins a family, and becomes involved in
building the Florence Cathedral’s famed Duomo, designed by the
renowned architected Giotto. This, however, is a bit of an
anachronism, Marek Dobrowolski admits, as the Duomo wasn’t built
until 50 years later.
“This is one of the rare occasions where we cheat history for
the fun of it,” he says. “Merthin would actually have been involved
in building the cathedral’s tower, which also still stands today.”
A devastating event, however, ends Merthin’s happy life in
Florence - the Black Death. It claims the lives of his family, and
sends him home to grieve in Kingsbridge, where fate may at last
smile kindly on his love for Caris.
The Black Death devastated the populations of Europe, and
Kingsbridge is no exception. A deadly concoction of bubonic and
pneumonic plague likely accompanied by other diseases such as pox
31
and dysentery, it originated in Mongolia in the 1320s, killing millions
in China.
Carried by Mongol soldiers along the Silk Road, and by
merchant ships, it entered Crimea and soon Italy in 1347, via
Genoese shippers, where it quickly spread throughout Europe.
“It is hard to overstate the panic and destruction this
pandemic caused,” John Pielmeier states. “We have nothing to
compare with it.”
The terror resulted in a tragic but familiar reaction: round up
the usual suspects. Not only were women killed as witches, but
also gypsies, Jews and other minorities were tortured and burned to
death for “provoking God’s wrath.”
Referred to at the time as the Great Pestilence, or Great
Mortality, the plague was transmitted by fleas carried by rats. It
infected the lymph node system, causing severe swellings, “buboes,”
to form around the hapless victim’s arms, chest, neck and groin –
places of the highest concentration of lymph nodes. Depicting this
awful disease presented daunting initial challenges to makeup
supervisor Colleen Quinton.
“I remember first reading the script, not knowing what a bubo
was, and thinking, ‘How am I going to make them? They’re
everywhere.’”
She immediately began researching on the internet, learning
the appearance and location of the swellings (“eventually they burst
and cause a death similar to blood poisoning”), and conducted
extensive tests with molds and prosthetic pieces.
“We wanted to respect the accuracy of the symptoms, but at
the same time, we needed to place them in locations on the body
that the camera will see,” Quinton describes. “After all, we’re not
going to be showing victims’ groins.”
Quinton’s challenges on the project went far beyond plague
makeup. The time frame of the story covers 15 years, and would
32
often shift a decade or more in one shooting day, putting enormous
pressure on her staff to age or “de-age” an actor from one scene to
the next.
Quinton prepped the show using a morphology chart detailing
each character’s narrative arc, noting changes in appearance from
normal aging or trauma, such as wounds or disease. This chart
became her bible for tracking the day-to-day makeup. With such a
large cast, Quinton and her team had their hands full.
“We don’t shoot in sequence, so we may begin an actor in a
scene in 1327 when she’s young, and in the very next scene she
has to look like it’s 1340,” Quinton explains. “And we don’t have
much time to do that transformation – we shoot a lot each day and
the cast is always required back on set as soon as possible.”
One of the most interesting makeup transformations she
performed was on Nora von Waldstätten, whose fair skin she chose
to dramatically darken.
“When I met Nora, she was as white as the driven snow, and
I said, ‘I don’t think we’re going to keep you in this color as Gwenda.
You play a peasant farm girl who spends all day in the sun in the
field. You should look like it.”
Actors often arrive with their own idea how their character
should look, but Quinton was pleased that Nora entirely agreed with
the concept, even though it meant spending two hours a day in the
makeup and hair process.
Quinton says, “We came up with a beautiful skin tone for
Gwenda - earthy, deep bronze, almost reddish. It’s a profound
transformation.”
Quinton also illustrated the arc of Cynthia Nixon’s character
by arching her brows to achieve a wide-open, “bright and beautiful”
look in the beginning, and then dulling down the color and lowering
33
the brows toward the show’s end. Nixon wears a facial prosthetic in
a few scenes, which required nearly three hours to apply.
“An artist’s face is altered by adding age lines, deepening the
eye socket, darkening the brows, reddening the lips, changing the
facial modeling, little tricks like that,” Quinton explains.
She wanted beards on the men (Blake Ritson’s was
painstakingly applied hair by hair), who had to maintain at least
some facial hair growth that the makeup team could then make
longer, darker, etc.
“These poor guys had to keep some scruff on their faces for
six months, and couldn’t wait to get rid of it. I think the first thing
Peter (Firth) did when they called picture wrap on him was rush to
his trailer and shave,” Quinton laughs.
Among Quinton’s other touches was adding the subtle
appearance of the skin ailment eczema on Godwyn’s face,
suggesting he suffers anxiety and does not possess the confident,
self-assured manner he tries to project.
Quinton’s cohort in creating the signature cast appearances
in World Without End is Tracey Wells, who designed and styled the
show’s dozens of wigs and hairpieces. Wells thoroughly researched
the era through books, paintings and drawings at various libraries
and museums.
“The 14th century is very interesting because it’s when high
fashion began“, Wells relates. “Women and men started coloring
their hair, using dyes and herbs, and wearing wigs. The men tonged
their hair and beards using appliances heated in fires. Crushed rose
petals were used to stain women’s cheeks and lips.”
As Wells explains, the fashions of the day were usually set by
the monarchy. There was an emphasis on very long hair on women,
which she plaited using the methods employed at the time, avoiding
modern appliances when possible. Varying hair lengths and
34
hairpieces/extensions help illustrate the characters’ age
progressions.
“For example, we used hair pieces on Merthin and Ralph in
episode one to express their tousled and unruly youth,” she says.
Wells’ work on Sarah Gadon, who, as mentioned earlier,
epitomizes the pre-Raphaelite concept as Philippa, is dazzling.
Gadon says, “Tracey fitted me in a wig made entirely of
European hair, worth about 6,000 British pounds, I’m told. It’s not
heavy and it breathes really well. It gets me directly into character
the moment I put it on.”
During the time she was presented with an opportunity to
play Philippa, Gadon explored 14th century fashion and design
elements at a special exhibit on the Middle Ages at the Getty
Museum in Los Angeles. “It wonderfully described the entire
process of dying fabrics, and detailed how particular designs and
colors were specific to certain classes and regions. It really piqued
my interest about the project.”
Along with Philippa’s show-stopping locks, Wells created
impressive wigs and hairpieces for Charlotte Riley, Cynthia Nixon,
and Peter Firth. Riley wears numerous extensions in styles that
reflect three distinct stages of Caris’ life: as a young wooler and
bride of Elfric; as a cloistered nun in the convent; and finally, as a
liberated woman entering an adult relationship with Merthin.
Remarkably, she remains optimistic throughout her troubled life.
“Caris loses her family and her mentor, and is betrayed by
Petranilla, yet she still rises above the destruction and hatred, and
brings out all the good in her soul,” Rola Bauer says. “Charlotte
does a wonderful job of playing her with a subtle, steely quiet
endearment.”
For the cunning Petranilla, Wells chose soft, red-blonde
hairpieces, almost the color of butterscotch, which she plaited to
achieve varying textures.
35
“Her hair is more lively and well groomed as she begins to
ascend the social ladder, and then we begin to break the hair down,
making it less vibrant and lustrous as she gets older and her health
fails.”
Nixon enjoyed wearing her character’s hair, just as she
embraced all aspects of being part of a sweeping production set in
the tumultuous Middle Ages.
“The costumes, wigs, makeup, sets…everything is
astonishing“, she says. “I spend time gazing at the background
players (extras) and I don’t know when I’ve been on a set where
their clothes were as detailed and rich. It really does make me feel
transported in time and wonder what it would have been like to be
alive then.”
She adds, “I thought Petranilla was a really juicy, evil
character, different in the script than in the book, playing a crucial
nemesis to the heroine. She demonstrates that you don’t need to
live in a castle to do bloody deeds.”
Executive Producer David W. Zucker remarks that, despite
being identified with such a contemporary role in Sex and the City,
Nixon was able to “step seamlessly into this period and have some
delicious fun with a rangy character. There was great fortune of
timing in her availability and in our being able to offer a role she
couldn’t resist.”
As an American actress in a predominantly British cast, Nixon
says she needed to be “on her toes, because my accent is heard
next to all the natural accents.”
Nixon worked diligently with dialogue coach Jane Karen
Thompson to develop what’s known as “RP” (received
pronunciation”), which was used as the baseline accent.
“Received pronunciation refers to the accents of those who
are ‘received’ at court,” explains Thompson, “so it’s the sound of
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the nobility and upper classes. Peasants spoke with a West country
accent, which has got a little bit of bird in it.
“It’s all conjecture what people actually sounded like back
then, and we’re not speaking in old English anyway, which is
slightly more Germanic. This script is written in modern form, so
the idea is to create a commonality of sound using RP and
contemporary vernacular.”
Describing the cast as “the United Nations, we’ve got people
from everywhere,” Thompson helped Nora von Waldstätten develop
a second-generation English accent, and rehearsed English dialogue
with French actress Aure Atika.
Thompson was also tasked with teaching lines to numerous
Hungarian cast members, some of whom who spoke no English, and
others who had to recite lines in French and Italian. “They did
extraordinarily well, not always even knowing what they were
saying, but able to speak phonetically.”
Finally, she rehearsed the cast clergy in learning and reciting
masses, prayers and hymns in Latin. With the onslaught of the
Black Death, eulogies became a daily occurrence, and no one, not
even the Bishop, is immune from the disease.
As John Pielmeier notes, the plague decimated the ranks of
priests and peasants, creating a labor shortage that opened a path
for women to join the clergy and for serfs to become, in a sense,
“free agents.”
“The serfs worked their landlord’s property in exchange for
room and board,” he remarks. “Suddenly there are not enough
people to plow the fields, so they can now negotiate for money and
benefits. They have bargaining power.”
Unhappy with the prospect of competing with each other for
labor, the landlords begin to crack down on the serfs, resulting in
the great “Peasant Revolt.” With Ralph, Caris, Merthin, Thomas,
Gwenda, Wulfric and Holger instrumental in this event, the Peasant
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Revolt serves as the climactic finale of World Without End, with
Kingsbridge once again forced to fight for its survival.
These action sequences began shooting in early winter chill on
November 16th, as Ralph’s soldiers arrive at the village and demand
the surrender of all its inhabitants. Sharpened wooden poles have
been planted in the ground at severe angles near the gates to repel
invaders, and the townspeople are armed with bows, hammers,
swords or crude homemade weapons.
While the action appears spontaneous and free flowing, it’s
been carefully blocked and rehearsed, with specific movements
occurring in front of the camera.
Director of Photography Denis Crossan remarks, “Michael was
keen that everything had to be shot over-the-shoulder, or with
timed camera moves on the track or dolly. The action is
choreographed to not just one camera, but often multiple cameras.
It’s rather demanding on the actors to move widely about and still
hit their marks, and I’m quite amazed by the number of times they
were spot on.”
Crossan adds that he avoided doing camera tricks or ramping
(increasing the shutter speed), other than an occasional use of slow
motion or tilt-shift lenses.
“We only used a hand-held camera a couple of times because,
again, we wanted this whole choreographed movement between the
camera and the actors.”
As Ralph’s soldiers begin scaling the walls, a ferocious Wulfric
is there to meet them. Instilled with Gwenda’s determination and
confidence, he fights with the strength afforded by a hardscrabble
life in the fields.
Says Tom Cullen, “I grew up in the countryside and come
from a working class background so I’ve always been concerned
with the little people having their say.” Having studied with well-
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known fight trainer Kevin McCurdy for three years, Cullen also
brought practiced martial arts skills to his role.
In the midst of this opening salvo of the Peasant Revolt,
personal vendettas between Ralph and Merthin, and between
Edward III and Sir Thomas Langley, will be settled once and for all.
In finding an actor who could embody the warrior spirit of a
knight, and the gentle and compassionate nature of a monk, the
filmmakers say they “struck gold” with Ben Chaplin.
“Ben projects kindness, compassion and strength of character
that are hallmarks of great leaders,” says Rola Bauer. “He is utterly
convincing as a man who can inspire people to not just accept fate.
They must fight for their own destiny.”
Bauer and David Zucker were equally effusive in praising the
performances of several other cast, including Tom Weston-Jones,
Blake Ritson, Rupert Evans and two-time Oscar nominee Miranda
Richardson.
Says Zucker, “We’ve pursued Miranda before, and she’s the
type of actress that, when you have access to her, you basically put
every role you have available in front of her and say, ‘What would
you like to do?’ She plays Cecilia with incredible craft and subtlety
and inspires the other actors around her.”
Dressed in soft white nun’s robes, often seen with a falcon
perched on her arm, Richardson projects a gleaming presence as
Mother Cecilia. Nicknamed “Nun the Wiser” by fellow cast, she
plays a woman with the courage and conviction to confront the likes
of Godwyn, and the empathy and wisdom to lead her flock of nuns.
“Cecilia has a sense of humor and irony, and she’s fairly
clever“, Richardson remarks. “She spends far too much time
contending with Godwyn and praying for the patience to deal with
him. He’s the cross she has to bear in her life, I think.”
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The production moved to interior stages at Korda Studios in
late November for most of the remaining three weeks of shooting.
Dozens of different sets built on three soundstages the majority on
cavernous Stage 6, the world’s largest.
Of the remarkable 160 sets used for shooting, the most
elaborate is the myriad of rooms, hallways, kitchen, cells, and
adjoining passages that comprise the enormous interior of the
Priory. The set can be quickly reconfigured with only minor
modifications. For example, the refectory transformed into a
scriptorium and then a large kitchen (where Thomas’ arm is
amputated), while a connecting double-chamber serves alternately
as a bishop’s room, treasury and dining hall. Also included are the
modest quarters of the Prior and Prioress, and a small chapel.
Across from the interior Priory, at the back of Stage 6, is
another large set that began as the Guild Hall. Here, Merthin and
Elfric debate the bridge construction and Roland hosts a winter
solstice party. This set is later converted into a throne room and
then a petitioner’s room, where Roland issues legal judgments and
edicts.
Says Marek Dobrowolski, “To accommodate the natural style
of lighting that Denis (Crossan) wanted to do, lots of windows and
working fireplaces were incorporated into the set design. We used
lots of sheer drapes, translucent fabrics and wattle grids to break
up the light. Double-wick candles and incense lend richness, shade
and atmosphere. Denis is an artist who paints in shadows, and I
think he’s captured some exquisite shots, especially of the faces.”
Arguably the most eye-catching interior set is the Great Hall
of Shiring Castle, where Roland usurps the earldom from Gerald and
Lady Maude (Megan Follows). Built on Stage 4, this large, two-level
vaulted ceiling room is constructed with more than 5,000 fake
flagstones, made from plaster molds that are hand-painted by 40
artists to achieve the right texture and color. Most of the scenes
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shot here are of Roland dining, celebrating and castigating poor
Ralph.
The Great Hall, according to set decorator Lee Gordon, is
based on a real castle, and is dressed to look like a “villain’s lair.”
Gordon relied on rich, colorful tapestries to decorate many of
the sets (“I don’t think it’s human nature to live with drab colors”)
and did research at the British Museum in London and various prop
houses for inspiration and direction.
“Not much wooden furniture has survived, but what we did
find surprised us with the high level of craftsmanship and rich
decoration,” says Gordon. “The 14th century is when a lot of the
professional guilds emerge, so you see cutlers, fletchers, potters,
thatchers, weavers, shearers – it was much more than timber-
based trades.”
Gordon read several helpful books on making medieval
furniture, which proved invaluable, as he and his team built some
two-dozen wooden tables and desks, and another 35 chairs. Each
item had to be aged through a tedious process of multiple finishes,
making it appear to have had woodworm and a deteriorated look.
(A new piece of furniture replicating an old piece “stands out like a
sore thumb“, he says)
Gordon knew going into the project that Hungary’s distance
from the UK and the length of the shooting schedule made it
unfeasible to rent from London prop houses, and that he would
need to manufacture a great number of items locally.
“The great thing about shooting in Hungary is that there is a
fantastic group of leather workers and woodworkers. The
seamstresses are incredible. So with all this knowledge and skill it
was relatively easy to concept ideas and create them.”
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Along with such varied items as royal saddles, horse blankets,
tents (40), ceramics (“we had a local ceramicist make pieces from
original 14th century kiln recipes, to get the colors just right”),
canopies, hospital beds and numerous other items, Gordon was
responsible for creating 70 tapestries, based on royalty-free images
from London-based company Dover Street. The images are printed
in Hessian (burlap) cloth and then aged, and framed in elaborate
borders.
The aging process was even more time-consuming in building
nearly 100 stalls for the marketplace fleece fair. Starting with a
half-dozen different designs of various sizes, Gordon’s team (which
grew to 40 at peaks) first rubbed back all the soft wood from raw
pine timber, which they cut to shape and sandblasted. The pieces
were next painted and waxed to achieve an antique finish.
Aging was also a crucial aspect in creating the show’s
wardrobe, which, as Mario Davignon reveals, is more colorful and
form fitting than previously depicted.
“This was an important transitional point for fashion. High-end
clothes were made with superb English wool and lovely silks from
the Far East. The colors were vivid, especially red, which they were
just learning to control. Buttons had also arrived at this time, which
meant that clothes no longer had to be placed over your head,
allowing for tighter, tailored cuts.”
Davignon and his staff created 90% of the wardrobe,
including numerous duplicates for many costumes that will be torn
and tattered during action scenes. He also made some clothes out
of rubber for those cast members who were involved in the bridge
collapse and battle scenes in water.
Wills and testaments provide vast knowledge regarding
people’s possessions of that time, Davignon says, and lend valuable
insight into the fashions of the day.
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“England was still rather isolated from the rest of the world,
and was not privy to the more elaborate artistic and fashion trends
occurring in Italy. But the Knights Templar brought in new outside
ideas, even about clothing, as did Queen Isabella. I use her to bring
a fashion forward sense to the country.”
Cast members heaped praise on Davignon’s designs for not
only helping them get into their characters but having great fun
doing it.
Charlotte Riley says, “Mario is an absolute genius. The colors
and textures are beautiful. Now, my ‘nunny’ clothes, as I call them,
are a bit less glamorous. A robe, basically. So I’m looking forward
to leaving the convent and wearing a dress again.”
Riley, whom co-stars compliment for never losing her
graciousness or sense of humor, handled the demands of carrying
the lead role of a five-month production with aplomb. Her days off
were rare, and moments when she wasn’t seen smiling and chatting
with cast and crew were rarer still.
Says Tom Weston-Jones, “Charlotte is brilliant. I’ve learned a
lot from her. She’s great fun, and keeps things light and playful. We
discuss scenes in detail, and get along like a house on fire, on set
and off. She’s become a very good friend.”
Riley says her role has been “an extraordinary opportunity”
and is quick to give thanks to director Michael Caton-Jones and
executive producer Rola Bauer, whom she says “is a lovely fab
woman, always ready with cuddles in the morning and support
anytime you need it.”
Despite laboring 16 hours a day or more on the project,
Caton-Jones and Bauer were each known to arise most mornings
before dawn to exercise before coming to set.
Bauer, whom David Zucker credits for shouldering a huge
responsibility in making World Without End, says, “I’m very proud
that we have kept an eye on the detail and maintained respect for
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this marvelous world Ken Follett created. We had the opportunity to
do something special here, and hopefully we did it right.”
Principal photography on World Without End was completed
on December 15, 2011, wrapping 136 days of first and second unit
shooting.