‘The Uprising’ shows how medieval people weren’t so obedient after all
Greengrass frames the revolt through a grief-stricken farmer as tens of thousands of commoners march on London and challenge taxes, wage controls and royal power.
- On September 11, the film "The Uprising" debuts in theaters, starring Andrew Garfield as a farmer caught in the 1381 English Peasants Revolt directed by filmmaker Paul Greengrass.
- The 1381 revolt emerged after the Black Death created labor shortages, prompting King Richard to impose a poll tax of 12 pence that placed heavy burdens on poorer families and sparked widespread rebellion.
- Filmmaker Greengrass employs his signature "shaky cam" style to immerse audiences in the revolt's chaos, assembling a cast including Jamie Bell as rebel priest John Ball, Cosmo Jarvis as military leader Wat Tyler, and Woody Norman as King Richard.
- Greengrass centers the narrative on an ordinary farmer, eschewing historical figures to explore common people's struggle as the rebellion evolves from intense hope to chaotic betrayal, capturing what the actor calls the "hard work of being alive."
- Critics compare the film's visceral intensity to "Eat-the-Rich Epics," reflecting the medieval tradition of collective action where marginalized people resisted authority, even when their efforts faced violent suppression by ruling elites.
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50 Articles
New Andrew Garfield film The Uprising weakens populism with details
Though the events in The Uprising took place almost 650 years ago, it’s easy to see parallels between what the peasants were fighting for and modern-day politics. But the populism theme of the film gets bogged down in drudgery and minutiae that is difficult to understand, especially when the details are lost in the thick regional English accents.
Review: Medieval action drama 'The Uprising' struggles under a Robin Hood origin twist
The Uprising starts as a true story of medieval England in the grip of economic revolution. That’s good stuff. Then it gets inexplicably hijacked by an origin story for one of the West’s most popular folk heroes. That’s head-scratching stuff.
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‘The Uprising’ shows how medieval people weren’t so obedient after all
Woody Norman as King Richard II in 'The Uprising,' which tells the story of the 1381 Peasants' Revolt, a major uprising across England that was triggered by high taxes and economic exploitation. Betina La Plante/Focus FeaturesFor decades, I’ve been showing my medieval history students the “autonomous collective” scene from the 1975 film “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.” The clip is funny because it features two medieval peasants haranguing King…
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