Charlemagne, le prince à cheval is a 1993 television miniseries about the life of Charlemagne. A French-Portuguese-Italian-Luxembourgish coproduction, the series was directed by Clive Donner; it was his final project before his death in 2010.
Contents
Premise
Based primarily on an intimate contemporary biography written by the courtier Einhard, it consists of 3 episodes and covers the period from the death of Charlemagne's father Pepin the Short in AD 768 to his coronation as the first Holy Roman Emperor on Christmas Day, AD 800.
Historical accuracy
There is a minor anachronism regarding Saxon leader Widukind's surrender and conversion to Christianity, which in reality did not occur until AD 807 or 808.
Reception
MediaFilm presents it as follows: "Verbose story while the historical context is evoked with clarity. Uneven dramatic intensity. Sumptuous film direction. Actors playing naturally."