Viggo Mortensen - Alatriste (2006) - Page 4

**Jazz** · 04-25-2005, 05:40 PM

You never change. Doesn't he look hot as a pirate? And a Spanish speaking one too.

**Jazz** · 04-29-2005, 03:50 AM

Residents of the southern Spanish town of Tarifa did a double take when the legendary sailor Captain Alatriste dropped anchor there recently. The officer was accompanied by a huge crew when he arrived, but it was cameramen and sound engineers, rather than able bodied seamen, who came ashore with the swashbuckling adventurer.

At the centre of attention was Lord Of The Rings star Viggo Mortensen, who takes the title role in the movie Alatriste, currently being filmed in Andalusia. The 46-year-old actor gets to show off his linguistic skills in the Spanish-language film, which follows the iconic soldier as he does battle with the English during the Imperial Wars.

The production has taken Viggo and the rest of the cast on a tour of the region. Thousands of local people got the chance to appear as extras when epic crowd scenes were filmed in the beautiful coastal town of Cadiz, while the historic city of Seville also took a starring role as a filming location.

And although some time has passed since Spain's southern coast was troubled by invaders, Tarifa still plays host to quite a few weekend warriors. Located at the southernmost point of the country, the town has a microclimate of strong winds, making it a mecca for fans of windsurfing and other watersports.
Captain Alatriste arrives in Tarifa after a 300-year absence. Viggo, who is fluent in several languages, gets to show off his linguistic skills in the Spanish-language movie
Photo: © Rex

abby-anne · 05-16-2005, 06:04 AM

Wootoo!

**Jazz** · 05-16-2005, 06:50 PM

OMG!!!

S.A.S.H.A. · 05-16-2005, 08:17 PM

Cool pic.

Sasha

Phee · 05-19-2005, 10:38 AM

Now that's a hat! Damn he looks good in that pic.

**HappySquared** · 05-19-2005, 06:38 PM

His mustache!

I cannot speak cuz of laughter!

**Jazz** · 05-19-2005, 06:41 PM

I think in full costume, his mustache looks in place! But in modern clothing, it looks so out of place!

But that full dress? OH MAN!

**HappySquared** · 05-19-2005, 06:42 PM

I dunno... I still cannot speak.. sorry.

**Jazz** · 05-19-2005, 06:44 PM

Hey, no laughing at poor Viggo!!! You will stop laughing when he starts speaking in Spanish.

**HappySquared** · 05-19-2005, 06:48 PM

Sorry, Jazz. I'm just visualizing Aragorn with that mustache. I love the costume, though.

It really fits the mustache.

Awww... Viggo and his voice and he's speaking Spanish... that's drool worthy!

**Jazz** · 05-19-2005, 06:50 PM

Gawd, I just want to see the movie just to hear him speak Spanish. I swear it will be music to my ears!!!

**HappySquared** · 05-19-2005, 06:55 PM

I don't mind me not understanding whatever he's saying...

ChocChocChip · 05-20-2005, 07:47 AM

aaaaaaaaaargh...
* run away from big hairy monster*
....
....
....

Damn, our Viggo's sporting fur!!!
Has he killed a beaver or what? Someone call Brigitte Bardot!

**ROCKSTAR** · 06-27-2005, 11:57 PM

Quote:

A swashbuckling thriller
OPENING NOVEL OF SERIES SET IN 17TH-CENTURY SPAIN IS RICHLY TOLD
By Frank Wilson
Knight Ridder

In 1623, the Prince of Wales (later King Charles I of unhappy memory), accompanied by the Duke of Buckingham, made a clandestine visit to Madrid. The purpose of the trip was to bring about the marriage of Charles to the Infanta Doña Marêa, sister of Spain's young King Philip IV.

This visit serves as the historical basis for Arturo Pérez-Reverte's latest novel, the first in a series featuring a 17th-century Spanish soldier -- a wounded veteran of the wars in Holland -- supplementing his pension with work as a hired swordsman.

Capt. Diego Alatriste y Tenorio's story is related by Íñigo Balboa, who at the time of the events being recounted is Capt. Alatriste's 13-year-old page. He is the son of one of the captain's comrades-in-arms, who was killed in battle.

The captain has been hired, along with a mysterious Italian, to waylay and rob a pair of travelers. They are given their instructions in a secret meeting with two masked men, one of whom is clearly someone of rank and power. It is he who insists that, while the travelers may be roughed up and even slightly wounded, they are not to be seriously harmed, let alone killed.

But when he leaves the room, another figure enters, one not wearing a mask. He is Fray Emilio Bocanegra, and he represents -- you guessed it -- the Holy Inquisition. He countermands the other's order and instructs the swordsmen to make sure that both travelers are slain.

Yet things proceed according to no one's plan, and the captain finds himself in a heap of trouble.

There is an elegiac tone to Íñigo's narrative. At the time the events he recounts are taking place, Spain is a major world power, its literary golden age shining brightly. True, Cervantes is already dead, but Lope de Vega is still turning out plays, Tirso de Molina is already on the scene, and Calderón de la Barca is waiting in the wings. Then there are the poets -- Góngora, Alarcón, and above all Francisco de Quevedo, one of the captain's cronies and a skilled swordsman himself.

But by the time Íñigo records the events, his days as a page are long past, and Spain's glory is waning. Though there is plenty of action and intrigue in Pérez-Reverte's novel, it's more than just a swashbuckler. One reads on in large part because the scenes are so vividly -- no, lovingly -- portrayed.

Pérez-Reverte is best known in the English-speaking world for thoughtful thrillers, notably ``The Club Dumas.'' This new novel has reportedly already sold a million copies in Spain, and it's being made into a film starring Viggo Mortensen, due out next year. One looks forward to the next installment if for no other reason than to get to know more about Capt. Alatriste -- and about Íñigo, and the world they and their friends inhabit.

CAPTAIN ALATRISTE

By Arturo Pérez-Reverte

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercu...s/11990319.htm