This is not some weird shark vs crocodile or Superman vs Spider-Man kind of battle.
Actually, the use of versus was more of a subeditor dramatic choice.
It’s really more of an “and”.
In both my obsessions and reading/viewing around the topic, these two men have a complex mix of strong positive personal morals and evilness.
Add in manliness and handsomeness.
Oh wait, that’s Max Irons (Jeremy Irons and Sinéad Cusack’s son) playing Edward. Irons also plays him as such a jolly, boyish character. I love that verve.
Not quite so dashing in the original representation, though his wife, Elizabeth, holds her own, even with that big forehead with a receding hairline that was seen as attractive in medieval times, so that they plucked their foreheads.
There’s a good article on the different representations of Ned in film, with a new one due out soon.
Ned and Edward: a strange mix of fighting and killing for personal gain, and fighting for some greater good; being honourable and murdering in cold blood.
Look at them one way, you see one thing. Look another way …
There are key differences, of course. Ned bedded far fewer women. And there’s the king/son of convict thing.
Different eras, countries and social class aside, there’s just rollicking good narratives in both stories. Power, politics, betrayal, romance, courage, horse riding.
lucinda sans 