William Tell

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2:17

William Tell

R

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2h 13m

Action

Adventure

Drama

History

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55%

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49 Reviews

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Fewer than 50 Ratings

1307, the Holy Roman Empire is in turmoil. As its grip on Europe loosens, new dynasties such as the Austrian Habsburg Family encroach on new lands, desperate for power. Switzerland, the once peaceful country, is overwhelmed and bows under the Austrian might. When the local huntsman William Tell sees a farmer begging for help after murdering a cruel Austrian governor, he reluctantly agrees to guide him to a safe location. But as he meets with more comrades along the way, Tell realizes that this act of violence is a larger sign of what's to come with the growing Swiss resistance. Tell is drawn into the madness when the cruel Austrian Viceroy Gessler orders him to shoot an apple from his son's head for refusing to bend the knee to Austrian authority. Once Tell's family has been threatened, there is no turning back. Tell not only commits to joining the resistance but ends up leading the fight against the Austrian forces. Scarred by his own experience in the depravity and destitution of war during the Crusades, he comes to realize what matters most: his family and preserving his country's independence for future generations.

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Critics Consensus

William Tell finds a worthy embodiment of the folk hero in the capable Claes Bang, but this historical epic repeats too many familiar beats to stir up its own distinctive legend.

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Tim Cogshell

FilmWeek (LAist)

Very interesting movie that tells a cool history.

Apr 9, 2025

Full Review

Matt Zoller Seitz

RogerEbert.com

It seems a bit of a stretch to think that this is going to end up as the first installment in a long-running MCU-style series of hard-edged escapist adventures loosely based on history. But stranger things have happened.

Rated: 2/4

Apr 4, 2025

Full Review

Helen O'Hara

Empire Magazine

This old-fashioned tale of folk heroism and hardy underdogs benefits from solid performances and spectacular vistas, but it loses points for a sequel-baiting ending. 

Rated: 3/5

Feb 4, 2025

Full Review

Abbie Bernstein

Assignment X

Its primary target audience are those who loved this type of movie in the past and will be happy to find a new one in that vein.

Rated: B

Apr 14, 2025

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Megan Loucks

InSession Film

Overall, William Tell is an epic story that is not only easy on the eyes with its visuals and costume designs, but in its fighting against those in power storyline.

Rated: B+

Apr 14, 2025

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Frank Swietek

One Guy's Opinion

Unfortunately, in this rather Hamm-fisted form, Tell’s legend comes across as rather a slog.... Listen to Rossini’s overture instead.

Rated: C

Apr 10, 2025

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Marco M

Very, slow, boring, too few action, bad directing and bad acting. Waste of time, especially for Kingsley and Pryce.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

04/19/25

Full Review

Neil P

A clumsy adaptation of the folk tale, making it seem overly long and tedious. Its 21st century influences give us heroic sword wielding women, truly psychopathic baddies, peculiar choreographed bonding rituals, over familiar rallying speeches and little understanding of the history of the time and region. It's poorly scripted and has one or two dodgy acting performances. In fact I got the impression some of the actors couldn't bring themselves to believe in their characters sufficiently to deliver their lines with any real depth or feeling. It also has Ben Kingsley wearing a golden eye patch with an eye on it! But, if you like good battling evil (many times), suffering innocents leading to ultimate vengeance, and of course, the legendary apple shot, you'll enjoy it.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

04/17/25

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Mthokozisi K

It's a great story line just the action isn't that great, and seems like they will have 2nd run up.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

04/13/25

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Yaroslav V

Toller Film. Gute Schauspielerei, schöne Landschaft. In der Entwicklung der Geschichte waren 15-20 Minuten nicht genug (manchmal springen Ereignisse sehr), es gibt solche Filmfehler wie ein Schrei 10 Meter von einer Person, die vorgibt, ihn nicht zu hören)) Das Ende deutet eindeutig auf eine Fortsetzung hin, obwohl ich es nicht tun sollte.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

04/05/25

Full Review

Megan S

Absolutely watch this film!!!! So entertaining and well done. A cool way to bring a folk story to life. Claes Bang cooks.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/04/25

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Roger L

This is far from good. From beginning to end this was so predictable it was hard to watch and the lines some of the actors had to read came across as childish. No, the director also the writer made a mess of it trying to mix Shakespeare with Ivanhoe from the sixties. And why o why throwing in all that middle eastern vibe, a character of a mix between bin laden and jezus and those pitbulls in medieval Switserland? And you know a half hour before, do not go near the pole with the helmet on and do not plot in the open square. And there was a shortage of people to give you a feel of a massive army. All those small negatives combined with the biggest negative namely the writing and B-acting gives this flick a rushed feel with a limited budget. Claes Bang and Ben Kingsley did their usual stuff but Nick Hamm wrote poorely. And we all know that no acting can save a bad script.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

02/10/25

Full Review

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Nick Hamm

Director

Solly McLeod

Actor

Sam Keeley

Actor

Jake Dunn

Actor

Tobias Jowett

Actor

Claes Bang

Actor

William Tell: Exclusive Movie Clip - The Apple

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William Tell: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

1307, the Holy Roman Empire is in turmoil. As its grip on Europe loosens, new dynasties such as the Austrian Habsburg Family encroach on new lands, desperate for power. Switzerland, the once peaceful country, is overwhelmed and bows under the Austrian might. When the local huntsman William Tell sees a farmer begging for help after murdering a cruel Austrian governor, he reluctantly agrees to guide him to a safe location. But as he meets with more comrades along the way, Tell realizes that this act of violence is a larger sign of what's to come with the growing Swiss resistance. Tell is drawn into the madness when the cruel Austrian Viceroy Gessler orders him to shoot an apple from his son's head for refusing to bend the knee to Austrian authority. Once Tell's family has been threatened, there is no turning back. Tell not only commits to joining the resistance but ends up leading the fight against the Austrian forces. Scarred by his own experience in the depravity and destitution of war during the Crusades, he comes to realize what matters most: his family and preserving his country's independence for future generations.

Director: Nick Hamm
Producer: Piers Tempest, Marie-Christine Jaeger-Firmenich
Screenwriter: Nick Hamm
Distributor: Samuel Goldwyn Films
Production Co: Tempo Productions Limited, Free Turn, Beta Cinema
Rating: R (Strong/Bloody Violence|Brief Nudity)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, History
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 4, 2025, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 25, 2025
Runtime: 2h 13m

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