1) When Trencavel is parleying with Simon de Montfort he speak of inquisitors. The conversation takes place in 1209, but the inquisition was not created until March 1233 (by Pope Gregory IX). 2) Simon de Montfort was not officer in charge of the crusader army which took Carcassonne in 1209. He was just one of several knights in the army. The officer in charge when the crusaders took Carcassonne was Arnald-Amaury, abbot of Citeaux. Simon de Montfort accepted the viscounty of Carcassonne in a council held by the victors in the taken Carcassonne. 3) Various scenes where swords are seen to penetrate chain mail are bogus, swords of that era could not do that.

Have any of the previous reviewers actually watched it? It has nothing to do with the Holy Grail and simply refers to the Grail which pre dates Christianity.The plot was interesting and there was good use of the intertwining story. There are some unnecessary nude scenes (When are nude scenes necessary?) but I am not complaining. I enjoyed the scenes around Carcasonne and I think it will do their tourist board no harm. I agree with a previous reviewer that the modern part was a bit strange and you didn't really get why it was so important to them but overall I thought it was thoroughly enjoyable.

I've just watched the first part of the mini-series, which has saved me the trouble of buying the book because, to be frank, it's awful. The subject matter (search for the Holy Grail) is hackneyed. The plot (innocent blonde haunted by historical visions and drawn in to solve a mystery) is uninspired. The screenplay is unconvincing. The violence and nastiness is a sad reflection of society if this is what people call entertainment. There are acceptable ways to portray violence in a novel or on screen without losing dramatic impact. It's not easy; it requires skill. This production ignores skill and takes the easy option, i.e. in-your-face, shock-the-heck-out-of-the-audience brutality. If the production is a true reflection of the novel, then Mosse should be ashamed. If it isn't, then she should sue.

I watched this while on holiday and was quite literally blown away.I knew a little about the book (i'd read half of it on holiday before accidentally leaving it in hotel room) and what I'd remembered seemed almost identical to what was realised in the film.The story flicks back and forth between Alice in the modern (played by the excellent Vanessa Kirby) and Alais her medieval counterpoint (played by Jessica Brown Findlay- Lady Cybil from Downton Abbey.The subject matter (the quest for the Holy Grail) could easily have been silly but somehow everything feels very convincing and real. It is a little violent at times but it was a violent period so I suppose it had to be.There are a lot of characters in the story so there's a lot to take in in episode one but it all builds up to an amazing battle that looks like it was made for cinema instead of TV.Overall amazing TV that really took me by surprise. Now I want to read book again.