AllMovie

This film is the last in a five-part series that showcases the castles of Spain. Volume five contains two films that trace the rise and fall of castle fortresses, searching out some of their present-day uses. The first film, Iron and Fire, examines how the coming of the cannon and of gunpowder in the 14th century marked the demise of the castle as fortress. Stone castles were once almost impregnable, until the iron and fire of the cannon came and attacked the castle's weakest point: the gate. The once commanding castle and its elaborate fortifications fell before the adversaries of iron and fire. The second film, Travelers & Fortresses, takes the viewer on a tour through the Spanish countryside to see castles still standing and those that have fallen into ruin. The film looks at the part the fortresses played in the Spanish War of Independence and the French Revolution. The defenses used against increasingly sophisticated weapons ultimately failed. Now some of the castles have new life as private homes, museums, grand hotels, and plush business offices.