WE have had Braveheart and Rob Roy, now the bloody killing fields of Culloden are set to be brought to the big screen in a film by Scottish director John Mackenzie and starring Robert Carlyle, writes Rosemary Free.

It was at the 1746 Battle of Culloden that Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Jacobites lost their fight for the Stuart cause after coming face-to-face with the Duke of Cumberland's troops.

However, rather than recreating Braveheart-style battle scenes, the film will focus on the aftermath of the battle and the persecution of the Jacobites by the Royal Army.

Unlike its predecessors, which featured Australian Mel Gibson as William Wallace and Irishman Liam Neeson as Rob Roy, Scottish actor Robert Carlyle has been lined up to play the hero of the film - John Mackintosh.

Mr Mackenzie, director of The Long Good Friday and The Fourth Protocol, said yesterday they were still in the early days of planning but he hoped the film would be shot in Scotland.

''This is about Scotland and the Scottish scenery,'' he said. ''It's not going to be shot on any old moor. The Scottish Highlands are an integral part of the film.''

He said Carlyle, who he directed in the BBC television series Looking After Jo Jo, was interested in playing the role of clansman John Mackintosh as he goes on the run from Cumberland's officers.

''The whole story is so dramatic,'' said Mr Mackenzie, who is working with London-based

producer Lawrie Dalziel on the project. ''It has got so much going for it.

''I have always had a big interest in that time in Scottish history - the aftermath of Culloden and what it did to the Highlands and clans.''

Professor Tom Devine, author and historian at Aberdeen University, said yesterday: ''One of the reasons the Jacobite story has become such an important part of Scottish tradition is that it's a cracking good story.

''Three great armies of state, coupled with the muscle of the Royal Navy, were sucked into the heart of the Highlands in pursuit of the Jacobites. Because they were physically present, they were able to put them to the sword. That was done systematically for the first two years after the battle.

''It is a fascinating, controversial, and untold story.''