Films


There are a number of films that have been made on this subject, from the Lerner and Lowe musical, "Camelot", to the upcoming NBC miniseries, "Merlin", to the classic comedy "Monty Python and the Holy Grail". I haven't seen all the films that have been made on the subject of King Arthur, but I hope to see them all sometime.
These are the films I have seen and I know of. If anyone has a film they want me to add, just email me.
A Study of Arthur in Films



CAMELOT

The first of quite a few films on the subject, this one was based off the Lerner and Lowe Broadway musical of the same name. The songs and the music in this film are gorgeous, but the plot...well, let's just say I didn't like the plot as much. It was based off the book "The Once and Future King", one that I still have to read. The acting in this film is superb with fine performances by Richard Harris as Arthur and Vanessa Redgrave as Guinevere (she looks gorgeous too). There are some truly unforgettable songs in this film, including Lancelot's love song for Guinevere, "If Ever I Would Leave You" and the theme, "Camelot." The former is a song that makes me want to cry every time I hear it; it's that beautiful. The love triangle between Arthur, Guinevere and Lancelot is very well-developed, if the rest of the story is not as well. Sure, there are a few anachronisms (I realize that there was no way a person could talk about 5 AM during the Middle Ages), sure, the characters aren't developed that well, but if you forget that and just concentrate on the beautiful music and the spectacle, it proves to be a charming film.

"Don't let it be forgot that once, there was a spot, for one brief shining moment, that was known as Camelot."
Musicals.Net's pageThis page is more for the Broadway musical than for the film.


MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL

A true classic comedy. I could see this film a thousand times and still find myself laughing. It is a complete satire on the subject of King Arthur and his search for the Holy Grail. I have only seen it twice, but to catch all the hidden gags, one has to have memorized everything about the film. The story centers around Arthur and his various knights searching for the Holy Grail. They run into all sorts of dangers including the infamous Knights who say Ni, the Man-Eating Bunny, the Three-Headed Knight and many others. Each knight is highlighted specially as they split up and find different adventures as they go along.

"What is your name? What is your quest? What is your favorite color?"


EXCALIBUR

John Boorman did a FANTASTIC job on this film. The story is based mostly off La Morte d'Arthur and the parts that are different only add to the story. This film is made in a dark and eerie style so that sort of atmosphere permeates throughout. When I found that Gabriel Byrne, Liam Neeson and Patrick Stewart were in this movie, I was so surprised since I didn't recognize them at all. When I saw it for the second time, though, I did see them. I found that I enjoyed it very much. There are only some parts that are slightly different from the book, such as the ommission of Morgause, something that really didn't faze me much. Morgana, as she was called, was a melange of Morgan and Morgause, something I had not seen before and found intriguing. Arthur, himself, was a clearer character in this film than in the book and I loved Merlin.

"There's always something cleverer than yourself."
Dandalf the Dragon's Excalibur Pagewith pictures, the script and other stuff about the movie


FIRST KNIGHT

I saw this film twice and I found it was quite a deviation from the original legend. As a film, it was okay, but it completely destroyed the chronology of the story. First of all, King Arthur was between the ages of eighteen and mid-twenties when he married Guinevere. I have absolutely nothing against Sean Connery, in fact I love the man, but seriously, I didn't seen him as the type to play Arthur. He would have done marvellously as Arthur much later on in the course of events. Another thing I found a little odd was the fact that Mordred did not exist in this film. Arthur was supposedly killed by Malagant (aka Melwas) in the film, something that was not even alluded to in any of the stories. One thing the film did have that others have not was the kidnapping of Guinevere by Malagant and her rescue by Lancelot. Lancelot himself, had an entirely different character. The setting was beautiful as were the costumes. The acting was good for the most part, although Richard Gere had an on-and-off British accent.

"Brother to brother, yours in life and death."
The Official Movie Page


MERLIN

Personally, I found this film to be beautiful. It centered around the actual wizard Merlin, who is normally seen as a side character in the legend. The film went through all of Merlin's life in a clear and surprisingly concise way. Although it ended up being about two and a half hours long, it seemed shorter. The story centered around the Wizard's feud with the fairy queen Mab, after he found out that she let his mother and his foster mother die. He vowed to never use his magic again, a vow he broke when he was older. Mab was attempting to preserve her existence and that of the Old Pagan Ways in the minds of Britain's people, so she soon became a sympathetic character to me. Merlin, as a young man, met the beautiful Nimue who he fell in love with. They met again when they were both older and imprisoned in the castle of the king, Vortigern. Mab, who now decided to make Merlin break his vow, ordered Vortigern to sacrifice Nimue to the Great Dragon and make Merlin watch. Merlin then used his magic to save Nimue's life, but found that she was permanently scarred by the Dragon's flame. The film soon gets into the legend of Arthur through Merlin's point of view, something I found fascinating. On the whole, I loved this film. Sam Neill was superb as Merlin and, although her voice got on my nerves after a while, Miranda Richardson did quite well as Mab. As Nimue, Isabella Rosellini gave a fine performance and Martin Short was delightful as Frik, Mab's assistant.

"I was never a good judge of men."
A page with info and with a message board for those lucky ones who saw Merlin
Smash Magazine's article on Merlin
NBC's Merlin Site
Entertainment Weekly had a great review of Merlin, but I wasn't able to find the actual article. I'll hopefully be able to have the text here soon.




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