Fantasy Flix: King Arthur

Showing posts with label King Arthur. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

First Knight (1995)

Lancelot lives by the sword. In fact, they're next door neighbours, so teaming up to fight for money comes pretty naturally. Lady Guinevere, on her way to marry King Arthur is ambushed by the evil Sir Malagant. Fortunately Lancelot is lurking nearby and he rescues his future queen. They fall in love, but Guinevere still fancies the idea of wearing a crown, so she honours her promise to Arthur. Can Lady Guinevere remain faithful, or will this Pretty Woman become a lady of the knight?

Director: Jerry Zucker

Writers: Lorne Cameron (story), David Hoselton (story)

Here we have another King Arthur story. There are a ton of these, and most are very similar. First Knight is not my favorite Camelot story, but it's a pretty good one. You all know the story, Lancelot falls in love with Guinevere, Guinevere falls in love with Lancelot, Arthur falls in love with Guinevere, Arthur falls in love with Lancelot....

The acting here is very good. For some reason I really enjoy Richard Gere as Lancelot here. I think he does a very good job. Sean Connery does an excellent job in anything he is in, but he makes a perfect Arthur. The rest of the cast is very good

The action here is good, but fairly sparse. This really is more of a love story than an action piece, but I wish there were a bit more action in it. There is very little blood here and of course no nudity. I really can't say there was any good eye-candy to be had at all. But even though this film is lacking in the adolescent boy categories, I dug the story for what it was. The pace was pretty well done and I enjoyed the characters.

Check this one out if you haven't seen it, just don't expect a violent action flick. This one is a romance with a bit of action.

Verdict: Recommended

The Cast

Sean Connery ... King Arthur

Richard Gere ... Lancelot

Julia Ormond ... Guinevere

Ben Cross ... Prince Malagant

Christopher Villiers ... Sir Kay

Colin McCormack ... Sir Mador

John Gielgud ... Oswald

Liam Cunningham ... Agravaine

Paul Kynman ... Mark

Ralph Ineson ... Ralf

Valentine Pelka ... Sir Patrise

Stuart Bunce ... Peter, King's Stableman

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Camelot (TV Series 2011)

In the wake of King Uther’s sudden death, chaos threatens to engulf Britain. When the sorcerer Merlin has visions of a dark future, he installs the young and impetuous Arthur, Uther’s unknown son and heir, who has been raised from birth as a commoner. But Arthur’s cold and ambitious half sister Morgan will fight him to the bitter end, summoning unnatural forces to claim the crown in this epic battle for control. These are dark times indeed for the new king, with Guinevere being the only shining light in Arthur’s harsh world. Faced with profound moral decisions, and the challenge of uniting a kingdom broken by war and steeped in deception, Arthur will be tested beyond imagination. Forget everything you think you know…this is the story of Camelot that has never been told before. (Source: Starz)

Creators: Michael Hirst, Chris Chibnall

Camelot was a very recent series on Starz, a more adult version of the classic tale. Unfortunately, it only lasted one season. I'm really not sure the main reason for the cancellation, but I can only assume it was because of low ratings.

Personally, while I didn't love the series, I thought it was pretty good. I enjoyed the more adult nature of the series. King Arthur stuff tends to usually be toned down quite a bit. This series was a typical pay-cable series. Lots of nudity, violence, sex and blood. If you enjoy shows like Game of Thrones, or Spartacus, you should enjoy this show as well.

The reason I didn't love the show as much as the previously mentioned series is because the "romantic" portions of the show really seemed to drag this series down. The interaction between Arthur and Guinevere were not well done, and they seemed to have little chemistry. I'm not against romance in my films in any way, but this seemed to have too much of a CW feel to it.

The acting is fantastic from an exemplary cast. Save maybe Jamie Campbell Bower who just doesn't seem like a good Arthur to me. In all honesty I prefer Merlin's Bradley James to him. The action is good when there is some and the story moves along ok. Joseph Fiennes is definitely the star of this show, I just wish this guy could get a gig that sticks.

All in all, this is a great King Arthur rendition and I wish there could have been more seasons for the show to get it's legs. Check it out if you enjoy the pay-cable shows or have a pension for King Arthur stuff.

Verdict: Recommended

The Cast

Joseph Fiennes ... Merlin

Jamie Campbell Bower ... King Arthur

Tamsin Egerton ... Guinevere

Eva Green ... Morgan

Claire Forlani ... Queen Igraine

Peter Mooney ... Kay

Clive Standen ... Gawain

Philip Winchester ... Leontes

Chipo Chung ... Vivian

James Purefoy ... King Lot

Sinéad Cusack ... Sybil

Lara Jean Chorostecki ... Bridget

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Prince Valiant (1997)

Director: Anthony Hickox

Writers:

Hal Foster (comic strip), Michael Frost Beckner

In a time now lost in the mists of memory, the great King Arthur rules in the legendary citadel that is Camelot. His Knights of the Round Table commit acts of derring-do and spend their spare time jousting, much to the delight of the local citizens and especially to Princess Ilene, a guest at Camelot. Watching her from afar is a young, inexperienced squire called Valiant, and when the young Welsh princess is sent home to marry Prince Arn, Valiant contrives to accompany her masquerading as Sir Gawain. Meanwhile, the evil sorceress Morgan le Fey, sister to King Arthur, has convinced the tyrannical Sligon, ruler of the Viking kingdom of Thule, that he should steal Arthur's sword, the powerful and magical Excalibur, knowing that its loss could bring about Arthur's downfall. So into the fray comes Sligon's unstable and psychotic brother Thagnar, who manages to steal the sword. Pandemonium reigns. But Valiant is having problems of his own - kidnappers attempt to steal away the Princess, and after various skirmishes, including one with a mysterious character who lives in a cave and purloins treasure, women and other things of value, Valiant manages to return the Princess to her homeland - although he also manages to have a duel with the Princess' jealous fiancé, Prince Arn. All things converge as Valiant is finally informed of his heritage by the stranger from the cave... Boltar of Thule. He informs the lad that he is Prince Valiant, rightful heir to the kingdom of Thule, and with his help, Valiant returns to the land of his birth to rightfully claim what is his. Written by Helen Chavez

Here we have another family-friendly fantasy movie that you can show to your kids. This is generally not my cup of tea, but I quite enjoyed it. Prince Valiant is better than most of the things you'll see on the Syfy channel anyway. Just don't expect to see any blood or skin in this fantasy film.

I'm not very familiar with the original comic strip of Prince Valiant, but from what I do know this seems pretty faithful. Those these days it'd be difficult to find someone who is. If you are, let me know how faithful this is if you've seen it. Here we have a bit of King Arthur with no Merlin except this dead guy here. This seems to take place after the usual Arthur story. We do get a bit of Excalibur as this story generally revolves around the sword.

The acting here is, of course, top notch from this fantastic cast. Unfortunately, they couldn't turn this into an actual good movie. But, It's fun and enjoyable and perfectly acceptable for the kids. I just have a hard time seeing Stephen Moyer and not hearing him say "Sookie". His voice just doesn't seem to match him here.

I've never been a Katherine Heigl fan, but she's absolutely adorable here. As far as the cast is concerned, I would have preferred there be a bit more Ron Perlman and Warwick Davis.

There are some definitely silly moments that will make you groan out load, like the scene here of Valiant walking underwater. The effects are typical for 1997 and not bad at all. The action is good, people die, just no blood.