... His King Arthur is not the medieval magic of much-loved legend. Instead, going back to the Dark Ages, this film professes to recreate the origins of those stories, an allegedly real-life warrior, Arturius, half-Roman, half-Briton, leader of a pack of Salmatian knights (yes, I kept hearing ... Read review
It's got a round table, some knights, and a noble warrior who rises to becomeKing Arthur, ... more
but everything else about this revisionist legend is pure Hollywood. That's not such a bad thing if you enjoyedRob Roy,Braveheart,GladiatorandTroy, and there's so...
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It's got a round table, some knights, and a noble warrior who rises to becomeKing Arthur, ... more
but everything else about this revisionist legend is pure Hollywood. That's not such a bad thing if you enjoyedRob Roy,Braveheart,GladiatorandTroy, and there's so...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
The producer of Pearl Harbor and the director of Training Day deliver an immensely ... more
thrilling adventure epic that tells the heroic true story behind one of history's greatest legends! It is the valiant tale of Arthur (Clive Owen) and his bond of brother...
Original UK Mini Quad; Rolled Poster; Poster Condition: New; Size: 16 x 12 inches approx. ... more
All our items are despatched from the United Kingdom. Starring - Clive Owen, Ray Winstone, Ray Stevenson, Keira Knightley, Manufacturer: MoviePostersDirect
Postage & Packaging:£2.50 Availability:Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
The King Arthur bottle opener is from our new and unique range of English Pewter Bottle ... more
Openers. Intricately designed with careful attention to detail makes these bottle openers stand out from the rest. The bottle openers handle is an intricately detailed King Arthur. The bottle openers handle is made entirely of English Pewter and the Opener itself from Stainless Steel. Each bottle opener can be used in the expected manner or makes a perfect conversation piece. The bottle opener is beautifully presented in a silk lined leatherette gift box. The bottle opener measures approximately 4" (10.5 cm) in length.
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Production Year: 2002 - Action/Adventure - Director: Vincenzo Natali - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring:Lucy Liu, David Hewlett, Anne Marie Scheffler, Joseph Scoren, Matthew Sharp, Jeremy Northam
Production Year: 1964 - Action/Adventure - Director: Cyril Endfield - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring:Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth, Michael Caine, Nigel Green
Advantages: some stylish shots and solid performances Disadvantages: never really achieves... anything...
...Jerry Bruckheimer, that is. His King Arthur is not the medieval magic of much-loved legend. Instead, going back to the Dark Ages, this film professes to recreate the origins of those stories, an allegedly real-life warrior, Arturius, half-Roman, half-Briton, leader of a pack of Salmatian knights (yes, I kept hearing Dalmatian) including Gawain, Galahad and of course Lancelot, whose unerring spirit, loyalty, and fearless prowess in battle gave rise ... ...all dull.
King Arthur pulled off in my mind the most extraordinary of cinematic tricks… the no impact trick. One where, post-film, you neither feel like that’s two hours of your life you’re never getting back (League of Extraordinary Gentlemen) nor do you feel sublimely entertained and fulfilled (The Station Agent). Instead, the rising tides of “meh” engulf you (the only noise I can think of that truly expresses this one-shoulder shrugging, ... more
Producer Jerry Bruckheimer, that is. His King Arthur is not the medieval magic of much-loved legend. Instead, going back to the Dark Ages, this film professes to recreate the origins of those stories, an allegedly real-life warrior, Arturius, half-Roman, half-Briton, leader of a pack of Salmatian knights (yes, I kept hearing Dalmatian) including Gawain, Galahad and of course Lancelot, whose unerring spirit, loyalty, and fearless prowess in battle gave rise to great stories in his name, especially once united to fair Woad princess Guinevere.
You’d think he’d have a little more spark, then.
Arturius/Arthur CLIVE OWEN Lancelot IOAN GRUFFUDD Guinevere KEIRA KNIGHTLEY Cerdic STELLAN SKARSGARD Merlin STEPHEN DILLANE
Directed by ANTOINE FUQUA (Training Day)
Certificate 12A
(but… people sitting behind us.. if you’re going to bring your kids… gag them).
Arthur and his knights, after 15 years of indebted toil to the Roman Army in Britain, are ready to receive their release papers… except that they are forced to undergo one last mission to rescue a Roman family in the deadly, Saxon-controlled area north of Hadrian’s Wall, just as Roman troops are retreating from the south. Somehow, their destiny becomes intermingled with the Merlin-led Woads, Britons and blue-painted warriors who are determined to drive back both Romans and Saxons. Merlin himself is a mysterious character never really explained… he is part-soothsayer, part-witch doctor, part-warrior king… and all dull.
King Arthur pulled off in my mind the most extraordinary of cinematic tricks… the no impact trick. One where, post-film, you neither feel like that’s two hours of your life you’re never getting back (League of Extraordinary Gentlemen) nor do you feel sublimely entertained and fulfilled (The Station Agent). Instead, the rising tides of “meh” engulf you (the only noise I can think of that truly expresses this one-shoulder shrugging, not-quite eyebrow raising feeling of being utterly un-whelmed).
Performances are perfectly solid, bar one piece of questionable casting, with Owen’s brooding, stalwart knight (more cerebral elegance than Monty Python- which has to spring to mind – or even Don Quixote) threatening only occasionally to fall asleep at his (beautiful) round table. His internal battle and burgeoning Pelagianism are interesting sidelines but are mined only superficially, and the general IQ level of the film oscillates, if you’ll forgive the Morrissey-ism, wildly. Gruffudd’s Lancelot steers procedures admirably; the dual focus of the film is sometimes irksome – is this in fact a film about Arthur or Lancelot? After all, the opening sequence is given to the youth of Lancelot, and little is ever disclosed of Arthur, but perhaps that’s the point – but mostly they make for a charming double-act. There are hints of the Guinevere love triangle, but in a peculiar, hinted and never explained way… it is a foregone conclusion (and I promise you I spoil nothing in this) that the man of the moment for the elfin warrior is Arthur.
That I find Knightley fantastically annoying did not in any way detract from her enthusiastic performance; despite being as skinny and brittle-looking as a spindly icicle, she holds her own in the battle sequences, and doesn’t let the side down. As the only strong female presence in the film, she has little scene-stealing competition, but to retain but feminity and strength in the presence of such testosterone (Hugh Dancy as a gorgeous-in-spite-of-facial-hair and yet spectacularly effete Galahad excepted) is a hard call, and she manages it admirably. The only weak moment was down to my own inability not to cringe slightly at the thought of her seducing a man who seemed on a different plane of maturity… not physically THAT much older, but still seeming like her father.
Ray Winstone’s Bors, an ultimately tiresome but nonetheless faintly humorous carousing knight and a mysterious and likeable performance from Mads Mikkelsen as Tristan are highlights from the pack, otherwise there’s little else to say except for highlighting the one piece of extraordinarily bad casting.
Stellan Skarsgard has been something of a favourite with me for years… a class act and a cool character, I even sat through the rest of Good Will Hunting, that execrable nonsense, for him… and yet somehow he lacked all menace, presence and gravitas necessary for a violent, vicious Saxon warrior. He seemed a combination of Clint Eastwood and yeti, and neither really provided the precious element of villainy and conflict needed. I’m unwilling to peg him as a bad actor, so I put it down to misjudged interpretation or merely an out-of-range role.
Visually the film has something to offer. The battle scenes are not particularly ground-breaking, but they are visceral, pack a few violent punches and are at least pacy in their direction. A decently tense sequence across a weakening ice floe gives rise to some beautiful shots above and below the water, and it was duly spotted that the arching flaming Woad arrows made a beautiful staccato pattern across the sky, so this is repeated several times. Fuqua’s direction generally is occasionally sluggish, always lingering, but it is beautiful at times… silhouette shots of the $4m reproduction of a sizeable chunk of Hadrian’s wall… sweeping vistas across forts and hillsides… an image of Dark Age Britain as a woody, dense, and intriguing place. This rare nod to the magic of the more familiar Arthurian legends is matched by the simple and stunning Round Table. Costume is simple and seems realistic (although… where did Guinevere find those dresses?!), at least the knights’ armour looks used and worn (and smelly) and the knights themselves admirably ragged (even Galahad).
The score, I only really noticed once and for the most peculiar reason… I realised how quiet it was! Quite skilfully blended with the roar and hum of battle, it wasn’t as outrageously bombastic as it could have been, and certainly didn’t inflict any aural damage.
What I can’t tell you is any of the historical-accuracy bumpf, but I judged this as openly as I could, on the merits of it as a film, rather than an accurate account, and I think that’s only fair in the circumstances. What disappointed me is that, having broken away from the tradition and freeing itself from the shackles of Merlin as mage (not to mention the ghost of an inebriate Graham Chapman as King) etc, the magic was not replaced by cinematic magic, or even a particularly tense film. The outcome is as clear and predictable as any Hollywood movie (although not, as I discovered, the deaths… I only correctly predicted one of them!). Brief attempts to bring a 300 Spartans mood to proceedings fail miserably and in fact, that’s a lot more entertaining… bring on the battle of Thermopylae.
The only conclusion I can come to is that this is a no-score draw. The flourishes are balanced by the dullness, and ultimately this is a three-star, average, paint-by-numbers effort.
Advantages: Good costumes; Stunning scenery; It eventually finished Disadvantages: Poor historical research; Predictable plots; Clumsy scripting
King Arthur (2004)
Genre: Action/adventure
Certificate: 12A
Running time: 126 minutes
Director: Anthony Fuqua
Producer: Jerry Bruckheimer
Main cast:
Clive Owen – Arthur
Ioan Gruffudd – Lancelot
Ray Winstone – Bors
Mads Mikkelsen – Tristan
Hugh Dancy – Galahad
Keira Knightley – Guinevere
Stephen Dillane – Merlin
Ken Stott – Marcus Honorius
I wanted to like this film, I really did. I have enjoyed reading the Arthurian legends in their ... ...a new film out about King Arthur, but that it was based on a new archaeological theory, I just had to see it. The signs looked good - Jerry Bruckheimer (CSI, Law & Order, Pirates of the Caribbean) was involved; there was an element of historical accuracy about it (I heard tales of sword designs being rejected for not being technologically possible in the era portrayed), and the cast look potentially promising, even given the surprise of the lead ...
Collingwood21 08.09.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of King Arthur (DVD)
Advantages: Ray Winstone and a frozen lake Disadvantages: Clive Owen and a wooden cast
...for disaster?
Disaster, no. King Arthur is certainly not a dreadful film. Misguided and uninspiring, however, would be yes because King Arthur is a rather soulless and uninteresting affair.
The story itself is really rather dull. At such a turbulent time in Britain’s history and having positioned the film as telling the REAL story of King Arthur, you might have expected the finished product to be a little more engaging. Perhaps I expect too ... ...King Arthur really doesn’t seem to be fighting for any real purpose and his character’s unwitting indifference quickly seems to rub off on the audience. The apparent switching of sides/loyalties doesn’t really work for me and the Saxon marauders are strictly one-dimensional bad guys, there purely to make Arthur and team seem all the more noble.
The film’s original certificate in the UK was PG and at the time of its cinema ...
LostWitness 24.12.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of King Arthur (DVD)
Advantages: some great performances, battle scenes Disadvantages: fails to deliver on potential promise, goes nowhere as a result
...This version of the King Arthur legend eschews all the typical takes on the story and focuses instead on a different theory, which according to the opening credits of the film, has received backing from archaeological findings in recent years. The theory goes that Arthur was not really a king of Britain but rather the leader of a band of soldiers bound to serve Rome for 15 years prior to the end of Roman rule in Britainnica. Arthur (Clive Owen) is ... ...made on the legend of King Arthur, which is a shame, because with the ideas it introduces about the man behind the legend, it had enormous potential to be a truly impressive historical flick. Sadly though, it settled for half-baked dialogue and so-so storytelling combined with some brilliant performances that could have sparkled even brighter in a better setting. Such is Hollywood, I suppose. ---------------------------------
Director: Antoine Fuqua
...
mystikchick17 26.08.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of King Arthur (DVD)
Advantages: A different slant on the Arthur legend. Disadvantages: Maybe not what you were expecting.
King Arthur, a name that brings to mind pictures of fairy castles and knights in gleaming suites of armour, mounted upon prancing white chargers doing war on the evil in the world. Images of court ladies dressed in long flowing gowns and wearing tall pointed hats. Fantasies of magic swords and magicians weaving their spells in the ultimate fight between good and evil.
This adaptation will shatter all those illusions or at least change the way you ... ...of cross between a warrior king and a witch-doctor.
Bors- Ray Winstone, anyone remember him as Will Scarlett in the Robin of Sherwood series? Well its that sort of rough and ready character, one that adds a touch of humour as well.
Galahad- Hugh Dancy, not the most macho knight but then I suppose all knights were not muscle-bound giants.
Tristan- Mads Mikkelsen, the one with the hawk which seemed to have a bigger part than Mads.
Dagonet- Ray ...
docpov 04.01.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of King Arthur (DVD)
Advantages: Some good acting in parts, a potentially interesting story Disadvantages: The sum isn't greater than the parts...
...of course, Arthur is declare king ? at a time when constitutional monarchies did not exist, so much for the hope of liberty?
The juxtaposition of church and empire on the one side and the locals on the other is a bit of a problem -- the Saxons are invading, so that is bad; the Romans and the church institution are foreign implants into the land also, and they are bad (neither live up to their ideals in practice). The message here is a rather xenophobic ... ...Stellan Skarsgård as the Saxon king is a bit overdone, but appropriate to the character. Guinevere, portrayed by Keira Knightley, is a unique character, a native (Woad) who becomes the conscience of Arthur. The love interest/affair between Guinevere and Lancelot (portrayed by Ioan Gruffudd) is given a new and interesting twist, taking place entirely before the marriage of Arthur and Guinevere, with Merlin as the officiant of the ceremony. Merlin ...
frkurt 22.07.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of King Arthur (DVD)
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Advantages: Excellent Film, Very Good Storyline, Huge Battles Disadvantages: None
with tattooed fighters known as Woads under the leadership of the magician Merlin (Stephen Dillane). Merlin joins forces with Arthur against the pursuing barbarian Saxons led by Cerdic (Stellan Skarsgard) and his son Cynric (Til Schweiger). The ferocious Saxons are ready to seize Britain as the Romans retreat, killing everyone in their wake.
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My Opinion
This Film was a truly worth watching. It put a whole different aspect to the story you normally hear of KingArthur and put a more believable story about who the real KingArthur was and what he did even thought some parts of the events taking place aren't correct with the History books.
I highly suggest watching this film to understand what I mean.
Only Thing that was bad about this DVD is the lack ...
Advantages: Highly enjoyable completely different story about King Arthur Disadvantages: None
This is a KingArthur you have probably never before contemplated - taken by the Romans to serve a 15 year term as a soldier when he was a mere lad.
After this opening the action and story starts with Arthur ( Clive Owen) and his band of Knights ( taken to serve as he was) returning home on the last day of their 15 years service. They are all battle weary and looking forward to their ongoing lives. Arthur himseld intends returning to live in Rome which he cosiders to be the centre of the civilised world, and where his mentor lives. He believes that all men are born free and none are born into serfdom, teachings handed down to him by his mentor and which are to be at the heart of the major action of the film.
On their returning day they are forced into one last task before their freedom will be given which necessitates them ...
KingArthur is a old legend told many times but this film has a different spin on the classic tale.
The legend is told of kingArthur as a commander of Knights born to a roman farther and English mother, the Knights are selected by an ancient pact to the romans and are taken as children to serve the roman empire. Arthur, Lancelot and the other Knights are bound by this and have won many battles on behalf of the roman empire as to rise to legendary fame.
The film starts as the Knights are coming to the end of their 15 year service to the Romans and are commanded to complete one more task before their freedom is granted.
The film is much of a journey of self discovery for Arthur who has renounced the Pagan religion of his ancestors and strives for a peaceful Christian world. as he takes this final quest for freedom he discovers many ...
The Romans are leaving. The political void left by them sees the start of a struggle for power amongst the remaining tribes. Arthur's Knights have been given their last mission to save a child from the Saxon onslaught...
Release details
DVD Region
DVD
Studio(s)
WALT DISNEY STUDIOS HOME ENTERTAINM; TECHNICOLOR DISTRIBUTION SERVICES
Alternate Ending, Blood On The Land Forging King Arthur Behind The Scenes Making Of, National Treasure Sneak Peak
Aspect Ratio
2.35 Wide Screen
Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1
Dubbing Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1 English
Professional reviews
Review
Just about the best battle scenes ever (News Of The World, )
DVD Description
Combining the historical appeal and epic sequences of films like GLADIATOR and BRAVEHEART, director Antoine Fuqua (TRAINING DAY) and producer Jerry Bruckheimer provide a sleek twist on the King Arthur legend. Arthur (Clive Owen), a brave Roman/British Christian warrior who leads his band of pagan knights on missions for the Empire, must complete one final mission before the knights can earn their freedom from servitude and Arthur can return to Rome. Along the way, however, Arthur realizes that the pullout of the Romans will open the door for a crushing invasion of Britain by the Saxons, and he takes it upon himself to fight with Merlin (Stephen Dillane) and Guinevere (Keira Knightley) for the freedom of the British people. Stunning battle scenes with extensive attention to historical detail rely very little on computer graphics and instead use intricately realistic props, costumes, and scenery. Featuring the largest film set ever built in Ireland, KING ARTHUR features a scale replica of Hadrian's Wall and two complete villages. Haunting music by composer Hans Zimmer completes this story of unselfish heroism, which ultimately provides a satisfying completion to the legend of Arthur and his knights.
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