King Arthur (2004)

Director:

Antoine Fuqua

Writer (WGA):

David Franzoni (written by)

Release Date:

7 July 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | History | War

Tagline:

Rule Your Fate

Plot:

A demystified take on the tale of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.

Plot Keywords:

Knight | Roman Empire | King Arthur | Britain | Knights Of The Round Table

Awards:

3 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Clive Owen	...	Arthur
Ioan Gruffudd	...	Lancelot
Mads Mikkelsen	...	Tristan
Joel Edgerton	...	Gawain
Hugh Dancy	...	Galahad
Ray Winstone	...	Bors
Ray Stevenson	...	Dagonet
Keira Knightley	...	Guinevere
Stephen Dillane	...	Merlin
Stellan Skarsgård	...	Cerdic
Til Schweiger	...	Cynric
Sean Gilder	...	Jols
Pat Kinevane	...	Horton
Ivano Marescotti	...	Bishop Germanius
Ken Stott	...	Marius Honorius

Also Known As:

King Arthur: Director's Cut (USA) (DVD title (director's cut))
Knights of the Roundtable (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for intense battle sequences, a scene of sensuality and some language.

Runtime:

126 min | USA:142 min (director's cut)

Country:

USA | UK | Ireland

Language:

English | Latin | Irish Gaelic | Welsh | Scottish Gaelic

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Quebec) (director's cut) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Iceland:16 | Netherlands:16 (director's cut) | Malaysia:18PL | Malaysia:U (cut version) | Australia:M (Video rating) | USA:PG-13 (original rating) (certificate #40970) | Canada:G (re-rating) | New Zealand:M | Spain:18 (DVD rating) | Sweden:11 | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA (director's cut) | Australia:M (original rating) | Canada:14A (director's cut) | Chile:14 | Czech Republic:12 | Finland:K-11 (original rating) | Finland:K-15 (director's cut) | France:U (director's cut) | Germany:12 (original rating) | Germany:16 (director's cut) | Ireland:15 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:15 | Spain:13 (director's cut) | Spain:7 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12A (original rating) | UK:12 (video rating) (2004) | UK:15 (director's cut) | USA:Open (director's cut) (rating surrendered) | USA:R (director's cut) | Greece:K-13 | Brazil:14

Filming Locations:

Ardmore Studios - Herbert Road, Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland

Company:

Touchstone Pictures

Trivia:

Although the weather seems very cold and dreary, the movie was shot during near-record high temperatures in Ireland.

Goofs:

Continuity: Despite the fact that it's supposed to be winter, there are leaves on the trees.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Lancelot: [voiceover] By 300 AD, the Roman Empire extended from Arabia to Britain. But they wanted more. More land. More peoples loyal and subservient to Rome. But no people so important as the powerful Sarmatians to the east. Thousands died on that field. And when the smoke cleared on the fourth day...
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Pathfinder (2007)

Soundtrack:

Amergin's Invocation

The legend?

I have been a huge King Arthur fan ever since the night that I sat in an empty theater, in my hometown, awestruck by John Boorman's Excalibur.

Since then, I have seen the legend of King Arthur mutilated in films such as First Knight and The Mists of Avalon.

My high hopes for the movie, King Arthur, were dashed before the film even opened in theaters, by critics who were panning the movie from advanced screenings.

So, I stayed away while it was in theaters and most definitely passed on special discounts on the week it was released to DVD.

After finally getting around to renting a copy, I am left with just one burning question - Why in the hell do I listen to movie critics? The movie King Arthur has it all - a tight, well written story, believable characters, gritty realism, a great musical score by Hans Zimmer, epic battles, and more blood and splatter than you probably really wanted to see.

The bottom line is that King Arthur is a very good film. No, it's not the mythical Camelot, but it does not try to be. Nor, does it trample all over the name of King Arthur by making him a shallow or less than heroic character.

This is not Braveheart or Gladiator , but it is a film worth seeing and appreciating. Now that I think about, it's worth buying a copy to add to the home video library.