King Arthur
2004
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 .. Read more
| Starring | Clive Owen, Ioan Gruffudd, Keira Knightley, Ray Winstone |
|---|---|
| Director | Antoine Fuqua |
| Genres | Action/Adventure, Audio Descriptive |
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King Arthur
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.
| Starring | Clive Owen, Ioan Gruffudd, Keira Knightley, Ray Winstone |
|---|---|
| Director | Antoine Fuqua |
| Studio | WALT DISNEY STUDIOS HOME ENTERTAINMENT |
| Run time | DVD: 2 hrs 6 mins Blu-ray: 2 hrs 6 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Collections | 100 Big Adventures |
| Genres | Action/Adventure, Audio Descriptive |
| Language | English, English Audio Description |
| Hearing-impaired | English |
| Released | DVD: 29 Nov 2004 Blu-ray: 14 May 2007 Production year: 2004 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews (3)
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Less a “re-imagining” of the Arthurian legend and more a Dark Ages-set remake of The Magnificent Seven, this Jerry Bruckheimer production still manages to be an occasionally exciting adventure with convincingly staged battle scenes. Most of the traditional elements are missing — there's no wizardry, no Camelot and no love triangle — so instead we get Arthur (a subdued Clive Owen) recast as a soldier with British lineage serving in the Roman army, and Guinevere (Keira Knightley) as a woad-wearing warrior. With the mystical nature of the original myth dismissed, what remains is a mud-splattered western-style standoff, with Arthur and his six loyal knights posted to Hadrian's Wall to repel a Saxon invasion. The knights all look the part — particularly Ray Winstone, who almost steals the film as the hard-fighting father of numerous illegitimate children — but the would-be rousing speeches and obligatory love scene fall flat.
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A deconstruction of the usual Arthurian legends, putting in their place a darker story of betrayal in a savage Britain.
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Most helpful member's review
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105 out of 143 people found this review helpful
Don't Expect A Fantasy Film
Based on the other reviews, people seem to have gone into the cinema to see King Arthur expecting a completely different film. We know from the start that there will be no mystical elements but the other reviewers criticisms are based largely on that fact, that there are no mystical elements. If you want King Arthur and magic rent Excalibur but King Arthur is a better movie.
As far as history is concerned it is as accurate as we can expect. All the main people are involved Romans, Picts, Saxons, but let?s face it, no one alive today was alive back then so we just don?t know how close the film comes to reality.
This is a good film but anyone who has read La Morte D?Arthur and wants to see a movie based on the book needn?t look here. Anyone who has read any historical theses and knows about the Saxon invasion led by Cerdic and Cynric should rent this. Some elements of the historical theory of events have been missed out but this is, after all, a movie not a documentary.
Just free your mind of everything you know about the King Arthur legend and view this as a historical film.
Lastly don?t criticise this movie for being unrealistic and inaccurate without reading a book on the subject first. -
Most recent members' review
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16 out of 31 people found this review helpful
King Arthur Rides Again.............
All in all this is fairly enjoyable. All characters seem to be present.
This movie claims to tell the true story of King Arthur based on Historical facts!!!
So that means no sword in the stone business, no watery lady of the lake, and indeed Arthur doesn't need a Holy Grail when he has a big jug of beer........
Boring first 15 mins while they lay down the story line for the history bums..........
Throughout the film they make a lot of Arthur's half-Roman, half-British heritage and being a Christian while all the other Knights are Pagan.
There is a pretty cool battle scene on the top of a frozen lake - nice one.
For a movie which is Historically acurate, there seems to be some unoriginal scenes.......... Example: 7 people taking on a good few hundred baddies for a fight - Come on they would have just legged it like the rest of us. Also, the last battle scene (wont ruin it) but it surely couldnt have happened for real.
The battle scenes weren't a bloody as had been publicised. Maybe i just like too much violence tho'
I found myself thinking 'well that didn't happen' at parts of the and it slightly ruined the enjoyment -
but my better half also watched it, and enjoyed it - but she had no knowledge (at all) about the history behind it. I think if i watched again, i would enjoy it more second time around.
Overall - a good movie if you just enjoy it as it is and forget about historical accuracy. a decent flick and worthy a rental. -
News and features
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King Arthur stripped of gore
- 16 Jul 2004
Legendary producer Jerry Bruckheimer has said several gory battle scenes from "King Arthur" have been cut so the film could get a lower classification in the US. "Antoine Fuqua [the director] had to delete some of the action to get the PG 13 certificate," Bruckheimer explained to the BBC. In the UK it received a 12A certificate. Reports indicate the producer decided it was easier to cut the scenes than fight the rating. "If I were sitting here and this picture was R [the Read more
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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 ... -
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King Arthur
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 ...
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