Knight's Tale/First Knight [2 Discs] DVD

First Knight
The tale of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table is always ripe for retelling. In this rendition, the sexy Richard Gere is Sir Lancelot, threatening to supersede the aging King Arthur (Sean Connery) by winning the love of his young wife Guinivere (Julia Ormond). This update of the age-old legend succeeds on the strength of Gere's happy-go-lucky sex appeal, Ormond's gorgeous period costuming, and Connery's unbeatable wry nobility. The script focuses on the triangle of the three principals: the older man's reluctance to relinquish his love and power to the younger man destined to supplant him; the young woman torn between her loyalty to her aged husband and her love for his rival; the young man balancing the demands of loyalty to his sovereign with the rewards of true love. This beautiful production forgoes the legend's usual elements of magic and fantasy, leaving Merlin the Magician completely out of the picture. ~ Laura Abraham, All Movie Guide

A Knight's Tale
This crowd-pleasing medieval adventure tale is very loosely inspired by Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales and mixes the anachronistic elements of modern-day ock music and colloquialisms with a period setting and characters. Heath Ledger stars as William Thatcher, a low-born 14th century squire who, in a fit of inspired spontaneity, replaces his deceased employer as the competitor at a jousting competition. Jousting is a pastime only permitted to knights, who are of noble birth, but Thatcher wins and decides to continue his new pursuits. With the help of his two fellow squire friends Wat and Roland (Alan Tudyk and Mark Addy) and none other than the gambling-addicted Geoffrey Chaucer (Paul Bettany), Thatcher has soon adopted a false identity and is winning one joust after another on his way to a championship in London. His victories inspire the affection of a female fan, Jocelyn (Shannyn Sossamon), and the ire of a competitor, Count Adehmar (Rufus Sewell), but Thatcher's ruse is threatened with exposure. A Knight's Tale is the sophomore directorial effort of acclaimed screenwriter Brian Helgeland, who won an Oscar for his work on L.A. Confidential (1997) and debuted behind the camera with the troubled production of Payback (1999). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Cast Sean Connery as King Arthur Richard Gere as Lancelot Julia Ormond as Guinevere Ben Cross as Malagant Liam Cunningham as Sir Agravaine Christopher Villiers as Sir Kay Heath Ledger as William Thatcher Mark Addy as Roland Rufus Sewell as Count Adhemar Paul Bettany as Chaucer Shannyn Sossamon as Jocelyn Alan Tudyk as Wat Laura Fraser as Kate Christopher Cazenove as John Thatcher Bérénice Bejo as Christiana James Purefoy as Colville

Crew John Hill - Art Director Suzanne Crowley - Casting Gilly Poole - Casting Francine Maisler - Casting Caroline Harris - Costume Designer Guy Travers - First Assistant Director Jiri Ostry - First Assistant Director Brian Helgeland - Director Allan Graf - Second Unit Director Kevin Stitt - Editor Joseph Boyle - Line Producer Carter Burwell - Composer (Music Score) Tony Burrough - Production Designer Richard Greatrex - Cinematographer Todd Black - Producer Brian Helgeland - Producer Tim Van Rellim - Producer Jiri Zucek - Set Designer Dominic Smithers - Set Designer Mark Kebby - Set Designer Jan Vohlidal - Set Designer Vaclav Vohlidal - Set Designer Mark Holding - Sound/Sound Designer Allan Graf - Stunts Coordinator Brian Helgeland - Screenwriter Ervin Sanders - Additional Cinematography Ervin Sanders - Second Unit Camera Jiri Ostry - Second Assistant Director Johnny Johnson - Supervising Sound Editor Mill Film - Visual Effects Dominic Smithers - Set Decorator Jiri Zucek - Set Decorator John Hill - Art Director Suzanne Crowley - Casting Gilly Poole - Casting Francine Maisler - Casting Caroline Harris - Costume Designer Guy Travers - First Assistant Director Jiri Ostry - First Assistant Director Brian Helgeland - Director Allan Graf - Second Unit Director Kevin Stitt - Editor Joseph Boyle - Line Producer Carter Burwell - Composer (Music Score) Tony Burrough - Production Designer Richard Greatrex - Cinematographer Todd Black - Producer Brian Helgeland - Producer Tim Van Rellim - Producer Jiri Zucek - Set Designer Dominic Smithers - Set Designer Mark Kebby - Set Designer Jan Vohlidal - Set Designer Vaclav Vohlidal - Set Designer Mark Holding - Sound/Sound Designer Allan Graf - Stunts Coordinator Brian Helgeland - Screenwriter Ervin Sanders - Additional Cinematography Ervin Sanders - Second Unit Camera Jiri Ostry - Second Assistant Director Johnny Johnson - Supervising Sound Editor Mill Film - Visual Effects Dominic Smithers - Set Decorator Jiri Zucek - Set Decorator

First Knight
(not reviewed)
 

A Knight's Tale
The summer of 2001 saw the birth of an unusual new hybrid -- the period film featuring modern-day music, ideas, and catch phrases. In both instances (director Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge [2001] and this medieval fantasy from writer/director Brian Helgeland), the device works. That's probably because both filmmakers fought the powers that be to make it so, relying on the courage of their convictions that they could make it as giddily cool as they envisioned it being. Cool it is, especially in the case of Helgeland's fun-filled frolic, a goofball mishmash of influences ranging from Braveheart (1995) to baseball, Rob Roy (1995) to the ock & roll of AM radio in the 1970s. Sure, the sudden, jarring appearance of "the wave" during a jousting tournament or David Bowie's "Golden Years" during a medieval ball requires some rewiring of one's mental circuitry, and there will be those who can't make the required intellectual leap. There may even be many who don't want to spend a feature-length film's running time with their disbelief fully disengaged. What's groundbreaking or fresh in art or entertainment, however, is often pleasing to those expecting the status quo. It's also often a trail mix of familiar elements jumbled into an inventive new combination, and A Knight's Tale meets that basic requirement. Performances here are not really the point, but Heath Ledger, newcomer Shannyn Sossamon, and the glowering Rufus Sewell are perfectly acceptable, cheekbone-blessed leads. The real standout here is Paul Bettany as the naked, addictive, and fiendishly talented Geoffrey Chaucer, a mirthfully kick-in-the-pants comic character similar to the one that made Rhys Ifans a minor star after Notting Hill (1999). Embracing anachronism is an artistic philosophy that isn't likely to work in most cases, and it will doubtlessly be imitated endlessly, and disastrously so. In 2001, however, it was the "new thing" in Hollywood cinema and an enjoyable development in a summer of particularly boring junk. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
 

(no awards)

General Specifications: Language Options: English, French, Spanish Subtitle Options: English, French, Spanish, KO Sound Processing: DS: Dolby Surround (4.0) DD2: Dolby Digital Stereo DD5.1: Dolby Digital w/ sub-woofer channel Additional Features: Interactive menus English Dolby Digital Stereo and 5.1 Chapter selections Widescreen and Pan and Scan formats Digitally mastered audio & anamorphic video French and Spanish language tracks English and French subtitles Brian Helgeland and Paul Bettany commentary HBO making of special 11 behind the scenes featurettes Deleted scenes with filmmaker's intros Music video Website link Theatrical trailers Filmographies Animated menus Production notes Scene selections DVD-ROM includes exclusive Knight's Tale 3-D screensaver DVD Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1: Pre-1954 Standard 1.85:1: Theatre Wide-Screen MPAA Rating: PG13 DVD Discs Included: 2 DVD Sides: 3 DVD DVD Region Code: 1 Content Length: 265 min   DVD Chapters: Side #1 -- A Knight's Tale 1. Start 2. Sir Ector Rides Again 3. "Low Rider" 4. Chaucer the Trudger 5. Foxy Lady 6. Master of 1000 Lances 7. A Gambling Problem 8. Sword on Foot 9. "Takin' Care of Business" 10. Kate the Smithee 11. Count Adhemar 12. Hark! the Herald Sings 13. Ulric vs. Colville 14. Adhemar vs. Ulric 15. Dance Lessons 16. "Golden Years" 17. A Draw 18. "My Dearest Jocelyn" 19. "I Will Not Lose!" 20. Proving His Love 21. Ulric's Prize 22. 12 Years Earlier 23. Word of His Son 24. Pride & the Passion 25. Under Arrest 26. Sir William 27. "He's Tipped It!" 28. Weighed, Measured & Wanting Side #2 -- First Knight (Widescreen) 1. Introduction [:13] 2. Start [1:17] 3. Good With a Sword [3:09] 4. Opening Credits and Carnage [5:11] 5. Reporting to Guinevere [2:53] 6. A Word With Oswald [1:38] 7. On Her Way to Be Married [2:03] 8. Ambush [2:10] 9. Runaway Coach [2:30] 10. Rescued by Lancelot [2:58] 11. Does it Please Him to Know? [5:35] 12. "Welcome to Camelot" [4:39] 13. Entering Arthur's City [1:32] 14. Peter and a White Mare [1:36] 15. The Gauntlet [3:07] 16. Risk But No Reward [4:09] 17. Arthur and Lancelot [3:41] 18. "Do You Want to Marry Me?" [4:24] 19. Malagant the Guest [5:17] 20. A Message for Lady Guinevere [2:51] 21. "Taken? Taken Where?"; Lancelot in Pursuit [1:29] 22. At Malagant's Palace [2:54] 23. A Place of Forgetting [1:47] 24. Lancelot Meets Malagant [2:20] 25. Escape From the Pit [3:11] 26. In the Rain With Guinevere [5:47] 27. The King's Prayers Answered [:41] 28. Thanking Lancelot in His Own Way [4:41] 29. "I Will Leave Camelot Now, If You Come With Me" [2:00] 30. "Brother to Brother. Yours in Life and Death" [1:23] 31. The Wedding of Aruthur and Guinevere; Jacob's News [1:11] 32. Riding to the Defense of Leonesse [2:32] 33. Night Attack [6:29] 34. Entering Leonesse [4:08] 35. "I've Come to Say Goodbye and Wish You Well" [3:03] 36. Arthur Betrayed [1:36] 37. "...She Must Choose Between Them" [3:45] 38. "You Will Be Charged With Treason Under Our Laws" [1:05] 39. Informing the High Council [1:02] 40. In the Great Square [2:30] 41. Malagant Takes Control [2:52] 42. "Fight! Never Surrender!" [2:26] 43. Lancelot vs. Malagant [3:39] 44. Final Words [2:49] 45. Pyre at Sea [2:50] 46. End Credits [4:30] Side #3 -- First Knight (Full Screen) 1. Introduction [:13] 2. Start [1:17] 3. Good With a Sword [3:09] 4. Opening Credits and Carnage [5:11] 5. Reporting to Guinevere [2:53] 6. A Word With Oswald [1:38] 7. On Her Way to Be Married [2:03] 8. Ambush [2:10] 9. Runaway Coach [2:30] 10. Rescued by Lancelot [2:58] 11. Does it Please Him to Know? [5:35] 12. "Welcome to Camelot" [4:39] 13. Entering Arthur's City [1:32] 14. Peter and a White Mare [1:36] 15. The Gauntlet [3:07] 16. Risk But No Reward [4:09] 17. Arthur and Lancelot [3:41] 18. "Do You Want to Marry Me?" [4:24] 19. Malagant the Guest [5:17] 20. A Message for Lady Guinevere [2:51] 21. "Taken? Taken Where?"; Lancelot in Pursuit [1:29] 22. At Malagant's Palace [2:54] 23. A Place of Forgetting [1:47] 24. Lancelot Meets Malagant [2:20] 25. Escape From the Pit [3:11] 26. In the Rain With Guinevere [5:47] 27. The King's Prayers Answered [:41] 28. Thanking Lancelot in His Own Way [4:41] 29. "I Will Leave Camelot Now, If You Come With Me" [2:00] 30. "Brother to Brother. Yours in Life and Death" [1:23] 31. The Wedding of Aruthur and Guinevere; Jacob's News [1:11] 32. Riding to the Defense of Leonesse [2:32] 33. Night Attack [6:29] 34. Entering Leonesse [4:08] 35. "I've Come to Say Goodbye and Wish You Well" [3:03] 36. Arthur Betrayed [1:36] 37. "...She Must Choose Between Them" [3:45] 38. "You Will Be Charged With Treason Under Our Laws" [1:05] 39. Informing the High Council [1:02] 40. In the Great Square [2:30] 41. Malagant Takes Control [2:52] 42. "Fight! Never Surrender!" [2:26] 43. Lancelot vs. Malagant [3:39] 44. Final Words [2:49] 45. Pyre at Sea [2:50] 46. End Credits [4:30]