FIRST KNIGHT
A film review by Ed Powell
Copyright 1995 Ed Powell
First, go to your local library and check out LE MORTE D'ARTHUR. It's a long, boring read, but live with it.
Then completely forget about it and go see FIRST KNIGHT.
This film is an interesting twist on the Arthurian legends, and well worth the time to go see it. The story centers around two themes: first and foremost, the cat and mouse game that Launcelot (Richard Gere) and Guinevere (Julia Ormond) play. The second, to a lesser degree but serves its purpose of making the film exciting, is the desire of Prince Maligent (Ben Cross) to take over the kingdom of Camelot, ruled by (g'won ... have a guess) King Arthur (Sean Connery).
While the story is not completely true to the legends (at least the legends I have read), it is gripping and wonderful.
The dialogue and overall writing of the film was above average. The writers spared us the overload of sappy poetic speech: Shakespeare it ain't. From the dialogue, the audience gets a feel of how life really was back in those times. It did have its poetic lines, but it does not mar the film.
Acting wise, Sean Connery was excellent ... as ever. I cannot, however, figure out how or why the King of *England* had a SCOTTISH ACCENT!!! FROM PLAYING 15th CENTURY SPANIARDS TO RUSSIAN SUBMARINE COMMANDERS HE STILL HAS THE SAME ACCENT!!!
Where was I? Oh, yes. The rest of the cast played their roles with superior believability. The battle sequences were well thought out, and the warriors fought with realism.
The design of the film worked well. All the props, costumes, and architectural design were what was expected of that time period.
There were very few visual effects in this film. There were a few matte shots for the exterior of Camelot, and while they were stunning, you could tell that they were matte shots.
And we come to the direction of the film, which I can sum up in one word: EXCELLENT!!! Jerry Zucker made the battle sequences edge-of-your-seat thrilling, the end of the film emotional (I managed to blink back the tears ... no, I'm not a fem), and made me forget that I was in a cramped multiplex for two hours.
Should you bring your family to this film? This reviewer says: perhaps. This is not a picture for young children, but your teenagers might like it. No obscenities, but there are quite a few shots of villages being burnt and people being slain.
Overall, this film is one of the best I've seen this year. It well deserves being nominated for Best Picture this year. Go see this movie by yourself, or go see it with a date. But by any means ... GO SEE THIS FILM!!!
Produced by Jerry Zucker and Bill Nicholson, directed by Jerry Zucker. A Columbia Pictures release.
RATINGS (out of ten)
--------------------
Plot/Story: 7
Writing: 8
Acting: 8
Design: 7
Effects: 5
Direction: 10
Family Value: 5
TOTAL: 50 out of 70 (Overall: 7.143)
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