CORPORATE LINE: From producer Jerry Bruckheimer (‘Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl,’ ‘Black Hawk Down’) and director Antoine Fuqua (‘Training Day’) comes Touchstone Pictures’ / Jerry Bruckheimer Films’ ‘King Arthur,’ a spectacular, epic tale of one man’s destiny to become a king.
‘Let me sing with inspiration
Of the man born of two nations,
Of Rome and of Britain…
… Arthur the blessed
Led his assault from the Great Wall…’
by the 6th century Welsh poet, Taliesin
For centuries most historians believed that King Arthur was only a legend, but that legend was based on a real hero whose actions changed the face of Britain and the world forever.
Clive Owen, is ‘Artorius’ or Arthur, the hero of Roman and British parentage eulogized in the ancient Celtic poem. Like his loyal Knights, he sees only chaos and devastation will follow Rome’s final pullout of Britain. Although, as a dedicated Christian he is desperate to return to Rome to influence the budding religion, his first loyalty is to his pagan Knights. Arthur sees his duty is to free them from their servitude to Rome so they may return to their ancestral homeland in Sarmatia.
However, before he can, he must lead his Knights of the Round Table on one last mission, deep into enemy territory on a quest of adventure and profound enlightenment. Here, Arthur, Lancelot, Galahad, Bors, Tristan, Dagonet and Gawain are forced to confront their traditional enemy: Merlin and his indigenous guerilla armies. Disdainfully called ‘Woads’ by the Knights for the Woad plant they use to dye their bodies, Arthur and his Knights will see these guerillas are the soul of Britain, devastated by generations of Roman rule. Now, with Rome gone, and without the help of Arthur and his knights, the invading Saxons will roll over the people like an avalanche.
Under the guidance of the shaman, Merlin and the beautiful, courageous Guinevere (Keira Knightley), Arthur will struggle to find the strength to fors ke his dreams of Rome to ‘become a leader in this land,’ and to change the face of history.
Thrilling adventure, edge-of-your-seat action and historical grandeur come together in this unique look at the origins of one of the greatest legends ever told.
THE FILM: This is one of the most uninspiring films about King Arthur to date. There have been television movies on the same subject that were light years ahead of this. Bruckheimer claimed it was the real story and if that is true perhaps we are better off not knowing. King Arthur is two hours of drudgery.
DVD FEATURES: Director Antoine Fuqua discusses at length about the film. Fuqua seems to be a very no-nonsense guy and its very interesting to listen to him talk about the film and why and how he did certain things. There is a cast roundtable that is very short—15 minutes—and discusses the film and their experiences. “Blood on the Land: Forging King Arthur” is a 17 minutes featurette that profiles the casting, set design, costume design, CG/visual effects, stunts, weaponry and training, etc.
+ Charlie Craine
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