The demystification of Arthur

Advantages: a brave attempt at history
Disadvantages: dont expect the medieval tale

...The historical action film is a popular genre these days, and one that unfortunately is generally not done well. Generaly there will always be a conflict of interests, the balance of making a audience friendly action movie against a potrayal of history is a very difficult thing to do, and with King Arthur I think that the writers, David Franzoni and John Lee Hancock. have done an excellant job. The problem with the story of Arthur is that its such a vague story in its original sources that there is room for so many different versions all with possibilites and merits. What we think we know about the story, Camelot, The Round Table, Excalibur, Merlin and the Holy Grail are a mix of ideas from a range of cultures and ages laided down in medieval France for reasons of propaganda and entertainment, so the fact that the film follows its own...

steerpyke 03.01.2005 · Read review
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Review of King Arthur (DVD)

King Arthur

Advantages: some good battle scenes
Disadvantages: poor story, poor charaters

...This film was never at the top of my list of things to watch when it came out in the cinema. I must admit that I was slightly curious about it but was put off it by the mixed reviews it was receiving. When I received it as a Christmas present my curiosity was reignited so rather than take it back and change it for something else I decided to watch it. Could it be as bad as some of the reviews had implied? Surely not. ** Background ** King Arthur is based on the legendary man himself and his role in the rule of the Romans prior to him taking power himself. The film attempts to combine historical fact and Hollywood style and glamour to produce a stylish and accurate production. The film is directed by Antoine Fuqua (Training Day) and is produced by Jerry Bruckheimer (Pirates of the Caribbean). ** Storyline ** As the Roman...

jonesri 05.03.2005 · Read review
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Review of King Arthur (DVD)

Dream Story - Arthur Schnitzler

Advantages: Interesting and very readable
Disadvantages: See review

...At work we have a lounge. It?s a very nice lounge with comfy chairs and a view over the atrium. It?s a place where you can have a break-out meeting or a little quiet time, it is also popular with non smokers looking to take advantage of the hourly ten minute breaks their puffing buddies appear to be entitled to. In this lounge is a selection of books, left by community minded colleagues. As you can imagine there is an awful lot of jumble sale tat fodder here but the odd interesting book has been known to turn up. Alongside the usual crime/historical pot boilers this little number stood out. I mean, Arthur Schnitzler? Who ever heard of him. Well, not me anyway but the back cover blurb was intriguing. Regarding the man it went as follows: ?Like his Viennese contemporary Sigmund Freud, the doctor and dramatist Arthur Schnitzler (1862...

brereton66 17.06.2009 · Read review
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Review of Dream Story - Arthur Schnitzler

King Arthur

Advantages: None
Disadvantages: None

...Someone said, 'Throw away the history books, Jerry Bruckheimer's in town', and it is true, Bruckheimer is well known for being an over the top producer. Antoine Fuqua and Jerry Bruckheimer get to grips with telling the untold true story that inspired the legend. ok, King Arthur is not proven to be history anyway, but a legend it certainly is, and this is the stuff of legends are made of: Lancelot and Guinevere, Gawain and Galahad, Knights in shining armour, complete with magical sword and the Holy Grail, and using Ireland for the England sets and locations. You certainly won't get the most authentic story from this movie. Hey! this is Hollywood, remember? The legend of King Arthur is one of Britain's greatest myths, and the movie is supposedly based on archeological evidence concerning the real nature of King Arthur during...

Paradis 30.11.2004 · Read review
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Review of King Arthur (DVD)

So king Arthur was Italian ?

Advantages: A different slant on the Arthur legend.
Disadvantages: Maybe not what you were expecting.

...King Arthur, a name that brings to mind pictures of fairy castles and knights in gleaming suites of armour, mounted upon prancing white chargers doing war on the evil in the world. Images of court ladies dressed in long flowing gowns and wearing tall pointed hats. Fantasies of magic swords and magicians weaving their spells in the ultimate fight between good and evil. This adaptation will shatter all those illusions or at least change the way you view the Arthurian myth. I found the film to be more of a cross between Gladiator and The Three Musketeers, with a bit of Robin Hood thrown in for good measure. What do I mean by that? I found this to be a swashbuckling adventure/ action film rather than the mystical Arthurian legend I had been expecting. The action of Gladiator is mixed with the ?gung ho, against overwhelming odds...

docpov 04.01.2005 · Read review
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Review of King Arthur (DVD)

Not too Artful Arthur

Advantages: Good cast, interesting story, nice costumes
Disadvantages: Dodgy script, lacking in oomph

...As the Romans prepare to leave Britain, Lucius Artorius and his elite cavalry squad are sent on a final suicide mission north of Hadrian?s Wall. They must rescue an important Roman family before the marauding Saxons sweep in from the north. The quest makes Arthur question the Empire and seals his fate. For those of you expecting a roister-doistering swashbuckling epic full of valiant jousting knights and beautiful maidens, prepare to be disappointed. This is not the King Arthur legend as we know it. It is what Hollywood execs term a ?re-imagining?. That is to say that apart from the names of a few key characters, little remains of the traditional story. For one thing, it?s been transplanted from the middle ages to the tail end of the Roman occupation of Britain. For another, there?s no magical sword in the stone, no Lady in the Lake...

afy9mab 28.08.2004 · Read review
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Review of King Arthur (DVD)

King Arthur

Advantages: interesting new interpretation of a very old and not-very-well-understood Legend
Disadvantages: Arthur's character development was a little lacking

...This is partially in response to Tom's review: The movie begins with LANCELOT, not ARTHUR being taken from his family. Lancelot and Arthur's knights, if you pay attention, are the Samartians, legendary for their horse-riding-fighting-upon skills. The Romans had some sort of deal where they would take the young men of Samartia for 15 years of service to the Romans in exchange for leaving their lands alone (I think). Anyway, Arthur isn't Samartian--he's Roman. He wants to go home to Rome, and his knights want to return to Samartia. As far as the complaints about the Guinevere/Lancelot affair, this is something that happens after Arthur and Guinevere are married, is what I always thought. There is a lot of tension between the two supporting the development of this plot line. And if you're worried about Merlin not being...

I_only_like_good_movies 06.09.2007 · Read review
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Review of King Arthur (DVD)

Arthur and the Invisibles for the Nintendo DS - lots of variety!

Advantages: Lots of variety, good graphics and sound
Disadvantages: Needs multiple copies in multi-player mode, limited long-term interest

...This review is for the Nintendo DS game, Arthur and the Invisibles, developed by Neko Entertainment and published by Atari. This is an action game which is fast paced and primarily involves working through over ninety mini games to progress through the game. The game is a licence of the feature film of the same name, but doesn't really relate very heavily to that film. You can choose between three different gameplay modes, challenge mode, virtual pet simulator or multiplayer mode. The challenge mode involves working through all of the mini games, and the multi-player mode is just that, an opportunity to share the games with others. The virtual pet simulator is really just a side part of the game, and involves looking after a small pet which requires attention and looking after. There isn?t really much to this, it just involves...

julwhite 07.07.2009 · Read review
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Review of Arthur and the Invisibles (Nintendo DS)

a retelling of Arthurs great battles from someone knew

Advantages: great twist to a traditional story in history
Disadvantages: difficult names

...This book was recently used in a novel study unit at my school with the year 7 students which proved highly successful based on such a well written book that appeals to young teens. The story follows that of the Camelot story. Reeves manages to turn the legendary events of the medieval time period into a story of friendship, blood, battles and love that all children are able to follow and appreciate. There is a change in the role of Arthur as he is given a new voice to suit the writing style of Reeve. Instead of being the king as he was depicted in history books he is altered into an egotistical arrogant brut man who blunders villages and takes what he wants. The charming fallen guinevere is now Gwynafer, A twice widowed woman who is believed to be cursed and alone who is forced to marry Arthur. When she eventually succumbs to...

jcatz85 25.04.2009 · Read review
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Review of Here Lies Arthur - Philip Reeve

Arise, King Arthur of.....Southern Russia!

Advantages: Some good battle scenes, and attempts at finding some sort of historical context
Disadvantages: Poorly cast (to mention just one)

...When I first heard there was going to be a new movie about king Arthur, I thought (and hoped) that it would be a really action packed film with a good storyline, decent historical context and not too much Hollywoodisation. The movie begins with a young Arthur who is taken away from his tribe of traditionally fearful warriors in the land of Samartia who were very skilled horsemen. This immediately through me into slight confusion. Please forgive me if I am wrong, but I was always under the impression that king Arthur of Britain was English, but Samartia was in southern Russia. Now apparently this part of the story comes from Howard Reid who suggests this is where Arthur originates from, but Im not so sure. It seems to me that already those guys in Hollywood are picking and choosing the bits of the tale that suit them. Anyway, so...

tom_very1st 13.06.2005 (14.06.2005) · Read review
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Review of King Arthur (DVD)