King Arthur DVD Review:

On the verge of gaining their freedom after serving Rome for fifteen years, Arthur (Owen) and his Knights are given one last mission that would see them face their most aggressive foe yet, the invading Saxon army. As he moves north, he discovers that the people of Britain need a leader, someone who could save them from the marauding hordes as the Roman Empire prepares to leave. Against the wishes of Lancelot (Gruffudd) and the rest of his Knights, Arthur decides to stay and fight for the people who he has sworn to protect.

As fantasy films enjoy a resurgence at the box office, revisiting the Arthurian legend must have seemed like an excellent idea. The Sword in the Stone, the Lady of the Lake and all the other myths and magic associated with the tale could be brought to life brilliantly as CGI now allows filmmakers to achieve anything. So why did they decide to forgo all of the mystical elements of Britain’s most famous royal fable?

Jerry Bruckheimer and Antoine Fugua’s version of tale of King Arthur and his Knights takes a more historically accurate approach to the legend and this is to the determent of the film. This account sees Arthur as the leader of a Roman garrison, stationed on Hadrian’s Wall in the 4th century A.D. Never defeated in battle Artorius, a half Roman, half Britain, commands a group of Sarmatian Knights whose deeds are legendary amongst the people, as tales of Arthur and his knights spread across of the country. The Sarmatian Knights are enlisted men who gain their freedom after fifteen years of service to Rome. So Lancelot, Gawain, Galahad and the rest are the equivalent of the Special Forces for the Roman Empire. Guinevere and Merlin are Woads, rebellious pagans who fight against the Roman occupation but the real enemy is the invading Saxon army that threatens to engulf the country as the Roman army leaves Britain. So everything you know about the legend, whether it be from film or books, is wrong and this is really how the story was born. This is all fair and good but the end result just isn’t as exciting as the mythological approach.

The battle sequences are nothing new and they lack the blood and gore that you’d expect from a confrontation involving swords, arrows and flaming catapult fire. The ice face-off and the final fight are impressive but you have the feeling you’ve seen it all before. The leader giving a rousing speech on horseback and driving the troops into battle seems to be the stalwart of all historical dramas of late.

The script doesn’t really push the acting talents of the ensemble cast but they do quite a reasonable job. Keira Knightly sounds overly posh as Guinevere but she does get stuck in during the battle sequences. Ioan Gruffudd doesn’t really have much to do as Lancelot, as the love triangle involving Arthur, Guinevere and him is never really explored. Ray Winston is his usual rowdy self as Bors and Joel Edgerton and Hugh Dancy are fine as Gawain and Galahad. Stellan Skarsgård is seriously underused as the Saxon leader Cerdic. The character just ends up looking like he really doesn’t want to be there.

Clive Owen performance as Arthur is the main problem however. He just doesn’t have the presence to pull of such a commanding role. This is supposed be a man who the knights would die for and a leader they would follow into hell itself but Owen just doesn’t project this in the slightest. Clive Owen is an excellent actor but you might have to question his ability to be a strong leading man.

King Arthur would have been a better film if the filmmakers had gone for a more mythical approach. The Sword in the Stone, the Lady of the Lake, Merlin the Wizard and the power of Excalibur would have made an amazing fantasy adventure now that the technology can do it justice. This historical retelling is still watchable and quite entertaining but you can’t help but think you could have been watching a much better film.

Star Rating = * * *

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in 2.40:1 Anamorphic Widescreen with a choice between a Dolby Digital 5.1 and dts soundtracks, this is a good transfer. The picture quality is superb throughout, even during the darker forest and night scenes. The sound quality is also first rate, especially during the climatic battle sequence when you feel that you are been bombarded by arrows.

BONUS FEATURES

Director’s Cut

With an extra 17 minutes of footage, the full-blooded version of the movie is better for it. Here we can now witness the sheer brutality of combat in 500AD, as swords, arrows and spears rip in flesh in all their graphic detail. The story also gets added to as we see more of the attraction between Guinevere and Lancelot, a greater insight into the Saxons and more of Arthur’s background. This edit does improve the film but it is still not as good as it could have so easily have been.

Blood on the Land: Forging King Arthur (17.11 mins)

Director Antoine Fuqua, producer Jerry Bruckheimer, writer David Franzoni, production designer Dan Weil, history consultant John Matthews, stunt coordinator Steve Dent, costume designer Penny Rose, director of photography Slawomir Idziak, visual effects supervisor Matt Johnson, composer Hans Zimmer and stars Clive Owen, Keira Knightley, Ioan Gruffudd, Joel Edgerton, Ray Winstone, Mads Mikkelsen and Stellan Skarsgård take you behind the scenes of King Arthur. The featurette reveals the origins of the story and the Arthurian legend and takes you on location in Ireland. We see how many of the main sequences were accomplished such as the ice battle and the final confrontation, as well as how the music, costumes and sets came together.

Alternative Ending: Badon Hill (4.14 mins)

With optional commentary by Antoine Fuqua, this is the original, darker ending for the film that didn’t test well during previews.

Producer’s Photo Gallery

A collection of behind the scenes images from the Irish location shoot

Trailer

A preview of National Treasure

OVERALL

The director’s cut of the movie is better than the theatrical version of the movie, making this an added bonus for fans of the film. The inclusion of a dts track is also a welcome edition but other than that the extras are quite average. With no commentary track and an average making of… featurette, the rest of the bonus features are not as good as they could have been. The film is still well worth a rent as this is the better version of the movie.

DVD Star Rating = * * *

Jamie Kelwick

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