First Knight
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| First Knight | |
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| Directed by | Jerry Zucker |
| Produced by | Hunt Lowry, Jerry Zucker |
| Written by | William Nicholson |
| Starring | Sean Connery, Richard Gere, Julia Ormond |
| Distributed by | Sony |
| Release date(s) | July 7, 1995 |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
First Knight is a 1995 film based on Arthurian legend. The principal characters are Lancelot (played by Richard Gere), King Arthur (played by Sean Connery) and Guinevere (Julia Ormond).
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[edit] Actors and director
The film follows the rogue Lancelot's (played by Richard Gere) romance with Lady Guinevere (played by Julia Ormond) of Leonesse, who is to marry King Arthur (played by Sean Connery) of Camelot. Ben Cross appears as the villain Malagant. The film is notable for its absence of magical elements (like Merlin and Morgan Le Fay), its drawing on the Arthurian material of Chrétien de Troyes rather than Thomas Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur for plot elements (Malagant appears in Chrétien's Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart) and the substantial age difference between Arthur and Guinevere.
Director Jerry Zucker made "First Knight" as a follow-up to his Academy Award nominated 1990 hit "Ghost". Previously, he was primarily known for teaming with his brother David Zucker and with Jim Abrahams to create comedies such as "Airplane!" and "The Naked Gun".
[edit] Plot details
The movie opens with Lancelot fighting in small villages for money. While travelling to the next village, he chances by the carriage of Lady Guinevere, and helps spoil an ambush meant to kidnap her. Afterwards, Lady Guinevere refuses the advances of Lancelot.
Later, he arrives in Camelot and successfully navigates an obstacle course called the "Gauntlet", which wins him an audience once again with Lady Guinevere, and her to-be husband, King Arthur. While staying in Camelot, Guinevere is kidnapped by Malagant's followers. In a daring rescue attempt, Lancelot feigns the role of a messenger only to escape with Guinevere and return her to Camelot. Once again, Lancelot tries to win her heart, but is unsuccessful.
Overflowing with gratitude, Arthur makes Lancelot a knight of the roundtable. Moments before swearing loyalty to his new queen, a messenger from Leonesse arrives, with dire news that Leonesse has been attacked by Malagant.
Arthur leads his troops to Leonesse, successfully defeating Malagant's forces in the process. Upon returning to Camelot, Lancelot feels guilty visavis his feelings for the queen, and in private announces his departure to her. She grants him a kiss, which turns into a passionate embrace, just in time for the king to interrupt.
Lancelot and Guinevere are charged with treason. The open trial in the public square is interrupted by a surprise coup by Malagant, ready to burn the town and murder Arthur if he does not swear loyalty to Malagant. In his final moments, Arthur commands all present, "To fight! Never give up! Never surrender! Camelot lives!" and is struck in the chest by four crossbow bolts.
The soldiers and citizens of Camelot win the battle, but Arthur dies of his wounds. On his deathbed, he asks Lancelot to "take care of her for me" - a double entendre referring to both Camelot and Lady Guinevere. The movie closes with a funeral raft carrying Arthur's body floating out to sea.
[edit] Cast
- Sean Connery (King Arthur)
- Richard Gere (Lancelot)
- Julia Ormond (Guinevere)
- Ben Cross (Prince Malagant)
- Liam Cunningham (Agravaine)
- Christopher Villiers (Sir Kay)
- Valentine Pelka (Sir Patrise)
- Colin McCormack (Sir Mador)
- Ralph Ineson (Ralf)
- John Gielgud (Oswald)
[edit] Crew
- Script: William Nicholson
- Director: Jerry Zucker
- Producers: Hunt Lowry, Jerry Zucker
- Cinematographer: Adam Greenberg
- Production Designer: John Box
- Editor: Walter Murch
- Music composed by Jerry Goldsmith
[edit] Box office
US Gross Domestic Takings: US$ 37,600,435
- + Other International Takings: $90,000,000
= Gross Worldwide Takings: $127,600,435
[edit] Trivia
- Crossbows play a major role in the film, since Malagant's men use pistol-like ones to kill Arthur. In the 2004 film, King Arthur, the Saxons use crossbows as well (anachronistically, one might add).
- The majority of armor and weapons used in the film were of such low quality that the majority of the time they appeared to wobble and dent with the slightest of movements by the actors.
- Sean Connery who plays King Arthur in this film also plays the Green Knight in Sword of the Valiant: The Legend of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
