SYNOPSICS
A Knight's Tale (2001) is a English,French,Latin movie. Brian Helgeland has directed this movie. Heath Ledger,Mark Addy,Rufus Sewell,Shannyn Sossamon are the starring of this movie. It was released in 2001. A Knight's Tale (2001) is considered one of the best Action,Adventure,Romance movie in India and around the world.
Inspired by "The Canterbury Tales," as well as the early life of William Marshall (later First Earl of Pembroke), this is the story of William, a young squire with a gift for jousting. After his master dies suddenly, the squire hits the road with his cohorts Roland and Wat. On the journey, they stumble across an unknown writer, Chaucer. William, lacking a proper pedigree, convinces Chaucer to forge genealogy documents that will pass him off as a knight. With his newly-minted history in hand, the young man sets out to prove himself a worthy knight at the country's jousting competition, and finds romance along the way.
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A Knight's Tale (2001) Reviews
Could've been an absolute bomb, but somehow magically works perfectly!
this film is ridiculously unbelievable, thin on plot, shamefully predictable, historically inaccurate in so many ways...yet it all works! The combination of modern music to medieval setting should be awful, but no, it works! The costumes are totally wrong for the period (on purpose I'd hazard to guess - at one point Angelina Jolie lookalike Shannyn Sossamon is wearing a hat & dress outfit that looks startlingly similar to a costume Julia Roberts wore in Pretty Woman...) but it works! Heath Ledger is an Aussie (what happened to the black hair he had in 10 Things I Hate About You! I didn't recognize him!) and Alan Tudyk is a Texan, so their accents should have tanked! But they didn't, just a few slippages a la Mel Gibson in Braveheart or Jonny Lee Miller in Hackers... This film is funny, fast-paced (certainly didn't *feel* over 2h...), well constructed, hilariously tongue-in-cheek (From the We Will Rock You opening scene to the Nike swooshes on the armor I couldn't stop laughing!) It certainly has its problems (including some *horribly* cheezy lines - most on purpose but that doesn't make them any less horrible! and an evil Hollywood ending - including a Bravheart-like scream of defiance in the final joust that made me cringe...) but those problems are overcome by sharp wit and consistent amusement. The actors were obviously enjoying themselves, and the action was beautifully blended in with the rest of the film. None of the jousting scenes were too long (like, say, the race in Phantom Menace...) and all were shot in such a way as to make them really exciting! And I have to laud Paul Bettany who was an incredible and incredibly amusing Geoffrey Chaucer...even though he looks eerily similar, IMO, to Thom Yorke...) Kudos to anyone who recognizes Laura Fraser (the blacksmith) from Man in the Iron Mask... Overall: A great watch. I went in expecting little and came out extremely satisfied. Not the best film of its kind, but a head above most. And the blending of contemporary style and music and characterization with the medieval story/setting is really well done. It really shouldn't but it does work! 7/10.
Makes Braveheart Look Historically Accurate
I first saw "A Knight's Tale" by chance. A few of us had decided on an ad hoc visit to the local cinema and selected "A Knight's Tale" simply because it sounded the least "teen" movie on the bill. We slapped down our cash and took our seats. The movie began... A crowd of peasants are assembled to watch the jousting. And they're singing "We Will Rock You." My initial response was "God, this is going to be bad." But as the movie continued, it suddenly dawned on me - I wasn't hating the movie at all! On an intellectual level, I should have been booing and throwing stuff at the screen but there's something about the sheer verve and energy of "A Knight's Tale" that just drags you in on an emotional level. A clever script with many modern references, a good cast of likeable characters and a fantastic soundtrack (the reveal of "Golden Years" is particularly good) all add up to make "A Knight's Tale" one of the most entertaining mainstream movies I've seen in a long time. Normally I hate "popcorn" movies - not because I consider them "low brow" or an insult to the intelligence, but because they're shallow, tired and lack soul. Yet "A Knight's Tale" is different. No, it won't change your life and it won't make you ponder your place in the universe. But it will entertain you. If you're looking for an "old fashioned" good vs. evil movie with a twist, or your copy of "The Princess Bride" is wearing thin, check out "A Knight's Tale." 8/10
Entertaining
This comment is to counter those who have issue with modern rock and other time problems being in this movie. This movie was designed to entertain. It was NOT a historical piece and nowhere does it claim to be one. This is the story of a boy who aspires to be more than what society set out for him. The movie uses odd references to history's great figures and humor to bring its story across to the viewer. So I say that, for those of you who cannot enjoy a piece of entertainment due to its well placed use of anachronisms, I strongly suggest you stay away from any of Shakespeare's works. (Not to say that this movie was on level with Shakespeare...) The makers of "A Knight's Tale" set out to entertain, and did so dutifully.
More accurate than you might think
The first time I saw A Knight's Tale (on cable, missed it in theater), I had the same reaction as many of you - Queen? David Bowie? In a movie set in the middle ages? But I stayed with it, and I'm glad I did. Once you get past the glaring anachronisms (put in the film on purpose, of course), you find the movie is actually quite true to its period. The presence of Chaucer in the film, combined with some of its details, leads me to suspect that Brian Helgeland has read "Chaucer's Knight" by fellow filmmaker Terry Jones (of Monty Python fame). The book deconstructs the knight in Chaucer's "The Knight's Tale" in a totally unique way -- he is seen NOT as the flower of medieval chivalry (as most scholars have interpreted him), but as a mercenary out for nothing but money and blood. The character in the film Chaucer would have written about, then, is not Sir William Thatcher (Heath Ledger), but Count Adhemar of Anjou (Rufus Sewell). The part of the film in which this connection "clicked" for me was the scene where Count Adhemar is called away to his command in a "Free Company" -- a particular stain on the reputation of knighthood which Jones talks extensively about in his book. Jones' book made use of extensive research into medieval history, and Helgeland's film obviously does, too. Chaucer was a master of satire in his day. Helgeland's use of modern conventions in a period film is a conceit of which - I believe - Chaucer would definitely have approved. I gave "A Knight's Tale" 9 out of 10 - it's not perfect, but I like it so much, I try to watch it every time it comes on (it's been on HBO and Cinemax pretty regularly for the past several months). Check it out!
A surprisingly, wonderful hit!
As soon as I saw the fans singing and clapping to "We Will Rock You" I thought "this is not very realistic". Of course, that was when I had gone in expecting a film like Braveheart or The Patriot, with real historical lessons. A Knight's Tale was nothing like either of those. After you get past the first one or two scenes, everything really grows on you. The humor is, yes, cheesy at times, (the Nike armor) but I still laughed. Chaucer was great, the villain was definitely evil, and the jousting/action scenes were very well done. Put all that together with some other funny sidekicks and a little romance and you've got a pretty good flick. Definitely a must see more than once, and a must buy video/DVD when it's out!