The Mammoth Book of King Arthur (85 page)

Wolf, Joan,
The Road to Avalon
(US, 1988) (h)

A historical romance which explores the many relationships in Arthur’s life and court but concentrates on his passion for Morgan, who here is treated as his aunt. There is
no Lancelot in this version and Bedwyr is Gwenhwyfar’s lover, as in Stewart’s novels. Unusually, this book does have Merlin die (of a seizure) and we even witness his burial.

Woolley, Persia,
Child of the Northern Spring
(US, 1987),
Queen of the Summer Stars
(US, 1990),
The Legend in Autumn
(US, 1991) (m)

The story of Guinevere, drawn primarily from Malory. It follows the traditional story, although Guinevere is shown as a Princess of Rheged. Despite a Dark Age setting Woolley
uses the standard form of names such as Bedivere, Lancelot and Tristan. The trilogy does not strike sufficiently new territory to make it memorable although the characters are well drawn and
believable. Loosely adapted into the film
Guinevere
(1994).

Yolen, Jane
(b. 1939), The Young Merlin Trilogy,
Passager
(US, 1996),
Hobby
(US, 1996),
Merlin
(US, 1997) (m)

A YA trilogy which takes us through Merlin’s childhood from age 8 to 12. There is little of the traditional tale of Merlin’s origins here. He is abandoned in the
woods at age 8, and adopted by a falconer who names him Merlin. His new family are killed in a fire which Merlin had dreamed and he discovers the prophetic nature of his dreams. He joins a
travelling magic show which reaches Carmarthen where the story crosses with the legend of Vortigern and Ambrosius. Wandering again in the third book he encounters the wild folk of the woods and
befriends a child called Cub, but whom Merlin calls Artus. Earlier Yolen had written
The Dragon’s Boy
(US, 1990), which covers Artos’s early teens, when he was fostered by Sir
Ector. At a different level Yolen wrote a collection of memories and tales about Merlin,
Merlin’s Booke
(US, 1986), which cast an idiosyncratic eye over his life.

Yolen, Jane
(b.1939),
Sword of the Rightful King
(US, 2003) (f)

A YA novel and Yolen’s variant version of the legend. Arthur’s reign gets off to a less than auspicious start when someone else
pulls the sword
from the stone. Yolen explores the close rivalry and affection between Arthur and Gawaine, whose mother Morgause plans to secure his future as king. Although all the characters and set scenes are
present, they are all slightly askew so that nothing remains certain or predictable. Even Kay is likable.

Zettel, Sarah,
Sword of the Rightful King
(US, 2003) (f)

A forgotten episode in Gawain’s career where he becomes the protector of the young woman Risa who is escaping from an evil sorcerer.

22

VISIONS OF CAMELOT – ARTHURIAN CINEMA

The number of Arthurian films grows steadily year by year, yet most continue to focus on a small range of subjects. They have either been routine costume dramas, concentrating
on the love affair between Guinevere and Lancelot, usually alongside the treachery of Mordred, or they explore the Wagnerian world of Parsifal or the love affair of Tristan and Isolde. The
alternative are the time-shift films, mostly based upon Mark Twain’s
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court
, which has been filmed at least ten times since the first in
1920, including the best known Bing Crosby version in 1949, listed below, plus other variants such as
Arthur the King
(1985), few of which have any merit.

The earliest surviving Arthurian film was an attempt to film Wagner’s
Parsifal
in 1904. It was a brave effort, according to Kevin J. Harty, the authority on Arthurian films, but not
entirely successful.
Parsifal
has been filmed at least five times, and in recent years it has become easy to acquire DVDs of fully staged productions. Tristan and Isolde was the subject of
the next film, in 1909, produced in France and directed by Albert Capellani. Two other versions were produced in 1911 and 1920. Also, in 1909, Charles Kent produced the first film based on
Tennyson’s
Idylls, Launcelot and Elaine
, utilizing the subject that had so captivated artists over the previous few decades.

The first film to be based on Malory’s work or possible elements of the Vulgate Cycle may well have been an Italian production,
Il Re Artù e I cavalieri della tavola rotonda
,
directed
by Giuseppe de Liguoro in 1910, but it seems that no print of the film survives. Other films of that decade, such as
Sir Galahad of Twilight
(1914) or
The
Grail
(1915), used Arthurian imagery in contemporary settings, whilst Edison’s
The Knights of the Square Table
(1917), uses the Arthurian concept to promote the Boy Scout
movement.

The numerous versions of
Connecticut Yankee
kept the Arthurian wheel turning for the next thirty years and, apart from a Saturday-morning pictures serial,
The Adventures of Sir
Galahad
in 1950, the first serious attempt to adapt the Arthurian legend did not come until MGM’s major Cinemascope costume drama
The Knights of the Round Table
in 1953. This
ushered in the era of the Arthurian swashbuckler, with
Prince Valiant
(1953) and
The Black Knight
(1954) and the British TV series
The Adventures of Sir Lancelot
(1956).
However, apart from Cornel Wilde’s
Lancelot and Guinevere
(1963), few of these films use the depth of the Arthurian story, preferring to use the basic imagery and superficial plot to
present a standard medieval adventure film. It was not until the French
Perceval le gallois
, directed by Eric Rohmer in 1978, and the British
Excalibur
, from John Boorman in 1981,
that two films appeared that treated their subject seriously and attentively.

The number of quality Arthurian films is still in the minority, but with more sophisticated techniques and more demanding audiences the definitive version may not be far away. Anyone interested
in a more detailed study of Arthurian cinema should consult
King Arthur on Film
by Kevin J. Harty (McFarland, 1999), revised as
Cinema Arthuriana
(McFarland, 2002), and
Arthurian
Legends on Film and Television
by Bert Olton (McFarland, 2000), which provides a detailed analysis of each film and TV episode. Harty’s checklist of films is also on the Camelot website
as < www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/acpbibs/harty.htm >

The following lists all major Arthurian films and TV series from 1949 to date. As with the books it includes only those films set in an historical or chivalric Arthurian world and not in the
modern day. The films are listed in alphabetical order of title. All films are in colour unless identified as black-and-white (b&w). Running time is given in minutes (m).

Adventures of Sir Galahad, The
(Columbia, 1950, serial, 252m (15 episodes), b&w)

Director: Spencer Gordon Bennet. Screenplay: David Mathews, Lewis Clay, George H. Plympton.

Starring: George Reeves (Galahad), Nelson Leigh (Arthur), William Fawcett (Merlin), Charles King (Bors), Hugh Prosser (Lancelot), Jim Diehl (Kay), Marjorie Stapp (Guinevere), Pat Barton
(Morgan), Leonard Penn (Modred).

A Saturday-morning serial with Galahad trying to find the lost Excalibur against a background of Saxon invasion.

Adventures of Sir Lancelot, The
(UK TV series, Sapphire Films, 1956/7, 2 seasons, 30x30m episodes, first season b&w)

Directors: various, mostly Lawrence Huntington, Peter Maxwell. Writers: various, including H.H. Burns, Selwyn Jepson, Harold Kent, Leslie Poynton, John Ridgely.

Starring: William Russell (Lancelot), Ronald Leigh-Hunt (Arthur), Jane Hylton (Guinevere), Cyril Smith (Merlin), Robert Scroggins (Brian).

After earning his position at the Round Table Lancelot undertakes various quests in a quasi-medieval world as the Queen’s Knight. Advanced TV series for its day, with some realistic fight
scenes. Early episodes are now available on DVD.

Arthur of the Britons
(UK TV series, 1972/3, 2 seasons, 24x30m episodes)

Directors: Peter Sasdy, Pat Jackson, Sidney Hayers, Patrick Dromgoole. Teleplays: primarily Terence Feely with Scott Forbes, Robert Banks Stewart, David Osborne, Jonathan Crown,
David Pursall.

Starring: Oliver Tobias (Arthur), Brian Blessed (Mark), Rupert Davies (Cerdig), Michael Gothard (Kai), Jack Watson (Llud).

Marred only by its low budget, this was a good attempt to recreate the world of the Dark Ages with Arthur facing the Saxon invasion. The series ran in the US as
King Arthur, the Young
Warlord
under which title selected episodes have been released on video (1996).

Arthur the King
(US TV, 1985, 180m)

Director: Clive Donner. Screenplay: David Wyles. Starring: Malcolm McDowell (Arthur), Edward Woodward (Merlin), Candice Bergen (Morgan), Rosalyn Landor (Guinevere), Rupert
Everett (Lancelot), Joseph Blatchley (Mordred), Dyan Cannon (Katherine).

Present-day Katherine finds herself in Arthur’s court which is in chaos. Main plots concern the efforts of Merlin and Niniane to restore order against Morgan and Mordred and Lancelot
seeking to rescue Guinevere. Edited down to half length, it was released in video as
Merlin and the Sword
(1992).

Black Knight, The
(Warwick/Columbia, 1954, 85m)

Director: Tay Garnett. Screenplay: Alec Coppel, Bryan Forbes.

Starring: Alan Ladd (John), Patricia Medina (Linet), André Morell (Sir Ontzlake), Peter Cushing (Sir Palamides), Anthony Bushell (Arthur), Patrick Troughton (Mark), Jean Lodge
(Guinevere).

An early Irving Allen production. John, a blacksmith, disguises himself as the Black Knight and saves the Round Table from an attempted coup by King Mark and his Saracen allies.

Camelot
(Warner/7 Arts, 1967, 179m)

Director: Joshua Logan. Screenplay: based on a stage play by Alan Jay Lerner adapted from the books by T.H. White.

Starring: Richard Harris (Arthur), Vanessa Redgrave (Guenevere), Franco Nero (Lancelot), David Hemmings (Mordred), Laurence Naismith (Merlyn), Lionel Jeffries (Pellinore).

A film adaptation of the Lerner & Loewe Broadway musical, which concentrates on Lancelot’s affair with Guenevere. A video of the 1980 Broadway revival of the stage show was broadcast
in 1982, still with Harris as Arthur, but with Meg Bussert as Guenevere and Richard Muenz as Lancelot.

Chevaliers de la table ronde, Les
(Les Films si Jeudi, 1990, 230m), with sub-titles as
The Knights of the Round Table

Director: Denis Llorca. Screenplay: Denis Llorca, Philippe Vialèles.

Starring: Maria Casarès (Viviane), Alain Cuny (Merlin), Michel Vitold (Fisher King), Nadine Darmon (Morgane).

Drawing from the Vulgate Cycle, this concentrates on the relationships between Merlin and Morgan and the Fisher King and Elaine.

Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, A
(Paramount, 1949, 106m)

Director: Tay Garnett. Screenplay: Edmund Beloin.

Starring: Bing Crosby (Hank Martin/Sir Boss), Rhonda Fleming (Alisande), Cedric Hardwicke (Arthur), Murvyn Bye (Merlin), William Bendix (Sagramore), Henry Wilcoxon (Lancelot).

The best known and still enjoyable adaptation of Mark Twain’s novel, complete with songs, though more of an Arthurian spoof than a serious recreation. Twain’s novel was first filmed
in 1920 and there have been many variants since. The latest is the TV movie
A Knight in Camelot
(1998), directed by Roger Young and starring Whoopi Goldberg as Dr. Vivien Morgan, which says
enough.

Excalibur
(Orion, 1981, 140m)

Director: John Boorman. Screenplay: Rospo Pallenberg.

Starring: Nigel Terry (Arthur), Gabriel Byrne (Uther), Nicol Williamson (Merlin), Helen Mirren (Morgana), Cheri Lunghi (Guenevere), Nicholas Clay (Lancelot), Robert Addie (Mordred), Paul
Geoffrey (Perceval).

Still regarded as one of the best Arthurian films, this is a moody, angst-ridden film which attempts to meld the Malory story with a pagan background.

Fire and Sword
(Von Fürstenberg, 1981, 84m)

English-title release of
Feuer und Schwert.
Issued in Eire as
Tristan and Iseult.

Director: Veith von Fürstenberg. Screenplay: Max Zihlmann.

Starring: Christoph Waltz (Tristan), Antonia Preser (Isolde), Leigh Lawson (Mark), Peter Firth (Dinas), Christine Wipf (Brangane).

A faithful retelling of the Tristan and Isolde story.

First Knight
(Columbia, 1995, 134m)

Director: Jerry Zucker. Screenplay: William Nicholson.

Starring: Sean Connery (Arthur), Richard Gere (Lancelot), Julia Ormond (Guinevere), Ben Cross (Malagant), Liam Cunningham (Agravaine), Christopher Villiers (Kay).

Takes some liberties in retelling the Arthur-Guinevere-Lancelot triangle. Includes Malagant’s abduction of the Queen which develops into Malagant’s assault upon Camelot and the death
of Arthur. Effective battle scenes.

Gawain and the Green Knight
(United Artists, 1973, 93m)

Director: Stephen Weeks. Screenplay: Stephen Weeks and Philip M. Breen.

Starring: Murray Head (Gawain), Nigel Green (Green Knight), Robert Hardy (Bertilak), Ciaran Madden (Linet), Anthony Sharp (Arthur).

A fairly faithful if lacklustre retelling of the medieval story merged with
The Lady of the Fountain.
It was remade to much the same script, though rather more trivialised, as
Sword of
the Valiant
(Cannon, 1982, 102m) with Miles O’Keeffe as Gawain, Sean Connery as the Green Knight and Trevor Howard as Arthur.

Guinevere
(US TV, Lifetime, 1994, 96m)

Director: Jud Taylor. Screenplay: Ronnie Kern, based on the books by Persia Woolley.

Starring: Sheryl Lee (Guinevere), Sean Patrick Flanery (Arthur), Noah Wyle (Lancelot), Donald Pleasance (Merlin), Brid Brennan (Morgan), Ben Pullen (Kai).

The feminist version of the story, told from Guinevere’s viewpoint.