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Historians and scholars will debate the King Arthur mystery for many more centuries. Are they accurate? Will there ever be a consensus? Probably not!
Meanwhile, Hollywood will produce each depiction for the public to dissect. The “King Arthur” (2004) DVD follows Artorius (Clive Owen) as half Briton half Roman. His knights are made up Sarmatain fighters. The Romans conquered the Sarmatain Empire, so as a condition of survival all of their male offspring must serve the Roman Empire for fifteen years. Lancelot (Ioan Gruffudd) is the most recognized name in King Arthur’s court. But in this movie he is just part of the knight round table. Ray Winstone’s character Bors steals the show from all the other knights.
The knight’s last mission before their tour of duty in over is to rescue a Roman family that is about to be invaded by the Saxons. Merlin’s Briton fighters do not fight for the Roman Empire, but fight for native Britons. Merlin knows Artorius is half Briton, so he decides his fight is not with him but the Saxons. Guinevere (Keira Knightley) is saved by Artorius but fights for Merlin. The battle ending is not for the faint of heart.
I like this DVD for its action scenes and overall feel for time depiction. Ireland’s location was perfect for filming the countryside shots. David Franzoni wrote the script. (See his comments on historical accuracy in the Spotlight review) It is nice to see some comments from the actual scriptwriter.
The unrated Director’s cut is for intense battle scenes. There are many graphic head and limb departures utilizing the almighty sword.
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