For whatever reason historical pieces are all the rage these days. Troy mades splashes earlier this year with its depiction of early Greek life while Alexander brought a new meaning to homoeroticism. Disney takes a stab at the genre with King Arthur, which Konami also helped promote through its branded video game. Just in time for Christmas is the extended unrated edition which offers viewers an even bigger taste of this classic tale.
I wonder would Disney of had more success by making this one of their well produced classic animated tales?In any case it wasn't, as real time actors Arthur (Clive Owen), Lancelot (Ioan Gruffudd), Tristan (Mads Mikkelsen), Gawain (Joel Edgerton), Galahad (Hugh Dancy), Bors (Ray Winstone), and Dagonet (Ray Stevenson) and of course Merlin (Stephen Dillane) bring to life the characters that many of us have read about in different versions growing up.
The setting is the mid-400’s where the Roman Empire has accepted Christianity with the empire in a perpetual state of decline. Arthur is a loyal commander who has embraced Rome who leads warriors from Sarmatia (now Eastern Europe), required to serve the empire for fifteen years. Having served their duties and now free awaiting their official papers, one final task is given to them before they can become truly free.
The Pope’s godson, Alectus, is living with his family deep within Woad lands well beyond the wall built to control the native Woads (or Picts). A brutal Saxon army led by Cerdic (Stellan Skarsgard) is reported to have invaded lands in the North and are moving South, destroying all lives and property in their wake in a campaign of conquest. Arthur and his knights are ordered to travel through Pict lands to save the Roman family and bring them back to safety, thus setting up the story of how one knight became a king.
The film for all its visual beauty and great acting simply drags on a bit too much. There are scenes that seem to endlessly drag on in between the better scripted action scenes that produce some truly amazing battles. If all of these films are going after the Braveheart effect they will have to understand that story is just as if not more important than visual beauty and imagery.
Still the film has a certain charm about it that makes wading through the slower part of the movie a worthy effort. This extended unrated cut features thirteen minutes of additional gore and battle which had been reduced in the theaters for the PG-13 rating.
The Disc:
This special edition is presented in a stunningly beautiful 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer that truly brings out the picture's epic war setting. There are very few blemishes here if any and the film's coloring and blacks are extra sharp. Sounds are very important in action films especially ones filled with war. The lack of a DTS track is a bit disappointing but the two Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks, one English and one French, are pretty well done for a nice booming surround effect that isn't overbearing.
Being an extended unrated edition the first extra here is about 13 minutes of unedited extra footage. Of course next up are two full screen featurettes on this disc. Blood on the Land: Forging King Arthur (17:47) being the longer of the two is a visual making of the film with plenty of the standard behind the scenes footage that we have come to know and love.
Like any grand scale movie, it's amazing just to witness what all went into producing such an epic effort, from the historical costumes to the extravagant sets.
Secondly at 15:39 is Cast & Filmmaker Roundtable, which is basically a visual commentary among screenwriter David Franzoni, director Antoine Fuqua, Clive Owen, Keira Knightley, Ioan Gruffudd, and Hugh Dancy on their reflections of the movie. While a full length commentary with all of these guys might have been more impressive, this is no doubt still a nice way to see how these guys felt about putting together such a film. Director Antoine Fuqua, does however, provide a full length commentary which is still pretty interesting to listen to.
Next up is the always fun Alternate Ending: Badon Hill (4:11) which was changed after test audiences revealed they wanted more closure to the film than this sequence. I can see why too because while this one leaves much to the imagination, its much better to see how the film ended the way it did in theaters.
Konami chimes in for Xbox fans (boo) but not PS2 fans with a demo of their King Arthur game. Theres also a photo gallery with some stunning stills and Knight Vision, a text trivia feature that may be displayed during the film.
bottom line:
King Arthur bombed at the theater and its too bad because its a mostly great film. Disney's version captures some of the best action seen in any version of this tale but the story drags on a bit at times. Still fans of period pieces or of King Arthur would be hard pressed to miss out on this wonderful version.
4 out of 5
By - Brian Gray
