The 1st knight

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Movie
German title The 1st knight
Original title First Knight
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1995
length 129 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Jerry Sugar
script Lorne Cameron ,
David Hoselton ,
William Nicholson
production Hunt Lowry ,
Jerry Zucker
music Jerry Goldsmith
camera Adam Greenberg
cut Walter Murch
occupation

The 1st Knight (alternative title: The First Knight ) is an American adventure film from 1995 .

action

After Prince Malagant , formerly a knight in King Arthur's Round Table , had turned his back on Camelot in a dispute, he covered the country with war, until a shaky peace was created through the division of the empire. Lyonesse , a small empire in the border region, is attacked again and again by its soldiers, whereby Lady Guinevere , the mistress of the empire, is in great distress. To gain an ally and better protect her people, but also because of their affection for him, Guinevere accepts King Arthur's proposal of marriage. In order to complete the marriage, Guinevere, accompanied by a mounted escort, sets off to Camelot, King Arthur's capital.

At the same time, the homeless Lancelot , who makes his living by exhibition fights with the sword and leads a nomadic existence, travels the area. When Guinevere's convoy is ambushed by Malagant's men, Lancelot thwarts an attempt at kidnapping. Without prejudice, instead of the monetary reward offered by Guinevere for your rescue, he demands a kiss from her. When Guinevere, seeing her sense of honor hurt, refuses, Lancelot steals the kiss allowed from her. Annoyed, she demands that he swear never to dare to do this again. He assures me that he will only do it again if she asks him to. Outraged but unharmed, Guinevere returns to her escort, and Lancelot rides away.

In Camelot, Guinevere is received appropriately by King Arthur. In addition, Arthur confesses his love and admiration for her, whereupon she assures him of hers as well. Guinevere and Lancelot meet again on the occasion of a festival in honor of the future queen. Lancelot, who is also in town, can emerge victorious in a competition. The prize is a kiss from Guinevere. When Lancelot stands across from her to receive his prize, he demands of the insecure and astonished Guinevere that she should ask him, to which she replied with "Never!" answers. Lancelot shouts to the crowd that he does not dare kiss such a graceful lady that he has only one heart to lose. The king is impressed by Lancelot's supposedly honorable behavior and courage. In a personal conversation he gives Lancelot an impression of the meaning of the round table and Camelot's laws and first gets to know him superficially.

A short time later, Prince Malagant succeeds in kidnapping Guinevere from Camelot, tricked by a fictitious messenger. Lancelot can however follow unnoticed. He pretends to be the king's messenger. With some skill he succeeds in snatching Guinevere from the hands of the enemy and he escapes with her. When both of them take shelter from the rain under a tree, personal words come up again. Guinevere learns that Lancelot lost his family as a child in a fire in a church, an act of war. Lancelot, who has fallen in love with Guinevere, notices that he no longer seems averse to her. However, due to her engagement with Arthur, she dares not give in to her feelings.

In gratitude for the rescue of Guinea, King Lancelot offers the free space in his round table. Lancelot accepts the offer and is knighted, in addition to an oath of allegiance. Guinevere suspects that Lancelot, who has always traveled and so far led a free life, does not want to leave Camelot because of her, which worries her. Despite her undecided emotional state, she finally enters into a marriage bond with Arthur and becomes Queen of Camelot. When the news arrives shortly afterwards that Lyonesse has been attacked by Malagant again, Arthur and his knights prepare for war and ride to the scene, accompanied by the Queen and an army of soldiers. Thanks to a cunning and skillful battle management of Arthur, the troops of Camelot are able to overwhelm Malagant's soldiers and put them to flight. Lancelot rescues a group of civilians from a burning church, including confidants of the Queen.

Lancelot, overwhelmed by what happened, decides to no longer be part of the Round Table and to leave Camelot. He shares this with Guinevere in a personal conversation, but at the same time reaffirms his love for her. Guinevere, clearly divided, finally asks for a kiss goodbye with a touch of passion. When King Arthur enters the room, he finds his wife in a stormy kiss with Lancelot. Guinevere explains, later confronted by him, that although she loves Lancelot with her feelings, Arthur with her intellect, which is the stronger part of herself. Deeply hurt and disappointed by Guinevere, whose love he was sure to believe, he takes both of them to a public criminal tribunal for treason. The trial is abruptly interrupted when it becomes apparent that Malagant, confidently entering the crowded square, has infiltrated the city with his people. Since the knights present are unarmed, Malagant asks Arthur to kneel in front of him. Arthur, who at first appears to be obeying this command, calls on everyone present to fight for Camelot. He is immediately wounded in the chest by several arrows. A fierce battle breaks out, in the course of which Lancelot succeeds in overcoming Malagant and mortally wounding him. Coming down on Arthur's empty throne, he dies.

On his deathbed, Arthur gives his sword to Lancelot, saying that the future is in his hands. In Guinevere's eyes, before he dies, he realizes that she loved him too. At the end, the love triangle comes to a peaceful end. The story ends with Arthur's solemn cremation on a lake, the mourning Guinevere side by side with Lancelot, flanked by all of Arthur's knights and confidants.

Reviews

James Berardinelli compared the film on ReelViews with an " MTV video". He criticized the performance of the actors, the dialogues and the "confused" camera work.

Roger Ebert wrote in the Chicago Sun-Times on July 7, 1995 that the film was entertaining "in its own way." He praised the performance of Sean Connery. Rob Roy and Braveheart are, however, better examples of the genre "sword-and-seduction in the Middle Ages" ("two better examples of the medieval swordcraft-and-seduction genre").

Lutz Berth praised the camera work on filmrezension.de , he described the music as "terrific" and the actors as "convincing". He particularly praised the portrayal of Julia Ormond. Berth wrote that the film addressed current issues such as marriage fidelity and the role of the law in society.

The lexicon of international film found: “Colorfully staged, but without a feeling for the psychological depth of the conflict. An unsatisfactory variant. "

The Wiesbaden film evaluation agency awarded the production the title valuable .

backgrounds

The film grossed approximately $ 37.6 million in US cinemas . The gross profit in the other countries was approximately 90 million US dollars. Given the $ 75 million cost, it fell far short of expectations.

The film premiered on July 7, 1995 in the United States . It was first published in Germany on September 7, 1995. It was released on video on March 19, 1996 and on DVD on July 28, 1998 .

The locations were

Elizabeth Chadwick wrote a novel for the film based on the script (published in 1995 by Pocket Books with the title First Knight ; the German-language edition appeared in September 1995 with the title Der 1. Ritter at Goldmann-Verlag Munich, ISBN 3-442-43306-1 ).

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Film review by James Berardinelli
  2. ^ Film review by Roger Ebert
  3. ↑ a b The 1st knight in the lexicon of international filmTemplate: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used .