Merlin (film)

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Movie
German title Merlin
Original title Merlin
Country of production United Kingdom , USA
original language English
Publishing year 1998
length 175 minutes
Age rating FSK 6
Rod
Director Steve Barron
script David Stevens ,
Peter Barnes
production Dyson Lovell ,
Robert Halmi sen.
music Trevor Jones
camera Sergei Kozlov
cut Colin Green
occupation
synchronization

Merlin is a British - American television two-part series from 1998 that tells the Arthurian legend from the perspective of the most famous wizard in British mythology . The title role of Merlin is played by Sam Neill , directed by Steve Barron . The film was shot in Wales .

action

Mab , the goddess of fairies and sinister queen of the ancient faith, fears the spread of Christianity , as her power and existence are tied to the beliefs of the people. So she uses her magic to plant a child in a young woman who is supposed to lead mortals back to the ancient faith. The child, a boy named Merlin, is born in a house in the woods. His mother dies in childbirth and so he is raised by a former follower of Mabs, Ambrosia. When the boy was eighteen years old, he realized his magic powers. Together with her servant, the goblin Frik, Mab begins to direct Merlin's long-term studies. Secretly, however, the young man is only interested in one thing : his love for Nimue , a beautiful girl whose life he saved. One day he learns that Mab let his mother die when he was born and that his beloved foster mother Ambrosia is seriously ill. He makes his way to Ambrosia. When he arrives, he finds her dying after an argument between her and Mab. He blames Mab for the death of his mother and Ambrosias and turns away from her in anger. He vows never to use magic again unless against Mab and her henchmen.

More years passed, king after king overthrown, only to make way for an even greater tyrant. So the cruel Lord Vortigern comes to the crown. He intends to build a tower on a hill, but the structure keeps collapsing. Through a trick by Queen Mab, the cruel ruler learns of Merlin and its magical power. Allegedly, the structure is supposed to remain intact when he mixes the wizard's blood with the mortar. The wise Merlin, however, can convince Vortigern that he is more useful to him alive and puts himself at his service as a magician and fortune teller . Winter is coming and Uther Pendragon , military leader and supporter of Christianity, stands with his army on the border of the empire. Merlin gets Pendragon's and Vortigern's armies to fight against each other in winter, contrary to tradition, as he hopes that Uther will be a better person and a better king. But he did the math without Mabs intrigues. She brings Vortigern to sacrifice Nimue, the daughter of one of his vassals, to a dragon in order to receive the blessings of the old gods for the battle. So she tempts Merlin to use his magic powers again for the first time in years. He can save Nimue's life and defeat the dragon, but her face was burned by the fire-breathing beast. Disfigured, she retires to a monastery on the island of Avalon . Merlin is desperate, but unexpectedly receives help from Mab's sister, the mistress of the lake . She gives him the magical sword Excalibur , with whose power he drowns Vortigern in the icy waters of the frozen river on which the battle is raging, and with it the crown of Uther.

Just as Merlin thinks he has paved the way for a good man to the throne, the fighting starts all over again. King Uther has fallen in love with Igraine , wife of his ally, Duke Cornwall , and desires her. To avoid further bloodshed, Merlin agrees to use a spell to give him access to Lady Igraines bedchamber: he temporarily transforms Uther into an image of the Duke. From this connection, so Merlin predicts, a boy named Arthur will arise. In addition, Merlin Uther takes off the Excalibur sword and thrusts it into a rock where it is supposed to wait for a good and just ruler in the form of Arthur.

Merlin is no longer willing to take risks and personally takes care of Arthur's upbringing and training. One day the news spreads that Uther, who has now gone mad, committed suicide. The time has come for Arthur to pull the sword out of the stone and take his legitimate place as king. Now, Merlin thinks, he can retire and live peacefully in an enchanted cave with Nimue, who has been healed of her burns through a pact with Mab. But the dark queen has already forged new schemes. With cunning and cunning, she leads the unsuspecting Arthur to father a son, Mordred , with his half-sister Morgan le Fay , daughter of the Duke and Lady Igraine , who has a legitimate claim to the throne and is brought up by his power-hungry mother and his "Aunt" Mab grows into a sadistic, cruel monster. Mordred, who grew into a man at an early age by magic, sows strife in Arthur's kingdom of Camelot , and a war breaks out in which both perish. Merlin, who has left the magical cave and sealed it with it, through Mabs magic, so that he should never see his Nimue again, can only watch Arthur die. Tired of the further intrigues, Merlin gives Excalibur back to the mistress of the lake and is now preparing for the last big fight against Mab. He is supported by the surviving knights of the round table who want to avenge the death of their king, and by Frik, who switched sides after Mab killed his beloved Morgan.

After a dramatic duel of magical powers, Merlin turns away from Mab and decides to simply forget about them. The people do the same and Mab, who had put her hope to continue in the faith of the people in Merlin, dissolves into nothing like all gods who lose their meaning.

Many years later, Merlin is an old man, his strength has almost completely dried up, and he makes a living as a storyteller. One day after telling the story of his life, Frik visits him and reports that he has met Nimue, who is still waiting for him. Shortly after Mab disappeared, the magical barrier in front of the cave also lost its effect and released Nimue into freedom. Merlin immediately makes his way to her. When he arrives at her place, he uses up the last of his magic powers to rejuvenate himself and Nimue and thus make up for the years together that were stolen from them.

synchronization

role actor Voice actor
Merlin Sam Neill Frank Glaubrecht
young merlin Daniel Brocklebank Gerrit Schmidt-Foss
Queen Mab Miranda Richardson Barbara Ratthey
Mistress of the lake Miranda Richardson Anita Lochner
Frik Martin Short Lutz Mackensy
Nimue Isabella Rossellini Susanna Bonaséwicz
Morgan le Fay Helena Bonham Carter Diana Borgwardt
Lord Vortigern Rutger Hauer Thomas Danneberg
King Uther Pendragon Mark Jax Bernd Schramm
ambrosia Billie Whitelaw Bettina Schön
King Arthur Pendragon Paul Curran Oliver Field
Queen Guinevere Lena Headey Carola Ewert
Sir Lancelot of the Lake Jeremy Sheffield Uwe Büschken
Mordred Jason Done Michael Iwannek
King Constant John Gielgud Wolf Rüdiger Reutermann
Gawain Sebastian Roché Torsten Michaelis
Vortigern's fortune tellers Peter Woodthorpe Hans Teuscher

publication

Merlin had its TV premiere on April 26, 1998. In Germany, the two parts were broadcast for the first time on October 17 and 19, 1998 on RTL . On February 1, 2007 the film was released on DVD (Schröder Media DVD Collection).

Reviews

Cinema said that the cast ensures that the television production with its numerous “imaginative” special effects “does not degenerate into a mere spectacle”. In addition to the well-known actors, the cartoon characters could “also amuse those viewers who had as little to do with the Avalon Mists as they did with scented candles or tarot cards”. Leading actor Sam Neill gives the two-parter "interesting nuances". For the lexicon of international films , Merlin was “[e] in an attractive television fantasy film with many stars in two parts, which is based on motifs from the Arthurian saga and thanks to its multitude of effects a. a. from 'Jim Henson's Creature Shop' is quite entertaining ”. In doing so, however, the “fairytale-like character of the legend [...] beyond this machine of trickery, just as little as the philosophical core of the legend of the archaic struggle between good and evil and man's search for meaning and salvation”.

Awards

The TV miniseries Merlin was awarded four Emmys :

  • Best production design
  • Best costume design
  • Best mask
  • Best special effects

and nominated in eleven other categories:

  • Best movie
  • Best Male Actor: Sam Neill
  • Best Male Supporting Actor: Martin Short
  • Best Female Supporting Actress: Helena Bonham Carter
  • Best director
  • Best script
  • Best music
  • Best camera
  • Best cut
  • Best sound editing
  • Best cast

continuation

In the two-part sequel Merlin 2 - The Last Wizard (2006) Sam Neill took over the role of Merlin again. However, the German title is misleading as the young sorcerer's apprentice Jack is the actual main character. Merlin himself dies in the course of the plot. The original title Merlin's Apprentice (Eng. "Merlins Schüler") proves to be more appropriate. In terms of content, Merlin 2 - The Last Magician hardly makes any reference to the first miniseries and can therefore rather be viewed as an independent story.

literature

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Merlin. In: synchronkartei.de. German dubbing file , accessed on March 2, 2017 .
  2. ↑ Merlin. In: Zelluloid.de. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016 ; accessed on September 18, 2018 .
  3. ↑ a b Merlin. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed September 18, 2018 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  4. ↑ Merlin on filminfos.de
  5. ↑ Merlin on cinema.de