A Knight's Tale [Blu-ray]
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Movie Reviews of A Knight's Tale [Blu-ray]
Movie Review: A PSEUDO-MEDIEVAL ROMP...
Summary: 4 Stars
This highly enjoyable, fairy tale of a film revolves around the efforts of William, a tanner's son, trying to change his destiny. His father gave him up into servitude to a knight, when William was a slip of a lad, in hopes of his having a better future. When he grows up, William, remembering his father's advice, reaches for the stars in an effort to become what he has always dreamed of being, a knight in shining armor.
Played to perfection by the very hunky and charismatic Heath Ledger, William gets his big break when the knight, whom he serves, dies during a jousting competition. Donning his knight's armor and substituting secretly for the knight, he handily, though clumsily, wins the competition and its purse. He persuades Roland and Wat, the other two vassals who also served the now dead knight, to assist him in his efforts to continue competing. They reluctantly agree and begin helping him train for future jousting competitions. William, however, needs credentials establishing his knighthood in order to compete, as mere peasants are prohibited to do so. He has the good fortune to run into a man of letters, Geoffrey Chaucer, who happens to be a bit down on his luck. Chaucer agrees to provide him with forged patents in order to enter tournaments.
William, playing the role of a knight named Ulric Von Lichtenstein, becomes a force with which to be reckoned on the playing field. This does not pass unnoticed by an evil knight, Count Adhemar, played with deliciously wicked malice by Rufus Sewell, who does not hesitate to play dirty on and off the field, if necessary, in order to win. William, however, plays his role most honorably and nobly.
William falls in love with the Lady Jocelyn, whom Sewell also covets and intends to marry, but Lady Jocelyn, played by lovely newcomer, Shannyn Sossamon, may be falling for our erstwhile hero. This turn of events makes Count Adhemar all the more determined to win on and off the field. When a jousting competition brings them all to William's hometown, Adhemar pulls out all the stops in an effort to settle the matter once and for all.
This is truly a fun film. The viewer can't help but love the ever so earnest William, played by the simpatico and romantically handsome Heath Ledger. Paul Bettany, as the insouciant and scampish Chaucer, very nearly steals the film, so terrific is he in his role. Rufus Sewell is both sexy and ruthless as the unprincipled and haughty Count Adhemar. The rest of the supporting cast is likewise superb, with the exception of Shannyn Sossamon who does not seem fit the role of one to the manor born.
While the plot seems somewhat formulaic, it is made new by the interjection of modern day music and customs. Watch as the crowd gathered for the jousting competition stomps, claps, and does the "wave" in time to Queen's rousing song, "We Will Rock You". See Chaucer act as a modern day huckster for his knight, working the crowd to a fever pitch. Look to the dance led by William at a post jousting reception at the local castle. Likewise, Jocelyn's costumes, at times, resemble haute couture. These modern day interjections that occur throughout the film, though jarring, keep this age old story fresh and funny. It is difficult not to enjoy this film, as it is infectious in its charm.
Movie Review: Shouldn't work, but it does...
Summary: 4 Stars
I won't go into great detail about how the movie mixes anachronistic elements into medieval times (most notably the modern day music), except to say that the creators of the movie did these things for deliberate effect. Even knowing it was deliberately done for a logical reason doesn't mean that the movie would necessarily turn out to be good... yet it is very good.
The story is pretty basic and there really are absolutely no surprises in the plot along the way. What saves it from being boring is a great cast, good pacing, some very clever banter, exciting joust scenes and some genuinely emotional scenes near the end.
The one element that drags the movie down a touch for me is the love sub-plot. I definitely think the film creators should have gone against convention and had William and Kate get together instead as the scenes between William and Jocelyn seemed to have little chemistry and generally had me waiting for the next scene to begin.
However, this movie is one which I almost invariably set on my 'favorites' channel list if I see it on, to switch to during commercials of anything else I'm watching, or sometimes just to watch straight through, for no other reason than it's FUN.
There are some truly excellently shot and acted scenes, a few of which I'll mention below (spoilers!!!!)
- Geoffrey's nude scene after literally losing his shirt in gambling, and relying on William to bail him out. The expressions of terrified hope, resignment and relief on Geoffrey's face are perfect.
- Any scene with Prince Edward in it. I really liked the aftermath of the joust between William and Edward and their discussion, plus the whole scene where Edward 'rescues' William later.
- The scenes between William and his father, particularly the reunion... even the subtle thing of William looking at the stairs he hadn't seen since he was a child was very well done and somehow immediately made me realize what I think the film creators wanted the audience to feel.
- The thin, grey haired noble in the opening 'musical' scene mouthing 'Rock You...'.
- The shot of William in the final joust, armor-less, white shirted, lance lashed to his arm is simply one of the most breathtaking images in film.
Movie Review: Goodbye Heath, we'll miss you.....
Summary: 4 Stars
Yes, it's really strange that Heath is gone - such a talent and his best work was ahead of him. In A Knights Tale some of his talent will remain for people to see infinitely.
First off, this isn't one of the better looking bluray transfers. Part of the reason is because it's not exactly a "new" movie. Don't get me wrong, it looks good. It's bluray. I'm just saying it doesn't hold up when compared to a newer bluray movie.
It's a great comedy that modernizes one of the old English Canterburry Tales. There were several of these short stories compiled into one. This is just one of those tales. It's a great flick with talent pouring out over the sides. There are some recognizable faces throughout. It's just one of those good heartfelt movies that makes your heart swell. A great family movie. It holds up with the whole "I laughed, I cried" banner. It's got everything.
Now, to talk about the dissapointment: NO SPECIAL FEATURES!!!
Yep, that's right. They couldn't even throw in one measly special feature!
And there is plenty of special features on the standard def version of the film, so why no love for bluray? I am a little steamed about this considering that the SD and bluray editions look exactly the same. It's the same edition only you get more on SD.
So, I kind of have to recommend the SD version because this bluray movie doesn't look spectacular. I mean, buying this movie won't justify your bluray player. But, if you are like me and now want everything on bluray then this is for you. Plus, who says you can't own both?
Movie Review: Fun take on the Canterbury Tales
Summary: 4 Stars
This movie has been out for a while...so it'll be pointless to write a full review on the movie itself. If you are thinking about buying this BD, that means you a) Know/liked about the movie and would like to own it or b) seen the movie and would like to own it.
So, what I'm going to focus on is the BD itself. First off, the picture quality is very nice. I'm not a videophile by any stretch of the imagination, but when I was watching this movie, I was pleased with the level of detail and richness of color.
The sound was also superb. Unfortunately, I've yet to buy a 7.1 receiver, or one that allows for uncompressed PCM, so I had to settle for the 5.1 DD track, but even so, I found it to be of very high quality.
The extras are the one thing this BD release lacks. It has none, as far as I remember.
All and all, I would recommend this movie to anyone who liked it in the first place, and any of those who are interested in a fun movie.
Movie Review: Love the film hate the Blu Ray Extras
Summary: 4 Stars
I already own the DVD and discovered a 2nd hand copy of the Blue Ray version for $6. Though I quite like the film, the Directors commentary on the SDVD is one of my favourites. So I was very disapointed to find that the Blu Ray seems to be without the commentary
The picture has been greatly improved (even from the Superbit edition) and looks crisp (though not much better than the upconverted standard edition). The uncompressed audio sounds great but I'm glad that I didn't pay full price for this.