Starring: Brian Aherne, George Baker, John Barrie, Reginald Beckwith, Adrienne Corri Average Rating: Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) Binding: DVD Format: Color, DVD-Video, NTSC Label: Bfs Entertainment Number of Items: 1 Region Code: 1 Release Date: March 09, 2004 Running Time: 292 minutes Theatrical Release Date: June 05, 1963
Afternoon Movie Fun If you're old enough to remember when local stations showed a daily movie in the afternoon 5 days a week, then you probably already have a good idea of the quality of the movies in this small collection. These are not stellar productions nor do they possess the most original storytelling or greatest writing but watching them is a fun way to get a little chivalry in your day.
The Sword of Lancelot is a Cornel Wilde vehicle starring he and his then wife. The armor is even more obviously knit sweaters than in most of these types of movies and the background shots are blurry and look like a bad large screen T.V. behind the actors. There's also a certain absurdity in 50-year old Wilde (who looks a little old womanish) being so irresistable to Guinevere though perhaps it's greatly less absurd than a 40-year old Jean Wallace being referred to as a "child" several times. The actors are sincere but overly theatrical. However, the story does play out from a different angle than other stories about the Arthur/Guinevere/Lancelot triangle. The low point is how Guinevere is portrayed (both in acting and in the writing). The high point is how Lancelot deals with his predicament.
The best movie of the three is rather clearly King Arthur The Young Warlord though fans of the classic presentation of the Knights of the Round Table and Arthurian legend will be severely disappointed. This movie endeavors to give a more down to earth representation of how Arthur may have eventually unified Britain. This means lots of mud, no shiny armor, and various squabbles amongst clans and tribes. The acting is very good though Brian Blessed is, as always, a bit over the top. This movie is more engaging and interesting than the other two as there are various takes on the well-known Arthurian legends (e.g., the sword in the stone).
The final movie will either be enjoyed immensely for its camp value or hated greatly for the same. The Magic Sword feels very much like the makers of (the original) Star Trek and the T.V. series Bewitched got together and decided to make a fantasy movie. There's too much color. The special effects are pretty rough and the make-up is atrocious. The story is also utterly predictable but none of that really matters if you're watching with an eye toward seeing what sort of neat things the movie makers tossed in. On that level, it works pretty well. We know that Sir George will win the girl in the end but it's the road between her being kidnapped and him defeating the evil wizard who kidnapped her that the movie is all about. This was a movie with kids in mind and probably played well to the less jaded and more easily impressed young people of the 60s.
If you buy a collection of 3 movies for $10 or so, you'd be a fool to expect classics or pristine production. There is a lot of imperfection in the prints of these movies and it's all there on the DVD including scratches, bad cuts, and washed out color. None of that is really going to matter if you're just looking for something with swords and medievil lore to entertain or amuse you for 90 minutes on a Saturday afternoon.
NOT GREAT QUALITY BUT... ...the three offerings are interesting Also the price is low.
Sword of Lancelot. This is pan and scan. The colors are washed out and dull. The sound is just o.k. It's hard for me to picture Cornel Wilde as a lady's man, let alone Lancelot, but this movie is interesting. There is no redemption for Lancelot and his betrayal is catastrophic.
King Arthur the young warlord. Again, the colors are dull. There are all kinds of scratches and artifacts in transfer. The sound is just o.k. This must have been a British t.v. show because its very episodic. This subject is also interesting. I was left wanting to see more.
The magic sword. In this feature the colors are also dull and again the sound is just o.k. Some people don't like this movie, but it's entertaining.
Don't purchase this expecting quality prints. The extras are bios and bit of history of the era.
Names of the movies? By enlarging the DVD holder you can read the names of the movies included in this collection. Why this wasn't included is beyond me... what are you thinking Amazaon?
Sword of Lancelot King Arthur the young warlord The magic sword
I have only seen sword of Lancelot (a long time ago) and since I can't remember much about it, it obviously didn't leave much of an impression on me.
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Trevor
