A Knight's Tale (Special Edition)

Sometime in the early 1370s, six months in the life of English writer Geoffrey Chaucer went unaccounted. A KNIGHT'S TALE - an earnest, historical epic movie (okay, not really) - ventures a tongue-in-cheek answer to that mild conundrum. But, firstly, the film gravitates towards the young peasant squire, William Thatcher, who fears of wasting his life away as a humble nothing. When his knight is fatally injured during a joust, William seizes an opening for self-betterment. With the help of his reluctant fellow squires, he passes himself off as a nobleman, intending to compete in knightly tournaments. But William must first qualify by presenting patents of nobility, which list his noble lineage.Which is where Geoffrey Chaucer comes in, naked in bodily form but not in spirits. Chaucer gets William, now callling himself Sir Ulrich von Lichtenstein of Gelderland, that much closer to achieving his objective, being able to forge the necessary patents and acting as Sir Ulrich's herald. As tournament follows tournament, Sir Ulrich proves to be mighty in prowess and very popular with the masses. But he may have set too lofty a goal when he dares to fall in love with the nobleman's high-spirited, beauteous daughter, Lady Jocelyn. And, ultimately, Sir Ulrich's dreams of love and a better life may rest on his ability to best the grim and haughty Count Adhemar, he of the black heart and baleful gaze, who is a tournament champion and a rival for Jocelyn's fancy...This film is definitely a far cry from one of those tired medieval epics. A KNIGHT'S TALE is a rousing, high spirited adventure, bolstered by a perfect cast, an immensely relatable underdog story, a sexy romance, and friggin' classic rock music. As director Brian Helgeland confesses facetiously in his audio commentary with Paul Bettany, he was not aware that rock & roll did not exist back in the 1370s. But, believe or no, this anachronism serves the movie well. One of the early scenes involves the tournament crowd getting amped up with Queen's "We Will Rock You." This right away lends an amazing energy to the screen and gives notice to the movie audience that this one film isn't quite like any other. Other classic rock tunes pepper the film, with David Bowie's "Golden Years" being seamlessly cued in the dance sequence; there's a sense of exhilaration and sensuality to Jocelyn and Sir Ulrich getting jiggy on the floor. What the music does, other than setting a desired mood, is lend a refreshing contemporary feel to the film. I really dug those moments, historical inaccuracies be damned.Speaking of historical inaccuracies, you don't really think this is where the Nike swooosh logo originated, do you? Or sports fan face painting?"I give to you the seeker of serenity, the protector of Italian virginity, and the enforcer of Our Lord God, the one, the only - Sir Uuullrich von Lichtenstein!!" I have to admit that my favorite actor here is Paul Bettany, who plays Geoffrey Chaucer. From the moment Bettany makes his very startling onscreen appearance, he begins to steal scenes left and right. He's even more brilliant when he takes on the role of Sir Ulrich's herald and begins to rev up the tournament crowds with his ringing, bombastic introductions of his liege. I'm such a big fan of this dude.Not to neglect the rest of the cast. The lead is the late, very much missed Heath Ledger and, at this stage in his career, he was well on his way to attaining bankable leading man status. His very engaging performance in A KNIGHT'S TALE definitely put him on that level. William Thatcher, handsome and bold, appeals to every gent with ambition and, I'm guessing, to every girl out there who has the ability to swoon. His retinue of friends and "servants" are perfect, simply perfect: Mark Addy, the calm and sense in the maelstrom; Alan Tudyk, fiery tempered and eager to administer vicious fongings (to fong = to kick); Laura Fraser as the lovely and spunky Kate the farrier; and, of course, the golden-voiced Paul Bettany.Shannyn Sossamon makes her promising big screen debut and is luminous as the moon, unveiling a hint of sass and more than a hint of the sexy. Her chemistry with Ledger is a smoldering thing. The sad thing for her career is that not in any of her following films has she been as good as she was here. Maybe that'll change. And what's an adventure movie without a good adversary? Rufus Sewell as Count Adhemar oozes priveleged arrogance, dark jealousy and sinister thoughts. Is there any doubt that the dastardly Count Adhemar wouldn't hesitate to get medieval on William's, er, backside (but not in the same way as in PULP FICTION)? He surely deserves his flustered herald's awkward introduction of him.Do yourself a favor and also check out the juuuust a bit tongue-in-cheek audio commentary by director Brian Helgeland and Paul Bettany. They'll fill you in on trivia such as which actor was voted sexiest by the females of the cast and crew, how Bettany managed to not show the fella when in *that* scene, which actor is projected by the commentators to be the next James Bond, which actor's parties have become the stuff of legends during the filming, and who ended up purchasing Sir Ulrich's Kate-created armor.I've seen A KNIGHT'S TALE a busload of times, and it's yet to wane in appeal and watchability. You wouldn't think that a collision of Queen and Chaucer (to quote Helgeland) would work. But it does, and tremendously, thanks to the actors who create and inhabit fully realized characters. The sheer exuberance of this film blows me away, and the underdog premise makes me root for William's motley crew time and again. If you haven't seen A KNIGHT'S TALE yet, well, frankly, I'm a bit envious. But what are you waiting for? A fonging?

Great product

Knight’s Tale was a great re-imaging of the classic medieval European period piece written, directed and produced by Brian Helgeland. It starred Heath Ledger as William, who was a servant to a knight who died at a jousting tournament. At the spur of the moment he decides to impersonate his knight in the games to make money so that he and his friends could eat. The twist that Helgeland added was modern music to the soundtrack and having the characters playing with it. The film was a criticism of the stark class system that dominated the period as William showed that he was good as the nobility despite coming from poverty.Helgeland’s take on the medieval period is shown in the opening scene. William’s knight has died and spontaneously he decides to don his armor and take part in a jousting tournament. He tells his fellow servants Roland (Mark Addy) and Wat (Alan Tudyk) they have to make money to eat even though they could be killed for impersonating a knight. As he approaches the stadium Queen’s We Are The Champions begins playing and the crowd claps and pounds their fists to the beat as Queen sings “We will rock you!” That will be the dilemma of the film as well. Will William and his friends be able to pull off this façade of playing a knight and being accepted by others in the nobility? In doing so William is challenging the class system where people were born into their position and could not change their lot. As William tells Roland and Wat the rich gained their wealth by seizing it and that’s what William was going to do. He refused to be nothing for the rest of his life.Knight’s Tale proved successful for three reasons. First, the music really was an ingenious addition to the film. It really sets the mood for the scenes and brought the audience into the story. Second, the film also incorporated plenty of humor. For instance, William sees a noble woman named Jocelyn (Shannyn Sossamon) and is immediately taken by her so much that he follows her into a church while riding his horse. Last, there was lots of action as William becomes Sir Ulrich von Liechtenstein and participates in jousting tournaments around Europe. There is plenty of wooden lances smashing against a knight’s armor and them going flying in the air as a result.C

Great film - and I would recommend getting this 2006 release which is an extended cut (137 mins) and includes 11 'featurettes' (each 2-5 mins long): these give a rare insight to the thinking behind and making of the film. I just bought/watched this version and thoroughly enjoyed it. The 2001 'Superbit' release would only make a difference if you have a home cinema; you would have the original 127 min version with this and no extra features.The purpose of the rock music score and modern mannerisms used by the characters is to make them believable, so that the viewer is drawn into the film - this would not happen if pure 1300's language were used. The film starts as it would in real life if you came upon a group of people you never knew - you'd get to know them as time goes by; no need for lengthy 'character introductions', all is revealed as the story unfolds.Quirky, passionate, amusing, the story links with history by its references to Chaucer and characters in "Canterbury Tales". It is described by one of the cast as a "romantic medieval jousting comedy", which just about sums it up! And when you discover it was filmed in the Czeck republic, including homeless people as extras, it adds to the poignancy of the film.It is rated PG probably because of the jousting scenes which are pretty vivid and done for real, as the featurettes explain - they may be balsa wood lances, but a 40mph collision still hurts; the violence and 'romance' is otherwise carefully filmed and not OTT. The only person who dies is the opening character, clad with armour, who is already dead; and all ends up happily ever after. With visual detail, verbal banter and great characters, it's a great family film with something for all ages... unless you suffer from a sense of humour deficiency.

Great film, but I would recommend getting the 2006 release which is an extended cut (137 mins) and includes 11 'featurettes' (each 2-5 mins long): these give a rare insight to the thinking behind and making of the film. The 'Superbit' release would only make a difference if you have a home cinema; you would have the original 127 min version with this and no extra features.The purpose of the rock music score and modern mannerisms used by the characters is to make them believable, so that the viewer is drawn into the film - this would not happen if pure 1300's language were used. The film starts as it would in real life if you came upon a group of people you never knew - you'd get to know them as time goes by; no need for lengthy 'character introductions', all is revealed as the story unfolds.Quirky, passionate, amusing, the story links with history by its references to Chaucer and characters in "Canterbury Tales". It is described by one of the cast as a "romantic medieval jousting comedy", which just about sums it up! And when you discover it was filmed in the Czeck republic, including homeless people as extras, it adds to the poignancy of the film.It is rated PG probably because of the jousting scenes which are pretty vivid and done for real, as the featurettes explain - they may be balsa wood lances, but a 40mph collision still hurts; the violence and 'romance' is otherwise carefully filmed and not OTT. The only person who dies is the opening character, clad with armour, who is already dead; and all ends up happily ever after. With visual detail, verbal banter and great characters, it's a great family film with something for all ages... unless you suffer from a sense of humour deficiency.

This typical story of a poor man's rise to glory and riches resembles the classic "Ivanhoe"... in absolutely no way at all. There's chivalry and love, to be sure, but you don't have to wait long to see that this is a modern adaption of the middle ages rather than a realistic depiction of a 1300s love story. Modern rock music is sewn flawlessly into the film, and the jousting arena with its spectators resembles a hockey stadium more than a medieval competition stadium. This is of course problematic. Whenever a modern connection appears, you find yourself thinking how inappropriate this is. The problem is easily solved, however. The film simply doesn't take itself seriously - it doesn't even attempt to make this a realistic depiction of the Middle Ages. It's a film about the American dream: "Rocky", set in the world of jousting. You find the foreign elements and anachronisms to be not an irritation, but rather... well, funny. Seeing "A Knight's Tale" from a modern perspective with medieval elements yields an amusing experience - a movie you can watch again and again without ever getting bored.The acting is brilliant. Ledger, Bettany, Tudyk and Addy portray their characters with style and verve, not so much making you live yourself into the medieval world as much as making you identify yourself with the different characters. The hero, the bad guy, the love and the loyalty - all is done in a manner most convincing. Even the side cast plays amazingly. They'll make you laugh, cry and cheer... and then sing: "We will... we will rock you!"

I first saw this film when a friend of mine insisted we watch it. One of the first things that hit me during that first viewing was how brilliant Heath Ledger is in it. Even now after I've watched it many many times his acting prowess still surprises me.I know many people didn't really approve of the inclusion of rock music at the beginning of the film, seeing as it's an historic film. But I personally really liked that detail, it gave me a greater connection with the film, and really announced the film had started.2 years after buying this film, I still watch it on a regular basis. If you want a film which is guaranteed to make you laugh this is it. If you want a film with some romance, this has all you need, but not so much that it's overpowering.It is a fantastic film about a young man who just wants to follow his dream and be somebody.I guarantee you won't regret buying it.

This is an awesome film of love, laughter and jousting! quite a few famous faces in this film too you have:heath ledger (r.i.p) playing william thatcher/ulrich von lichtensteinmark addy playing roland (friend of william) [flintstones viva rock vegas,peak practice, tesco clubcard ads]Alan Tudyk as Wat (friend of william) [28 days,dodgeball,i-robot]Paul Bettany as Geoffrey Chaucer (friend of william) [da vinci code, wimbledon]Rufus Sewell as Count Adhemar of Anjou (bad guy) [Crown Prince Leopold in the illusionist]Shannyn Sossamon as Lady Jocelyn (love interest)[Coraline/Morgan in moonlight tv series]James Purefoy as Sir Thomas Colville/Edward, the Black Prince [played Mark Antony in the tv rome series]plus loads more great cast members.with the directors cut you get to see all little bits that were cut out and fit the whole story together and for 2.98 you can't go wrong :)