Prince Valiant (1997)

User Rating:

4.8/10   

Director:

Anthony Hickox

Writers (WGA):

Hal Foster (comic strip)
Michael Frost Beckner (story)

Release Date:

24 July 1997 (Germany)

Genre:

Adventure | Fantasy

Tagline:

He who holds the sword, rules the world.

Plot:

In a time now lost in the mists of memory, the great King Arthur rules in the legendary citadel that is Camelot...

Plot Keywords:

Princess | Prince | Sword | King Arthur | Camelot

Cast

Stephen Moyer	...	Prince Valiant
Katherine Heigl	...	Princess Ilene
Thomas Kretschmann	...	Thagnar
Edward Fox	...	King Arthur
Udo Kier	...	Sligon
Joanna Lumley	...	Morgan Le Fey
Ron Perlman	...	Boltar
Warwick Davis	...	Pechet
Gavan O'Herlihy	...	King Thane
Ben Pullen	...	Prince Arn
Walter Gotell	...	Erik the Old
Anthony Hickox	...	Prince Gawain
Zach Galligan	...	Sir Kay
Hamish Campbell-Robertson	...	Sir Ector
Marcus Schenkenberg	...	Tiny

Also Known As:

Prinz Eisenherz (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for medieval action violence.

Runtime:

91 min | Japan:97 min | Philippines:92 min

Country:

Ireland | UK | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Philippines:G | Iceland:10 | Iceland:LH (video rating) | South Korea:12 | Finland:K-11 | Germany:12 (w) | Portugal:M/12 | UK:PG | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Llechwedd Slate Caverns, Llechwedd Slate Mine, Blaenau Ffestiniog, Gwynedd, Wales, UK

Company:

Constantin Film Produktion

Trivia:

Walter Gotell's last film.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When the "Vikings" were in the Round Room, about to steal Excalibur, the Round Table knight that came in to confront the raiders said, "Which of you Vikings wants the first dance?" despite of the fact that all of them were clad in Scottish tartan.

Quotes:

Princess Ilene: I demand to see your king.
Thagnar: Harem.
Prince Gawain: What? You can't do that she's a princess.
Princess Ilene: Who the hell is harem?
[she's thrown into a room full of other woman]
Woman #1: [giggles] I wonder if she's a wirgin.
Princess Ilene: Of course I'm a virgin. I'm Princess Ilene of Brenwyn.
Woman #2: We all had kingdoms once. Now we are all queens for a night.
[Ilene looks around scared]
Monday: I am Monday.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Remake of Prince Valiant (1954)

Soundtrack:

What We Are Waiting For

very good

I really enjoyed watching this well-done movie. It is not too brutal, witty and has the right dose of humor. Besides it has a very good cast of well-known actors like Katherine Heigl ("Roswell") the great Joanna Lumley ("Absolutely Fabulous"), who is really wonderful in her role (as usual), and Thomas Kretschmann, who is, as usual, very good and very sexy. It is very well done by director Anthony Hickox, who made such movies as the classic "Theatre of Blood" starring Vincent Price, and his directing really shines through. The animated sequences are very well done and give the movie a really nice flair. The only bad performance that I could spot was the real short appearance by the rather silly (but famous) supermodel Markus Schenkenberg. But that couldn't mar this otherwise really good movie, its only flaw is that it is somehow too fast paced sometimes, otherwise I can only recommend it.