Camelot (1967)

The story of the marriage of England's King Arthur to Guinevere. The plot of illegitimate Mordred to gain the throne and Guinevere's growing attachment to Sir Lancelot, threaten to topple Arthur and destroy his "round table" of knights.

Director:

Joshua Logan

Writers:

Alan Jay Lerner (based on the play "Camelot" book by), T.H. White (novel)

Stars:

Richard Harris, Vanessa Redgrave, Franco Nero

Won 3 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Richard Harris	...	King Arthur
Vanessa Redgrave	...	Guenevere
Franco Nero	...	Lancelot Du Lac
David Hemmings	...	Mordred
Lionel Jeffries	...	King Pellinore
Laurence Naismith	...	Merlyn
Pierre Olaf	...	Dap
Estelle Winwood	...	Lady Clarinda
Gary Marshal	...	Sir Lionel
Anthony Rogers	...	Sir Dinadan
Peter Bromilow	...	Sir Sagramore
Sue Casey	...	Lady Sybil
Gary Marsh	...	Tom of Warwick
Nicolas Beauvy	...	King Arthur as a Boy

Storyline

The story of the marriage of England's King Arthur to Guinevere is played out amid the pagentry of Camelot. The plot of illegitimate Modred to gain the throne and Guinevere's growing attachment to Sir Lancelot, whom she at first abhors, threaten to topple Arthur and destroy his "round table" of knights who would use their might for right.

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Plot Keywords:

sir lancelot du lac character | sir mordred character | king arthur character | merlin character | queen guinevere character | 

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Taglines:

The Most Beautiful Love Story Ever!

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Genres:

Adventure | Fantasy | Musical | Romance

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Certificate:

G

Did You Know?

Trivia

Richard Harris, who smoked 3 packs of cigarettes a day, lost his voice several times during filming.

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Goofs

As Guenevere and Lancelot go to meet with Arthur before the battle, Guenevere runs ahead in one shot. In the next shot, she and Lancelot are standing next to each other.

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Quotes

[first lines]
A Knight: The rules of battle are not for Lancelot Du Lac, Your Majesty! Let us attack now while they sleep!
King Arthur: [firmly] We will attack when I give the command - at dawn.
[the knight leaves, and Arthur begins to talk to himself]
King Arthur: Oh, Merlyn, Merlyn, why is Ginny in that castle, behind walls I cannot enter? How did I blunder into this agonizing absurdity? Where did I stumble? How did I go wrong? Should I not have loved her?
[sighs]
King Arthur: Then I should not have been born! Oh, Merlyn, I haven't got much time. ...
[...]

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Alternate Versions

The "30th Anniversary Edition", released on video in 1997, features the original sound mix as it was originally intended. Because of this, some sound effects and fragments of dialogue previously nearly drowned out by music are now heard distinctly. There is even a section--the comically disastrous, very first meeting of Guenevere and Lancelot, in which we hear offscreen court musicians playing on mandolins, whereas previously this scene was acted without music.

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Connections

Featured in Film Review: How I Learned to Live with Being a Star (1967)

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Soundtracks

If Ever I Would Leave You
(uncredited)
Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner
Music by Frederick Loewe
Sung by Gene Merlino (dubbing Franco Nero)

User Reviews

interesting ...

One of the reviews I once read of this marvellous film dismissed it as 'kohl and overacting'. No way. It has so many scenes that live in the memory as I write, not having revisited the movie for quite some time. The wedding sequence with all its lights; Guinevere, beautiful in her wonder of the magical land where leaves 'blow away altogether, at night, of course'; If Ever I Should Leave You (not sung by Franco Nero, as I understand, really, but you'd never guess); How To Handle A Woman ('what's wrong, Jenny? where are you these days? I don't understand you ...'); creepy Mordred; and the ending (run, boy, run) which is terrific. I have heard Burton as Arthur and have to say I was disappointed. They made the right casting choice for the movie. A pity some of the songs got cut (except it would have been even longer then, good for us who like it, intolerable for those who don't). Also interesting to compare with other Lerner/Loewe movies with their themes of magic, understanding, and change (My Fair Lady, Brigadoon, Gigi and Paint Your Wagon). As they sit together as a body, Camelot is one of the best.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 October 1967 (USA)

Also Known As:

Камелот

Filming Locations:

Alcázar de Segovia, Segovia, Castilla y León, Spain

Box Office

Budget:

$13,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros./Seven Arts

Technical Specs

Runtime:

179 min

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (35 mm prints) 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1