Sword of the Valiant: The Legend of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (1984)

Gawain was a squire in King Arthur's court when the Green Knight burst in and offered to play a game with a brave knight. No knights stand to defend their king's honor. Except for the ... See full summary »

Director:

Stephen Weeks

Writers:

Stephen Weeks (screenplay), Howard C. Pen (screenplay)

Stars:

Miles O'Keeffe, Cyrielle Clair, Leigh Lawson

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Miles O'Keeffe	...	Sir Gawain
Cyrielle Clair	...	Linet (as Cyrielle Claire)
Leigh Lawson	...	Humphrey
Sean Connery	...	The Green Knight
Trevor Howard	...	The King
Peter Cushing	...	Seneschal - Gaspar
Ronald Lacey	...	Oswald
Lila Kedrova	...	Lady of Lyonesse
John Rhys-Davies	...	Baron Fortinbras
Wilfrid Brambell	...	Porter
Bruce Lidington	...	Sir Bertilak
Douglas Wilmer	...	The Black Knight
Brian Coburn	...	Friar Vosper
David Rappaport	...	Sage
Emma Burdon-Sutton	...	Morgan La Fay (as Emma Sutton)

Storyline

Gawain was a squire in King Arthur's court when the Green Knight burst in and offered to play a game with a brave knight. No knights stand to defend their king's honor. Except for the valiant Gawain. After being quickly knighted Gawain plays the game, but learns that it's all a trick, and he has lost. But the Green Knight shows mercy, letting Gawain grow a year older before having to face the consequences. Gawain journeys across the land, learning about life, saving damsels, and solving the Green Knight's riddle.

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Plot Keywords:

knight | riddle | kiss | arthurian legend | castle | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy | Romance

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

MGM

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 August 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

Sword of the Valiant

Filming Locations:

Caerphilly Castle, Caerphilly, Wales, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Golan-Globus Productions,Stephen Weeks Company

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Fujicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Stephen Weeks had already filmed the story, titled Gawain and the Green Knight (1973).

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Goofs

Morgan La Fay's hairdo noticeably changes from her long shots to her close-ups.

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Quotes

Sir Gawain: Does your mother know you do this?

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Alternate Versions

There is a much longer version of the film shot in its original widescreen format not seen since its first screening was to be the released on DVD. This did not materialize and probably not be seen again.

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Connections

Version of Gawain and the Green Knight (1973)

User Reviews

Legendary account about one of the best known Arthurian stories dealing with a chivalrous young who has to resolve a twisted riddle in a year or die

The old English tale of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is brought to the screen with a charming blend of action , imagination ,thrills , adventure , and tongue-in-cheek humor . The medieval legend of a supernatural chivalrous young squire who challenges the king's men to kill him . Being middlingly starred Myles O'Keefe as Gawain , Sean Connery as the Green Knight, and appealing Cyrielle Claire as Lynette ("The Lady of Lyonesse"). In Camelot on New Year's Day, King Arthur's court is waiting for the feasting to start when the king asks first to see or hear of an exciting adventure. At this a gigantic figure, entirely green in appearance and riding a green horse, rides unexpectedly into the hall. He wears no armour but bears an axe in one hand and a holly bough in the other . He insists he has come for a friendly "Christmas game": someone is to strike him once with his axe on condition that the Green Knight (Sean Connery) may return the blow in a year and a day . There appears Gaiwan (a wooden Miles O'Keefe) , a rookie knight in the court of King Arthur (Trevor Howard) who is sent out on a quest brought on by a challenge issue by the magical Green Knight . Gaiwan must solve a riddle in one year or die .

This flabby fairy tale adventure contains witchery , fantasy , cheesy special affects, stagy acting , surreal imagery and grimly marches . The picture has good settings , as thick rolling fog , deep forest , dark castles and rocky seacoast ; this movie delivers on locations ; however , it results to be mediocre and a little bit boring . Connery can only be on-screen for a few scenes but he adds zest to his character , he steals the show as an ironic Green Knight . Ronald Lacey, who played the character Oswald, also played the same character, also called Oswald, in "Gawain and the Green Knight" which was made in 1973, and basically, it was the same movie, same actor, same role .

This lumbering film version of one of the Arthurian legends is badly done , as the motion picture was regularly directed by Stephen Weeks . Filmmaker Weeks was one of two young British directors to emerge in the terror field in the late sixties , the other , Michael Reeves died at 25 . He began his professional film career at age 17, directing a series of short films . He made his film cinema short film, 'Moods of a Victorian Church' (1967) at age 19, and his first cinema drama, a film set in the First World War in France '1917' . Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde was Stephen's second picture at age of 22 and he realized other horror films such as ¨Madhouse mansion¨ or ¨Ghost story¨(1979) and adventure movie such as ¨Gawain and the Green Knight¨ (1973) also with Peter Cushing , Ronald Lacey , Murray Head as Sir Gawain and Nigel Green and its remake titled ¨Sword of the valiant¨ (1983) and not much of an improvement . Rating : 5/10 . Well worth watching but only for Sean Connery fans .

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a late 14th-century Middle English chivalric romance. It is one of the best known Arthurian stories, and is of a type known as the "beheading game". The Green Knight is interpreted by some as a representation of the Green Man of folklore and by others as an allusion to Christ. Written in stanzas of alliterative verse, each of which ends in a rhyming bob and wheel, it draws on Welsh, Irish and English stories, as well as the French chivalric tradition. It is an important poem in the romance genre, which typically involves a hero who goes on a quest which tests his prowess, and it remains popular to this day in modern English renderings from J. R. R. Tolkien, Simon Armitage and others, as well as through film and stage adaptations. It describes how Sir Gawain, a knight of King Arthur's Round Table, accepts a challenge from a mysterious "Green Knight" who challenges any knight to strike him with his axe if he will take a return blow in a year and a day. Gawain accepts and beheads him with his blow, at which the Green Knight stands up, picks up his head and reminds Gawain of the appointed time. In his struggles to keep his bargain Gawain demonstrates chivalry and loyalty until his honour is called into question by a test involving Lady Bertilak, the lady of the Green Knight's castle.The poem survives in a single manuscript, the Cotton Nero A.x., which also includes three religious narrative poems .