First Knight (1995)

Lancelot falls in love with Guinevere, who is due to be married to King Arthur. Meanwhile, a violent warlord tries to seize power from Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table.

Director:

Jerry Zucker

Writers:

Lorne Cameron (story), David Hoselton (story)

Stars:

Sean Connery, Richard Gere, Julia Ormond

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sean Connery	...	King Arthur
Richard Gere	...	Lancelot
Julia Ormond	...	Guinevere
Ben Cross	...	Prince Malagant
Liam Cunningham	...	Agravaine
Christopher Villiers	...	Sir Kay
Valentine Pelka	...	Sir Patrise
Colin McCormack	...	Sir Mador
Ralph Ineson	...	Ralf
John Gielgud	...	Oswald
Stuart Bunce	...	Peter, King's Stableman
Jane Robbins	...	Elise
Jean Marie Coffey	...	Petronella
Paul Kynman	...	Mark
Tom Lucy	...	Sir Sagramore

Storyline

Lancelot lives by the sword. In fact, they're next door neighbours, so teaming up to fight for money comes pretty naturally. Lady Guinevere, on her way to marry King Arthur is ambushed by the evil Sir Malagant. Fortunately Lancelot is lurking nearby and he rescues his future queen. They fall in love, but Guinevere still fancies the idea of wearing a crown, so she honours her promise to Arthur. Can Lady Guinevere remain faithful, or will this Pretty Woman become a lady of the knight?

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Plot Keywords:

sir lancelot du lac character | king arthur character | sir kay character | sir gawain character | queen guinevere character | 

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Taglines:

Their greatest battle would be for her love.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some brutal medieval battles

Details

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 July 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

Der erste Ritter

Filming Locations:

Ashridge Park, Little Gaddesden, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$55,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$10,856,442, 9 July 1995, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$37,600,435

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$127,600,435

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation,First Knight Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

134 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby SR Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Julia Ormond had to miss a few days of filming due to a severe ear infection that required hospitalization.

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Goofs

The small crossbows, also known as "pistol" crossbows, didn't exist in the early 6th century.

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Quotes

Arthur, Lancelot: Brother to brother, yours in life and death.

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Connections

Referenced in Game k n b?: Episode dated 28 November 2006 (2006)

User Reviews

Exciting medieval story that deals with a love triangle between legendary characters as Lancelot , Guinevere and Arthur

Mighty and pretty spectacle about Lancelot , King Arthur , Guinevere and the famous romance in color magnificence . This spectacular production from Jerry Zucker that gave you ¨Ghost and Airplane¨ among others and only Columbia TriStar could bring it so magnificently to the screen including a majestic soundtrack and splendid cinematography . The classic story of romantic adventure come to life enriched in glamorous color and with such great stars as Richard Gere (roving spirit Lancelot), Julia Ormond (wonderful Guinevere), and of course the great Sean Connery (upright Arthur) in the classic love triangle . Restless Lancelot who lives by his wits falls in love with Guinevere, who is due to be married to King Arthur . Meanwhile, a violent warlord attempts to seize power from Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table , as they set out in fight against the traitor Prince Malagant (Ben Cross), a Sir Mordred-alike . Whilst in the meantime the bride Guinevere and Sir Lancelot betray the king in their own way . Adding the apparition of knights of the round table as Sir Kay (Christopher Villiers) , Agravaine (Liam Cunningham) , Sir Patrise (Valentine Pelka) and Sir Mador (McCormack) , though there doesn't turns up neither Merlin , nor Morgana LeFay and all things supernatural are out of this flick . This is an overwhelming tale with adventures, villainy,romance and heroism in the grandeur of big screen although in television set is lost its splendor .

This sweeping movie displays adventures , thrills , a romantic love story , breathtaking battles and epic confrontation with a terrific climax final for a mortal confrontation . Excellent main cast as an attractive Richard Gere , a gorgeous Julia Ormond , and exceptional , as always , Sean Connery as Arthur , an aged and war-weary king who is forced to go to battle one last time . Rousing battle scenes with impressive production design by John Box , though is also used computer generator . Excellent settings , the castles ,outdoors and tournaments or jousts are well staged . Handsome story well written by William Nicholson though contains some awkward narrative elements . Luscious costumes and gowns specially suited for Julia Ormond . Colorful wide-screen cinematography by stylish cameraman Adam Greenberg . Emotive and sensational musical score by the classic Jerry Goldsmith . However this epic film never takes off as it should despite of pomp and circumstance showed . The motion picture is imaginatively directed by Jerry Zucker working at the peak of his powers . Other movies on the matter of legends of Arthur are the following : MGM's first wide-screen film titled ¨Knights of the Round Table¨ 1953 ( by Richard Thorpe) , the musical ¨Camelot¨(Joshua Logan) , the fantastic ¨Excalibur¨(John Boorman) and recently ¨King Arthur¨(Antoine Fuqua). The picture will appeal to aficionados with chivalric ideals and historic movies fans , it is a fine production that will lose much on small television screen .

This spellbinding film is freely inspired on legends and supposedly based on facts and famed personages . In spite of there aren't real documents about legendary feats King Arthur , allegedly in VI century he was King of Bretons and then were created in 12th century some writings by notorious French authors who romanticized the legend as Chretien of Troyes , Thomas Malory that wrote the Breton series with their knights looking for the Holy Grail . Besides Godofredo of Mormouth publicized in 1136 the History Regnum Britanniae and in XX century John Steinbeck wrote about the events of King Arthur . The story concerns when the Romans had withdrawn Britain and the Empire dissolved into chaos,then rules the king Arthur, he achieved to maintain the Christianity and civilization in the west of England ,though no exactly congruent with the VI century , time was presumed to have lived but the film is developed in a high medieval panoply .