Prince Valiant (1997)

In a time now lost in the mists of memory, the great King Arthur rules in the legendary citadel that is Camelot. His Knights of the Round Table commit acts of derring-do and spend their ... See full summary »

Director:

Anthony Hickox

Writers:

Hal Foster (comic strip) (as Harold R. Foster), Michael Frost Beckner (story)

Stars:

Stephen Moyer, Katherine Heigl, Thomas Kretschmann

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

In a time now lost in the mists of memory, the great King Arthur rules in the legendary citadel that is Camelot. His Knights of the Round Table commit acts of derring-do and spend their spare time jousting, much to the delight of the local citizens and especially to Princess Ilene, a guest at Camelot. Watching her from afar is a young, inexperienced squire called Valiant, and when the young Welsh princess is sent home to marry Prince Arn, Valiant contrives to accompany her masquerading as Sir Gawain. Meanwhile, the evil sorceress Morgan le Fey, sister to King Arthur, has convinced the tyrannical Sligon, ruler of the Viking kingdom of Thule, that he should steal Arthur's sword, the powerful and magical Excalibur, knowing that its loss could bring about Arthur's downfall. So into the fray comes Sligon's unstable and psychotic brother Thagnar, who manages to steal the sword. Pandemonium reigns. But Valiant is having problems of his own - kidnappers attempt to steal away the Princess, and...

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Plot Keywords:

character name as title | prince valiant character | princess | prince | camelot | 

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Taglines:

He who holds the sword, rules the world.

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Genres:

Adventure | Fantasy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for medieval action violence

Did You Know?

Trivia

In his autobiography Size Matters Not: The Extraordinary Life & Career of Warwick Davis, Warwick Davis, an actor in the film, called it an "absolute disaster" which was "premiered, panned and bombed," and "even the wonderful Joanna Lumley - who still managed to put in an amazing performance as Morgan le Fay - couldn't save it." He blames this on the director, who he says "seemed intent on partying all night long and giving roles to his friends."

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Goofs

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.

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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 virgin.
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.
[...]

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Connections

Featured in Alannah Myles & Zucchero: What Are We Waiting For? (1997)

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Soundtracks

What We Are Waiting For
Performed by Alannah Myles and Zucchero
Written by Phil Roy, Simon Wilson, Siobhan Maher
Published by Sony Tunes Inc./Philster Music ASCAP,
Bugle Songs Ltd. PRS, BMG Music Publishing PRS

User Reviews

Prince Valiant sets out to rescue the princess in this epic adventure based on the classic comic strip created by Harold R. Foster

Spectacular adventure with a lot of colorful pageantry and old-fashioned action , concerning on King Arthur and Prince Valiant , though the movie falls short . It packs a non-sense blending of joky modern dialog and Dark Ages action , as the screenwriters don't get the appropriate touch . The whole cast is far too distinguished to be appearing in this sort of caricature of Medieval legends . It deals with King Arthur who governs in the legendary citadel that is Camelot . His Knights of the Round Table commit acts of derring-do and spend their spare time jousting and enjoying feasts . There young orphaned Valiant (chubby Stephen Moyer) is the squire to Sir Gawain (the same director Anthony Hickox) , one of King Arthur's (Edward Fox who steals the acting honours) knights . He is given the task of escorting princess Ilene (Katherine Heigl who is inappropriate here , holding an excessive ironic tone) to her home in Wales and naturally the young twosome fall in love . Meantime , the sword Excalibur has been robbed by Viking king usurper (Udo Kier) , an evil tyrant , and villainous leader Thagnar (Thomas Kretschmann). Then Ilene gets kidnapped and it's up to Prince Valiant to rescue both Ilene and Excalibur . As young Valiant set off to save princess away from risks and of course rides into it . As Valiant brushes aside bangs and journeys to Thule to look for his lover . There Valiant along with a group of outlaws (Warwick Davis , Ron Perlman) attack the Viking stronghold .

This is a Medieval tale with adventures , full-bloodied action , unspeakable dialog , villainy , terrific jousting , romance and heroism in the grandeur of Scope although in television set loses splendor . The movie displays breathtaking battles , being ambitious in scope with epic confrontation and a striking final climax for a mortal duel . Handsome story , being regularly written and contains some awkward narrative elements . Excellent settings , monumental castles ,outdoors and tournaments or jousts are well staged . However this spectacular film never takes off as it should despite pomp and circumstance showed , so you'll be excited and embarrassed alternately . In any case , filmmaker does some breathtaking set pieces and the attack of a Viking castle colorful and vividly thrilling . This is the classic story of romantic adventure come to life enriched by glamorous color and impressive battles . Wooden protagonist duo , Stephen Moyer and Katherine Heigl , both of whom future TV stars with ¨True Blood¨ and Grey's anatomy¨, respectively . Supporting cast is frankly good though wasted , employing such notorious players and not building them roles with which to make a considerable impact , as the screenplay never give them a chance , there appears great stars as Edward Fox , Ron Perlman , Joanna Lumley as Morgana Le Fey , Walter Gotell's last final and Thomas Kretschmann who wields an ax with vigour . The movie was re-cut by the German producers, while the director was away on Christmas vacation. They wouldn't fly him back to Germany to finish the film. Four key scenes setting up its humorous tone and all religious aspects were removed.

This is another attempt to literally transfer a comic-strip about the Arthurian saga to the screen , the first and the best was ¨Prince Valiant¨(1954) by Henry Hathaway with Robert Wagner , Janet Leigh , Victor McLagen , Donald Crisp , Sterling Hayden and Debra Paget . Other movies on the matter of legends of Arthur resulted to be : (1953) the classic ¨Knights of the Round Table¨ (by Richard Thorpe) , the musical ¨Camelot¨ (Joshua Logan), the fantastic ¨Excalibur¨ (John Boorman) , ¨First Knight¨ (Jerry Zucker) and recently ¨King Arthur¨ (Antoine Fuqua) . The picture will appeal to aficionados with chivalric ideals and epic movies fans , it is a passable production that will lose much on small television screen .

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Details

Country:

Ireland UK Germany

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 July 1997 (Germany)

Also Known As:

Prince Valiant

Filming Locations:

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

Company Credits

Production Co:

Constantin Film, Babelsberg Film, Celtridge

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1