Merlin

Yes, it's a king Arthur story, but it's mainly about Merlin, hence the name of the film. But that what makes it a great film, you get to see all of Merlin's life, from birth to… well, no exactly death, since he's a wizard… I better not spoil the end…

Samuel Neill plays Merlin, the sorcerer, and Miranda Richardson plays the pagan priestess, Mab. She also does the voice for the Lady of the Lake. The cast also contains Helena Bonham Carter, Martin Short and the voice of James Earl Jones for the Mountain King. In front of Merlin's eyes, Arthur (Curran) grows up and pulls Excalibur out of the stone, like the original legend. But before Arthur, Merlin lives his own life. At a young age, he falls in love Nimue (Rossellini), but his love does not stop for her even at an old age. He goes through many struggles with many kings, but finally Arthur is his success.

I got this movie when I was pretty young, and my family and I have also liked this movie. So you should go find it and see it. Yeah, it's worth-watching!

I've seen Merlin twice now: once on TV when it originally aired as a 2 part mini-series, and a second time on the DVD I recently purchased. I must admit it was very pleasurable watching the movie without commercials!

I consider Merlin to be one of the greatest TV movies I have seen, even surpassing most theatrical movies as well. I especially liked the camera angles and intriguing scene changes. The story is captivating and blends many different version of the legend.

Highly recommended...

How do you pack together centuries of legends about the great King Arthur? It might seem like an impossible task, but Merlin finds a way to make it work: they change the focus.

I have always been a huge fan of the King Arthur legends, and I am familiar with most of them. Some films only cover portions of the legends, such as the disappointing "First Knight" and the stomach-churning Disney crud "Sword and the Stone." I was really wanting a film to come out that would cover all the important legends of the epic story, yet I realized it was a nearly impossible task. An excellent early eighties film did it, which was called "Excalibur," and I was hoping that they could do it again, with a more nineties zing to it, what with the new special effects coming out nowadays that could no doubt enhance the legends onscreen. Before "Merlin" came out, the only real films to come out in the nineties featuring Arthur were "First Knight" (which eradicated all myth and magic and put the legends on the status of Chick Flick) and "A Kid in King Arthur's Court" (which I won't even bring up).

Enter "Merlin." It covers everything, from the affair of Lancelot and Guinevere, to the Lady at the Lake, to the birth of the sword Excalibur, to Morgan la Fay and Mordred, and they even throw in the Lady of Shallot. And the cool thing is, they make it work so that it doesn't seem overplotted. Merlin is also given a side story which is beautiful and well-constructed, about his birth and his love life. It all is webbed together well, and the climax and characters are wonderfully painted.

Before this film, I saw Merlin only as a secondhand character, who is Arthur's mentor and friend, kind of like the world's first Obe Wan Kinobe. But now, I see him in an all new light, and to say the least, it is very effective, and I can say that it is the finest Arthur film ever made (though "Excalibur" is so close, it's barely worth a comparison). If you are interesting in Arthur, or if you are an Arthur fan who was discouraged that there were no good films about his awesome, thought-provoking legends, I urge you to watch this film. It will move you in a way few films can!

10 out of 10!

It does not rely on special effects, though the ones it has are quite impressive. As mentioned in the reference it relies on good story-telling. You can also add a bunch of very vivid and weird characters each of whom is an "out-of-controller". The voice of Mab is extremely sweet and unforgettable. The transient effects are very creative. Like for example when a medieval soldier drops dead and the blood makes the snow change its colour around his body in a hyperbolic manner.

It feels like deep satisfaction to have it on DVD in one's home collection. Celtic legends, runes, the Lady of the Lake, Excalibur, and king Arthur – there is much talking about all that stuff now and then and here is a chance to see the whole story properly told.

There is also a strange feeling that it's not just a fairy-tale but a kind of history lesson as well. Even if it's a mistake to say so, this film is not historically empty.

Easily, it is an 8 out of 10. Thanks for attention.

This is one of the best made for TV movies I've ever seen - surprisingly good, in fact. What made it so entertaining was the script. Some people have gone on about the special effects, but they're no big deal - impressive for television, perhaps, but cheesy by any other standard. No, what makes this movie work so well is the unique way in which the familiar elements of the Camelot story have been reconfigured. Using Merlin as a point of departure and actually delving into *his* backstory - rather than Arthur's - I don't think I've seen this done anywhere else (admittedly, I'm no Arthurian scholar, but I have read some of the seminal works, such as Mallory's "Morte d'Arthur," Tennyson's "Idylls of the King," and T.H. White's "The Once and Future King"). "Merlin," from what I can see, tells a story that's totally new, and provides a fresh take on the events and meanings of the Camelot tale. Basically, Merlin's lifelong struggle with Queen Mab here represents the struggle of Christianity to take hold in Britain, versus the influence of the "ancient" ways, such as witchcraft, superstition and local custom. No matter what you think of this as allegory, it provides a useful and intriguing "spine" on which to hang all the other familiar stories from the Arthurian legend, which are well told and presented. Naturally, time constraints prevent the movie from going into detail on any single story - but the piece certainly whets one's appetite for more, and that's perhaps the surest indication of the movie's success.

The lead roles are all well-handled. Sam Neill brings a kind of weary dignity to Merlin; he's champion of the good, but he's tired of it all, longs for the battle to just be over. As Mab, Miranda Richardson camps it up wonderfully, and is truly creepy besides. Martin Short and Helena Bonham Carter have one of the most affecting scenes I've ever seen in a TV movie (if you see it, you'll know which one I mean).

Overall there's a lack of humor, and it sometimes feels as if the piece is rushing ahead just to get everything in, but these are very minor quibbles. The wonderful script holds everything together and keeps you wondering - no matter how well you might know the Camelot story - just what is going to happen next.