A Knight's Tale (2001)

After his master dies, a peasant squire, fueled by his desire for food and glory, creates a new identity for himself as a knight.

Director:

Brian Helgeland

Writer:

Brian Helgeland

Stars:

Heath Ledger, Mark Addy, Rufus Sewell

4 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Heath Ledger	...	William Thatcher
Rufus Sewell	...	Count Adhemar
Shannyn Sossamon	...	Jocelyn
Paul Bettany	...	Geoffrey Chaucer
Laura Fraser	...	Kate
Mark Addy	...	Roland
Alan Tudyk	...	Wat
Bérénice Bejo	...	Christiana (as Berenice Bejo)
Scott Handy	...	Germaine
James Purefoy	...	Colville
Leagh Conwell	...	Young William Thatcher
Christopher Cazenove	...	John Thatcher
Steven O'Donnell	...	Simon the Summoner (as Steve O'Donnell)
Jonathan Slinger	...	Peter the Pardoner
Nick Brimble	...	Sir Ector

Storyline

Inspired by "The Canterbury Tales," as well as the early life of William Marshall (later First Earl of Pembroke), this is the story of William, a young squire with a gift for jousting. After his master dies suddenly, the squire hits the road with his cohorts Roland and Wat. On the journey, they stumble across an unknown writer, Chaucer. William, lacking a proper pedigree, convinces Chaucer to forge genealogy documents that will pass him off as a knight. With his newly-minted history in hand, the young man sets out to prove himself a worthy knight at the country's jousting competition, and finds romance along the way.

---

Plot Keywords:

jousting | chaucer | medieval times | knight in armour | geoffrey chaucer | 

---

Taglines:

He Will Rock You

---

Genres:

Action | Adventure | Romance

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for action violence, some nudity and brief sex-related dialogue

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 May 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Knight's Tale

Filming Locations:

Barrandov Studios, Prague, Czech Republic

Box Office

Budget:

$65,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$16,511,391, 13 May 2001, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$56,569,702

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$117,487,473

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Escape Artists, Finestkind

Technical Specs

Runtime:

132 min 144 min (extended)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS (8 channels)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Paul Bettany went onto play Lord Melbourne in the movie "The Young Victoria. Rufus Sewell would later play the same role in the TV show "Victoria".

---

Goofs

During the Parade in London, you can see that stand-ins are used for Roland, Geoff, and Kate when they are marching with William's standards in the long shots, rather than the actual actors.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
William: Should we help him?

---

Crazy Credits

As the first credits appear, the camera swings to show a constellation behind William and Jocelyn. The constellation is Orion, the Hunter. Jocelyn refers to William as the Hunter before she learns his name.

---

Alternate Versions

There is a slight difference between the UK cinema version and the UK DVD release. In the cinematic release, the queen/Robbie Williams version of We Are The Champions starts playing when William and Jocelyn kiss just before the credits, whereas the DVD release has a different song play. However, We Are The Champions still plays over the last half of the credits.

---

Connections

Spoofs The Right Stuff (1983)

---

Soundtracks

You Shook Me All Night Long
Written by Brian Johnson, Angus Young and Malcolm Young
Performed by AC/DC
Courtesy of EastWest Records America/Leidesplein Presse B.V.
By Arrangement with Warner Special Products

User Reviews

Rags to riches, love conquers all, never say quit, go for your dreams....

Fun little tale of a dirt poor lad willing to go all out for his lady love, his honor, and to prove he is as good as any other warrior. Plenty of laughs from a zany character or two and a grand adventure with plenty of old world jousting, pageantry, and costumes. Loved the way the producers wove hard rock tunes and today's lingo into the show's fabric and made it seem, usually anyway, as thought it fit that time span. Cool flic.