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Twisted Legend Favorite Movie Quote: "I won't let them rape you." I was recovering from an operation and a friend loaned me a stack of DVDs. Among them was a film I never heard of, "King Arthur", starring Clive Owen and Keira Knightly, as Arthur and Guinevere. I have been a big fan of both leads since Clive in "Croupier" and Keira in "Bend It Like Beckham". What surprised me most and which I still have a hard time getting my head around is that, according to a title that starts the film, recent archaeological discoveries put the source of the legends of Arthur in the Dark Ages, 5 or 600 AD, during the Roman occupation of Britain and not the Middle Ages of armor and jousts, Normans and Saxons. In fact the Saxons are the bad guys in this film, only one step below the privileged, class conscious, Republican Romans. Arthur is the child of a Roman officer and a local girl called "Wodes" (sp?)or some form of Celt. This Arthur strives for equality for all, an early Lefty Liberal; not far from the legend we've grown up with, a beneficent Camelot king who would rule fairly for rich or poor. It is very difficult to see Arthur in Roman soldier garb rather than steel armor. It's like imagining George Washington in buckskins even though he probably had more than one pair in his real teeth days. And Guinevere, what a kick ass-fighter. A Wode princess rescued from the mean Romans who woos Arthur while toying with Lancelot. When an army of several hundred Saxons face 7 Roman knights/mercenaries and one sweet Guinevere, who's deadly with bow or sword; she jests to Lancelot, "Don't worry, I won't let them rape you." And she doesn't. This is a Jerry Bruckheimer produced film with lots of delightful gore and an homage to Eisenstein's "Alexander Nevsky" battle on a frozen lake. What's not to like? An irreverent script by David Franzoni, sweeping direction from Antoine Fuqua (didn't he play for the Steelers? Oh, that was "Frenchy" Fuqua), and great supporting actors, Ioan (Hornblower) Gruffudd as Lancelot, Ray Winstone, and Ray (Rome) Stevenson make this a delicious feast once you get past the idiosyncrasy of seeing Arthur and his knights in Roman and Samarian garb. For me the biggest treat was seeing Clive Owen once again play a principled hero. He pulls it off. He reminds me of a Cary Grant without the permanent suave; Clive's got the looks plus he's got the gravitas and the acting chops. In the past incarnations of the Legend of Arthur, he's kind of an over the hill wimp, not the man who has never been beaten in battle, the true warrior king. Lancelot is usually presented as the best fighter, lover, whatever. He's good but only second best. No wonder Guinevere falls for Arthur; he's a super stud. Keira, on the other hand, is all tom boy, none of that delicate flower stuff as she's been portrayed in the past. It's a fresh look at an olde fairy tale. Cheap me even bought the Director's cut. Simply, Simon email this review to a friend
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