The story of King Arthur has been adapted for the large and small screens more times than anyone can count, due to the beauty and majesty of the story (and having nothing at all to do with the fact that it’s in the public domain!).

Later this month, NBC offers up Merlin, a series that gives us the story from the point-of-view of Arthur’s famous wizard (the first thirteen episodes aired last fall in the U.K. as The Adventures of Merlin).

In this version, Merlin is still young and cute, with an equally young and cute supporting cast of familiar names: Arthur, Lancelot, Morgana, and Guinevere (or “Gwen” as she’s known here, which some studio head no doubt thought would appeal to young people more.)

But how have other adaptations of Arthurian legend fared? Let’s take a look into the past and see…

The Mists of Avalon

Four Torches (Out of Five)

Though not as good as the book on which it’s based, this 2001 TNT miniseries showcased a feminist reimagining of Camelot, where the women did the heavy lifting when it came to pushing the plot forward. For a made-for-TV movie, the production values were pretty admirable, and it boasted some surprisingly good performances, most notably Julianna Margulies as Morgaine and Angelica Houston as Vivianne. Despite the slightly dragging pace toward the end, and the fact that Arthur and Lancelot suddenly appear out of nowhere in fake beards and Prince Valiant wigs to show the passage of time, this is still one of the better versions of the story out there.

Merlin

Two Torches (Out of Five)

Same name, same network as the upcoming adaptation, different project. In 1998, the peacock network gave us a glimpse into the whole life of Merlin, beginning with his youth and leading up to his old age. Unfortunately, the writers thought they would “improve” upon the source material by adding an antagonist named Queen Mab, a character made famous by Mercutio’s speech in Romeo and Juliet, which only made the already nebulous story even murkier, and they wasted the talents of Helena Bonham Carter, cast as Morgan Le Fay, but given precious little screen time. Particularly dreadful was Rutger Hauer, who sounded more American than Uncle Sam, reminding more than a few of us of that middle-aged actor at the Renaissance Fair that you just feel sorry for.

Excalibur

Four and a Half Torches (Out of Five)

Though dated within an inch of its life, this movie still pretty much rocks. Artfully directed by John Boorman, Excalibur is a compressed, 120-minute version of almost the entirety of Thomas Malory’s Le Morte D’Arthur, which is one of the best known works of Arthurian literature, and what many people consider “canon.” The film covers all the bases: Uther wining the kingdom, the sword in the stone, Arthur’s young life, Merlin being trapped in a tree, Lancelot and Guinevere, Mordred, the quest for the Holy Grail … name it and it’s in there. Nicol Williamson chews the scenery — but in a good way — as Merlin, and Helen Mirren steals the show as Morgana. Come to think of it, when is Morgana (Or Morgaine, or Morgan le Fay, whatever you want to call her) not a scene-stealing role?

First Knight

Three Torches (Out of Five)

The lore of Arthur is almost biblical in its complexity, but First Knight stripped everything away but the love traingle between Arthur, Guinevere, and Lancelot. Here Arthur is a robust, aging king, played by Sean Connery, while Lancelot gets to be the slightly younger, sexier dude, played by Richard Gere doing his best impression of Kevin Costner in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Both of them looked too old to be messing around with the stunning Julia Ormond as Guinevere, but that’s Hollywood for you. While one misses the magical elements of Camelot, and the antagonist Malagant (a minor character from Arthurian legend) lacks any real sense of malice, the film is actually quite romantic and passionate. A good breaker-inner if you’re dating someone who has yet to see just how geeky you really are.

King Arthur

Four and a Half Torches (Out of Five)

Taking a well-known and well-loved fantasy story, removing all of the magic, and turning it into a gritty, severed-limbs-and-all war movie is an awfully risky move, as evidenced by 2004’s lukewarm Troy. But Antoine Fuqua’s King Arthur, which came out the same year, was so much better than it should have been, and took many people by surprise with just how slick and watchable it ended up being. Much of its strength is in its casting: Clive Owen is a strong and fascinating Arthur, Ioan Gruffud makes for a sympathetic and earnest Lancelot, and then there’s the film’s secret weapon in Keira Knightly, who is the most bad-ass Guinevere you will ever see. Here the character has been reimagined as a “Woad” (the film’s version of Picts, native people of Scotland), and she fights harder and more viciously than any of the men in the final epic battle scene. Plus she’s not too hard to look at in her leather and green body paint.

Camelot

Half a Torch (Out of Five)

So, this musical came out … uh, one might remember … hmm … sorry, I just threw up in my mouth a little.

Black Knight

Five Torches (Out of Five)

Renowned thespian Martin Lawrence, perhaps best known to many for his work on the London stage as part of the Royal Shakespeare Company, brought his theatrical charisma and dramatic gravitas to the role of Jamal Walker in Black Knight, a fiercely intelligent and moving adaptation of Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court. Though it was robbed of the Academy Award in a shocking upset to Daddy Day Care, Black Knight remains in the heart of the public as the definitive cinematic glimpse into life in Camelot.

Looking to buy any of these King Arthur adaptations (or any other media)? Support TheTorchOnline.com by purchasing it through this link.

Similar Posts:

• Preview: MERLIN Conjures Up Second Season This April on the Syfy Channel
• NBC’s MERLIN Gets the Camelot Story Really Wrong — But Maybe That’s a Good Thing
• Review: NBC’s MERLIN is Fantastic Television! (At Least Until the Second Episode)
• Episode Review: Lancelot Proves He’s Knight-Worthy (and MERLIN Proves It’s Watch-Worthy!)
• Episode Review: With “Excalibur,” MERLIN Finally Gets Its Edge Back

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