A Knight's Tale

A Knight's Tale (2001)

Timing: 2:13 (133 min)

6.873/10
3339

7.822/10
125713

7/10
219000

All about film

Video 8

Photo 57

Actors and characters

Release date

2001-05-11

Country

United States

Production

Columbia Pictures, Escape Artists, Finestkind, Black and Blu Entertainment

Genre

Adventure, Drama, Romance, Action

Budget

$65 000 000

Revenue

$117 487 473

Website

https://www.sonypictures.com/movies/aknightstale

Director

Brian Helgeland

Actors

Heath Ledger, Rufus Sewell, Shannyn Sossamon, Paul Bettany, Laura Fraser, Mark Addy, Alan Tudyk, Bérénice Bejo, Scott Handy, James Purefoy
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Brian Helgeland

Producer

Brian Helgeland, Tim Van Rellim, Todd Black

Operator

Richard Greatrex

Composer

Carter Burwell

Artist

Audition

Francine Maisler

Editing

Kevin Stitt, Petr Moravec
All team (117)

• Poet Geoffrey Chaucer is also a real historical figure; the film is based on a novella from his "Canterbury Tales" cycle.
• Originally, the film was supposed to be titled "In the Gleaming of Armor".
• Filming took place in Prague.
• During filming, Paul Bettany had to strain his voice and shout so often that the actor ultimately developed laryngitis (inflammation of the larynx).
• Sir Ulrich von Lichtenstein actually existed, but lived in the 13th century.
• Since the film mentions the Battle of Poitiers, the exact time of action can be determined as 1356. However, full plate armor appeared much later, approximately 60 years after that.
• The film features a scene where William knocks off an armet-type helmet from an opponent. The construction of this helmet (forged precisely to the shape of the skull, with the lower half opening on two hinges during donning but securely fastened with a pin) makes it impossible to knock it off without also removing the head.
• Anticipating a feast, Wat talks about potato pancakes and mint cream pastries. Neither common peppermint (cultivated in the 16th century) nor potatoes (introduced by the Spanish in the 15th century) existed in 14th-century Europe.
• Sir Ulrich von Lichtenstein did indeed exist, but he lived in the 13th century.
• When Geoffrey Chaucer, played by Paul Bettany, introduces “Sir Ulrich von Lichtenstein” in his speech, the crowd didn’t react immediately because the Czech extras in the background didn’t understand what he was talking about. Cheers only erupted with a prompt from Roland, played by Mark Eddie. This take was the one they kept in the film.
• A great deal of effort was put into creating lances that would break on impact without unseating the rider. The shaft of each lance was made to break easily, and the tips were made of cork wood. Each tip was hollow, and the cavity was filled with cork shavings and raw linguine (a type of pasta) to make the fragments look convincing.
• There was a period in the life of Geoffrey Chaucer (lasting about a year) that remains a complete mystery to historians to this day. The film takes place during this very period.
• The first scene of the duel between the two knights used footage of an accident involving Heath Ledger’s stunt double (who was playing the main character, William). During the filming of one of the later scenes, the opponent’s lance struck higher than intended, and the stunt double was hit in the head, lost consciousness, and was thrown from the saddle. This footage was used at the beginning of the film.
• In the scene where William, played by Heath Ledger, follows Jocelyn (played by Shannon Sossamon) into the cathedral, the sound of his horse’s hooves was created by the sound of coconuts being hit on the floor of Charles Mains’ garage.
• While rehearsing one of the fight moves with director and screenwriter Brian Helgeland using mops, Heath Ledger accidentally knocked out one of his front teeth. Helgeland’s mouth didn’t fully heal for several months, after which he was finally able to see a dentist.
• Heath Ledger received the role in the film because Brian Helgeland once saw footage shot during a day's work on Roland Emmerich's historical drama "The Patriot" (2000), where Ledger played the son of the main character, and was impressed by what he saw.
• When showing London from a bird's-eye view, the audience sees a medieval version of the so-called "London Eye" (this is the name of the Ferris wheel, the second tallest in Europe after the "Moscow Sun" and one of the largest in the world). A model of it was built for the film (i.e., it was not a product of computer technology), and this structure cost $500,000.
• In the scene of the first awards ceremony involving Heath Ledger and Rufus Sewell, the character played by Paul Bettany kisses the herald of Sewell's character. He did this in response to director Brian Helgeland's request to "surprise him." Helgeland did not specify his wish in any way.
• The terrible crunch that the audience hears when someone's lance breaks in the film is the slowed-down sound of a howitzer firing.
• Poet Geoffrey Chaucer is also a real historical figure; the film is based on a story from his "Canterbury Tales" cycle.
• The film was originally intended to be titled "In the Gleaming of Armor."
• When Geoffrey Chaucer, as portrayed by Paul Bettany, presented “Sir Ulrich von Liechtenstein” in his speech, the crowd didn’t react immediately because the Czech extras didn’t understand what was being said. Applause only began with a cue from Roland, played by Mark Eddie. That take was the one used in the film.
• Heath Ledger got the role in the film because Brian Helgeland once saw footage shot during a day’s work on Roland Emmerich’s historical drama “The Patriot” (2000), where Ledger played the son of the main character, and was impressed by what he saw.