King Arthur
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Short description
King Arthur is a historical adventure drama set in fifth-century Britain as Roman rule is collapsing. Arthur, a Roman military commander of Sarmatian cavalry, has long served far from Rome and looks forward to returning to the peace and stability of the empire. Before his troops can be released from their obligations, he is given one final assignment: to rescue a Roman family living beyond Hadrian's Wall as Saxon invaders push southward. The mission forces Arthur and his knights, among them Lancelot, Galahad, Bors, Tristan and Gawain, to confront what Britain will need once Rome has withdrawn. The story draws on the Sarmatian hypothesis, which finds a historical kernel for the Arthurian legend in Sarmatian heavy cavalry stationed in Britain and in the Roman-British commander Lucius Artorius Castus, and it blends that material with the traditional myths of the knights.
Antoine Fuqua directed the film, the sixth of nineteen features in his career, following Tears of the Sun and preceding Shooter. David Franzoni wrote the screenplay, and Jerry Bruckheimer produced. The cast is led by Clive Owen as Arthur, Ioan Gruffudd as Lancelot and Keira Knightley as Guinevere, with Mads Mikkelsen, Joel Edgerton and Hugh Dancy among the knights; 31 cast members and 229 crew are credited. Made for about 120 million dollars, it took roughly 204 million dollars worldwide, a solid return rather than a runaway success. On TMDB it holds 6.3 out of 10 from over 3,000 votes, while critics' reviews average 5 out of 10, so audiences have rated it somewhat more warmly than reviewers did.
What's left behind the scenes
- Despite the film depicting bitterly cold weather, it was actually very hot during filming, and a record high temperature for this time of year was registered.
- Over 300 swords, 700 scabbards, and 300 battle axes were made for the filming of the movie.
- According to the costume designer, over 2000 costumes had to be made during the production of the film.
- It took four and a half months to build a kilometer-long section of Hadrian's Wall, with 300 construction workers involved. The Roman fort shown in the film was constructed based on Vindolanda, a Roman fort built in 80 AD south of Hadrian's Wall on the site of the modern-day town of Chesterholm.
- 400 people were invited to participate in filming as Saxon warriors. Most of them had no prior combat experience.
- Numerous cameras were attached to swords, shields, helmets, and spears to better capture the reality of the battle.
- The main camera operator wore a motorcycle helmet and was constantly surrounded by people shielding him with shields, so intense were the battle scenes around him.
- John Matthews, author of several popular and well-known books dedicated to Celtic mythology, history, and spirituality, including “The Encyclopedia of Celtic Myths and Legends,” served as the project’s historical consultant.
- The events in the film take place in 467 AD. By this time, Roman legions were no longer present in Britain, and the country consisted of numerous small, fragmented territories.
- Archbishop Germanus was a real historical figure, but his last mission to Britain occurred 20 years before the events depicted in the film. He actually died in 448 AD.
- Although Ioan Gruffudd has dark hair, his beard grows in red. Therefore, the actor had to be dyed every shooting day.
- While «King Arthur» was being filmed, HBO was working on a mini-series about Arthur. Steven Spielberg served as its producer.
- The director's cut of the film has a runtime of 142 minutes.
- Pelagius, whose death so shocked Arthur, was not actually such a proponent of political freedoms. His disagreements with the official church were purely religious in nature, and historians do not have a consensus regarding the circumstances of his death.
- The final battle in the film is primarily based on the Battle of Mount Badon, which took place between 490 and 516 AD, in which Britons – descendants of Roman settlers – and Celts inflicted a crushing defeat on the Saxons.
- The Saxon invasion depicted in the film is based on the arrival of their leaders Cedric and Cynric in Britain, which according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle occurred in 495 AD. The film is set in 467 AD, which is too early for their expansion. By this period, some territory of Britain had already been captured by the Saxons. In the Battle of Mount Badon, Cedric and Cynric did not die, as shown in the film, and subsequently Cedric became the founder and king of Wessex, and Cynric his successor.
- Filming took place from June 23rd to November 2003 in Ireland and England.
- The first trailer for the film was voiced by Laurence Fishburne.
- According to the producers' intention, the director's chair was to be taken by the creator of "Armageddon," Michael Bay. However, he left the project due to the relatively low budget for the genre. The 5 long years during which Michael was developing his storylines and ideas turned out to be wasted.
- Working titles for the film were: "King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table" and "The Knights of the Round Table."
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