I’ve
always found KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE ($20) to be a rather fun
old style Hollywood telling of the legend of King Arthur and Camelot.
Sure, the movie was made in England, but there is no mistaking that
Hollywood gloss and star power. As a sidebar for movie trivia buffs, it
should be noted that KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE has the distinction
of being MGM’s first movie made in CinemaScope. And while the
compositions are a bit static in places, KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE
benefits from the pageantry of the widescreen process, which was melded
with the rich veneer of IB Technicolor printing. Finally, it is doubtful
that anyone during the Middle Ages ever looked as good as stars Ava
Gardner and Robert Taylor, nor were they dressed as spectacularly, but up
on the big screen this duo were pure cinematic perfection.
Adapted
from Sir Thomas Malory‘s Le Morte d'Arthur, KNIGHTS OF
THE ROUND TABLE tells how Arthur Pendragon (Mel Ferrer) unifies all
the Britons under a single crown. Under his rule, King Arthur ushers in an
age of chivalry, with an absolute rule of law. However, Arthur’s half
sister Morgan Le Fay (Anne Crawford) and her Lord Modred (Stanley Baker)
seek to usurp Arthur’s throne and throw Britain back into the chaos of
petty kingdoms, where might did make right. With Sir Lancelot (Robert
Taylor) at his side, King Arthur’s position on the thrown remains
absolute, that is, unless a way can be found to drive a wedge between
Arthur and Lancelot. Eventually, Moran and Modred think they see an
exploitable weakness in the form of Arthur’s beautiful queen Guinevere
(Ava Gardner), who summons far too much obvious devotion from her
appointed champion- Sir Lancelot. The cast of KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND
TABLE also features Felix Aylmer, Maureen Swanson, Gabriel Woolf,
Anthony Forwood, Robert Urquhart and Niall MacGinnis.
Warner
Home Video has made KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE available on DVD in
a very fine looking 2.55:1 wide screen presentation that has been enhanced
for playback on 16:9 displays. The image appears pretty sharp and nicely
defined, although there is a bit of softness in shots with optical
processing. Colors appear well saturated and give a nice impression what
an original IB Technicolor print might have looked like. Reds have come
very close to producing that nice Technicolor hue, while greens, yellows
and blues also appear lush. Despite the intensity of some of the colors,
neither chroma noise nor smearing is apparent. Blacks are pretty accurate
and whites appear clean. The film element used for the transfer does
display some blemishes, but is in rather good shape for a movie that is
half a century old. A grain structure is occasionally noticeable in the
picture, but is never excessive or distracting. Digital compression
artifacts never became readily apparent.
KNIGHTS
OF THE ROUND TABLE features a Dolby Digital 2.0 channel soundtrack
that decodes to standard surround. Most signs of age have been digitally
removed from the track, leaving a clean, crisp sound quality. Music is the
strongest component in the film’s stereo surround mix, being nicely
imaged in the outlying channels. While the fidelity of the music isn’t
up to modern standards, Miklós Rózsa’s engaging score sounds quite
good with a bit of amplification. Dialogue is cleanly rendered and always
completely understandable. No other language tracks have been encoded onto
the DVD, although English, French and Spanish subtitles are included.
Music
underscores the basic interactive menus, which feature access to the
standard scene selection and set up features, as well as a few nice
extras. Actor Mel Ferrer offers a brief video introduction to the film,
while other extras include newsreel footage of the movie’s premiere, a
CinemaScope short featuring the MGM Orchestra performing the Overture
To The Merry Wives Of Windsor. A theatrical trailer, bonus
trailers for CAMELOT and EXCALIBUR, a King Arthur movie
essay and cast & crew listing close out the extras.
KNIGHTS
OF THE ROUND TABLE is an enjoyable film version the legend of King
Arthur- and one that features all of the old style Hollywood trimmings.
Warner has done a fine job with the DVD, offering a handsome presentation
that will more than please movie buffs.
I’ve
always found KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE ($20) to be a rather fun
old style Hollywood telling of the legend of King Arthur and Camelot.
Sure, the movie was made in England, but there is no mistaking that
Hollywood gloss and star power. As a sidebar for movie trivia buffs, it
should be noted that KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE has the distinction
of being MGM’s first movie made in CinemaScope. And while the
compositions are a bit static in places, KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE
benefits from the pageantry of the widescreen process, which was melded
with the rich veneer of IB Technicolor printing. Finally, it is doubtful
that anyone during the Middle Ages ever looked as good as stars Ava
Gardner and Robert Taylor, nor were they dressed as spectacularly, but up
on the big screen this duo were pure cinematic perfection.
Adapted
from Sir Thomas Malory‘s Le Morte d'Arthur, KNIGHTS OF
THE ROUND TABLE tells how Arthur Pendragon (Mel Ferrer) unifies all
the Britons under a single crown. Under his rule, King Arthur ushers in an
age of chivalry, with an absolute rule of law. However, Arthur’s half
sister Morgan Le Fay (Anne Crawford) and her Lord Modred (Stanley Baker)
seek to usurp Arthur’s throne and throw Britain back into the chaos of
petty kingdoms, where might did make right. With Sir Lancelot (Robert
Taylor) at his side, King Arthur’s position on the thrown remains
absolute, that is, unless a way can be found to drive a wedge between
Arthur and Lancelot. Eventually, Moran and Modred think they see an
exploitable weakness in the form of Arthur’s beautiful queen Guinevere
(Ava Gardner), who summons far too much obvious devotion from her
appointed champion- Sir Lancelot. The cast of KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND
TABLE also features Felix Aylmer, Maureen Swanson, Gabriel Woolf,
Anthony Forwood, Robert Urquhart and Niall MacGinnis.
Warner
Home Video has made KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE available on DVD in
a very fine looking 2.55:1 wide screen presentation that has been enhanced
for playback on 16:9 displays. The image appears pretty sharp and nicely
defined, although there is a bit of softness in shots with optical
processing. Colors appear well saturated and give a nice impression what
an original IB Technicolor print might have looked like. Reds have come
very close to producing that nice Technicolor hue, while greens, yellows
and blues also appear lush. Despite the intensity of some of the colors,
neither chroma noise nor smearing is apparent. Blacks are pretty accurate
and whites appear clean. The film element used for the transfer does
display some blemishes, but is in rather good shape for a movie that is
half a century old. A grain structure is occasionally noticeable in the
picture, but is never excessive or distracting. Digital compression
artifacts never became readily apparent.
KNIGHTS
OF THE ROUND TABLE features a Dolby Digital 2.0 channel soundtrack
that decodes to standard surround. Most signs of age have been digitally
removed from the track, leaving a clean, crisp sound quality. Music is the
strongest component in the film’s stereo surround mix, being nicely
imaged in the outlying channels. While the fidelity of the music isn’t
up to modern standards, Miklós Rózsa’s engaging score sounds quite
good with a bit of amplification. Dialogue is cleanly rendered and always
completely understandable. No other language tracks have been encoded onto
the DVD, although English, French and Spanish subtitles are included.
Music
underscores the basic interactive menus, which feature access to the
standard scene selection and set up features, as well as a few nice
extras. Actor Mel Ferrer offers a brief video introduction to the film,
while other extras include newsreel footage of the movie’s premiere, a
CinemaScope short featuring the MGM Orchestra performing the Overture
To The Merry Wives Of Windsor. A theatrical trailer, bonus
trailers for CAMELOT and EXCALIBUR, a King Arthur movie
essay and cast & crew listing close out the extras.
KNIGHTS
OF THE ROUND TABLE is an enjoyable film version the legend of King
Arthur- and one that features all of the old style Hollywood trimmings.
Warner has done a fine job with the DVD, offering a handsome presentation
that will more than please movie buffs.
