King Arthur: A Film Review
The myth of King Arthur is full of action, adventure, chivalry, treachery, romance, betrayal and tragedy. Donna Rosenberg writes, “The story of King Arthur has appealed to writers and readers for hundreds of years because it is so complex and varied.”(419) This is what led me to choose Antoine Fuqua’s 2004 cinematic version for my film review. I have always enjoyed mythology. Monsters, magic, tragic love, heroes and villains. All genres of mythology we have read over the last 7 weeks are interesting, but the tales coming from the British Isles, especially King Arthur, are more translatable to me and my daily life. Although King Arthur’s existence is not known for sure, the ideals he strove to bring about are important in today’s society. Arthur dreamed of a better world where every man, woman and child are equals and have free will. His legendary Round Table possibly symbolizes an early form of democracy. “It will bring peace among all of his knights, since the table has nether a head nor a foot. Whenever the knights meet, their thrones, their services, and their relationship to one another will be equal.” (Rosenberg 433).
The myth of King Arthur as written in World Mythology: An Anthology of the Great Myths and Epics and the 2004 cinematic version has a few similarities and many dissimilarities. Both portray Arthur and his knights as courageous and strong. In Rosenberg’s World Mythology, Arthur is asked to fight a monster that has been ravaging the farmer’s crops and livestock for over seven years. He does not hesitate to tell the knight he will fight the monster. That evening he Williams 2 tells Sir Kay of the giant and his plans to slay him, saying “I intend to kill him myself-it is important for a king to set a fine example for his knights.”(Rosenberg 435). In the movie, Arthur plans on facing the numerous forces of the Saxon