King Richard and the Crusaders Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

King Richard and the Crusaders Blu-ray Movie Review

"Go squat on your Alps!"

Reviewed by Randy Miller III August 4, 2026

Since loose adaptations of mythical stories are all the rage these days, what better time to revisit David Butler's King Richard and the Crusaders? Based on Sir Walter Scott's novel The Talisman and infamously starring Rex Harrison as Muslim Sultan Saladin, it also doubled as Warner Bros.' first production shot in CinemaScope, a then-new anamorphic widescreen format designed to lure audiences away from their shiny new TV sets. Produced in "Warnercolor" (a variant of Eastman Kodak's similarly new color process) with vivid costumes and sets to match, the campy King Richard and the Crusaders still works as lightweight swords-and-sandals entertainment if you squint a little.

Set during the Third Crusade in 1191, King Richard and the Crusaders serves up political intrigue, romance, and warfare surrounding the Christian campaign to reclaim Jerusalem. Our story first centers on King Richard the Lionheart (George Sanders), whose army is weakened not only by its struggle against the Saracens but also by treachery that has burrowed within its own ranks. Several ambitious nobles secretly plot against King Richard, believing that his death will finally allow them to seize power and control the crusading forces. They're almost successful, too, as a failed assassination attempt leaves him gravely wounded by a poisoned arrow.

The King's most loyal supporter, Sir Kenneth of Huntington (a young Laurence Harvey), arrives at the crusader camp hoping to expose this conspiracy. While escorting a royal caravan through the desert, Kenneth encounters Emir Ilderim, who's actually Sultan Saladin (Rex Harrison in brownface, which isn't nearly as offensive as you'd think) in disguise. Although they first meet as enemies, the two men eventually develop a mutual respect based on honor and chivalry, and Ilderim is admitted to the Christian camp as a physician. His remarkable medical skill saves the King's life, though few people realize his true identity. Ilderim explains that Saladin wants Richard at 100% before continuing their conflict, believing that only a worthy opponent deserves to be faced in battle. Meanwhile, Kenneth's devotion to Lady Edith Plantagenet (Virginia Mayo), King Richard's beautiful cousin, complicates matters. Edith returns Kenneth's affection, but Richard has political plans for her future and flatly disapproves of the match.

Kenneth is later entrusted with guarding the King's banner, a sacred symbol of the crusading army. Through deception engineered by Sir Giles Amaury (Robert Douglas) and Conrad, the Marquis of Montferrat (Michael Pate), Kenneth briefly abandons his post and this allows the royal standard to be stolen. Furious over what appears to be a disgraceful failure, Richard sentences Kenneth to death. Ilderim secretly intervenes, saving the knight and taking him into his own camp, where Kenneth learns that his rescuer is none other than Saladin himself. Also complicating matters is lderim's suggestion to Edith that a potential relationship between a Christian woman (her) and a Muslim man (guess who?) might pacify both opposing sides, but this obviously isn't universally well-received.

King Richard and the Crusaders was a box office flop in 1954, largely due to its high $3M budget. It generally wasn't warmly received by critics either and even later earned a spot in the 1978 book The Fifty Worst Films of All Time (and How They Got That Way) alongside such cinematic masterpieces as Gordon M. Douglas' Dick Tracy vs. Cueball, Arch Hall Sr.'s Eegah, Nicholas Webster's Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, Norman Taurog's Spinout, and Mark Robson's Valley of the Dolls. (Just for the record, Last Year at Marienbad and Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia were also in there.) King Richard and the Crusaders probably isn't considered a "great" film (whatever that means), but it's still accessibly entertaining and enjoyable, one where its stars -- even Rex Harrison, who reportedly thumbed his nose at the finished product and wasn't afraid to say so -- put in good, enthusiastic work that boosts the overall fun factor of a decently rousing adventure that fans of Golden Age historical epics should find appealing.

Likewise, the sets and cinematography aren't exactly lavish considering the film's budget and format… but they're certainly good enough and served very well by Warner Archive's new Blu-ray edition (as is Max Steiner's undeniably great original score), which is led by a wonderful new 4K-sourced restoration that greatly improves the colors seen on their parent company's DVD edition. A handful of curated, era-specific comedy shorts are also included as pre-show entertainment, which adds to the fun in this "sleeper" standout from the reliable boutique label.

King Richard and the Crusaders Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Easily overtaking their own remastered DVD edition from 12 years ago, Warner Archive's terrific new restoration and 1080p transfer of King Richard and the Crusaders is sourced from a recent 4K scan of the studio's original camera negative. Since Warner Bros.' older DVD was sourced from an interpositive, the film's Warnercolor palette was less than impressive but that's been hugely resolved here, and of course fine detail and contrast are also tightened up as well. The same goes for textures, as we obviously get an improved level of more consistent film grain that remains intact despite all prevailing amounts of age-related damage being wiped clean. As seen in these direct-from-disc screenshots, it's a very pleasing presentation that helps this extra-wide 2.55:1 film look its absolute best, and of course it's nicely encoded on a dual-layered disc to boot. Five stars all the way.

King Richard and the Crusaders Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Equally impressive is the DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mix, which preserves King Richard and the Crusaders' two-channel stereo roots and adds a lot of enjoyment and tangible width to its widescreen scope and occasional battle sequences, not to mention Max Steiner's impressive original score. Similarly restored to preserve clarity without resorting to excessive noise reduction, Warner Archive's mix is equally deserving of a perfect five-star rating and will greatly please long-time fans of the film and first-timers too.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are included during the main feature only, not the extras listed below.

King Richard and the Crusaders Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a keepcase with vintage poster-themed cover art and four era-specific extras.

• Satan's Waitin' (7:06) - This enjoyable 1954 Looney Tunes short, directed by Friz Freleng, stars Tweety and Sylvester in a "devil's bargain" gambit that sees the cat wager all nine lives to catch his prey. It was later loosely remade as Devil's Feud Cake starring Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam and last seen in HD as part of WB's Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 3 Blu-ray collection.

• Baby Buggy Bunny (7:08) - Another classic cartoon from 1954, this one was directed by Chuck Jones and stars you-know- who as he faces off against pint-sized gangster "Babyface" Finster, who pretends to be an orphan to get his stolen money back after it falls down Bugs' rabbit hole. Absolutely great stuff, and this one was last seen in HD as part of WB's essential Bugs Bunny 80th Anniversary Collection Blu-ray set.

• So You Want to Be a Banker (9:49) - This 1954 installment of Richard L. Bare's long-running series of Joe McDoakes comedy shorts follows our hero -- played as always by George O'Hanlon, the future voice of George Jetson -- as he works at a bank run by his former classmate, Harrington Arrington Farrington Jr. (Alvy Moore), only to end up embezzling a large amount of money.

• Theatrical Trailer (3:19) - This vintage promotional piece can also be seen here.

King Richard and the Crusaders Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

David Butler's King Richard and the Crusaders is an enjoyable "pocket epic" and early Cinemascope picture that, despite its less-than-stellar reputation and sometimes static dialogue, can still be enjoyed as vintage swords-and-sandals entertainment with solid performances… even by Rex Harrision, who infamously spoke out against the finished product. History has surprisingly been pretty kind to this one, and that includes Warner Archive's welcome new Blu-ray edition and its sterling 4K-sourced A/V restoration that coaxes beautiful colors from the original elements as well as sonic support for Max Steiner's terrific original score. Add in a few entertaining era-specific bonus features and you've got a great release that's more than the sum of its parts. Recommended.