Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.0

First Knight Blu-ray Movie Review

This lackluster effort fails to bring the legend of King Arthur to life.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman April 24, 2008

Times were hard. A man made his living any way he could. And Lancelot had always been good with a sword...

I have a copy of First Knight on VHS. It's buried somewhere in a box deep inside a closet I never venture into, and about all I remember of the movie is that I own it and never had any desire to watch it whenever I used to actually dig through my VHS tapes in search of something to watch. That and it stars Sean Connery (A Bridge Too Far) and Richard Gere (Shall We Dance?) and has some swords and armor and horses and castles and other random medieval things in it, and is based on the legend of King Arthur. In other words, only the most basic of memories stuck with me when it came to this picture, so my expectations coming into this screening were rather low, but the excitement of seeing the movie sorta-kinda like the first time all over again proved an interesting one. It turns out that a few scenes sparked some far-recessed memories, but as the credits rolled I realized that I truly had forgotten just about everything seen in the movie. My "ho-hum" feeling remains. First Knight is certainly good enough to watch, but mediocre enough to forget until it is released on another format in 13 years. If I review it then, I am certain the memory of having watched it today on Blu-ray will be only a clouded one, making the experience once again sorta-kinda like watching it for the first time all over again (again).

That table's in a world of trouble.

A love story at its core, First Knight is the filmed legend of a common man and extraordinary sword fighter Lancelot (Gere) and his newfound and undeniable love for Lady Guinevere (Julia Ormond, I Know Who Killed Me). She's to be married to King Arthur (Connery); they have been in love since childhood and she is only now prepared to wed him. She loves him not for his power or position but for his heart, although the recent attack on her village by a band of rebel thugs led by former knight of the Round Table Prince Malagant (Ben Cross, When Nietzsche Wept) has led her to marry him now to garner protection for her town by the forces of Camelot. When she is ambushed by Malagant's men, Lancelot (no surprise) comes to Lady Guinevere's rescue. Although she has proclaimed her love for Arthur, Lancelot now desires the lady for himself, and goes to great lengths to win her affection. He earns Arthur's trust in the process, and when he rescues Guinevere yet again from the clutches of Malagant and his men, he is Knighted by Arthur, joining the forces of the Round Table and replacing the vacant spot left by Malagant. Having finally found a position of responsibility in life, the once-aimless Lancelot must defend the kingdom while suppressing any public display of his love for Guinevere, proclaiming it repeatedly to the lady but never letting his intentions be known to the King.

First Knight is one of those movies that's best watched and forgotten a few weeks later. Certainly not a terrible movie by any stretch, its predictable nature, mostly boring action sequences, and lack of the magical elements associated with Camelot nevertheless make it one of the lesser tales I've encountered pertaining to the famous legend, and a mostly average movie on the whole. Hokey to the core, First Knight gives a valiant effort to entertain, but the formulaic plot, generic dialogue, and overlong runtime are but even more obstacles that this Jerry Zucker (Ghost) directed film can't quite overcome. Despite these shortcomings, the movie does carry with it a decent pace despite a length that could have definitely been trimmed a bit. The first hour of the movie moved noticeably fast; I was shocked when I glanced at the time and saw the movie was about 55 minutes in. The movie as a whole is definitely watchable, it just doesn't live up to the expectations of an Arthurian-themed motion picture, especially one starring two of the then-biggest names in the movie business.

It is indeed perhaps the cast that proves to be one of the film's greatest strengths (perhaps behind only the set design and sometimes visually exciting cinematography) yet also most noticeable flaw. Julia Ormond is fine as Guinevere; she plays her part appropriately scared, angered, awestruck, shamed, shocked, or in love right on cue, always ready for whatever emotion her next scene calls for her to emote. Ben Cross is also fine as Malagant, though I can't help but think that an actor such as Jeremy Irons could have done a bit more with the part, or what Cross could have done with it, for that matter, under the guise of a more strongly developed character. Sean Connery makes for an excellent "aged" Arthur, bringing a presence, authority, and charisma to the part, although Connery is such a fine and well-known actor that despite his best effort, I could never completely lose myself in the performance and become convinced that he was King Arthur through and through. That leads us to Richard Gere, a fine actor, but wholly out of place. He brings a somewhat comical and less-than-believable wit and childlike persona to the character of Lancelot, one that has the audience believing his "love" to be more of a boyish crush, a "hey I rescued you, the least you can do is give this dashing young man a thank-you kiss" attitude that's certainly never really befitting the tale. Gere's best movies are when he can play a more refined, dignified, tailored hero (see the character Edward Lewis in Pretty Woman); he just doesn't do well as the unkempt, boyish, almost obnoxious character he plays here. I must admit, however, to enjoying his performance at the beginning of the movie when he played "common-man" Lancelot, a wandering entertainer, of sorts, who fought (but never injured) locals for money. I believe that had the character of Lancelot been cast more for the role rather than looks (after all, how could any woman resist a film with both Gere and Connery in it, the studio execs must have been thinking), the film would have turned out much better than it did.

First Knight Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Mostly impressive is the 1080p, 1.85:1 transfer Sony has produced for this Blu-ray edition of First Knight. The overall quality is quite good; certainly no great shakes next to the latest and greatest Blu-ray releases, this transfer nevertheless holds up very well. Detail is impressive, as is depth, the result a sometimes breathtaking, cinematic, big-feeling image that suits the subject material very well. There is quite a bit of grain to be seen throughout, and it gets downright heavy in some long distance shots, but that's all part of the natural charm of the look of the movie. Colors are impressive, the blues of Camelot and the greens of the locales both vibrant and alive, starkly contrasting to the dank, lifeless abandoned castle/dungeon where Malagant and his men hold Guinevere captive. The more vibrant hues are often dramatic and exciting to look at; they can be, however, somewhat muted in appearance in some shots, losing some luster but for the most part, they remain both bold and pleasing. A scene near the beginning of the movie showing a primitive version of soccer looks especially good and is demonstrative of how this disc looks at its very best, showcasing excellent color reproduction, tremendous depth, fine detail, and excellent clarity, though only a bit soft. The print does demonstrate a few flaws now and again, notably a long, black vertical line in one spot, but for a 13+ year old film, the results are about as good as can be expected. Black levels are excellent; a nighttime battle scene near the end of the movie standing out as the best example. Overall, the image is definitely not pristine or 5-star material, but gosh darn it if I didn't adore the look of the movie. Before the age of crystal-clear digital cinema, IMAX, or DLP projection, I saw many a film projected onto the big screen, replete with a few flaws on the print and consistent grain, and I love that look. It takes me back to my childhood, and this film, perhaps more than any other I've seen on Blu-ray, perfectly represents the typical look of a theatrical movie I so vividly remember from that time.

First Knight Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Presented in Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless surround, First Knight sounds good on Blu-ray, but this track ultimately finds itself a bit lacking. The first thing I noticed was that dialogue sounded a bit off, as if it increases and decreases in volume, ever so slightly, in certain scenes, noted first at the beginning of the movie as Lancelot fights for money. Jerry Goldsmith's (Hollow Man) score is both engaging and loud, providing an excellent theatrical reproduction quality, similar to the sound you would expect to hear in a high-end movie house with a quality sound system. It does get a bit too loud at times, and I had to resist the urge to turn the volume down on occasion from my normal reviewing volume. The music does emanate from every speaker and is wholly engaging and fun to listen to. Ambience is present, with just as much, if not more, coming from the front channels that the rears. Bass is often utilized but never wears out its welcome or leaves your eardrums bleeding. The combat scenes, some replete with the pounding hooves of charging horses, bring out the lows. The .1 channel is well-represented here, but as an older mix, it's just not as thorough and deep as we're used to experiencing on newer mixes. Nevertheless, this is a fine effort from Sony, and I have no doubt that fans of the movie, those most familiar with the nuances of the First Knight sonic experience, will be more than pleased with the end result of this lossless offering.

First Knight Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

First Knight gallops onto Blu-ray with a fairly good array of extra materials. The primaries are two commentary tracks, the first with director Jerry Zucker and producer Hunt Lowry. Even these participants admit this could have been a better movie, and generally poke fun at it and their involvement therein. Definitely not MST3K-esque, but not a serious track either, this duo offers up interesting nuggets of background information, broken up by various moments of dead air, with a levity and humor generally not heard in commentary tracks. The second track features Arthurian historian Corey James Rushton. He examines the history of the film from a literary and historical perspective, speaking as if lecturing on the subject rather than chatting with us. Generally, I enjoy the "lecture hall" style commentary, but this one proved rather dull and uninteresting. I'd recommend listening to the first track, but only King Arthur historians and die-hard fans of this movie will probably appreciate the second one.

Next up are three featurettes. The first, The Quest For Camelot (480p, 18:51, complete with some unbalanced, "harsh" sounding dialogue from Jerry Zucker) looks at the film from a more philosophical perspective. The Creation of a Kingdom (480p, 18:11) examines the construction of the impressive sets built for the film, from ideas for design to construction. The off-sounding Zucker is back in this feature. In Shining Armor: Knights in Training (1080i, 18:52), as the title suggests, takes us behind-the-scenes to witness the physical training of the cast for their roles as medieval warriors. Concluding the supplements are several deleted and extended scenes (1080p, 7:16, listen for audio drop-outs) and 1080p trailers for The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep and A Knight's Tale.

First Knight Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

First Knight ranks as a very average motion picture, one that won't leave you completely angry or disappointed for having watched it, but it's a movie that is completely forgettable nevertheless, one that won't wow or leave you in awe. I envision the perfect screening of First Knight to be when you're channel surfing at 2:00 AM, lying on your couch, only half awake, and your choices are a rerun of SportsCenter, an infomercial for the latest and greatest in pots and pans, or First Knight. It may or may not put you to sleep, but it's just good enough to hold your interest should you choose to pay attention. Presented here for the first time on Blu-ray, First Knight looks and sounds rather good; both audio and video qualities above average but not spectacular, although the video quality has a fine cinematic look and feel to it. The supplements are about average, and listening to the film's director and producer take jabs at their own film is definitely worth the time. Not a bad disc at all, I'm comfortable recommending First Knight as a Blu-ray purchase only for fans of the film.