Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

Knightfall: Season One Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman March 8, 2018

Part of my misspent youth was wiled away dropping down various rabbit holes of research regarding several so-called occult societies through the centuries, many of which kind of curiously converged around the Knights Templar, repeatedly putting this long ago Catholic military order on my radar. That may be one reason why I was almost magnetically drawn to Dan Brown’s original novel of The Da Vinci Code, which of course famously featured Brown’s takes on not just the Knights Templar, but his own rather fanciful interpretation of the Holy Grail. (I got the book early enough that there was still a toll free number printed on the inside flap of the dust jacket that you got to call as “Robert Langdon” to start your investigation. If I recall correctly, you were given a Swiss bank account number that somehow played into the story at some point.) Other Templar related books have filled my shelves through the years, including the interesting if debatably accurate works of Christopher Knight, like The Second Messiah, which argues that the Shroud of Turin actually depicts the Templars’ martyred last Grand Master Jacques de Molay, not Jesus of Nazareth. Knightfall, which may or may not have been renewed for a second season (the all knowing internets are a bit vague, with only one site reporting a renewal that I could find), is both resolutely literal and hilariously melodramatic in its take on the Knights Templar and their most sacred relic, the Holy Grail, which is indeed a physical chalice in this version, not some mystical energy source or even a bloodline. I kind of liked Knightfall in the same may I might ironically appreciate some campy old historical epic, but as history Knightfall is at least occasionally laughable and as drama it’s overheated to an almost ridiculous degree.

One of the many fictional works lining my bookshelves over the years with a connection to this subject was Raymond Khoury’s The Last Templar, and if I were Khoury’s attorney, I’d be looking into “talking” to Knightfall’s writing staff, since this series gets off to a calamitous beginning that frankly seems lifted pretty much whole cloth from Khoury’s novel. It’s Acre in 1291, and the Templars are under siege, surrounded by Muslim armies and desperate to protect their most sacred relic, the Holy Grail. Both The Last Templar and Knightfall document the panicked attempt to keep the Grail safe, an attempt that in both cases rather “coincidentally” ends with the Grail supposedly sinking into the waters off of Acre. Perhaps unsurprisingly, both Khoury’s novel (which some may remember was adapted into a pretty lamentable miniseries when The Da Vinci Code was still a hot property) and Knightfall reveal that what seemed to be unmitigated disaster may in fact have been part of a mastermind scheme.

The series segues forward fifteen years or so to Paris, where the remnants of the Knights Templar exist in a kind of uneasy relationship with King Philip the Fair (Ed Stoppard). Kind of interestingly, there’s a whole sidebar in this series dealing with France’s relationship with its Jewish population, and while elements seem frankly more in tune with Spain’s relationship with its Jewish population, it’s a kind of unexpected aspect, though it’s also historically questionable in at least some of its presentational details (did Jews really wear little yellow circles to identify themselves?). Philip becomes increasingly under the sway of his nefarious counselor, William de Nogaret (Julian Ovenden), who might be compared (given the whole Jewish angle) to Haman of the Esther story.

The main focal Templar is the stoically heroic Landry du Lauzon (Tom Landry), who is upset that his brotherhood has forgotten their initial charge (supposedly to protect pilgrims on the road to Jerusalem, though even this supposed raison d’etre for the Templars is hotly debated by some historians). Landry at least can keep himself “otherwise occupied” courtesy of his steamy affair with Queen Joan (Olivia Ross), in just one of this series’ kind of patently silly additions that are shoehorned into the proceedings in order for viewers to delight in some steamy love making.

Knightfall decides to eschew historical accuracy in favor of what might be thought of as a more soap operatic approach toward these characters. In fact, had the show focused a bit more exclusively on the women characters, it easily could have been called “Real Housewives of Medieval Europe”, since it has that same kind of salacious, relentlessly backstabbing, quality that the "reality" franchise often offers. What’s kind of sad about this strategy is that the actual history of the Templars is absolutely fascinating, as is the willful misdirection about its past and motives that some “historians” purposefully injected into discourse about the group in order to sow confusion. Knightfall is pretty sudsy stuff overall, but it does at least occasionally touch on “real” characters and at least alludes to some actual history.

Knightfall: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Knightfall: Season One is presented on Blu-ray by a coalition including Lionsgate Films, History and A & E Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. Shot overseas in Croatia, this presentation can look fairly soft quite a bit of the time courtesy of some decent if not overly convincing CGI, but when actual human performers are in the frame and close-ups are employed, fine detail levels are typically quite commendable. I'm assuming this was digitally captured, but it looks like the imagery has been tweaked with digital grain, giving a slightly pockmarked appearance at times. The palette often looks intentionally subdued, not exactly at desaturated levels, but kind of wan at times. There are some brief flirtations with banding, but no other serious compression issues to report.

Knightfall: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

I've taken several recent History releases to task for only offering lossy audio, but don't be dismayed by the back cover of this release, which advertises a Dolby Digital 5.1 track, since the discs in this set actually have a rather robust sounding DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. There is nicely consistent surround activity throughout all the episodes this season, gained not just through the expected battle scenes, but also courtesy of a lot of outdoor material, where, for example, marketplaces can teem with sonic activity, or even some more rustic locations where things like galloping horse hooves offer nice panning activity. There's occasional forceful LFE on hand courtesy of explosive fireballs launched from trebuchets. Dialogue is rendered clearly and cleanly on this problem free track.

Knightfall: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Don't be fooled by the Menu listing supposedly offering Extras on each disc in this two disc. The "supplements" turn out to be trailers for other Lionsgate releases and bookmarks.

Knightfall: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you're in the mood for something kind of campy, with a lot of heaving bosoms on the part of the women and well defined pecs on the part of the (frequently shirtless) men, Knightfall may well be your cup (and/or Grail) of tea. The history here only fitfully aligns with what actually happened, and so those with knowledge of the Templars may be prone to laughter at various junctures in this overheated tale, but as soap opera, Knightfall suffices fairly well. Technical merits (especially audio) are fine for those considering a purchase.