First Knight

Their greatest battle would be for her love

FIRST KNIGHT (PG)

D: Jerry Zucker

Columbia (Jerry Zucker & Hunt Lowry)

UK/USA 🇬🇧 🇺🇸 1995

134 mins

Adventure/Romance

W: William Nicholson

DP: Adam Greenberg

Ed: Walter Murch

Mus: Jerry Goldsmith

PD: John Box

Sean Connery (King Arthur), Richard Gere (Lancelot), Julia Ormond (Guinevere), Ben Cross (Prince Malagant), Liam Cunningham (Sir Agravaine), John Gielgud (Oswald)

Cheesy, Hollywoodised retake on Arthurian Legend which does away with Merlin, the quest for the Holy Grail and the Lady of the Lake in favour of a love triangle plot concerning King Arthur, Guinevere and Sir Lancelot.

Connery delivers a modest but decent portrayal of the fabled king (albeit with a Scottish accent), while Julia Ormond isn't given much to do except appear doe-eyed and drink dripping water from a leaf, both performances are Oscar-worthy in comparison to Richard Gere's "hey, look at me, I'm cool" turn as Lancelot, which might have got away with the cheesy lines of dialogue if it wasn't for Gere's ridiculous non-English accent.

4/10

Richard Gere & Sean Connery in First Knight