King Arthur
I generally don't get excited when I hear about
a new Jerry Bruckheimer movie in the works. Let's
be honest, most of his work (e.g. Coyote
Ugly, Armageddon, Con Air)
appeals to few people over the age of 17 or to
those who lack a Y chromosome. They're "popcorn
movies" with a capital "P." But news of his latest
production, King Arthur (set for a 2004
release), has piqued my curiosity.
The Arthurian legends have always interested me.
In particular, I am fascinated by theories which
suggest the mythical king is based on an actual
historical figure. Chief among such theorists is
British scholar Geoffrey Ashe. His book, The
Discovery of King Arthur, presents a
compelling case that King Arthur was in fact a
sixth-century British king named Riothamus. The
book outlines a number of similarities between
obscure references to Riothamus and events from
Arthurian legend.
It's been a long time since I read the
book—I wrote a term paper on it during my
first semester of college, well over 10 years
ago—but I remember being impressed by the
thoroughness of Ashe's research. His work becomes
especially notable when one considers the paucity
of primary sources from that time period. Roman
rule in Britain came to an end early in the fifth
century, and Rome herself fell in 476. Historical
documents from Britain during the resulting Dark
Ages are scant.
Bruckheimer's King Arthur seems a
refreshing change from previous cinematic
retellings of the legend, with a focus on the
historical rather than the mythical. As the
Hollywood Reporter describes it, "the film
will focus on the history and politics of the
period during which Arthur ruled—when the
Roman empire collapsed and skirmishes over power
broke out in outlying countries—as opposed to
the mystical elements of the tale on which past
Arthur films have focused."
While one can't rule out the spectacle of flying
swords and 20-minute jousting scenes when a
producer like Bruckheimer is involved, the film
sounds promising so far. I'll keep my expectations
in check, but will look forward to the "real" King
Arthur coming alive on the big screen next
year.
Development note: I've
noticed that this site doesn't look like it should
in Netscape Navigator. Rather than waste time
jury-rigging it to look right in a
soon-to-be-obsolete browser, I'll just add the
cliché "This site best viewed with Internet
Explorer."
©2003 Michael
Strickland ALL RIGHTS
RESERVED
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