King Arthur (Director’s Cut) [2004]

Description

More blood, more guts, more glory! See the film how it was meant to be seen before the censors got to it, with an extra 17 minutes of never seen before footage added to the film. This is the first time a director’s cut has been launched the same time as the theatrical version, and it’s exclusive to DVD. It’s got a round table, some knights, and a noble warrior who rises to become King Arthur, but everything else about this revisionist legend is pure Hollywood. That’s not such a bad thing if you enjoyed Rob Roy, Braveheart, Gladiator and Troy, and there’s some intriguing potential in presenting the “real” Arthur (played by Clive Owen) as a 5th-century soldier of Rome, assigned to defend Roman-imperial England against a hoard of invading Saxons (led by Stellan Skarsgard in hairy villain mode). As revamped history and “archaeological findings” would have us believe, Guinevere (Keira Knightley) is a warrior babe in face-paint and Lancelot (Ioan Gruffudd) is a nonentity who fades into the woodwork. Never mind. Best to enjoy the harsh, gloomy atmosphere of Irish locations, the ruggedness of Owen and his hearty supporting cast, and the entertaining nonsense of a Jerry Bruckheimer production that strips battle-ready Guinevere down to leather-strap S&M gear while all the men sport full-body armor. Hail to the queen, indeed! — Jeff Shannon