| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Bookworm |
Posted - July 11 2004 : 6:27:40 PM
This is a very different King Arthur story from the one we're used to, but I liked it -- decent, well-made, entertaining epic. Clive Owen is the embodiment of honor and nobility as Arthur, Ioan Gruffudd is a very brooding Lancelot, and Guinevere -- well, as played by Keira Knightley, she would have fit right in at the Alamo, Dillon! Lots of borrowing in evidence -- from LOTR, LOTM, Gladiator, Braveheart, Tears of the Sun (same director), The Last Samurai, and even the drums from Zulu -- but I guess that's almost inevitable. If you like great big stories with stirring scores, as I do, you won't regret seeing this one. |
| 25 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| richfed |
Posted - January 08 2005 : 06:15:46 AM
It's a different place without him, isn't it! |
| Wilderness Woman |
Posted - January 07 2005 : 11:01:31 PM
Yes... I believe so, Bookworm. And the other laughter you hear is me joining right in with him.
Thank you for allowing us all to enjoy this thread once again.
Scott... "Mr. Yangese", as Lainey dubbed you... I really, truly, do miss you.  |
| Bookworm |
Posted - January 07 2005 : 8:55:58 PM
I just watched the "unrated" director's cut, bracing myself for a cringe-inducing amount of gore, but oddly enough, there didn't seem to be much --well, much MORE -- of that. Instead, the director has fleshed out Arthur's background a bit. And the bonus features include a "making of" documentary and a cast-and-director "roundtable" (literally!) discussion, both of which include Ioan Gruffudd. Seems like a nice guy. (Hey WW, was that laughter from heaven that we just heard?!) |
| Wilderness Woman |
Posted - August 09 2004 : 7:06:07 PM
Hey Pen! Glad you made it back to this century for a while!
I didn't see "Robin of Sherwood" back in the 80s because that was during my "Living On The Homestead With No TV Period", but I enjoyed Ray Winstone's character in King Arthur very much. |
| Pen |
Posted - August 09 2004 : 5:11:13 PM
Stupid me. I read the posts and still got the characters wrong. I thought Clive Owen was playing Merlin! That's what I get for not having decent TV recepiton...couldn't see the commercials! 'Scuse me  !
Pen |
| Pen |
Posted - August 09 2004 : 5:05:43 PM
I have yet to see 'King Arthur', but I need to! As usual, the only theater playing it in my area is in the middle of nowhere  !
Mark Ryan was swordsmaster on the film. He played Nasir on 'Robin of Sherwood' back in the '80's, and that's where *he* learned the double-sword technique. The picture of Lancelot reminded me very much of Nasir!
Another RoS alum, Ray Winstone, (Will Scarlet) plays Bors in 'King Arthur.
One thing I learned about Arthurian movies is, the actor playing Merlin can make or break the film. I still have Nicol Williamson flashbacks from 'Excalibur'! It will be interesting to see how Clive Owen handles the role.
Thanks for letting me know about the soundtrack...I'll have to go pick that up.
Pen
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| Wilderness Woman |
Posted - July 25 2004 : 8:41:32 PM
I went to see the movie yesterday. Well, Scott..... I have to be very honest and it is with all sincerity that I say....
You lose!!!!! Ha-HAH!!!!! That not-so-little Welsh guy was excellent as Lancelot! In fact, my son and I both felt that his performance was just about the best in the movie. Yes I agree, Bookworm, that he was brooding much of the time, but he also played the part with an appropriate amount of intensity and passion that I have come to expect from Sir Lancelot. No milque toast here!
I also find, much to my surprise, that I like this new "setting" to the Arthurian story. The earlier time, the Roman occupation, the explanation of just who Arthur was, all makes sense. I also like the treatment of Merlin... making him more of a man and a leader of his people than a wizard with a pointy hat and a magic wand.
The musical score was great! It added much to the flavor of the story. I made my son sit clear through the closing credits just so I could listen to the beautiful Celtic song at the end, sung my Moya Brennan. Stunning! Plus it reminded me a lot of "I Will Find You." (I wonder just why that would be?!?!?!?)
All in all, I give it Two Thumbs Up. And Ioan gets all 10 fingers up!!
 |
| Wilderness Woman |
Posted - July 25 2004 : 8:17:18 PM
[WW places her nose about 6 inches from the monitor screen and peers myopically at the tiny picture the Curmudgeon has posted.]
Er... I can't quite... see what... that is. Is its tongue sticking out? Are its thumbs in its ears? Are its fingers waggling? Can't tell.
Now really, Mr. Yangese, I know I said that size doesn't matter, but this is just ridiculous.
Addendum, posted 12 hours later:
Just so that you won't think I am a total idiot... I am at work this morning, where the firewall on my computer does not stop the animation. My home computer shows this little figure as an unmoving, wadded-up ball of green! I seriously could not tell what it was! Computers. Gotta love em.
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| Scott Bubar |
Posted - July 25 2004 : 09:48:11 AM
How about this?
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| Wilderness Woman |
Posted - July 23 2004 : 08:17:46 AM
R-i-i-i-i-i-c-h.........
Where's the smiley with its tongue sticking out and its thumbs in its ears and its fingers waggling?!?!?!?!
Hi Scott. |
| Scott Bubar |
Posted - July 22 2004 : 10:44:31 PM
And he's a doll, as well. |
| Wilderness Woman |
Posted - July 22 2004 : 10:10:14 PM
Ah-HA! Leonardo!!
Having had a son who was a major Teen-age Mutant Ninja Turtles fan during the late 80s/early 90s, we are well acquainted! Another hero of mine, Leonardo is... and quite sexy on his own! Just look at the fierce determination on his face... and those muscles....
Oh... and... I can't help but notice that he can handle two swords as well... |
| Scott Bubar |
Posted - July 22 2004 : 9:55:36 PM
After years of tutelage under Zena, Mistress of the Back-Scabbard, young Lancelot goes her one better and takes his rightful place in the world:
Kid's Cottage |
| Kate |
Posted - July 22 2004 : 4:40:28 PM
No, I agree, WW, I don't care whether some 'legends' such as 'Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table' - or even the Loch Ness Monster! are proved - or disproved. I think there has to be a little bit of mystery in the world, or... what's left to stimulate our imaginations?
I think it's fun to 'speculate' on what MIGHT be the truth surrounding the legend. But I don't want to be proved right or wrong. As some folks believe, it's the 'quest' that's the heart of the legend...
Yes, I read Mary Stewart's 'Merlin' books MANY years ago and funnily enough, just a couple of weekends ago, I finally caved in and decided to get rid of a load of books I had stacked in a cupboard. As I was sorting through them, my daughter found the 'merlin' series which I hadn't intended donating to the charity store, no matter HOW GOOD the cuase, I'm afraid!! However, I DID I allowed my daughter to talk me into parting with them - she took them home herself to re-read them. She was so captivated by them again, I told her she had to LEND THEM TO ME when she's finished!  I'll enjoy reading through them once more!
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| Lady Ann |
Posted - July 22 2004 : 2:09:16 PM
Yes, I know exactly what you mean. Why, it has been my experience that, in situations such as these, the harder they laugh, the softer the....well, as ladies, we can only conjecture, of course. |
| Wilderness Woman |
Posted - July 22 2004 : 12:47:21 PM
[WW rubs her chin thoughtfully...]
H-m-m-m-m-m-m-m... and I hadn't realized that curmudgeons were even capable of rolling around on the floor laughing. Thank you, Mr. Yangese, for teaching me something new!
[WW turns her back on the curmudgeon who is hysterically and pathetically rolling around on the floor and puts her arm companionably around Lady Ann's waist as they walk away.]
You know, Lady Ann... I have always found it to be quite a study how some people of the male gender handle their jealousies, haven't you? Tsk, tsk, tsk.......... |
| Scott Bubar |
Posted - July 22 2004 : 12:44:30 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Wilderness Woman
 Now, now, now, Mr. Scott Yangese. Let's not be hasty. Don't you know that size doesn't matter!!!
Take a look at a very determined, and very sexy, Lancelot...
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Now, just how many men, small or large, can wield two swords at once?
That's priceless, WW. Now I'm rolling on the floor laughing.
I hadn't realized the movie was a comedy. |
| Wilderness Woman |
Posted - July 21 2004 : 10:01:23 PM
No problem, Kate! And most interesting.
Unfortunately, the whole Arthurian Legend will probably never be sorted out. And I'm not sure I want it to! I have been entranced by the story since I was a child.
Has anyone ever read the books by Lady Mary Stewart about Merlin and King Arthur? They are "The Crystal Cave", "The Hollow Hills", "The Last Enchantment", and "The Wicked Day." Excellent books! |
| Kate |
Posted - July 20 2004 : 10:23:12 PM
Uhhhh… at the risk of ‘messing’ with your ‘Arthurian Legends, WW, can I just stick in a link to an article in a couple of papers (note: one of them is a NEW ZEALAND paper!), that my daughter just sent me at the weekend… (same article, I think, just 'wired around'...)
Arthur's Last Resting Place
Arthur's Round Table
Actually, the ‘Govan Old Parish Church’ which they mention as 'housing the red sandstone sarcophagus bearing the initial ‘A’', is only a few hundred yards from my daughter’s house! In fact, it’s in THAT churchyard that she takes her dog for it’s nightly… *ahem*… ‘constitutional’… I can see that next time I’m making her a wee visit, I shall have to go along to the church and… make a wee visit!!
“Govan Old Parish Church”
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Govan Old Parish Church
Note the reference to Cornwall. THEREFORE, it is QUITE CONCEIVABLE that the ORIGINS of the ‘Arthurian Legend’ are based at Govan and that they were carried down to Cornwall instead of the other way round!! Of course, the truth is now shrouded in the mists of a very distant past, and it would be difficult to establish the origins of the legends. But… uncovering evidence (as posted by our own Gadget Girl re: her post ‘Biltmore’) that has been buried for hundred/thousands of years, is happening all the time and it is what eventually leads us to the truth. And… as Paul Kelbie writes, there is MORE evidence that points toward GOVAN than Cornwall!
OF COURSE, Roger Troy is going to scoff at the idea!! His Cornish brothers have been reaping MILLIONS OF POUNDS based on the legend of a CORNISH ARTHUR! And the potential millions that will eventually come their way courtesy of Arthur, is at stake! OF COURSE he’s going to scoff!!
HOWEVER, it seems to me that Mr. Troy is reluctant to consider the boundaries of the past – and I mean ‘boundaries’ as in ‘your land, my land’ boundaries… In the pre-Christian days of Britain’s ‘Kingdoms’, the boundaries were MUCH DIFFERENT to what they are now! And the Cornish borders extended MUCH FURTHER into the English countryside than they do today, as did the Welsh borders and those of the Picts and Scots… And the Celts, warriors that they were, moved around the country pretty much as they wished. There were few borders they WOULDN’T cross. The Celtic races were a real ‘mixed bag’ and yet, at the same time, the inter-racial marriages – or ‘mergers’ as they often were, meant that one Celtic King could have territorial claims to land within another King’s boundaries – not at all unusual for the period. And all those ‘elastic’ boundaries meant that Kings ‘held court’ in many places within their realms.
(Though having said all that, Roger Troy is just a custodian for ‘King Arthur’s Great Halls’… is he QUALIFIED to assess how ‘real’ the legend is… or where it may have originated… indeed, WHETHER THERE IS ANY REAL BASIS OR EVIDENCE to suggest it was Cornwall??? His academic qualifications don’t seem to back him up. Therefore, can he dispute the findings and evidence of another searcher? I THINK NOT… All he can do is worry about his job as custodian, think of the visitors that WON’T come to Tintagel and WON’T put millions of pounds into the local economy).
“…Also within the church are 30 sculpted stones, one of the most remarkable collections of early Christian sculpture in Scotland. The collection includes the shafts of four free |
| Lady Ann |
Posted - July 20 2004 : 3:00:00 PM
WOOF! WW, you just made my day! |
| Wilderness Woman |
Posted - July 20 2004 : 09:07:55 AM
Now, now, now, Mr. Scott Yangese. Let's not be hasty. Don't you know that size doesn't matter!!!
Take a look at a very determined, and very sexy, Lancelot...
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Now, just how many men, small or large, can wield two swords at once? |
| Scott Bubar |
Posted - July 19 2004 : 9:46:43 PM
That little guy as Lancelot?
Hahahaha!!
Oh, sorry. |
| daire |
Posted - July 19 2004 : 7:35:34 PM
I enjoyed it too... and Ioan was a huge added bonus! 
It is a different spin on the legend and not what we're used to, but I'll be getting the dvd as well. |
| Wilderness Woman |
Posted - July 12 2004 : 12:30:40 PM
Ok. Well, then. That definitely puts a period to it. You both have me convinced so I'm off to check my local movie listings...
Lady Ann, id-nt he a cutie? I'll see if I can find those readings. Thanks! |
| Lady Ann |
Posted - July 12 2004 : 08:57:40 AM
WW, like you I have harbored a secret passion for Horatio Hornblower...and for Mr. Gruffudd thereby...for years. We went to see King Arthur yesterday and WHOA!...my little heart could barely stand it! Ioan as Lancelot was definitely an inspired choice. I rarely buy DVDs but I may just have to get this one, just for the Lancelot screen captures.
BTW, have you ever heard Mr. Gruffudd's performance reciting the poetry of Dylan Thomas in his native Welsh? (Available on the Internet in several different places) It is quite stirring to the blood... |
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