HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Rome is perhaps the most important city in terms of history. The Romans defeated the Sarmatians in a battle in 452 A.D. but some Sarmatians of the chavalry survived. The Romans were very much impressed with these breed of warriors and spared their lived.But these Sarmatians were to serve the Roman empire.
The movie King Arthur was released on June 28, 2004.
THE PLOT
As already mentioned above, the Romans spared the Sarmatians on condition that they would have to serve Rome… The young Sarmatians were required to serve the Romans for 15 years and among some of these young men chosen for the purpose, Arthur was one such Sarmatian. Arthur or Artorius was taken from his family to work for the Romans in Britain and safeguard the Roman rule there in the British islands under Bishop Germanius (the Roman Governor in Britain)…Then the story is forwarded fifteen years and we see Arthur as the commander of the brave Sarmatian knights…Arthur and his knights were famous all over Britain as the brave warriors. They never lost a single battle but now after 15 years of service they wanted freedom. They wanted to return back to their ancestral land and lead a peaceful life. Well after a last battle with Merlin (the leader of a hostile tribe who were against the Romans) the knights asked the Bishop Germanius for their discharge letters but they were denied freedom and were asked to go on a last commission! Unwillingly they all had to carry out their last task in hope of getting the freedom they had long hoped for…
The commission was to save a Roman family who lived in the North from the hands of the Saxons (enemies of the Romans). The bishop asked Arthur to save Alecto, who belonged to this family and who would perhaps be the next Pope, at any cost…And so the brave knights set out to perform their last duty. On the road they were again attacked by Merlin’s men and were on the verge of getting killed when Merlin spared their lives for some reason. Actually Merlin also wanted to defeat the Saxons and he wanted Arthur to lead his men.
Arthur and his knights at last reached the Northern part of Britain. They found Alecto’s family but Alecto’s father, the bishop, refused to leave the north… Arthur and his men at last forced him to do so. Here Arthur found that the Bishop treated the villagers very badly. They were punished for unjustified reasons. They were not allowed to say anything against the Bishop or the Pope. The punishments given were very strict. Arthur made the villagers realize that they were born free and that if they found that the bishop is wrong then they should protest against it because Arthur felt that all human beings are born free and all humans are equal.He dreamt of a Britain where all would be equal and where there would be peace.
Arthur and his men had been asked only to save the bishop’s family but Arthur couldn’t leave the villagers behind to be killed by the Saxons…so he asked them all to desert the village at once…He also rescued some prisoners who were tortured by the bishop’s men because they had refused to perform certain rituals they had been asked to perform. Among these was Guinevere who later turned out to be a warrior of Merlin’s army(Merlin’s daughter to be more precise!).
Well the knights guided the people out of the north towards the capital and the Saxons found that the village they had come to, was already deserted…they decided to proceed towards the capital as well. On the way Arthur went through some serious emotions and Guinevere made him realize that freedom was not the only thing that mattered…all he has ever done was for the welfare of the people and not only to earn freedom because he already was a free man.Freedom was his birth right…Arthur thought that he didn’t belong to the land (Britain) but Guinevere made him realize that he belonged to the people residing on the land if not to the land…
On the way the Saxons caught up to them but the knights bravely defeated them for the time being under Arthur’s leadership and even Guinevere joined in the fight…well one of the knights lost his life in the attempt. But finally they all reached the head quarters safely. The knights were disheartened at the loss of a friend and they wanted to leave Britain as soon as they could.They got the discharge letters as well (which mattered less now). But suddenly the Saxons reached the headquarters and announced war. Arthur couldn’t leave the poor helpless people all by themselves, so he decided to stay and fight against the Saxon’s. The other knight left him but later they returned back to help their commander. Merlin’s men backed up Arthur and his brave knights and finally they won the battle. Lancelot and Tristan (two of the knights died in the battle) but their loss was not regretted upon as they had died for a noble cause!
Arthur married Guinevere. The other knights didn’t leave Britain and Arthur was announced the king of Britain…a new Britain…where all would be equal, where there would be no unreasonable wars, where all would leave in peace forever…
THE CAST AND CREW(the important ones only!)
Clive Owen- Arthur
Kiera Knightley- Guinevere
Stephen Dillane-Merlin
The Knights:
Ioan Gruffud-Lancelot
Ray Winstone-Bors
Hugh Dancy-Galahad
Ray Stevenson-Dagonet
Joel Edgerton –Gawain
Til Schweiger-Cynric
Director: Antoine Fuqua
Producer: Jerry Bruckheimer
Screenwriters:David Franzoni and John Lee Hancock
Cinematographer: Slavomir Idziak
Music: Hans Zimmer
MY VIEWS
The actors have given a remarkable performance. The plot lingers a little from the actual historical facts but then again we cannot expect a movie to stick to the exact facts! Background music and camera effects were just perfect. Dialogues used were a little too modernized for the then era but the emotions have been portrayed wonderfully in the movie. So overall the movie is a must-watch for everyone…