A Knight's Tale DVD...Any Good? (1 Viewer)

[Tino]

I was curious as to what members here think of this DVD and film for that matter.
How good...or bad is it?
Thanks.
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Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus.

 

[Robert George]

The disc:
Reference video and audio. About as good as it gets.
The movie:
The thought of using '70s rock music in the score of a film set in 14th century Europe initially gave me pause. What helped get past that was I looked at the interview clips explaining what the filmmakers' intent was for using this type of music. Going in knowing what the intent was, it was easier to accept. Once I accepted the premise, I found the movie to be more than a little entertaining. Quite good, actually. A very fun two hours that was also enjoyed even more by my wife. Two big thumbs up at my house.

 

[PhilipG]

A freak browser problem meant I just lost a very lengthy review I'd written as a reply to this thread.

So here's the short-short version:
Heath Ledger - thinks he's Gladiator. Never mind.
Rufus Sewell - terrific cold, snide villain.
Paul Bettany - best supporting actor. Terrific performance.
The film - funny, fun, wonderfully anachronistic, a tad overlong. Thumbs up.
Best bits - the opening Queen number; the David Bowie dance sequence; Chaucer's speech.
The final scene - is after the credits.
The DVD - is reference quality.
The trailer - one of the best. And 5.1 to boot.
The commentary - by Bettany and director Brian Helgeland.
My advice - the DVD is well worth your money.

 

[Tino]

Obi
So..what were the film makers intent in regard to using '70's music in the 14th century? This is the one aspect of the film that originally concerned me and led to not seeing it in a theater.
Should I search out these comments first?
Thanks all...again.
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Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus.

 

[Scott-C]

I saw this movie in the theater not even knowing that 20th century music would be used. While the initial Queen song was being played, I glanced over to my fiance (now wife) and raised an eyebrow. However, once I accepted that premise, the movie exceeded all my expectations. I even found myself enjoying the juxtaposition of the music with the movie. I came out of it thinking it was a great movie - very enjoyable and I'll definitely be picking up the DVD. Glad to hear it's reference quality too!
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Scott

 

[Robyn Young]

I saw the dvd last weekend, and was pretty impressed with it. I didn't really concentrate on the merits of the dvd when watching it, though.
The movie on the other hand, was okay. I honestly was a little bored until about half way through, when it seemed to pick up a little. I guess it's not my favorite, but worth a rental. I'm not sure I liked this one enough to own it.
Make sure to watch all the way through the credits, though. Also, the suppliments were pretty cool, although I didn't really have the opportunity to finish watching them.

 

[SteveBjr]

I missed this movie in the theatre but once i saw the preview for it i couldn't wait to pick up the DVD.
The movie sounds and looks great. The picture is clean and crisp and the sound is great. I was not expecting to get too much out of my surrounds in the movie but i was wrong. They get quite a workout in the movie. It's a solid DD 5.1 track that will definately impress. Nothing like feeling your room shake as a galloping horse comes towards you.
I was happy with the movie although i'm sure there are some who will not like it. The soundtrack was definately different for this type of movie but i enjoyed it.
The disc is loaded with features including a DD 5.1 trailer and a Final Fantasy trailer also in 5.1. I haven't heard the commentary track but i'm going to be watching it tonight.
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Steve,
DVD Collection

 

[Robert George]

Tino:
Brian Helgeland explains that he wanted to show that young people in the 14th century were likely little different from young people today (he used '70s music because that was when he was young). He feels like they would have had "their" music and their attitudes would differ from the establishment. They would have had expressions that meant the same thing to them as "wow" or "whoa" or whatever means to us. Also, he felt that adding the modern touches would make the film a bit more accessible to a modern audience. I think he succeeded.
[Edited last by Robert George on September 25, 2001 at 06:29 PM]

 

[Tino]

Obi
Thanks for that info. I have no problem with suspension of disbelief as long as it fits within the context of the story that's being told.
Therefore, that explanation seems reasonable enough and hopefully this aspect of the film will not prevent me from enjoying it.
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Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus.

 

[Ernesto Santos]

Make sure to watch all the way through the credits, though.

Don't we all on this forum?

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[Brad_W]

A Lame Tale.
This was a horrible movie that was too predictable for it's own good. The use of 70s music made it even worse. The only good thing about this movie is that I was encouraged to watch Gladiator afterwards. I could have turned off the movie halfway through and not have cared what happened next.
A Lame's tale for sure.
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"I was born to murder the world." -Nix (Lord of Illusions)
My Home Page http://www.geocities.com/masternix/DVD.html

 

[Phil Iturralde]

I agree w/OBI and all those that give it thumps-up!!!
And for $16.99 @ Best Buy, including A Knight's Tale collectable mini poster, what more can you ask for a Special Edition DVD???
Phil
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http://www.geocities.com/p_iturra

 

[Michael Lee]

Don't we all on this forum?

I would be one of those guilty ones that did not watch all the way through the credits until I read this thread. I had friends over and we were trying to squeeze in two movies that night.
Very funny bit.
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[Paul W]

I was at BB picking up some other DVDs. The person in front of me had this disc and then the person behind me had this disc.
I guess it is selling well at $16.99
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Link Removed Paul Warren
Hey fella . . . I bet you're still livin' in your parent's cellar . . . downloading pictures of Sarah Michelle Gellar . . . and posting "Me too!" like some brain-dead AOL-er . . . I should do the world a favor and cap ya' like Old Yeller . . . you're just about as useless as MPEGs [sic] to Hellen Keller.

 

[Tom Landers]

I better throw in my 2 cents worth:
This movie is fun, Hilarious, and one of the best of the year.
Unless you are one of those people who take movies way too seriously. The film is entertaining and a wild ride, don't miss it.
For me it is one that will be watched over and over.
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"We THOUGHT you was a Toad!"

 

[SteveBjr]

And for $16.99 @ Best Buy, including A Knight's Tale collectable mini poster

I forgot to mention the movie poster, i'd love to see one of these in every DVD

 

[Yumbo]

I thought the dialnorm was a tad low.
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Yumbo - IMDVD

 

[Brandon Allen]

My wife and I watched it last night...and was pleasantly surprised. Not only was the DVD well put together, but the movie was rather enjoyable. I would recommend this for your collection if your a fan of Gladiator and Braveheart. Even the addition of rock and roll music was humorous at times, yet made it fun to watch.

 

[DaViD Boulet]

Predictable and using the ususal contrived hollywoodesque exuses to create "strife" between characters and resolve conflict, this film still emerged a winner when we watched it last night.

The rock music was innovative and unorthodox but it worked as the director intended. Those who are off-put by this need to approach this film with a more light-hearted attitude and appreciate the premise that the director was attempting to connect the viewer as a "contemporary" to the celebration. It can succeed if you let it.

Incredible use of 5.1 surround. Very smooth, balanced, and full-bodied audio. the rear channels were used effectively but never in a gimmicky fashion.

Image is first-rate. Colors, exposure, and lighting are used very artistically by the director. This movie was also clearly filmed with a "big screen" in mind as the image composition makes excellent (bold) use of the aspect ratio and doesn't fill the film up with close-ups intended to look good on home-video.

 

[Damin J Toell]

David: how many old threads do you need to dig up to tell us this?
DJ