A Knight’s Tale, Brian Helgeland’s sleeper hit from 2001, arrives on 4K physical media from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
The Production: 4/5
A Knight’s Tale is a film that shouldn’t work, but somehow it manages to work rather splendidly. Set in 14th century Europe, it’s a tale of jousting competitions using musical montages set to classic rock tunes. As the film opens, Sir Ector has died just before his jousting tournament. Penniless, his squire and apprentice William Thatcher (Heath Ledger) decides to take his place despite not being of noble blood. Fellow squires Roland (Mark Addy) and Wat (Alan Tudyk) go along with it, in hopes of earning enough to get a nice full meal. William gets a real taste for the sport and convinces his pals to join him on the jousting circuit. Along the way they meet Geoffrey Chaucer (Paul Bettany) who agrees to forge a patent of nobility in exchange for a cut of the winnings, and William takes on the false identity of Sir Ulrich von Liechtenstein of Gelderland. William meets his match when he is pitted against Count Adhemar (Rufus Sewell), who looks for any way to take William down and win the hand of Jocelyn (Shannyn Sossamon), a noble woman with 2000s sensibilities. When his armor is badly damaged, Kate (Laura Fraser), a young female blacksmith, forges a lighter weight suit that is also stronger than traditional armor and joins the crew.
When the movie was first released back in 2001, I initially dismissed the film as something that just looked bad (that could have been the marketing). Over the years, the movie has definitely grown on me. What sells the film are the performances by its leads, but Paul Bettany nearly steals the show as William’s barker, telling outrageous stories that rival those of a “professional” wrestling match. Brian Helgeland’s original screenplay and direction are 100 percent committed to the 2000s modernism set in medieval times, blending comedy, action, and romance into a crowd-pleasing piece of filmmaking. The movie Ella Enchanted would try this same formula three years later aimed at a younger audience and fail miserably.
Video: 5/5
3D Rating: NA
A Knight’s Tale was shot on 35mm Kodak film stock using Moviecam Compact and SL cameras using the Super35 widescreen process and completed on 35mm film in the anamorphic 2.39:1 aspect ratio. Sony has gone back to the original 35mm camera negative to create a new 4K scan and is presented on this disc in a 2160p HEVC encode with both Dolby Vision and HDR10 high dynamic range. Both the theatrical cut and the unrated extended cut are included on the same disc via seamless branching to ensure higher bitrates. Fine detail is excellent, revealing the slightest imperfections in armor and fabric textures. Colors are stable and natural, not quite saturated or overly muted either. Contrast is also excellent, with deep blacks that allow for strong shadow details even in the darkest of scenes. The included Blu-ray has been remastered and sourced from the new 4K scan.
Audio: 5/5
The default lossless Dolby Atmos track kicks some serious butt, particularly in the low-end bass department – your subwoofer will pulse with every hoofbeat and deep bass line. The original 5.1 mix is included in DTS-HD MA – it’s no slouch either but the Atmos track wins hands down in immersion (including LFE). Surrounds are active while heights add some additional atmospheric effects. Dialogue is clear and understandable throughout.
Special Features: 3/5
All of the special features can be found on the included remastered Blu-ray. Unfortunately, many of the standard definition special features have been upscaled to 1080i/30 and suffer from interlacing issues.
Gag Reel (upscaled 1080i; 2:13)
**NEW** Deleted and Extended Scenes from Tape Dailies (upscaled 1080i; 9:00)
Quill & Quarterhorse: 2nd Unit Photography (upscaled 1080i; 8:22)
Audio Commentary with Director Brian Helgeland & Paulk Bettany
Behind the Scenes Featurettes (upscaled 1080i; 32:45)
Deleted Scenes (upcaled 1080i; 21:40) with optional video introduction (48:43)
HBO Making Of (upscaled 1080i; 15:02)
Robbie Williams & Queen: We are the Champions Music Video (upscaled 1080i; 4:08)
Trailers (1080p; 5:03)
Digital Copy: A Movies Anywhere code is included to redeem a digital copy of the film. Unfortunately, it looks like Sony is not offering the Extended Cut in 4K digital at this time.
Movies Anywhere: 4K HRD10, Dolby Digital+ 5.1
Apple TV: 4K Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos
Fandango at Home: 4K Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos
Prime Video: HD, Dolby Digital+ 5.1
Overall: 4/5
A Knight’s Tale is a film that eventually grows on you over time with its odd blend of classic rock songs, medieval sport, comedy and romance. The Dolby Atmos mix is a big plus here. Although this release quickly sold out, more inventory is likely on the way.
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