Posted on 05/14/2017 9:20:18 PM PDT by nickcarraway
“King Arthur: Legend of the Sword” gallops into theaters this weekend, even if no one is showing up to see it.
While there have been at least a half dozen versions of the King Arthur legend brought to film — including the 1981 “Excalibur” that helped launched the careers of Liam Neeson and Helen Mirren and the 2004 version with Keira Knightley — one staple has been the legendary sword in the stone, Excalibur.
This latest version features Charlie Hunnam as Arthur, an orphan raised by prostitutes. Only after pulling the sword from the stone does he begin to learn of his heritage and his power.
Swords have played a major role in other iconic films, notable “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” trilogies. But they don’t all come from the world of fantasy or European mythology.
One of the most famous — and deadly — swords is the katana wielded by Uma Thurman in “Kill Bill.” And of course, the weapons have found their way into science fiction as well — notably the lightsabers employed by the Jedi (and Sith) in “Star Wars.”
1. Saw it last weekend and would recommend it. It is a fun movie. Everyone seemed to like it quite a bit.
2. Arthur appears to have existed after the fall of the Roman Empire in Wales and may have been well known for good government.
3. He is regarded as a romantic figure.
We don’t know that much anout his time as King. Many of the stories about him may be fiction, simply don’t know.
Considering the above points, he has been a wonderful vehicle for fiction writers over the the last 1400 years. Durable, to saty the least. Each generation visits Arthururian legend in their own way and generally they do so successfully.
My wife and I both enjoyed it. A fun movie in a 21st century mode.
It can also be interpreted as “from out of the stone freedom”
A note on sworda: although samurai swords are beautiful they were not as good as European swords.
Generally the katana swords were designed for cutting unarmored infantry, European swords of 9th to 14h centuries were designed to break ribs which is how most knights died in battle. Lots of internal bleeding and broken ribs piercing lungs. Bad news on wheels.
True that. Latin words are roots for many English words. Thanks.
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