Lancelot, the greatest of Arthur's knights, is destined to become part of the eternal triangle with Arthur and Guinevere...
Conspirating against King Arthur and violating the rules of chivalry and morality are the malevolent Sir Modred and his vicious lover, the femme fatale Morgan Le Fay (Anne Crawford). The dramatic high moment of the film is revealed when Lancelot and Guinevere are discovered together in Lancelot's chamber by Mordred's men... Passion's fire ignited within...
The film tries to present the pageantry and brilliance of the epoch like bloody combat scenes, ardent jousting tournaments, and a fierce fight to the death... But something was really missing: the strength, the force and the energy required in the potency and soundness of the Knights of the Round Table...
Frustrated and monotonous sometimes, the film is far away from John Boorman's "Excalibur." Robert Taylor resists Lancelot's emotions... Ava Gardner was pleasantly cool and less affectionate and enthusiastic as a woman in love... Her passion does not ignite Guinevere's inner fire... Mel Ferrer reveals himself weak in his character instead of showing all the power, vigor and force of a great king... Stanley Baker, with his eyes upon the throne, waits for chance to catch some secret scandal... Felix Aylmer lends what substance he can to the proceedings as Merlin...
Shot on location in England, "The Knights of the Round Table" is disappointingly flat, pageant like adaptation of the legends, with a few lively strands insufficiently firmly drawn together...
Conspirating against King Arthur and violating the rules of chivalry and morality are the malevolent Sir Modred and his vicious lover, the femme fatale Morgan Le Fay (Anne Crawford). The dramatic high moment of the film is revealed when Lancelot and Guinevere are discovered together in Lancelot's chamber by Mordred's men... Passion's fire ignited within...
The film tries to present the pageantry and brilliance of the epoch like bloody combat scenes, ardent jousting tournaments, and a fierce fight to the death... But something was really missing: the strength, the force and the energy required in the potency and soundness of the Knights of the Round Table...
Frustrated and monotonous sometimes, the film is far away from John Boorman's "Excalibur." Robert Taylor resists Lancelot's emotions... Ava Gardner was pleasantly cool and less affectionate and enthusiastic as a woman in love... Her passion does not ignite Guinevere's inner fire... Mel Ferrer reveals himself weak in his character instead of showing all the power, vigor and force of a great king... Stanley Baker, with his eyes upon the throne, waits for chance to catch some secret scandal... Felix Aylmer lends what substance he can to the proceedings as Merlin...
Shot on location in England, "The Knights of the Round Table" is disappointingly flat, pageant like adaptation of the legends, with a few lively strands insufficiently firmly drawn together...