Yar, you be here: Camelot > Customer Reviews

Camelot Customer Reviews (1 - 3 of 31 Reviews)

TALE OF THE DANCING NOSE-HAIRS
"Camelot" on Broadway was cursed with the most excrutiatingly boring book that droned on and on and on. But the production was blessed with a stellar cast including Richard Burton, Julie Andrews and Robert Goulet and an excellent score which included "If Ever I Would Leave You" powerfully sung by Mr. Goulet.

Joshua Logan was tapped to direct the film version and of all the reasons why the film failed-Logan as the director was the biggest. Richard Harris as King Arthur when he wasn't hamming it up acted so morose you would think someone told him all the pubs in England had run dry.

Vanessa Redgrave made an enchanting Guinevere but her demeanor was somewhat on the frosty side.

Although the film boasted scenes of castles, vast meadows and grand castle ceremonial halls, Joshua Logan filmed a lot of the movie using extreme close-ups of his actors. And a tight close-up on Richard Harris' face on the giant cinemascope screen was especially distracting. When he sang his nose-hair could be seen swaying to the music. And on one of Vanessa Redgraves close-ups, it was obvious she had a cold, and a joker in the movie audience shouted, "Arthur get thy wife a hankie,"

wonderful!!!
I saw this film when I was a child on a film reel my mother borrowed from the library. I was taken back to magic and music when I watched this again. The story is classic. The costumes are fantastic, a true sparkling moment for hollywood. They don't make films like this one anymore. I am not usually a fan of musicals but this one is a definate pleasure to watch. enjoy

'Twas beauty killed the dream of Camelot
With its lavish sets, beautiful music, and undeniable star quality, Camelot is a wonderful motion picture built upon the successful Lerner-Loewe Broadway musical, which in turn was based on T.H. White's The Once and Future King. It is in no way a definitive account of King Arthur's story, as it concentrates on the fateful lovers' triangle of Arthur, Guinevere, and Lancelot. I probably have a different take on the legendary romance of Arthur's two closest companions than most, for I look upon this story not as a love story at all, but as a true tragedy. Franco Nero is wonderful as Lancelot (despite the fact that Nero is Italian, not French), and Vanessa Redgrave makes for a most enchanting Queen Guinevere, but my opinion of these illicit lovers is set in stone and could hardly be pulled out even by the likes of Arthur. To me, Lancelot is one of the biggest cads in literature. Granted, he had no intention of falling in love with Guinevere, but his actions made a mockery of all his numerous, rather obnoxious claims to purity, nobility, and chivalry. Chivalry does not start by betraying your king and closest friend to engage in an adulterous affair that could not but lead to disastrous consequences on an epic scale. This just goes to show how one lone Frenchman can bring about the ruin of the noblest of kingdoms.

I initially had a little trouble with Richard Harris as King Arthur, as he certainly doesn't conform to my image of the legendary hero (my King Arthur, for example, doesn't wear copious amounts of eye shadow), but his nobility and sense of purpose soon won me over. Still, I'm not overly fond of the film's characterization of the man, for it creates for us the image of a weak, ineffective ruler who shames himself over his unfaithful wife and basically allows his kingdom to fall into ruin all around him. I don't see many glimpses of "the future king" in this movie. It would not be right for me to describe this as a fault with the film, however; it's just part of the filmmakers' designs, as their intention was to show us Arthur the man rather than the mythic Arthur of legend. This version of King Arthur is exceedingly human, and that makes for some powerful scenes, particularly his passionate soliloquies as he ponders the loss of everything he cares about. One cannot help but despair alongside Arthur as Camelot begins to crumble, particularly since, in this version of the tale, Merlin never warned against marrying Guinevere. The one weak character in the film is Mordred (David Hemmings), who - despite his late-arrived scheming - seems almost tangential to the tragedy that unfolds.

While the film runs almost a full three hours, it never really succeeds in revealing the true magic of Camelot. The hopes and dreams of Arthur for his Round Table of noble knights dedicated to pursuing justice and right doesn't get enough emphasis, and his attempt to create a criminal justice system feels like little more than a plot device for Mordred to orchestrate his downfall. The loss of the Arthurian ideal is the true tragedy of this story, but too much of the film's emotion is dedicated to the illicit lovers, ignoring the fact that their sins would have basically pushed England into the Dark Ages.

It's a real shame that the musical has all but disappeared as a cinematic art form these days, as Camelot shows just how much depth and meaning an impassioned score and exquisite songs can add to a story. When you think of Camelot, you think of the characters and the story only after your mind replays such songs as the title theme and the award-winning love song If Ever I Would Leave You.

The DVD's special features are good but not great. Alongside comparably short descriptions of important Arthurian topics, short bios and filmographies of prominent players in the drama, and five different movie trailers, you get a 10-minute contemporary documentary about the filming of Camelot and a thirty-minute look at the movie's opening (with Vanessa Redgrave rather conspicuous in her absence).

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Next Page