Amazon.co.uk Review
Joshua Logan's 1967 film of the hit Broadway musical about the love triangle between King Arthur (Richard Harris), Guenevere (Vanessa Redgrave), and Sir Lancelot (Franco Nero) is strong on star emphasis and weak on such fundamentals as story and sets. Except for a handful of solidly dramatic scenes--such as Guenevere grieving, late in the film, for the ruination she and Lancelot have caused--there's not a lot to get excited about. (The story's theme of a lost, great society, however, certainly struck a chord in the 1960s.)The Lerner-Loewe songs ("If Ever I Would Leave You", "Camelot") pretty much sell themselves, even if they are, at best, only proficiently performed in this movie. --Tom Keogh
Customer Reviews:
Lavish & sumptuous mythical musical!.......2007-03-08
Sumptuous lavish but dreadfully over-long musical telling the story of King Arthur and his Round Table. Some very good songs here, and Richard Harris at his most handsome is in fine voice, but has some stiff competition from Franco Nero! The versatility and talents of Nero can be seen clearly here, when compared to his somewhat dark and brooding role in 'The Virgin And The Gypsy' that followed a couple of years later. Lionel Jeffries surpasses himself in yet another one of his fabulous character roles as King Pellinore.
Nice musical this, but one really has to be in the mood to watch such a terribly long movie of three hours!
Simply Magical.......2007-01-29
First off I must confess to being a fan of most thing Arthurian (although I hated "King Arthur The True Story"). That said, on to the review;
I have liked this film from the first time I saw it some 20 or so years ago on TV. The story centres on the love triangle between Arthur, Guinevere and Lancelot so misses out a lot of the other legends. It is a bit twee at times and the setting is definitely middle age rather than dark age (lots of plate armour and knights on horseback) but the sets, lighting and cinematography are superb.
Richard Harris is a superb Arthur (in role he seemed to make his own in several stage versions and this film version), Vanessa Redgrave is a passable Guinevere although she looks too old for the role, and Franco Nero is a dashing (and dubbed) Lancelot. The support cast is excellent and the songs by Lerner and Leowe are memorable (I'm sure you'll be singing bits of them for days after watching).
I won't give too much away but at times this an uplifting film at at others you will really feel for all three main characters as the tragic love triangle unfolds, all told in one long flash back as Arthur reminises about his life from the day he met Guinevere to the morning of his final(?) battle with Lancelot (it starts and ends here). Neither of them want to fight, but events take over and are apparently unstoppable. Arthur has tried all his life to be a good and just king and now, at the end he sees everything he has worked for falling apart, except on that fateful morning before the battle he finds it is not all for nothing in the form of... sorry, giving too much away.
Suffice it to say, a tissue might be needed at the end, if not sooner.
For modern Arthurians, there's no big battle only some tame jousting, and some even tamer mock fights inside camelot itself (lead of course by Mordred), but that makes for an even better film which concentrates on the love story.
I cannot recommend this film more highly... simply superb escapism for around three hours and at a bargain price. GET IT.
Splendid!.......2005-04-16
I enjoyed "Camelot" from the very moment the title came onscreen, in big red lettering. The focus of the musical is on the destructive love triangle between Arthur, Guinevere and Lancelot, and on the idealized and idyllic lost world that was once Camelot. Despite the sense of loss, it ends on a hopeful note, that one day, Camelot may rise again. Pay attention to the little boy at the end of the movie: his name is Tom, he is from Warwickshire, and he is knighted by Arthur. I'm pretty sure this is an allusion to Sir Thomas Malory, on whose work "Camelot" is based, and who was also a knight and from Warwickshire. Moreover, Malory wrote "Le Morte Darthur" out of a nostalgic and idealistic vision of knighthood, so the idealistic little boy, who still believes in Camelot, almost certainly represents him. Malory, of course, lived in the fifteenth century, so could by no means have been a historical Arthur's contemporary,yet I'm sure Tom is brought in in deference to him.
Much of the story is told through the songs. The songs are wonderful, and I enjoyed all of them, but "The simple joys of Maidenhood," "I loved you once in silence," "The Lusty Month of May," "Then You May Take Me to the Fair" and of course "Camelot," (including its reprise at the close of the film, with different lyrics), are simply amazing. And it's not just the music. The lyrics are marvelous.
One reviewer writes that he is disappointed with the singing. I can imagine that after seeing the play with Julie Andrews in New York, one has every right to feel that way. Vanessa Redgrave is not Julie Andrews, to be sure, but she looks beautiful on screen, and her singing is more than OK, as is the singing of Richard Harris (Arthur) and Franco Nero (Lancelot). It could have been better, but it is enjoyable as it is, and I like the idea that the actors playing the parts are also the ones who sing. Incidentally, both Richard Harris and the young blue-eyed Franco Nero look very good, each in his own way.
This DVD has been digitally remastered, and as a result, the image is simply superb! The settings are splendid and almost overwhelming.
"Camelot" is so good, and so enchanting, that after watching it for the first time till the late hours of the night, I decided to watch some of it again for a while, I just couldn't part with it. Give yourself a treat and buy this DVD, you couldn't go wrong with it!
Splendid!.......2005-04-13
I enjoyed "Camelot" from the very moment the title came onscreen, in big red lettering. The focus of the musical is on the destructive love triangle between Arthur, Guinevere and Lancelot, and on the idealized and idyllic lost world that was once Camelot. Despite the sense of loss, it ends on a hopeful note, that one day, Camelot may rise again. Pay attention to the little boy at the end of the movie: his name is Tom, he is from Warwickshire, and he is knighted by Arthur. I'm pretty sure this is an allusion to Sir Thomas Malory, on whose work "Camelot" is based, and who was also a knight and from Warwickshire. Moreover, Malory wrote "Le Morte Darthur" out of a nostalgic and idealistic vision of knighthood, so the idealistic little boy, who still believes in Camelot, almost certainly represents him. Malory, of course, lived in the fifteenth century, so could by no means have been a historical Arthur's contemporary,yet I'm sure Tom is brought in in deference to him.
Much of the story is told through the songs. The songs are wonderful, and I enjoyed all of them, but "The simple joys of Maidenhood," "I loved you once in silence," "The Lusty Month of May," "Then You May Take Me to the Fair" and of course "Camelot," (including its reprise at the close of the film, with different lyrics), are simply amazing. And it's not just the music. The lyrics are marvelous.
One reviewer writes that he is disappointed with the singing. I can imagine that after seeing the play with Julie Andrews in New York, one has every right to feel that way. Vanessa Redgrave is not Julie Andrews, to be sure, but she looks beautiful on screen, and her singing is more than OK, as is the singing of Richard Harris (Arthur) and Franco Nero (Lancelot). It could have been better, but it is enjoyable as it is, and I like the idea that the actors playing the parts are also the ones who sing. Incidentally, both Richard Harris and the young blue-eyed Franco Nero look very good, each in his own way.
This DVD has been digitally remastered, and as a result, the image is simply superb! The settings are splendid and almost overwhelming.
"Camelot" is so good, and so enchanting, that after watching it for the first time till the late hours of the night, I decided to watch some of it again for a while, I just couldn't part with it. Give yourself a treat and buy this DVD, you couln't go wrong with it!
A Classic!.......2003-11-15
A stunning, magical, wonderful film. A beautiful story with quality acting and memorable songs. There's a reason it got 3 oscars!
Amazon.co.uk Review
Joshua Logan's 1967 film of the hit Broadway musical about the love triangle between King Arthur (Richard Harris), Guenevere (Vanessa Redgrave), and Sir Lancelot (Franco Nero) is strong on star emphasis and weak on such fundamentals as story and sets. Except for a handful of solidly dramatic scenes--such as Guenevere grieving, late in the film, for the ruination she and Lancelot have caused--there's not a lot to get excited about. (The story's theme of a lost, great society, however, certainly struck a chord in the 1960s.)The Lerner-Loewe songs ("If Ever I Would Leave You", "Camelot") pretty much sell themselves, even if they are, at best, only proficiently performed in this movie. --Tom Keogh
Customer Reviews:
Lavish & sumptuous mythical musical!.......2007-03-08
Sumptuous lavish but dreadfully over-long musical telling the story of King Arthur and his Round Table. Some very good songs here, and Richard Harris at his most handsome is in fine voice, but has some stiff competition from Franco Nero! The versatility and talents of Nero can be seen clearly here, when compared to his somewhat dark and brooding role in 'The Virgin And The Gypsy' that followed a couple of years later. Lionel Jeffries surpasses himself in yet another one of his fabulous character roles as King Pellinore.
Nice musical this, but one really has to be in the mood to watch such a terribly long movie of three hours!
Simply Magical.......2007-01-29
First off I must confess to being a fan of most thing Arthurian (although I hated "King Arthur The True Story"). That said, on to the review;
I have liked this film from the first time I saw it some 20 or so years ago on TV. The story centres on the love triangle between Arthur, Guinevere and Lancelot so misses out a lot of the other legends. It is a bit twee at times and the setting is definitely middle age rather than dark age (lots of plate armour and knights on horseback) but the sets, lighting and cinematography are superb.
Richard Harris is a superb Arthur (in role he seemed to make his own in several stage versions and this film version), Vanessa Redgrave is a passable Guinevere although she looks too old for the role, and Franco Nero is a dashing (and dubbed) Lancelot. The support cast is excellent and the songs by Lerner and Leowe are memorable (I'm sure you'll be singing bits of them for days after watching).
I won't give too much away but at times this an uplifting film at at others you will really feel for all three main characters as the tragic love triangle unfolds, all told in one long flash back as Arthur reminises about his life from the day he met Guinevere to the morning of his final(?) battle with Lancelot (it starts and ends here). Neither of them want to fight, but events take over and are apparently unstoppable. Arthur has tried all his life to be a good and just king and now, at the end he sees everything he has worked for falling apart, except on that fateful morning before the battle he finds it is not all for nothing in the form of... sorry, giving too much away.
Suffice it to say, a tissue might be needed at the end, if not sooner.
For modern Arthurians, there's no big battle only some tame jousting, and some even tamer mock fights inside camelot itself (lead of course by Mordred), but that makes for an even better film which concentrates on the love story.
I cannot recommend this film more highly... simply superb escapism for around three hours and at a bargain price. GET IT.
Splendid!.......2005-04-16
I enjoyed "Camelot" from the very moment the title came onscreen, in big red lettering. The focus of the musical is on the destructive love triangle between Arthur, Guinevere and Lancelot, and on the idealized and idyllic lost world that was once Camelot. Despite the sense of loss, it ends on a hopeful note, that one day, Camelot may rise again. Pay attention to the little boy at the end of the movie: his name is Tom, he is from Warwickshire, and he is knighted by Arthur. I'm pretty sure this is an allusion to Sir Thomas Malory, on whose work "Camelot" is based, and who was also a knight and from Warwickshire. Moreover, Malory wrote "Le Morte Darthur" out of a nostalgic and idealistic vision of knighthood, so the idealistic little boy, who still believes in Camelot, almost certainly represents him. Malory, of course, lived in the fifteenth century, so could by no means have been a historical Arthur's contemporary,yet I'm sure Tom is brought in in deference to him.
Much of the story is told through the songs. The songs are wonderful, and I enjoyed all of them, but "The simple joys of Maidenhood," "I loved you once in silence," "The Lusty Month of May," "Then You May Take Me to the Fair" and of course "Camelot," (including its reprise at the close of the film, with different lyrics), are simply amazing. And it's not just the music. The lyrics are marvelous.
One reviewer writes that he is disappointed with the singing. I can imagine that after seeing the play with Julie Andrews in New York, one has every right to feel that way. Vanessa Redgrave is not Julie Andrews, to be sure, but she looks beautiful on screen, and her singing is more than OK, as is the singing of Richard Harris (Arthur) and Franco Nero (Lancelot). It could have been better, but it is enjoyable as it is, and I like the idea that the actors playing the parts are also the ones who sing. Incidentally, both Richard Harris and the young blue-eyed Franco Nero look very good, each in his own way.
This DVD has been digitally remastered, and as a result, the image is simply superb! The settings are splendid and almost overwhelming.
"Camelot" is so good, and so enchanting, that after watching it for the first time till the late hours of the night, I decided to watch some of it again for a while, I just couldn't part with it. Give yourself a treat and buy this DVD, you couldn't go wrong with it!
Splendid!.......2005-04-13
I enjoyed "Camelot" from the very moment the title came onscreen, in big red lettering. The focus of the musical is on the destructive love triangle between Arthur, Guinevere and Lancelot, and on the idealized and idyllic lost world that was once Camelot. Despite the sense of loss, it ends on a hopeful note, that one day, Camelot may rise again. Pay attention to the little boy at the end of the movie: his name is Tom, he is from Warwickshire, and he is knighted by Arthur. I'm pretty sure this is an allusion to Sir Thomas Malory, on whose work "Camelot" is based, and who was also a knight and from Warwickshire. Moreover, Malory wrote "Le Morte Darthur" out of a nostalgic and idealistic vision of knighthood, so the idealistic little boy, who still believes in Camelot, almost certainly represents him. Malory, of course, lived in the fifteenth century, so could by no means have been a historical Arthur's contemporary,yet I'm sure Tom is brought in in deference to him.
Much of the story is told through the songs. The songs are wonderful, and I enjoyed all of them, but "The simple joys of Maidenhood," "I loved you once in silence," "The Lusty Month of May," "Then You May Take Me to the Fair" and of course "Camelot," (including its reprise at the close of the film, with different lyrics), are simply amazing. And it's not just the music. The lyrics are marvelous.
One reviewer writes that he is disappointed with the singing. I can imagine that after seeing the play with Julie Andrews in New York, one has every right to feel that way. Vanessa Redgrave is not Julie Andrews, to be sure, but she looks beautiful on screen, and her singing is more than OK, as is the singing of Richard Harris (Arthur) and Franco Nero (Lancelot). It could have been better, but it is enjoyable as it is, and I like the idea that the actors playing the parts are also the ones who sing. Incidentally, both Richard Harris and the young blue-eyed Franco Nero look very good, each in his own way.
This DVD has been digitally remastered, and as a result, the image is simply superb! The settings are splendid and almost overwhelming.
"Camelot" is so good, and so enchanting, that after watching it for the first time till the late hours of the night, I decided to watch some of it again for a while, I just couldn't part with it. Give yourself a treat and buy this DVD, you couln't go wrong with it!
A Classic!.......2003-11-15
A stunning, magical, wonderful film. A beautiful story with quality acting and memorable songs. There's a reason it got 3 oscars!
DVD:
- Carry On Doctor [1967]
- Charlie Chaplin Complete Box Set [1921]
- Cottage To Let [1941]
- Crossfire [1947]
- Dead Of Night [1945]
- Doctor Who - The Dalek Invasion Of Earth [1963]
- Doctor Who - The Visitation [1963]
- Dracula [1931]
- Dracula - Prince Of Darkness [1965]
- Exodus [1960]
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