It occurred to me recently that I’ve watched quite a lot of movies related to King Arthur. Not very surprising, I love medieval warfare and fantasy, and it’s hard to find stories about those that AREN’T related in some way to Arturian legend. On the other hand I’ve noticed that absolutely none of the movies I’ve watched are actually proper attempts at representing the legend: They are either pseudo-historical like King Arthur (2004) or focused on only a specific part of the tale such as The Sword in the Stone, that Merlin TV special with Sam Neill, First Knight, centered around the adventures of Chrétien de Troyes’ century-old case of author self-insert (Yeah, I said it)… and of course, Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
So I’m asking: What are some good films about King Arthur’s legend? You know, the whole thing: epics, wars, wizards and whole kingdoms tumbling down because some guys just can’t keep it in their pants.
The problem with Arthuriana is that there is no such thing as a single, definitive version; in fact it’s a collection of stories from before and after the specified period that were combined by people as time passed; there are, for example, about three different versions of Nimue. So, you can’t expect the books or movies to get everything right (not that most try anyway.)
I recommend that you check out GURPS CAMELOT, a book that explores the various versions of the legend (for the GURPS RPG, of course, but it’s very informative regardless.) It also includes a long list of source material including movies, so it also should help you find the movies you’re seeking.
You can download it here (not for free, of course, but it’s like 8$.)