A Knight's Tale (2001)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Brian Helgeland

Writer (WGA):

Brian Helgeland (written by)

Release Date:

11 May 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

From peasant to knight; one man can change his stars

Plot:

After his master dies, a peasant squire, fueled by his desire for food and glory, creates a new identity for himself as a knight.

Plot Keywords:

Knight | Tournament | Chaucer | Jousting | Peasant

Awards:

4 wins & 10 nominations

Cast

Heath Ledger	...	William
Rufus Sewell	...	Count Adhemar
Shannyn Sossamon	...	Jocelyn
Paul Bettany	...	Chaucer
Laura Fraser	...	Kate
Mark Addy	...	Roland
Alan Tudyk	...	Wat
Bérénice Bejo	...	Christiana (as Berenice Bejo)
Scott Handy	...	Germaine
James Purefoy	...	Colville
Leagh Conwell	...	Young William
Christopher Cazenove	...	John Thatcher
Steven O'Donnell	...	Simon the Summoner (as Steve O'Donnell)
Jonathan Slinger	...	Peter the Pardoner
Nick Brimble	...	Sir Ector

Also Known As:

Chevalier (Canada: French title) (France) [fr]
Coração de Cavaleiro (Brazil) (Portugal) [pt]
Corazón de caballero (Argentina) (Peru) [es]
Destino de caballero (Spain) [es]
En riddares historia (Sweden) [sv]
Il destino di un cavaliere (Italy) [it]
Lovagregény (Hungary) [hu]
O thrylos enos ippoti (Greece) [el]
Obledny rycerz (Poland) [pl]
Ritarin tarina (Finland) [fi]
Ritter aus Leidenschaft (Germany) [de]
Rock You! (Japan: English title) [en]
Sövalye (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for action violence, some nudity and brief sex-related dialogue.

Runtime:

132 min | 144 min (extended version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS (8 channels)

Certification:

Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | USA:Unrated (extended version) | Malaysia:U | Iceland:L | USA:PG-13 (certificate #37532) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:M | Brazil:12 | Finland:K-11 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIA | Hungary:14 | Italy:T | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:M | Norway:11 | Peru:PT | Philippines:PG-13 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:12 | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Barrandov Studios, Prague, Czech Republic

Company:

Black and Blu Entertainment

Trivia:

During the first award ceremony with William and Adhemar, Chaucer kisses Count Adhemar's herald twice. This was the response to a request from director Brian Helgeland to "surprise him", though he never specified how.

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: William's horse changes several times during the jousting montages. This is because every time he unseated a knight, he won that knight's horse. It's not unheard of for knights to use several different horses in one tournament.

Quotes:

[first lines]
William: Should we help him?

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in (T)Raumschiff Surprise - Periode 1 (2004)

Soundtrack:

You Shook Me All Night Long

A surprisingly, wonderful hit!

As soon as I saw the fans singing and clapping to "We Will Rock You" I thought "this is not very realistic". Of course, that was when I had gone in expecting a film like Braveheart or The Patriot, with real historical lessons. A Knight's Tale was nothing like either of those. After you get past the first one or two scenes, everything really grows on you. The humor is, yes, cheesy at times, (the Nike armor) but I still laughed. Chaucer was great, the villain was definitely evil, and the jousting/action scenes were very well done. Put all that together with some other funny sidekicks and a little romance and you've got a pretty good flick. Definitely a must see more than once, and a must buy video/DVD when it's out!