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Angelcynn: The History of Anglo-Saxon England
The history of the Germanic kingdoms of England, from the Saxon Advent to the Norman Conquest.

Anglo-Saxon History (3 threads, 167 posts)
    The Historical Arthur (64 posts)
    Historical Thread

    The historical evidence ...
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    I saw "King Arthur"
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    Author: * Aelfwine Scylding - 12 Posts on this thread out of 1,426 Posts sitewide.
    Date: Oct 6, 2004 - 18:43

    Not bad. Some quick notes: (SPOILERS)

    Pros:
    - Good story, good action
    - The explanation of the sword in the stone (wedged on Arthur's father's tomb)
    - Bors' and the knights' antics
    - No weird magic, Merlin is just a rebel chief
    - Many images: Arthur with the banner on the hill, the horses at the end...

    Cons:
    - The main one: if this story supposedly inspired the legends, why does it have nothing to do with the legends, apart from the main character and a very vague infatuation of Lancelot for Guinevere? How can this Galahad have inspired the "pure" Galahad of tradition, and so on? The knights could have had different names.
    - Stereotyped view of imperialistic Rome, bad Christians, violent Saxons. Especially the violent Saxons! This is prejudice! :D The Saxon chief was very cool, though.
    - Strategically, it's bad to let your hawk go before a battle, and also to ride in on a white horse and then *dismount* in the middle of the enemies.
    - A narrator that talks on his funeral pyre?...
    - Clothes and armours. Some things were fine, but others, such as Arthur and Lancelot (and even the Saxon chief) wearing leather tights and a doublet, were not; in the night scene on the ramparts I thought I was watching Branagh's Hamlet.
    - What about Pelagius? The viewer might wonder why he is persecuted for vaguely saying that everybody can choose his own destiny.
    - What about the archaeological discoveries mentioned on the screen at the beginning? It makes one curious and not even the official web site says anything about it.

    Nitpicks:
    - A frozen lake in Scotland? It's cold, yes, but...
    - No crossbows back then, I think
    - Clive Owen is the most depressed actor on earth. He barely cracks a smile at his wedding.

    There's more, both good or bad, I may expand on it.


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