First Knight1995
First Knight (1995)
TOMATOMETER
AUDIENCE SCORE
Critic Consensus: This unimaginative reimagining of Arthurian legend dispenses with the magic without achieving a convincing realism in the bargain, suffering from fatal miscasting and a lack of romance.
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Movie Info
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Cast
as King Arthur
as Sir Lancelot
as Guinevere
as Malagant
as Sir Agravaine
as Sir Kay
as Sir Patrise
as Sir Mador
as Ralf
as Oswald
as Peter
as Elise
as Petronella
as Mark
as Sir Sagramore
as Sir Tor
as Sir Gawaine
as Sir Carados
as Sir Gaheris
as Sir Amant
as Sir Gareth
as Jacob
as Gauntlet Man
as Mark's Wife
as Challenger
as First Elder
as Second Elder
as First Marauder
as Second Marauder
as Third Marauder
as First Guard
as Second Guard
as Young Lancelot
as Scout
as Child
as Grateful Woman
as Young Man in Crowd
as Young Woman in Crowd
as Wedding Guest
as Flower Girl
as Little Boy With Birds
as Bread Vendor
as Bread Vendor
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Critic Reviews for First Knight
All Critics (47) | Top Critics (16) | Fresh (20) | Rotten (27) | DVD (4)
It's hard not to wonder... about Ormond besieged by Connery on one side and Gere on the other. Why won't the movie let them look for someone their own age?
Whenever Zucker stops piling on battle scenes as if he were directing Braveheart, his film casts a romantic spell.
Aside from casting Richard Gere as Lancelot, First Knight marches out as an agreeably intelligent, mature and well-mounted telling of the legendary King Arthur story.
The problem for him[Gere], and the film, comes when the non-physical acting begins.
There's swordplay to the hilt, but the story itself never quite gets in Gere.
[I]f you tingle at the sound of metal unsheathing and the sight of flaming arrows whizzing through moonlight, you'll probably be swept away by this shining Knight in amour.
Audience Reviews for First Knight
Not a serious historical piece (and what do we really know of Pendragon anyway?) but a children's fable extolling virtue, the Zuckers take a chance with this glittering fairy tale. Connery is the Arthur the story wants, or is it that we want Connery to be Arthur, its hard to tell. Gere supplies the dashing derring-do as Lancelot, and Ormond fills the difficult position of being torn between two lovers fetchingly.
Super Reviewer
Starts off mediocerly, but once Sean Connery enters the stage as the fabled King Arthur, the quality level is instantly raised. Richard Gere looks a bit misplaced as the fearless Sir Lancelot, and wouldn't have been my first pick for the role, but he still takes it on to the best of his abilities. As for Julia Ormond, she's quite lovely as Princess Guinevere, altough I would have very much liked to see her put a little more energy into her performance. What speaks for the film in positive terms, however, is the atmosphere and action, along with a highly enchanting music score by the brilliant Jerry Goldsmith. It's so good, in fact, that I've made it a part of my inspirational music library. If there is one thing I could change though, it would be the costumes. They look a little plain and cheap for what is essentially a period piece. Maybe they ran out of money when it came to clothing the actors? Apart from said maladies though, it remains a captivating tale of love, chivalry and sweeping adventure. Easily one of the better renditions of the Arthurian legend.
Super Reviewer
Another terrible rendition of King Arthur. Turning the story into nothing more than a romantic threesome is just pure slander. To change the story to fit a movie is one thing, but this should've just left Arthur's name all together. The acting is terrible, quite possibly Sean Connery's worst performance and the usual Richard Gere treatment.
Super Reviewer
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