SYNOPSIS
In the 14th century, peasant squire William Thatcher (Heath Ledger) pretends to be nobility after the death of the knight he serves so that he can compete in the prestigious and dangerous jousting tournaments with the help of friends Roland (Mark Addy) and Wat (Alan Tudyk). He also meets Princess Jocelyn (Shannyn Sossamon) and vies for her love and the world jousting championships with evil Count Adhemar (Rufus Sewell).
CRITIQUE
Anachronism is a way filmmakers frequently choose to engage audiences with a time period long past. In the best examples, it’s not blatant (e.g. Shakespeare in Love). But even when it is, the results can be a lot of fun (e.g. Ella Enchanted). This film takes the latter approach. A Knight’s Tale mixes up a medieval setting, solid action, and courtly love with a decidedly modern humor, all of which are emphasized by the over 10 minutes of added scenes in this extended cut.
The title of the film should remind the audience of The Canterbury Tales; no wonder since an important supporting character is Geoffrey Chaucer himself, brilliantly played by Paul Bettany. The story has almost nothing to do with the tale told by the knight in The Canterbury Tales, but the connection just makes it more fun. Director Brian Helgeland also wrote the script (and co-wrote with Curtis Hanson on L.A. Confidential), and he takes the opportunity to make Chaucer hilarious, eloquent, and charming. Bettany just brings it all to delicious life. Also, in a scene added here, Bettany proves his dramatic ability in a stunning speech that should have been in the film’s theatrical cut. In another quite funny added scene, Olivia Williams appears as Chaucer’s wife.
Helgeland does more than that with the script, though. The humor is quite contemporary and comes out of the characters. For example, when Jocelyn calls the lance "a stick," Wat says, "It’s called a lance, hello!" His hotheadedness provides plenty of comedy itself. Alan Tudyk (soon to be seen in Serenity, the film version of Joss Whedon’s excellent short-lived TV series Firefly) really just does comedy well, just as he did as wise-cracking Wash on Firefly. Moments of poignancy are blended with these, such as when William sees his now-blind father again after so long. Ledger does this scene subtly and well, as his considerable appeal and screen presence also carries the rest of the film.
Helgeland incorporates the rules of courtly love into the William-Jocelyn romance; the use of a messenger, wearing of tokens, etc. The chemistry between Heath Ledger and Shannyn Sossamon is there and Sossamon herself is quite good. He also carefully presents tournaments and jousting as the sort of professional sport of the medieval world. The adjunct businesses that accompany the tournaments, the crowd’s enthusiasm, and not to mention the use of songs like Queen’s "We Will Rock You" will all bring to mind today’s sports, like baseball and Nascar. Further, Helgeland sets up the moment when William is knighted for real by England’s Prince Edward (a charismatic James Purefoy) better than some other films would have to prevent the character from acting as a deus ex machina. The jousting sequences are exciting, too.
THE VIDEO
The added scenes work right in with the theatrical print in this high-definition anamorphic widescreen transfer.
THE AUDIO
Dolby Digital Surround is great for those songs and speeches. Spanish, French and Portuguese language tracks are also offered, as are English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese subtitles.
THE EXTRAS
HBO Making Of Featurette: At just under 15 minutes, this featurette is a
nice example of the usual clip-and-interview doc. There is also a lot of
on-set footage and more information on some things, like the casting of Sossamon,
than there is in some of the other featurettes. This featurette was included on
the original DVD of the film.
11 Behind the Scenes Featurettes: These were also included on the
original DVD. These are all typical studio featurettes, all have the expected interviews and on-set footage with clips wisely kept to a minimum. Everything from the music and the costuming, to the stunts and the historical world of tournaments and jousting are covered. Lots of interesting things fill these featurettes, like the fact that the great moment when Mark Addy prompts a cheer from the crowd after they don’t understand what Bettany has just said wasn’t scripted. My only complaint is that each featurette is only about 5 minutes long!
Music Video: Robbie Williams and a band calling itself Queen perform "We
Are the Champions." The production values of the video imitate the film’s and
there are a few film clips. The song is, of course, classic, and Williams does
it well. The video itself, though, may wear out its welcome. This was also on
the original DVD.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Though the added footage is mostly the deleted scenes from the original DVD, the extended cut of A Knight’s Tale is still the rousing, funny, entertaining film it always was. The special features included were also on the original disc and they are well worth watching. If you want the one or two deleted scenes not incorporated here (and more than those scenes are included in this extended cut) or if you want to keep the fun and funny commentary by Helgeland and Bettany (the only special feature on the original DVD not included here), then keep that one. But A Knight’s Tale: The Extended Cut isn’t a bad buy either.
