We dance whenever we're able
Jul. 9th, 2004 09:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
eisoj5I guess I never mentioned it before, but I'm a huge fan of Arthurian legend. I may not be familiar with or fond of all iterations of it (gaaah, "First Knight"?) but I do love it.
So.
"King Arthur" makes me happy. Not in a purist kind of way, mind you, but in an "This is a reasonable facsimile from which the legends could potentially have been drawn" kind of way.
Also, I want Guinevere's headdress from the wedding. Want. Will have to see about making.
First of all, I have to say that it was far too tempting to make Monty Python & the Holy Grail jokes. At least in the beginning. Then I got all caught up in the movie and forgot about it. The second caveat-like-thing is that there were certainly some over-the-top moments (oh, Lancelot, you did NOT throw your sword. Oh no you didn't--okay, fine, throw your damn sword, you're dead anyway.)
Onto the things that made me happy.
Clive Owen. My faith in his acting ability (having only seen him in "The Hire" BMW ads and "Gosford Park" and naming him one of my favorite actors based on those two things) was not shaken. Arthur's crisis of faith was certainly well done, even if the Evil!Christians were a little too evil, y'know? And the Henge!Wedding was a nice way to show him moving away from it.
Guinevere. I am pleased. She was not too Sueish; her abilities were certainly implied to have been reasonably gained (from being a Woad leader, possibly being Merlin's daughter) and she didn't flounce around attracting everyone's attention with her beauty and whatnot. Also, none of the knights were sexist about her, which seems to be a trademark of Sue-laden tales (Sue proves her worth and shows up sexist men who think women can't do X). Plus, she certainly took control of her own sexuality and wasn't married off by her father. Yay!
Merlin. He wasn't some Amazing!Sorcerer whose abilities won/saved the day; he was just this crazy weird guy who may have had some leadership with the Woad. And possibly some (as![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
rinnaldo put it, druid levels.
Prettyness. Okay, that business with the ice? Fucking brilliant. Really, really cool. And, as a side benefit, really, really pretty. Guinevere's first Roman-style dress? Really, really pretty. She was so gorgeous with that bow. *squee* I need iconage. Also, horsies.
If I disassociate the legend from the film it's even easier to regard it as pure fantasy. Good fantasy. Dirty, nasty, cruel fantasy. Everyone was dirty, all the time. Poor, working class people were everywhere and they were repressed. People died and stayed dead, without any drawn out dying-breath speeches.
So.
"King Arthur" makes me happy. Not in a purist kind of way, mind you, but in an "This is a reasonable facsimile from which the legends could potentially have been drawn" kind of way.
Also, I want Guinevere's headdress from the wedding. Want. Will have to see about making.
First of all, I have to say that it was far too tempting to make Monty Python & the Holy Grail jokes. At least in the beginning. Then I got all caught up in the movie and forgot about it. The second caveat-like-thing is that there were certainly some over-the-top moments (oh, Lancelot, you did NOT throw your sword. Oh no you didn't--okay, fine, throw your damn sword, you're dead anyway.)
Onto the things that made me happy.
Clive Owen. My faith in his acting ability (having only seen him in "The Hire" BMW ads and "Gosford Park" and naming him one of my favorite actors based on those two things) was not shaken. Arthur's crisis of faith was certainly well done, even if the Evil!Christians were a little too evil, y'know? And the Henge!Wedding was a nice way to show him moving away from it.
Guinevere. I am pleased. She was not too Sueish; her abilities were certainly implied to have been reasonably gained (from being a Woad leader, possibly being Merlin's daughter) and she didn't flounce around attracting everyone's attention with her beauty and whatnot. Also, none of the knights were sexist about her, which seems to be a trademark of Sue-laden tales (Sue proves her worth and shows up sexist men who think women can't do X). Plus, she certainly took control of her own sexuality and wasn't married off by her father. Yay!
Merlin. He wasn't some Amazing!Sorcerer whose abilities won/saved the day; he was just this crazy weird guy who may have had some leadership with the Woad. And possibly some (as
rinnaldo put it, druid levels. Prettyness. Okay, that business with the ice? Fucking brilliant. Really, really cool. And, as a side benefit, really, really pretty. Guinevere's first Roman-style dress? Really, really pretty. She was so gorgeous with that bow. *squee* I need iconage. Also, horsies.
If I disassociate the legend from the film it's even easier to regard it as pure fantasy. Good fantasy. Dirty, nasty, cruel fantasy. Everyone was dirty, all the time. Poor, working class people were everywhere and they were repressed. People died and stayed dead, without any drawn out dying-breath speeches.
