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The Science Fiction Horror and Fantasy Film Review

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Theme: The Arthurian Legends

The Arthurian legends refer to the stories of King Arthur, Merlin the Magician, Guinevere and Lancelot, Morgana/Morgan-le-Fay, Camelot, Excalibur, the Knights of the Round Table and assorted others. This also includes other associated stories such as that of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The stories are rich in myth, magic, chivalry, love and betrayal and of royal destiny.

The stories originated out of oral traditions and appear to have first been written down in the 12th Century and were later elaborated during the mediaeval court romances. There have been some efforts to identify Arthur as a real historical figure but the evidence in favour of the arguments is slight.

There have been numerous screen adaptations and tv series based on the Arthurian legends. These can be full flights of fantasy or mundane works of historical adventure and romance with the magic stripped out. That is in between works that create original adventures based around the characters.

There have also been works that have updated the stories into the present, outer space and post-holocaust futures, or else have involved time travel. There have also been assorted animated and children’s adaptations, along with comedies, parodies and a musical. There have also been a number of stories that see the Arthurian legends replayed in the present-day or else characters and elements such as Excalibur resurrected and rediscovered.


Arthur & Merlin: Knights of Camelot (2020)

8 July 20219 July 2021

Rating: ★★

Arthurian Legends Adventure

Director: Giles Alderson
Actors: Richard Short, Richard Brake, Joel Phillimore, Jennifer Matter, …
Category: Fantasy

Camelot (1967)

27 March 200119 March 2020

Rating: ★★

Arthurian Legends Musical

Director: Joshua Logan
Actors: Richard Harris, Vanessa Redgrave, Franco Nero, David Hemmings, …
Category: Fantasy

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (1949)

27 April 200310 May 2020

Rating: ★

Modern Man Time Travels Back to Camelot

Director: Tay Garnett
Actors: Bing Crosby, Rhonda Fleming, William Bendix, Cedric Hardwicke, …
Category: Fantasy

Dragonheart 3: The Sorcerer’s Curse (2015)

28 August 201528 September 2020

Rating: ★★

Dragon Fantasy

Director: Colin Teague
Actors: Julian Morris, Tamzin Merchant, Ben Kingsley, Jassa Ahluwalia, …
Category: Fantasy

Excalibur (1981)

28 June 200212 October 2023

Rating: ★★★★★

Arthurian Legends

Director: John Boorman
Actors: Nigel Terry, Nicol Williamson, Helen Mirren, Nicholas Clay, …
Category: Fantasy

First Knight (1995)

27 May 200214 December 2020

Rating: ★★

Arthurian Legends

Director: Jerry Zucker
Actors: Sean Connery, Richard Gere, Julia Ormond, Ben Cross
Category: Fantasy

The Green Knight (2021)

28 August 20214 May 2023

Rating: ★★★

Chivalric Quest

Director: David Lowery
Actors: Dev Patel, Alicia Vikander, Sean Harris, Sarita Choudhury, …
Category: Fantasy

Hellboy (2019)

19 July 201926 November 2024

Rating: ★

Demon Superhero/Comic-Book Adaptation

Director: Neil Marshall
Actors: David Harbour, Sasha Lane, Ian McShane, Milla Jovovich, …
Category: Fantasy

Justice League Dark (2017)

19 March 20176 December 2024

Rating: ★★

Animation/Team of Occult Superheroes

Director: Jay Oliva
Actors: Matt Ryan, Jason O'Mara, Camilla Luddington, Nicholas Turturro, …
Category: Fantasy

The Kid Who Would Be King (2019)

29 March 202112 February 2023

Rating: ★★★

Modern-Day Arthurian Legends

Director: Joe Cornish
Actors: Louis Ashbourne Serkis, Patrick Stewart, Angus Imrie, Rebecca Ferguson, …
Category: Fantasy

Kids of the Round Table (1995)

21 December 200029 March 2021

Rating: ★★½

Boy Finds Excalibur

Director: Robert Tinnell
Actors: Malcolm McDowell, Michael Ironside, Jamieson Boulanger, Roc LaFortune
Category: Fantasy

King Arthur (2004)

14 August 200420 December 2024

Rating: ★★

Arthurian Legends

Director: Antoine Fuqua
Actors: Clive Owen, Keira Knightley, Ioan Gruffud, Ray Winstone, …
Category: Fantasy

King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table (2017)

17 July 201724 November 2020

Rating: ½

Modernised Arthurian Legends/The Asylum Mockbuster

Director: Jared Cohn
Actors: Sara Malakul Lane, Eoin O'Brien, Alex Winters, Russell Geoffrey Banks, …
Category: Fantasy

King Arthur: Excalibur Rising (2017)

6 February 201821 April 2021

Rating: ★★

Arthurian Legends Adventure

Director: Antony Smith
Actors: Adam Byard, Annes Elwy, Gavin Swift, Nicola Stuart-Hill, …
Category: Fantasy

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017)

15 July 20176 June 2025

Rating: ★★

Arthurian Legends

Director: Guy Ritchie
Actors: Charlie Hunnam, Jude Law, Astrid Berges-Frisbey, Djimon Honsou, …
Category: Fantasy

A Knight in Camelot (1998)

3 December 200720 December 2024

Rating: ★★

Scientist Time Travels Back to Camelot Comedy

Director: Roger Young
Actors: Whoopi Goldberg, Michael York, Simon Fenton, Amanda Donohoe, …
Category: Science Fiction

Lancelot du Lac (1974)

27 May 201215 March 2024

Rating: ★★

Arthurian Legends

Director: Robert Bresson
Category: Fantasy

The Last Legion (2007)

31 December 20089 September 2023

Rating: ★★½

Historical Adventure/Arthurian Origins

Director: Doug Lefler
Actors: Colin Firth, Ben Kingsley, Aishwarya Rai, Thomas Sangster, …
Category: Fantasy

The Last Sharknado: It’s About Time (2018)

14 December 201814 June 2021

Rating: ★★

Storm of Sharks/Deliberately Bad Film

Director: Anthony C. Ferrante
Actors: Ian Ziering, Tara Reid, Cassandra Scerbo, Judah Friedlander, …
Category: Horror

The Librarian: Quest for the Spear (2004)

19 November 20197 March 2023

Rating: ★★½

Adventure Film/Quest for Mythic Artifacts

Director: Peter Winther
Actors: Noah Wyle, Sonya Walger, Bob Newhart, Kyle MacLachlan, …
Category: Fantasy

Merlin and the Book of Beasts (2008)

6 February 201821 April 2021

Rating: ★★

Arthurian Legends Adventure

Director: Warren Sonoda
Actors: James Callis, Laura Harris, Jim Thorburn, Jesse Moss, …
Category: Fantasy

Merlin’s Apprentice (2006)

26 March 20078 January 2025

Rating: ★★

Arthurian Legends Adventure

Director: David Wu
Actors: Sam Neill, Miranda Richardson, John Reardon, Meghan Ory, …
Category: Fantasy

The Mists of Avalon (2001)

2 April 20068 January 2025

Rating: ★★★½

Revisionist Arthurian Legends

Director: Uli Edel
Actors: Julianna Margulies, Anjelica Huston, Samantha Mathis, Edward Atterton, …
Category: Fantasy

Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)

16 September 200524 November 2021

Rating: ★★★★

Absurdist Parody of the Arthurian Legends

Director: Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones
Actors: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, …
Category: Fantasy

Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (2014)

24 January 201510 August 2023

Rating: ★

Museum Exhibits Come to Life

Director: Shawn Levy
Actors: Ben Stiller, Robin Williams, Owen Wilson, Steve Coogan, …
Category: Fantasy

October 32nd (1992)

12 January 199911 November 2020

Rating: ½

Modern-Day Arthurian Legends

Director: Paul Hunt
Actors: James Hong, Richard Lynch, Desmond Llewellyn, John Ireland
Category: Fantasy

Parsifal (1982)

6 December 200131 January 2025

Rating: ★★★

Wagner Opera/Arthurian Legends

Director: Hans Jürgen Syberberg
Category: Fantasy

Perceval le Gallois (1978)

16 October 202416 October 2024

Rating: ★★

Arthurian Legends

Director: Eric Rohmer
Actors: Fabrice Luchini, Andre Dusollier, Arielle Dombasle, Marie-Christine Barrault
Category: Fantasy

Prince Valiant (1997)

27 April 200316 June 2022

Rating: ★

Sword and Sorcery/Comic-Strip Adaptation

Director: Anthony Hickox
Actors: Stephen Moyer, Katherine Heigl, Joanna Lumley, Thomas Kretschmann, …
Category: Fantasy

Quest for Camelot (1998)

7 January 200610 February 2020

Rating: ★★

Animation/Arthurian Fantasy

Director: Frederik Du Chau
Actors: Jessalyn Gilsig, Cary Elwes, Gary Oldman, Eric Idle, …
Category: Fantasy

The Seeker: The Dark is Rising (2007)

1 February 200910 March 2025

Rating: ★½

Epic Fantasy Adventure

Director: David L. Cunningham
Actors: Alexander Ludwig, Christopher Eccleston, Ian McShane, Frances Conroy, …
Category: Fantasy

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (2010)

17 July 201020 March 2025

Rating: ★★

Apprentice Wizard

Director: Jon Turteltaub
Actors: Nicolas Cage, Jay Baruchel, Alfred Molina, Teresa Palmer, …
Category: Fantasy

The Sword in the Stone (1963)

21 January 200115 March 2024

Rating: ★★

King Arthur’s Childhood/Disney Animation

Director: Wolfgang Reitherman
Actors: Rickie Sorenson, Karl Swenson, Junius Matthews, Martha Wentworth, …
Category: Fantasy

Sword of the Valiant: The Legend of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (1984)

1 November 200226 August 2021

Rating: ★★

Sword and Sorcery

Director: Stephen Weeks
Actors: Miles O'Keeffe, Sean Connery, Cyrielle Claire, Leigh Lawson, …
Category: Fantasy

Transformers: The Last Knight (2017)

23 September 201722 July 2023

Rating: ★½

Live-Action Transformer Robots

Director: Michael Bay
Actors: Mark Wahlberg, Anthony Hopkins, Laura Haddock, Josh Duhamel, …
Category: Science Fiction

Tristan + Isolde (2006)

13 March 20068 May 2025

Rating: ★★★

Historical Romance

Director: Kevin Reynolds
Actors: James Franco, Sophia Myles, Rufus Sewell, David O'Hara, …
Category: Fantasy

Unidentified Flying Oddball (1979)

23 December 200215 May 2025

Rating: ★★

Astronaut in King Arthur’s Court/Disney Comedy

Director: Russ Mayberry
Actors: Dennis Dugan, Jim Dale, Sheila White, Kenneth More, …
Category: Science Fiction

Willy McBean and His Magic Machine (1965)

12 May 20049 September 2021

Rating: ★★★

Children’s Time Travel Film

Director: Arthur Rankin Jr
Actors: Billie Richards, Larry Mann, Paul Soles, James Doohan
Category: Science Fiction

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Contact Moria

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Theme Essays

  • Films About Atlantis
  • Werewolf Films
  • Virtual Reality
  • Imprisonment Thrillers
  • Films Depicting NASA and the Space Program
  • Human Bloodsports and Death Games
  • Animals Attack Films
  • Films About Plague and Pandemic
  • Disaster Movies
  • Steampunk Films
  • Documentaries
  • Films About Halloween
  • Films About Prophecy
  • Magicians and Sorcerers
  • Secret Societies
  • Real-Life People in Fiction
  • Techno-Thrillers
  • Twins in Fantastic Cinema
  • Asylums
  • Possession Films
  • Films About Imaginary and Magical Lands
  • Religion in Fantastic Cinema
  • Romantic Comedies
  • Film Noir
  • Spy Films
  • Jekyll and Hyde Films
  • Films That Make Dubious Claims to Being True Stories
  • Coming of Age Stories in Fantastic Cinema
  • Films About Cryogenics and Suspended Animation
  • Alternate History Films
  • Disturbed Psychology as Portrayed on Film
  • Law Enforcement in Fantastic Cinema
  • Weird Westerns
∧

Copyright Richard Scheib 1999-2025

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