"A Knights Tale" - A review.

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“A Knights Tale”

A review

HE WILL, HE WILL, ROCK YOU!  How could a movie that starts with 1000’s of medieval peasants and nobles singing that, not be a hit?

This is the way the writer/director Brian Helgeland choose to start his new film, set in medieval times, about a servant who aspires to be a knight and, as luck would have it, gets his unlikely and highly risky chance at his peasant boy’s dream. Helgeland set it in the Middle Ages but scored it with modern stadium anthems, extreme modern music, up to date talk; in fact the only things that really differentiate this as a medieval movie is the set and costumes.  

This is very apparent as the movie starts. Out on the tournament grounds, a crowd of impatient spectators -peasants and nobles alike- stomp their feet in time, bellowing the chorus to Queen's "We Will Rock You". Some of them have painted their favourite knights' emblems on their faces like modern-day soccer fans and as we watch, the people at the back stand up and do "the Mexican wave". Note to historians who hate inaccuracy: this is probably the time to leave, but if you do stay, you may well be surprised by how much you end up enjoying yourself. It's just that infectiously silly and funny.

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The film stars Heath Ledger, as William Thatcher, a servant to a knight. The getting on knight is killed in a match and William soon realizes he and the fellow servants will either starve or have to eat boiled grubs for the rest of the year without their dead liege's prospective prize money. Thus enters their saviour. Along comes a desperate and naked man who makes them an offer: "Clothe, feed and shoe me, and I'll give you your patents!" Letters Patents are documents signed by a sovereign, conferring such rights as a title of nobility. The man offering to ...

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