From Camelot to the Silver Screen – galloping to the sound of coconuts
In honour of Le Navet Bete's King Arthur gracing The Dukes next week, let’s dive headfirst into the cinematic chaos of this legendary tale...
Close your eyes. Can you hear it? In the distance… It’s the galloping of a horse… Getting closer… Who is on it, you ask? It’s Arthur Pendragon. King of the Britons, defender from the Saxons. A galloping legend, a foundational myth of England in the flesh… and he is getting closer – oh my! Now, quickly, open your eyes. Who do you see? Is it an uninspiring Mel Ferrer in The Knights of the Round Table (1953)? I sure hope not! Or is it the great Richard Harris in Camelot (1967)? Maybe you can see a more child-friendly Bradley James in Merlin (2008-2013)? Personally, I see Graham Chapham in Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) walking funnily, being followed by a servant who bangs two empty halves of a coconut on each other, imitating the sound of a galloping horse. Whoever it is you picture, you will, most probably, imagine one of hundreds of adaptations of the Arthurian legends onto the silver screen.
Arthur predates cinema by several centuries, and the real history behind his tales is something widely contested amongst experts, who cannot even agree whether Arthur was a King or even if he existed at all. From the first retellings of their adventures, Arthur and the knights of the Round Table have been used as a unifying framework for British identity and a wide sense of patriotism, promoting chivalry, courtly love, unity and order under a just ruler. The silver screen has been a home for new retellings of the legend, helping solidify and reshape our collective image of Arthur and his court.
The first time Arthur left Camelot and headed to the cinema was (at least) all the way back in 1904 in the Italian film Parsifal. Since then, cinema has built on the already vast Arthurian literature, giving us some truly memorable performances that have shaped our Arthurian imaginary: Luc Simon as Lancelot in Lancelot du Lac (1974); Fabrice Luchini and André Dussolier as Perceval and Gauvain in Perceval (1978) Nigel Terry and Helen Mirren as King Arthur and Morgana in Excalibur (1981); or Dev Patel and Ralph Ineson as Gawain and Green Knight in The Green Knight (2021).
All in all, the stories of King Arthur on the big screen might not help us answer some crucial questions like: ‘Did King Arthur really exist?’ ‘Was Arthur really a King?’ or ‘Did he use coconut halves to trick the knights of the Round Table into believing he was galloping away?’ However, with each adaptation, it becomes clear that the role of Arthur Pendragon is not only to provide us with an escape from our daily lives but also to help us see a better version of ourselves, guided by chivalry and courtly love.
Written by João Eduardo Lima Belchior
Pick up your swords and join us for Le Navet Bete's historical hoot, King Arthur, from the 14th to 18th October.
