Seth Lamey
What a pair we make, huh? Both trying to hide who we are, both unable to do so. Your men love you. If I knew nothing else about you, that would be enough. But you also tilt when you should withdraw… and that is knightly, too.
— Prince Edward to William Thatcher in A Knight’s Tale
Knights have a storied history as foot soldiers of kings dedicated to battle and sport, a utility seen with such honor and power they even have unique moves on a chess board. The 14th century saw an emerging use of knights in tournament sport with sword fighting and jousting chief among them. English writer Geoffrey Chaucer saw fit to document such glory and riches in “A Knight’s Tale,” part of The Canterbury Tales. In the early 2000s writer/director Brian Hegeland would do the same, adapting story ideas from Chaucer’s work into a slickly entertaining tale of his own with A Knight’s Tale. Hegeland’s adaptation would hold to true many of Chaucer’s principles and themes of social mobility, honor, and sporting action yet with a with a rousing cast and an anachronistically unique classic rock soundtrack.
The film follows the story of William Thatcher (Heath Ledger), a peasant born squire for knight Sir Ector who upon his knights death takes his place on the horse and in the armor to compete under a fake noble name “Sir Ulrich von Licthenstein.” William is trained and mentored by his fellow squires Roland (Mark Addy) and Wat (Alan Tudyck) as he compete in tournaments along the western European countryside. Geoffrey Chaucer (Paul Bettany) appears as a character himself in the story to help William authenticate his embellished status as a noble knight, highlighted by his showmanship duties as a herald exaggerating the accomplishments of “Sir Ulrich” for the admiring crowds.
William latches on to love interest Jocelyn (Shannyn Sossamon) who he wins over with his earnest courting attempts as well as his ego-less answers to her tough calls to lose tournaments burying his own pride. The starkest contrast with William comes in the form of his rival, the merciless and vial Count Adhemar (Rufus Sewell) whose prowess as a great jouster is equaled by his vanity and unethical methods. The film sets up a final showdown in London for the World Championships in the final act, with William’s charade come into question a stone’s throw from the cheap side area he grew up in. A final showdown with Adhemar with all the stakes in the world brings an exciting finish to A Knight’s Tale.
To execute a new style that differentiates itself from regal Excalibur and First Knight type films of the past, Hegeland freshens up the medieval times formula a bit. The landscapes, interiors, sets, props, and costumes are all present as are some 14th century turns-of-phrase and events. Hegeland’s anachronistic use of 1970s classic rock music brings a unique effect to modern audiences viewing a non-contemporary story. The opening scene featuring Queen’s “We Will Rock You” with diagetic reaction from a jousting crowd connects both audiences to the thrilling feeling of sporting events old and new. David Bowie’s “Golden Years” is used at banquet to add a cool ambiance to noble dancing. War’s “Low Rider” and BTO’s “Takin’ Care of Business” bring an electric vibe to montages of William improving as a jouster or walloping an opponent in the sword ring. Composer Carter Burwell also gets his turn to craft his own instrumental pieces for more serious scenes.
Visually, cinematographer Richard Greatrex provides whooshing tracking shots of jousting that gets the audience right in the action. Close-ups of faces, impacts of lances exploding in the air, and ground level hand held cameras always make the tournament action feel exciting and literal. Hegeland and his editor Kevin Stitt also employ slow-mo flare and montages to showcase technical brilliance by their champion William Thatcher. Shoooting entirely on location at Barrandov studio in Prague, Czech Republic allowed production to create sets, interiors, and landscapes to world-build 14th century Europe.
Writer/Director Brian Hegeland had grown some acclaim as a screenwriter in Hollywood after his Best Screenplay win for 1997s L.A. Confidentiality. Columbia Pictures green-lit him to write/direct/produce A Knight’s Tale, following in the footsteps of great English writer Geoffrey Chaucer. The key component to the film was nailing the casting of William Thatcher, and for that he turned to emerging 21-year-old Australian actor Heath Ledger. Ledger’s leading-man looks and charm fit the mold for an underdog-to-hero journey, and his acting chops at the time brought a smooth cool and sometimes needed edge. After 10 Things I Hate About You and A Knight’s Tale, he took a more dramatic route with his choice of roles. Monster’s Ball and his Oscar-nominated role in 2005’s Brokeback Mountain put him on the map as more than movie star looks into the serious dramatic tier. His untimely death before his Oscar winning performance as The Joker in 2008’s The Dark Knight immortalized him as a great actor lost far too soon, a tragic loss of life and decades of great performances that could have been.
A Knight’s Tale was met with mixed reactions at the time. Released in the wake of Osca-winning Gladiator, audiences and critics were confused by its comedic tone and anachronistic stylings with modern references to classic rock music and other winks at medieval times. Some saw it as too similar to other Rocky archetype underdog sports stories, with tacked-on loved interests and forced rivalries. Yet A Knight’s Tale does what it sets out to do: tell a tale of zero-to-hero knighthood, a man who changed his stars and fought the dark and evil version of knights along the way. Love stories are involved with almost all tales worth telling, and Hegeland even nods to King Arthur with Chaucer noticing Jocelyn entering the tent of an ailing William “Guinevere comes to Lancelot.” The film made a modest profit, almost doubling its budget at the worldwide box office. A few years later a much more formal King Arthur adaptation was released in 2004, perhaps course correcting how Hollywood wanted to portray said stories.
A Knight’s Tale does feature lighthearted jokes and exciting montages of jousting action, but its core themes and actors who convey said themes are its highlight. Rags-to-riches, peasant-to-knight bring a very cherished and warm feeling to the soul and Ledger as Thatcher accomplish just that. Thin Lizzy’s “The Boys Are Back in Town” parades along William and his friends as they are ushered back into London as gallant competitors. William’s long-awaited embrace of his blind father who he thought dead after 12 years is as touching as it gets, as is seeing his loyal friends defend him in the stocks until he is saved and knighted properly by the Prince Edward, a gesture of gratitude and confidence in a man who deserves knighthood because of his character and honor over birth right. Rufus Sewell as Adhemar offers a villain you love to hate, a man who despite ruthless ability as a jouster represents a foul and unworthy nature of knighthood. His final showdown with William at the world championship lets both of their standings as men and knights collide in a winner take all pride scenario.
While Ledger’s trajectory as a serious actor has been noted, the rest of the cast shared varying modicums of success. Paul Bettany has been in his fair share of good dramatic work but is most famous now as “Vision” from the Avengers films. Alan Tudyck has found his footing as a voice actor, most famously in the Star Wars film Rogue One. Berenice Bejo (who plays Jocelyn’s handmaiden Christiana) won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar in 2011s The Artist. Mark Addy also dipped his toes in the franchise waters, playing King Robert Baratheon in HBO’s first season of Game of Thrones. Speaking of Game of Thrones, their new hit show A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms no doubt shares some thematic similarities and “battle” filmmaking techniques with A Knight’s Tale.
Twenty-five years later, A Knight’s Tale still provides a fun and unique look at how adaptation can always change and bring fresh ideas to the table. While absurd to some, others feel the energy of how the songs elevate material into a familiar feeling of excitement and sport. Heath Ledger and a solid supporting cast accomplished their goal of creating like-able characters that an audience would cheer for (and against) with classic analysis of familiar social themes. What makes this type of story timeless is its ability to show how human nature rises against the tide and allows someone to change their stars. Brian Hegeland brought Chaucer’s story to life with modern film making techniques that made sword fighting and jousting exciting as well as a tale of love and good vs. evil. Heath Ledger’s mark on early 2000s cinema is felt not in just his dramatic work but his ability to bring leading-man charm to the big screen as such a young age. To quote Chaucer in the film: A Knight’s Tale “walks in the garden of his turbulence.”
