A Knight’s Tale **** (2001, Heath Ledger, Mark Addy, Rufus Sewell, Shannyn Sossamon, Paul Bettany, Alan Tudyk, James Purefoy) – Classic Movie Review 623

Heath Ledger gives a charismatic turn as a floppy-haired beach boy in knight’s armour in writer-director Brian Helgeland’s 2001 rousing swashbuckling saga. This irreverent, infectiously exuberant Knight’s Tale provides lots of jolly entertainment and high adventure.

So, take a raucous ride back to ye olde times with the 22-year-old Ledger as a fearless peasant squire, lowborn thatcher’s son William Thatcher, who takes on the identity of his dead master, reinventing himself as Sir Ulrich, and sets out to prove himself a worthy knight at jousting.

Young Will Thatcher makes a big hit testing his nerve and skill in a tournament and must battle the evil Count Adhemar (Rufus Sewell) before winning the hand of a fair maiden, Jocelyn (Shannyn Sossamon). Along the road to victory and true romance, he meets a jolly band of misfits – softhearted Roland (Mark Addy), hot-headed, red-headed Wat (Alan Tudyk) and itinerant poet Geoffrey Chaucer (Paul Bettany).

The new spin on the old knight’s tale is ye sassy modern dialogue and ye olde rocke score, which includes Queen’s ‘We Will Rock You’ and David Bowie’s ‘Golden Years’, both almost as ancient as the movie’s setting.

Handsomely and meticulously filmed at the Barrandov Studios at Prague in the Czech Republic, it was a costly film to make at $65million. But it took a reasonable $56million at the US box office and a strong £7million in the UK where it was especially popular.