Knightriders ***½ (1981, Ed Harris, Gary Lahti, Tom Savini, Amy Ingersoll, Patricia Tallman, Christine Forrest) – Classic Movie Review 11,699

Writer-director George A Romero takes time off from his zombie pictures to direct the 1981 personal drama film Knightriders, a modern-day knights in armour adventure about a travelling renaissance fair troupe, in which motorbikes replace horses and their Arthur-figure, Billy (Ed Harris), or King William, leads the travelling troupe jousting on motorcycles.

It stars Ed Harris, Gary Lahti, Tom Savini, Amy Ingersoll, Patricia Tallman, and Christine Forrest.

Billy tries to lead the troupe according to his Arthurian ideals and attempts to raise his friends to observe the old-fashioned codes of honour. Knightriders is an examination of the way a band of people responded to the cultural drop-out of the 60s and produced a counter-culture beneath the surface of traditional US life. Harris, Amy Ingersoll, Gary Lahti and Tom Savini act with distinction in this long (145 minutes), flawed, but fascinating movie.

Stephen King puts in a guest appearance as a drunken onlooker, ‘Hoagie Man’, making sarcastic comments during the troupe’s first performance while eating a large sandwich.

It was filmed entirely on location in the Pittsburgh metro area, including Fawn Township and Natrona, in summer 1980.

A shorter cut running 102 minutes was released in Europe.

The well-regarded score is by Donald Rubinstein.

Romero conceived it as a period film to show the Middle Ages in a realistic way but he rethought it after working on racing documentaries, and said the medieval hobby organisation, the Society for Creative Anachronism, is an inspiration.

The cast are Ed Harris as King Billy, John Amplas as Whiteface, Gary Lahti as Sir Alan, Tom Savini as the black knight Sir Morgan, Amy Ingersoll as Queen Linet, Patricia Tallman as Julie Dean, Brother Blue as the wizard Merlin,  Ken Foree as Little John, Scott Reiniger as Sir Marhalt, Martin Ferrero as Bontempi, Warner Shook as Pippin, Randy Kovitz as Punch, Michael P Moran as deputy cook, Harold Wayne Jones as Sir Bors, Albert Amerson as The Indian, Christine Forrest as Angie, Donald Rubinstein as The Lead Minstrel, Stephen King as ‘Hoagie Man’, Bingo O’Malley as Sheriff Rilly, Greg Besnak as head biker Rhino, and Gary Davis as biker.

Richard P Rubinstein (born June 15, 1947) co-produced or executive produced a number of Romero’s films via Laurel Entertainment, most notably the seminal 1978 zombie film Dawn of the Dead but also Martin (1978), Knightriders (1981), Creepshow (1982) and Day of the Dead (1985). Rubinstein held the film and TV rights to Frank Herbert’s Dune books since 1996. Legendary Pictures acquired the rights from Rubinstein, who served as executive producer for Denis Villeneuve’s two-film adaption of Dune.

 © Derek Winnert 2021 Classic Movie Review 11,699

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