Summary

• King Arthur movies offer various interpretations of the legend, inspiring live-action, animated, and modern adaptations.
• The portrayal of King Arthur can vary, with some movies focusing on his idealistic image as a medieval knight.
• While some films may lack magic and excitement, others showcase the enduring impact and charm of the Camelot story.

The Arthurian legend is a popular choice among filmmakers historically, with some of the best King Arthur movies bringing the tale to the screen in exciting and new ways. A central figure in the legends making up a body of medieval literature and arcane texts known as the Matter of Britain, the King Arthur legend has since developed into a figure of international interest. King Arthur is a story cited as inspiring numerous live-action interpretations, as well as animated shorts, parodies, and modernizations of the famous Camelot story.

While other stories around this time regarding King Arthur all vary from text to text both in creativity and narrative, modern historians have decided that Arthur is a fictitious character designed to embody the ideal image of a forthright medieval knight. With other iconic characters populating the tale, from Merlin to Lancelot, the King Arthur movies have ranged in how they tackle the legend as well as the quality in which they do it. Some are short of magic and excitement while others are proof of why the story has such a lasting impact.

Arthur & Merlin: Knights Of Camelot (2020)

King Arthur Goes Through A Crisis As Camelot Is Seiged

Audiences looking to understand the legend of King Arthur should seek out any source material other than this dire attempt at a feature film. Arthur and Merlin: Knights of Camelot sees Arthur (Richard Short) and his men race home to prevent the evil Mordred from taking over Camelot castle, yet this classic story is somehow twisted beyond recognition in director Giles Anderson's hollow attempts at making a rugged and realistic period piece.

Knights of Camelot takes an interesting approach in telling a more stripped-down take on the story, focusing on a version of Arthur who has lost faith in the legend of himself. However, while it attempts to be a compelling character study of the man, it is hard to overlook how thin the story is and the low-budget nature of the movie makes it feel like an amateurish production.

Sword Of The Valiant: The Legend Of Sir Gawain And The Green Knight (1984)

A Young Knight Is Challenged By A Mystic Warrior

The extensive nature of the Arthurian world allows for some tales of heroes beyond Arthur himself. Sword of the Valiant: The Legend of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a low-budget retelling of the classic 14th-century poem which stars Arthur's young knight Gawain (Miles O'Keeffe) accepting a challenge to fight a mysterious Green Knight, who proves to be a more mystical foe than he initially thought. Sean Connery stars as the Green Knight.

A strangely low budget, poor production values, and dreary fight sequences conspire to make Weeks' medieval epic feel more like B-movie fare than its stellar cast has any right to feature in. Sword of the Valiant's screeching synthesizer-led score adds an unpleasant aspect for the audience to put up with long before Gawain (Miles O'Keeffe) meets the Green Knight (Sean Connery) on the field of battle.

A Kid In King Arthur's Court (1995)

A Young Kid Is Transported Back In Time

Loosely based on Mark Twain's iconic 1889 novel A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, A Kid in King Arthur's Court attempts to offer a kid-friendly Arthurian adventure with a time travel twist. This forgotten Walt Disney movie sees a young, baseball-obsessed boy named Calvin transported from contemporary Los Angeles to Camelot, where he helps King Arthur keep his throne using a CD player, a Swiss Army Knife, and roller skates.

The groan-inducing catchphrase "Joust Do It" is a prime example of the kind of lazy humor that can be expected from this Disney misfire that offers no real fun with the Arthurian legend and simply presents one tired fish-out-of-water gag after another. While nearly a total misfire from Disney, A Kid in King Arthur's Court is worth viewing if only to see performances from a young Kate Winslet and Daniel Craig, who both went on to become huge stars later on.

Shrek The Third (2007)

Shrek Tries To Convince A Young Arthur To Be King

The Shrek movie franchise has always had a lot of fun reworking fairy tales and fables into its family-friendly comedy stories, so it was only a matter of time before they got around to tackling the Arthurian legend. The movie finds Shrek inheriting the throne he has no interest in so he is forced to find Fiona's young, under-achieving cousin, Arthur (or Artie), to take his place.

At its core, Shrek the Third's concept is seemingly designed to be a film for adults that is instead shackled by its core demographic of a child-based audience, containing multiple jokes about existential ennui that undoubtedly fly straight over most of its viewer's heads. While the cast of Shrek the Third is still clearly having a good time voicing the characters that made Shrek and Shrek 2 such fantastic family movies, there is little about Shrek the Third's story to excite or enthrall fans.

The Last Legion (2007)

A Roman Soldier Heads To Britain To Gather Supporters

While many of the takes on King Arthur focus on the well-known legend rather than worry about historical accuracy, there are some that are interested in diving deeper into the real historical aspects that inspired the legend. Loosely inspired by the events of 5th-century European history, including the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, The Last Legion blends these historical events with fantastical elements from the legend of King Arthur to provide a fictional basis for the Arthurian legend.

To form the backbone of a gritty narrative, Doug Lefler's The Last Legion brings together a crop of fine English actors, including Colin Firth, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Ben Kingsley, and Rupert Friend. The Last Legion is decent enough combat-based fare but it pales compared to other historical action films released around the same time period, including Troy and Antoine Fuqua's King Arthur.

Transformers: The Last Knight (2017)

The Transformers And The Arthurian Legend Mix For A New Adventure

Not content with the exciting concept of giant robots that can disguise themselves as various vehicles, the Transformers movies have also been keen on reshaping history by putting these robots at the center of some big events. After playing into the Moon landing and battling the Nazis in World War II, Transformers: The Last Knight links to King Arthur with them helping him and Merlin defeat the Saxons and tie their legend with his.

The fifth installment in the Transformers film series is not looking to think too hard about any of its narrative choices, instead delivering the epic battles and collision of worlds that Bay's Transformers titles have become known for. Transformers: The Last Knight's special effects essentially prop up an otherwise nonsensical movie, but the CG work is so clean in Bay's final Transformers offering that it masks the franchise's now-familiar shortcomings more palatable than some of its predecessors.

Tristan & Isolde (2006)

Two Young Royals On Opposites One A Dispute Form A Romance

Tristan and Isolde is another movie that puts one of the knights of the roundtable in the spotlight rather than Arthur himself. In the movie, Tristian is the second in line to take the throne only for his duty to his kingdom to become complicated when he falls in love with a princess of the Irish clan who is currently feuding with his family.

Tristan and Isolde is a serviceable attempt at a medieval romance wrapped up in Arthurian legend, although the Scott Free-produced film occasionally fails to elicit the levels of emotion needed to sustain its core love story. A young James Franco excels as Tristan here, playing the prince with a well-tempered blend of duty and passion, while his chemistry with co-star Sophia Myles is palpable even if it isn't the epic romance that was promised in the marketing.

First Knight (1995)

An Older King Arthur Battles A Rogue Knight

While not a historical take on the story, First Knight is a more grounded approach to the story of King Arthur and some of the key characters in his world. Sean Connery plays the older King Arthur who is contending with an invading rogue knight while his younger wife Guinevere (Julia Ormond) begins a romantic affair with Lancelot, played by Richard Gere. The movie takes inspiration from French poet Chrétien de Troyes' take on the legend.

First Knight would benefit greatly from a little magic, or indeed humor, to elevate the otherwise strong performances from Connery and several of his co-stars. While Gere is perhaps a fatal miscasting as an uninspired Lancelot, the film is a gorgeous spectacle visually, with Adam Greenberg's cinematography transporting audiences to the rolling hills surrounding the fabled Camelot.

King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword (2017)

A Young Outlaw Discovers He Is The Heir To The Throne

Director Guy Ritchie's take on the Arthurian legend is certainly bold, with Charlie Hunnam strutting around as the titular king in a manner more akin to earlier Guy Ritchie gangster movie fare such as Snatch. The movie finds Arthur unaware of his lineage to the thrown and playing the reluctant hero who begins the movie more interested in serving himself. He is joined by the likes of Jude Law, Djimon Honsou, and Eric Bana.

Ritchie cheekily also draws parallels to the Brexit issue dominating his home country at the time of the film's release. Yet despite the tongue-in-cheek fun posited by King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, its box office failure scuppered the other five sequel films in the pipeline, leaving Ritchie's franchise starter as a standalone film that is a highly enjoyable ride whose narrative never really goes anywhere.

A Knight In Camelot (1998)

A Computer Programmer Goes Back In Time

Another reimagining of Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, this made-for-TV movie proved to be a more successful comedy. The real star of A Knight In Camelot is leading lady Whoopi Goldberg, whose turn as scientist Vivien Morgan out of her time is both touching and hilarious as she saves King Arthur's (Michael York) bamboozled court from the nefarious Sir Sagramore (Robert Addie).

Disney was acutely aware of their failure with A Kid In King Arthur's Court in 1995, with the studio attempting a more mature-skewing remake just three years later as a result. This time, however, the production studio landed much closer to their usual standard of the movie, with A Knight In Camelot providing genuine laughs alongside a more robust, cohesive script and led by a genuine comedic star.

Dragonheart (1996)

A Knight And Dragon Team Up To Take Down An Evil Ruler

Sean Connery is an actor who has certainly popped up in a lot of King Arthur movies, but his role in Dragonheart might be the most memorable despite the fact that he doesn't appear on screen. Dennis Quaid leads the movie as a sword for hire who runs a scam, hunting down fake dragons for a price. However, when he runs into a real dragon named Draco (voiced by Connery) the two form an unexpected bond and attempt to take down a corrupt ruler.

Far from jostling to be taken seriously, Dragonheart unselfishly frees its actors of the script's potentially grandiose shackles, instead allowing each character (especially the villains) monologues and overt mannerisms to run riot, making Dragonheart feel a maximalist production in every sense. Dragonheart's visual effects were also stunning at the time of its release, with Draco's animations holding up well some 26 years later.

King Arthur (2004)

A Gritty Retelling Of Arthur's Historical Rise To Power

Though Antoine Fuqua is a director known for his modern action movies like the Equalizer movies, he brought his style to the medieval setting for this grounded and gritty take on King Arthur. Clive Owen stars as the titular king as he prepares to take on the invading Saxon forces, led by Stellan Skarsgard's compelling villain. The movie features Kiera Knightley as Guinevere, Ioan Gruffudd as Lancelot, Stephen Dillane as Merline, and a host of impressive supporting actors, like Ray Winstone, Mads Mikkelsen, and Joel Edgerton.

Fuqua's King Arthur is in a class of its own when delivering visceral, bone-crunching medieval action. Yet King Arthur remains much more than a sum of its goriest scenes, with its key cast representing the crop of British acting talent in 2004. Clive Owen, in particular, plays the part of an Artorius stripped of his typical bravado with such conviction it is hard to imagine a more convincing portrait of the burgeoning ruler in modern King Arthur movies to date.

Lancelot And Guinevere (1963)

A Forbidden Romance Blooms Between Two Of King Arthur's Closest Companions

Lancelot and Guinevere remains not only one of the oldest King Arthur stories to grace the big screen but also one of the most touching following its initial 1963 release. Cornel Wilde's classic depicts a lesser-known version of the Camelot legend, in which Lancelot (Cornel Wilde) must shed his image as a paragon of virtue to pursue and court King Arthur's (Brian Aherne) wife Guinevere (Jean Wallace), with their tryst ending in Arthur's wife being burned at the stake amid accusations of witchcraft.

Originally titled Sword of Lancelot for U.S. audiences, Lancelot and Guinevere remains a heartbreaking depiction of the inner workings of Camelot that stands the test of time. There is a grand sweeping epic feel to the movie in the style of Old Hollywood that is engrossing and feels fitting for this exploration of the legend.

The Kid Who Would Be King (2019)

A Young Kid Becomes A Modern Hero When Inheriting Excalibur

Director Joe Cornish's previous movie, Attack the Block, put a winning cast of young characters in a fun and thrilling alien invasion story. The Kid Who Would Be King goes for a similar approach but with the youngster populating an Arthurian legend. It follows a young boy who must use Excalibur to take on an evil sorceress in modern-day England. Along with the cast of young actors, Patrick Stewart and Rebecca Ferguson provide some gravitas.

Despite being a commercial flop owed in part to a poor marketing strategy, The Kid Who Would Be King is an unbridled joy of a film for any of those able to look past its less-than-stellar title. A bold blend of Arthurian legend, CG monster action, and sharp comedy, The Kid Who Would Be King modernizes a classic story and makes it accessible (and enjoyable) for all ages, whether they are familiar with the medieval legends of Bedders and Morgan le Fay or not.

Army Of Darkness (1992)

Ash Fights Deadites In Medieval Times

Of all the ways to adapt to the classic Arthurian legends, the most left-field option is undoubtedly Army of Darkness' choice to place King Arthur and his fabled knights at the center of Ash's (Bruce Cambell) battle against the Deadites. Following the memorable twist at the end of Evil Dead 2, the third movie picks up with Ash transported back to medieval times where he is faced with the same ancient evil he has been battling.

Sam Raimi's Army of Darkness marks a distinct departure from earlier Evil Dead franchise entries, taking on a more comical tone as Ash attempts to recite passages from the Necronomicon and fix his time travel gaffe which landed him in the Middle Ages, to begin with. Despite an outrageous premise, Army of Darkness is great fun wrapped up in surprisingly deep Evil Dead lore that is enhanced by its medieval setting and characters.

Excalibur (1981)

King Arthur And Merlin Battle Evil Forces

The King Arthur legend gets turned into a big, campy, and wonderfully epic adventure with the fantasy movie that ended up being a huge influence to many filmmakers that followed. Excalibur's cast list reads like a who's who of premium actors in the early 1980s, with the peerless Helen Mirren, Patrick Stewart, Liam Neeson, Gabriel Byrne, and Ciarán Hinds all lending their prowess to John Boorman's dazzling visual spectacle.

More important than the film's visual settings, however, is how Excalibur humanizes the main players within the Arthurian legend, reducing Arthur, Merlin, and company to humans following their base urges as they attempt to navigate a harsh medieval landscape. Moreover, Helen Mirren is in dazzling form here, playing the evil Morgana's every salacious action with a glee that marks Excalibur as a must-see King Arthur movie.

The Sword In The Stone (1963)

A Young Boy Begins His Journey To The Throne

The Sword In The Stone taught generations of children the Arthurian legend in the years following its 1963 release and continues to be celebrated to this day. In typical Disney fashion, the animated feature forgoes the overt bloodshed of the real 15th Century to instead deliver a wholly captivating coming-of-age story as a young King Arthur comes to terms with his destiny.

In this way, The Sword In The Stone is a towering example of Disney's enduring magic as a classic that weaves poignant narrative beats into a vibrant historical world. While not often looked at as one of the animated studio's classics, it is one worth revisiting. In fact, the movie's sequence of Merlin and the villainous Madam Mim having a magic duel is one of the most underrated Disney moments of all time.

Monty Python And The Holy Grail (1975)

A Comedic retelling Of The Arthurian Heroes

Although there are many King Arthur movies that provide comical moments, there are none that hold a candle to Terry Gilliam's comedic masterpiece, The Holy Grail. In a fashion typical of the legendary Monty Python troupe, The Holy Grail's zaniness is infectious as it zips between references to Homer's Iliad, the Arthurian classics, and gratuitous pokes at Christianity with gleeful abandon.

While The Holy Grail pales only in comparison to Monty Python's sketch adaptation The Life of Brian, it nonetheless remains a monument to the genius of Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, and Gilliam himself. From the hilarious insulting French guard to the iconic Black Knight to the hilarious absurd ending to all the wackiness, it marks a triumphant Monty Python movie and the funniest King Arthur movie of all time.

The Green Knight (2021)

A Young Knight Receives A Terrifying Challenge

Not many superlatives can adequately do justice to the visual feast that is The Green Knight's entire 130-minute runtime as it honors and deconstructs its source material in equal measure. The Green Knight from David Lowery, put simply, is spellbinding in that it weaves audiences into the inverted coming-of-age journey that the phenomenal Dev Patel goes through as Sir Gawain.

Stripped away from its numerous aesthetic thrills does little to diminish The Green Knight's story as a spectacle, with its core message of facing one's demons as relevant and poignant today as it was in King Arthur's time of chivalry and mysticism. The Green Knight tackles heavy themes in an almost spectral manner, allowing each idea to float and take form as the seasons change around Gawain and his terrifying opponent, making it undoubtedly one of the best King Arthur movies to date.

Camelot (1967)

A Musical Take On The Legend

The only film able to oust Lowery's The Green Knight from the top spot is the timeless Arthurian tale Camelot. Based on the 1960 stage musical of the same name by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, Joshua Logan's Camelot is an unabashed and glittering production whose every shot is sumptuous by design. Intricately crafted sets, costumes, and a leading career-best duo of the highest order in Richard Harris and Vanessa Redgrave conspire to make this 1967 classic a must-see for any audience regardless of their passion for the tales of the Round Table.

Camelot cemented its status as one of the all-time great musical adaptations in its inaugural year by taking home three Golden Globes and three Academy Awards. That's a ceremonial sweep worthy of the best King Arthur movie to exist to date.