Rent Lancelot of the Lake (1974)

A Cold & Weird King Arthur Story - Lancelot of the Lake review by GI

A strange addition to the films about the Arthurian legend here focused on the conflict that arises between Lancelot, Arthur and Guinevere owing to the rumours of the adulterous relationship between Lancelot and Guinevere. The opening scenes of bloody conflict are more reminiscent of the parody employed in Monty Python & The Holy Grail (1975) which may have been influenced by the copious lakes of blood spurting seen here. Once the opening credits are over though the film drifts along often with no sense of narrative flow and the actors all delivering their lines with no emotion. This of course may be a deliberate ploy by the director but even so it renders the film feeling cold and wooden. If there is any theme going on here, such as the condemnation of religion as purpose and reason in life, then they are as vague as the plot. I didn't get any sense of the mystical that is often attributed to this film and it maybe that I am unduly influenced by the later Excalibur (1981), which had it in buckets and with more character and adventure thrown into the narrative. A film that I'm sure divides viewers. For me it was soulless.