Camelot

Warner Brothers/Seven Arts’ 1967 film production of Camelot is a good deal like the story it tells; it is lofty, inspiring, grand, fun, and sadly like its characters, it is flawed. But that is not to say that it should not be recommended, oh it should, indeed “…don’t let it be forgot.” The production is sumptuous, the acting is generally quite good, the music, both songs and Alfred Newman’s incidental score (it garnered an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for best adapted score) are excellent, and the action scenes are very well staged. There is humor, romance, heartbreak, and yes inspiration. It suffered from some negligent final editing and some poor direction, but overall it is an endearing film. Nominated for five Academy Awards it won three, and it garnered one very deserved Golden Globe for Richard Harris as best actor in a musical or comedy. The flaws come in some rather sloppy, or at least very hurried, directing and editing at times which are still in the surviving versions of the film. Most of these problems were due to a rushed final schedule when budgets were running out. What is really sad is that many of these gaffes could have, and should have, been corrected with relative ease. There may be some complaints about some differences, and exclusions, when comparing the film with the stage play, but they are to be expected. All in all it still presented a suitable final effort for film producer Jack L. Warner, and was hardly a poor effort by director Joshua Logan. The casting was initially questioned but actually proved one of the great strengths of the film, and in a move pressed hard by Richard Harris the principal singing was done live during filming not, as would be the usual practice dubbed in later. Vanessa Redgrave in place of Julie Andrews as Guenevere actually created a more believable, if not earthy, character and she proved she could sing! David Hemmings was delicious as Mordred. And Lionel Jeffries and Laurence Naismith were absolutely perfect for King Pellinore and Merlyn respectively. The weak link, if there must be one, was perhaps young Franco Nero as Lancelot, but not at all bad job, and yes he made the ladies swoon! And the romance was here also to be believed, Redgrave would be linked in real life to Nero and today is married to the one time Lancelot, a true story-book ending in a great actress’ life that has had its own tragedies. But the film belongs to Richard Harris who was King Arthur. Let us not forget Richard Burton, but Harris put his heart and soul into this performance, and he too could sing. He took it very seriously from the start, literally finagled the part and made the role his own; story is that at the end of production he walked off with Arthur’s crown. It is a pity that no one thought to do T.H. White’s Book of Merlyn with an elder Harris as the aged Arthur or even, given his performance as Dumbledore, as Merlyn, and even his portrayal of the old philosopher-emperor Marcus Aurelius in Gladiator (2000) did much to bring this to mind. While a great actor, and an uproarious individual, Harris never quite duplicated this level of acting, this was the role he was surely born to play. The film made apt and in cases beautiful use of montages before it became a common devise to save time and still relate events, and it delivered numerous iconic images and moments: the entrance of Guenevere, the marriage of Guenevere and Arthur, the massive court hall, the Round Table, the knighting of Lancelot, Arthur’ soliloquy, Merlyn’s mentoring of young Wart, Arthur’s final victory and farewell, runnnnn boy! The production was simply lavish, though some saw it as cheap somehow, and it put some rather original twists to a semi-medieval setting including costumes, arms and armor giving unbelievable attention to detail. This too garnered an Academy Award for John Truscott, actually Truscott won two awards, one for art and set decoration, and another for costume design. The other two nominations were for sound, and cinematography. It all gave this Camelot the true feel of a place with one foot in reality and the other in an imaginary world. And while several songs did not make the translation from play to film, most of them did with some variations, and Frederick Loewe’s original music became something wondrous with the direction and conduction of the great Alfred Newman. Newman was in the latter part of a great career to which he added an exclamation point with his usual directorial skill, and especially with what amounted to a new additional score as incidental music that is almost legendary today particularly in Lancelot’s escape, and the tour de force in Guenevere’s rescue. Newman was given an Academy Award for best adapted score, and it too was so well deserved. The film has never been particularly well received with critics, for various reasons, but has remained popular and actually did well enough at the box office; the late Roger Ebert gave the film thumbs up and five stars but his review was somewhat grumpy. Some of the production problems became the stuff of Hollywood stories. The film went over budget was hurried at the end, and it came at an inopportune time. With the war in Vietnam we were more in tune with the stark realism of Bonnie and Clyde, or the satire and cynicism of Planet of the Apes or M*A*S*H than the pink glow of castle Camelot. A musical about fantasy and mythical idealism seemed a bit out of tune; ironically T.H. White’s entire approach to King Arthur in The Once and Future King, from which the film and play flowed, was fiercely anti-war which the studio failed to fully realize. Unlike a large number of musicals from the 1960s and 1970s Camelot has aged well, and finally is available in Blu-ray and once again it sparkles. There are also stories that some unused footage for scenes cut from the early production, in particular an adventurous quest by Lancelot, is out there somewhere but likely is lost. Some footage is seen in the extended trailers and one wonders, could it be restored?

One of my favorites.

I am so happy to have this film for my very own.

Didn’t dislike anything!!Loved everything about it!!!

Overall, this is a movie where you savor the parts and overlook the whole. The music and the visuals are so sumptuous they can really be enjoyed on their own. And the story is a classic - an idealistic leader trying to bring justice into a chaotic world, and being taken down by a love affair between his wife and best friend.Producer Jack Warner wanted a movie that was bigger and even more spectacular that his previous one - My Fair Lady - then the most expensive musical ever made. Director Joshua Logan wanted a story with less magic than the Broadway show, but more sex and blood to make it contemporary. They hired the right people and put them to work. But the failure of the enterprise ultimately belonged to Joshua and Jack.First, the good stuff - and there is quite a lot. The Lerner & Lowe score is wonderful and Alfred Newman just wrings every bit of color out of it in the orchestrations. Vanessa Redgrave makes a beautiful and flawed Guinevere at the center of the story's love triangle. The character is underwritten, but Redgrave just makes you believe that she truly loves each of these men and that they would start a war over her. Richard Harris makes a fine Arthur.The star of the picture, however, is costume and set decorator John Truscott - an Australian who only did 2 movies in Hollywood (Paint Your Wagon was the second and final one). The costumes in this movie are some of the best ever made. Prescott keeps to medieval silhouettes, but then creates his own fabrics and patterns in materials that would have been available in the day. But the fabric design is definitely mid-1960s just before the Summer of Love. And the sets - Truscott layers bric a brac over everything. He even includes animals in most of his sets. Every frame of this movie is a testament to his brilliance (when given a practically unlimited budget). He won an Oscar for his work here.The bad news is that Alan Jay Lerner's script never quite worked on stage, and given another shot here, he still hasn't closed all the gaps. There are quick shots where years go by, and others that seem to ponder on forever.Logan doesn't help - despite having Truscott's detailed settings to play in, he shoots an ungodly amount of the movie in close-ups - badly. It takes a deft touch to get a close-up right in the widescreen format. Logan just zooms in and lets the camera cut off the tops of people's heads and looks up people's noses. We become intimately acquainted with Richard Harris's eye makeup - something that was certainly designed to be shot from a distance.The other negative in the film is Franco Nero as Lancelot - though the man is so unbelievably good looking you really want to forgive him everything. But while he looks great just standing there, the problem is he can't speak, sing, or act. His singing is dubbed (beautifully) by Gene Merlin’s and all of his dialog he had to re-record later after working with an English coach, but there's nothing to be done about his acting.Enjoy the romantic story, the visuals, the soaring score and the (mostly) great performances. Just know that the whole is less than the sum of the parts.

Loved it all!!!

Camelot, winner of 3 Academy Awards, special edition DVD.Camelot, the musical, is based upon the legend of King Arthur, Richard Harris, who lives in the idyllic Camelot while awaiting his new bride Guenevere, Vanessa Redgrave. Little does Arthur realise that his new bride will shortly fall in love with the bravest of his knights Sir Lancelot, Franco Nero, a love affair that will tear his beloved kingdom apart.For me, just a personal opinion, there has never been a better King Arthur than Richard Harris on stage. His musical performance might not be perfect but he brings so much soul and passion to the music I never tire of listening and watching. This is a real treat for fans of musical theatre and I'm more than happy to recommend.This is a remastered version of the original packaged inside a cardboard sleeve with a scene index printed inside the front cover. Has an opening and locking black, plastic hinge to the side.The details:Camelot is contained on one DVD with a running time of approx. 173 minutes.Certificate U - suitable for all.Special Features; Interactive menus, Scene Access.Language in Dolby Digital 5.1; English.Subtitles in English/Arabic/English for the hearing impaired.Director; Moss Hart.Starring; Richard Harris, Vanessa Redgrave, Franco Nero, David Hemmings, Lionel Jeffries and Laurence Naismith.Music by Frederick Loewe with screenplay and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner.One more thing to add; sit back and enjoy!.

It arrived very quickly, and is a very good copy , I've always loved this musical and this Blu ray doesn't disappoint.

I'd not seen this for years, it's amazingly good entertainment. highly recommended. unfortunately films in a style like this won't be made anymore it seems the public has lost the ability to appreciate this type of thing.

Brilliant movie! Fabulous acting and songs! This particular copy was bought for my daughter as she has nearly worn our copy of it out!

Good copy