Camelot: Season 1

Camelot was a series that aired on the Starz Network that was a version of the King Arthur mythology. It starred Joseph Fiennes as Merlin, Jamie Campbell Bower as King Arthur, Eva Green as Morgan Pendragon, and Tamsin Egerton as Guinevere. The story is set around the sudden death of King Uther which sends the kingdom into chaos. Merlin installs Arthur as the king but his claim to the throne is challenged by his half-sister Morgan, who uses dark magic to try and take the throne.For those who get the Blu-Ray, the show looks and sounds great in HD. The 10 episodes are spread across three discs and there are a series of featurettes that range from about a minute long to nearly 15 minutes. The longest is a making-of documentary that features interviews with the cast and crew. There is also a five-minute blooper reel. A good amount of material for those who like watching the bonus features.Overall, the show was very good but was not around long enough to really establish a foothold. Green is really a stand-out as Morgan, the main antagonist of the series. It definitely has some of the main elements of the Arthurian legend, but definitely puts its own spin on the story. It does have a lot of violence and sex as many of the series on the premium cable stations have. The show was ultimately canceled not because of bad ratings but because of scheduling conflicts for Fiennes and Green. It was a well-written and acted series that should have had a longer run.

Ya know what? Every now and then I like a different twist on an age old story. "Let's try something different for a change", say I. Well, this series does not disappoint along this line of thinking for these very reasons:King Arthur is NOT the manly Richard Burton we knew on the Broadway stage or the Richard Harris of the movie...he is an awkward teenager barely aware of his own existence on this earth who has to learn everything about being a king from the ground up as he goes along...he's a boy king who grows up to be a man and a leader of men.Guenevere is NOT a virtuous Julie Andrews or Vanessa Redgrave...she's a young woman betrothed to another who has a failing for young lads like the teenaged king!Sir Lancelot is NOT Robert Goulet or Franco Nero with a deep baritone voice...in fact, I don't think I've heard him sing even once in this series!Merlin is NOT the spritely Roddy McDowell or clever Laurence Naismith...he is a believable "magician" of curious and questionable background who successfully uses his magic only to serve and protect the new king, yet he is shown to have vulnerabilities and human frailties at certain points in the story...he is NOT the omnipotent creature we have come to know in past versions.Camelot is NOT the utopian "Emerald City" of modern Arthurian legend...it is an old, moss-covered, overgrown, rundown heap of stones that the new King Arthur and his knights decide to make their own because nobody else wants it!And Morgan is just plain.......Morgan!This version of the story is refreshingly different than the stories we've previously encountered. My wife and I find ourselves sitting together on the couch, bowl of popcorn precariously balanced between us, saying, "Oh, that was clever!" and "I didn't see THAT coming!" In short, we have found this version of the Arthurian legend to be very entertaining, and we like it a lot.

*Two very mild spoilers below*You must understand, I am a big history buff. So when a friend and I went to the theater some time ago and I saw the trailer for this, I was both elated and saddened (as I don't have Starz.) When I learned that the brilliant mind that helped craft The Tudors, another of my favorite (albeit historically innacurate) series, I was on board, one hundred percent. And while I may have had to wait for streams to go up online to see it, you better believe I was waiting eagerly in front of my computer screen every weekend.The basic tale of King Arthur is known by all, so no need to repeat that. Here, King Uther has recently died, and his quick witted daughter Morgan sees this as her perfect opportunity to claim the throne she has so long coveted. Merlin, however, has something else in mind. Arthur, having been raised in the countryside unaware of his parentage, is quite surprised to find the sorcerer in his home spewing tales of being the son of a king. Merlin sees a future in this boy, a way to mend a country torn apart by warlord kings, and it will all start in one place, a crumbling stronghold that will stand as a beacon for a new era: Camelot.It's pretty much common knowledge that a lot of peopele don't like this series. Even as a fan, I admit there is some to be desired, and certain things could have gone better. But there is still a lot to appreciate.A big sore spot for a lot of people is the casting of Jamie Campbell Bower as the well known king. While yes, I'm sure someone out there could have carried the role better, this choice wasn't a horrible one. This Arthur is not the one we tend to immediately think of. This is a young, aloof Arthur, who doesn't know a damn thing about being king, and would frankly rather be at home with his foster family than thrust into the middle of medieval politics. Even halfway through the series, he's still coming into his own. Had the series continued, I feel like we'd have gotten to see different sides of him, and see him grow.There are, as to be expected, historical innacuracies. This is a medieval show, after all, and sometimes that is forgotten. A previous reviewer mentioned the episode where a young girl is nearly forced to offer up her virginity as compensation for the land she and her father live on. And they were right; in a teeny tiny medieval settlement like this town, this is commonplace. Even far after this time period, landowners were able require women's virginities as payment from those beneath them, and there was no denying a person who was above you in station. This is given a modern treatment of "ohhh, that poor sweet child shouldn't have to give up her virginity to the big bad man", and while in the end it turns out it is mostly because the two are secretly related, it still is something that would probably have never come to light in real life. Now, in the show's defense, as I said, this is a young Arthur, one who would probably still believe in childish idealism and who would undoubtedly take trouble with this sort of thing. On a completely different note, something that really irritated me is the big boo-boo that is Morgan's parentage. Morgan is the child of Igraine and the Duke of Cornwall, along with her sister Morgause. She is NOT a Pendragon.Despite the ups and downs, there are two shining gems that really make this show: Eva Green as Morgan, and Joseph Fiennes as Merlin. Firstly, this is a different Merlin than the wizened, bearded figure everybody imagines. This is a dark, brooding Merlin, one whose past is filled with sins and who may not be all that sane. The series seems to hint that the reason he hides his power is that it once got out of hand and killed his family, but this was never cleared up before the cancelation. Then, of course, my favorite part of the series, the goddess that is Eva Green. Not only is she stunningly beautiful, but she pulls off the role of cold, calculating enchantress like she was born for it.Really, I think that Camelot had many chips and cracks, but with a little patching up (that is, to say, more seasons) it could have had a lot of success. Every show starts off with baby steps, this one just never had a chance to work on its toddler years, so to speak.

Excelente, todo bien, gracias

Ottimo film

Package impeccable, 3 dvd en bon etat, belle image. Son francais, possibilité anglais et sous titres.Au top techniquement.J ai bien aimé l univers de la serie, moi qui ne suis pas sur les series medievales, celle ci m a plus pour le coté magie et belles images de la campagne d angleterre / ecosse ?En tout cas magnifique visuellement, et un Merlin completement felé qui releve le tout.Je vous la recommande.Dommage qu il n y ai pas eu d autre saison...

剣や魔法のバトルや、陰謀策謀有りの最高のドラマでした。シーズン1で終わったのは残念でした。

Ich habe mich - aufgrund der Vormeinungen hier - nur schwer getan, diese DVD-Reiche zu kaufen. Da ich weder "Games of Thrones" noch eine der anderen genannten Serien kenne, habe ich mich dann aber doch entschlossen. Somit bin ich also hier total unvoreingenommen, da ich keine Vergleiche ziehen kann.Ich finde die Bildgewalt sehr, sehr schön.... da möchte man doch gleich in den Urlaub in Richtung Schottland oder England aufbrechen.Auch die Special Effects sind meiner Meinung nach gut gemacht und sehr sehenswert.Die Schauspieler finde ich ALLE super ausgesucht. Und es gibt - meiner Meinung nach - keine Rolle, die nicht vollkommen super besetzt und verkörpert wäre. Es macht Spaß, sich mit allen Facetten der jeweiligen Figuren auseinander zu setzen.Da ich mich an den vielen Artusgeschichten schon etwas satt gesehen habe (ist ja unterm Strich doch immer das Gleiche) war ich auch hier ein wenig skeptisch.Aber... ich muss sagen, hier sieht man die Artussage mal von einem ganz anderen Blickwinkel. Ich finde es toll, dass sich hier mal Gedanken gemacht wurden, wie Artus so ein großer König geworden ist.Das kein großer Regent einfach mal geboren wird und dann gleich ein super Herrscher ist - wird hier sehr deutlich gemacht. Es ist schön zu sehen, wie ein junger Mann von einer Sekunde auf die andere aus seinem sorglosen, geborgenen Leben herausgerissen wird und sich von jetzt auf gleich mit Dingen auseinandersetzen muss, die ihm vollkommen fremd sind. Er muss lernen.... sich auf sein Bauchgefühl verlassen... sich Dinge von sogenannten "Vorbildern" abschauen. Dass das mit Schmerz, Tränen, Verlust und auch Leid verbunden ist, wird hier sehr feinfühlig dargestellt.Was mich auch ein wenig irritiert hat ist die Tatsache mit den nackten Tatsachen. Ich denke mal, dass es im Mittelalter schon sehr zügellos zugegangen ist. Aber das hätte man sich hier und da auch gut sparen können.Leider nimmt die deutsche Überarbeitung viel und macht auch so einiges kaputt. Wenn es also möglich ist, dann sollte man sich die DVD`s im Original ansehen. Da kommt "mehr" rüber.Zusammengefasst finde ich, dass es mal eine interessante und andere Sicht auf die Artuslegende ist und wer sich nicht an jedem winzigen Detail - das vielleicht nicht stimmen könnte - aufhängt, der wird viel Spaß beim ansehen haben.