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The Reel King Arthur:
King Arthur at the Movies

My apologies to Kevin J. Harty, from whose book I stole the above title. His book is called The Reel Middle Ages, but I liked the pun.

Movies are the main medium through which we enjoy stories today. It's slightly embarrassing to have to admit, but most Americans today get most of their ideas about history, science and mythology from the movies. Arthurian movies are therefore an important study today. Many of these movies aren't faithful to their original sources. That isn't the only consideration to take into account, of course, when evaluating them; they have to be assessed on their own rights. But they do also self-consciously place themselves within an established tradition, a tradition of which the screenwriters and directors are often unaware, to the artistic detriment of the resulting movie.

This list is not exhaustive, but it identifies some of the key points in the history of Arthurian film-making.

Click on the links to the right for a brief overview of each of the movies.