Search - A Knight's Tale [Special Edition] on DVD

MPAA Rating: PG-13 Content Advisory: Violence, Nudity, Questionable for Children, Adult Language, Suitable for Teens Movie Release: 2001 DVD Release: 06/04/2002 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Edition: Special Collection Audio Tracks: English, French Subtitles: English, French SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 2 hrs 12 mins Studio: Columbia TriStar Total Copies: 87 Genres: Action, Adventure, Costume Adventure See Also: A Knight's Tale [Superbit], Corazon De Caballero (A Knight's Tale) [Widescreen Edicion Especial], A Knight's Tale [Extended Cut], A Knight's Tale [Blu-ray], A Knight's Tale [UMD for PSP]

This crowd-pleasing medieval adventure tale is very loosely inspired by Geoffrey Chaucer's -The Canterbury Tales and mixes the anachronistic elements of modern-day rock music and colloquialisms with a period setting and characters. Heath Ledger stars as William Thatcher, a low-born 14th century squire who, in a fit of inspired spontaneity, replaces his deceased employer as the competitor at a jousting competition. Jousting is a pastime only permitted to knights, who are of noble birth, but Thatcher wins and decides to continue his new pursuits. With the help of his two fellow squire friends Wat and Roland (Alan Tudyk and Mark Addy) and none other than the gambling-addicted Geoffrey Chaucer (Paul Bettany), Thatcher has soon adopted a false identity and is winning one joust after another on his way to a championship in London. His victories inspire the affection of a female fan, Jocelyn (Shannyn Sossamon), and the ire of a competitor, Count Adehmar (Rufus Sewell), but Thatcher's ruse is threatened with exposure. A Knight's Tale is the sophomore directorial effort of acclaimed screenwriter Brian Helgeland, who won an Oscar for his work on L.A. Confidential (1997) and debuted behind the camera with the troubled production of Payback (1999). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Heath Ledger - William Thatcher
Mark Addy - Roland
Rufus Sewell - Count Adhemar
Paul Bettany - Chaucer
Shannyn Sossamon - Jocelyn

Brian Helgeland rocked the medieval world with this knightly tale that combined jousting and romance with a modern music score. Presented in Anamorphic widescreen and Dolby Digital 5.1 audio, this DVD captures the snap, crackle, and pop of each lancing blow. The story of a squire "changing his stars" by impersonating a nobleman so he could compete in tournaments was one that brewed in Helgeland's head for a number of years before he finally put it to paper in one month's time. His years of research then allowed him to do the unlikely -- give tiny, enhancing details to a big-scale film. These facts and more can be found on the DVD, a disc that not only provides great insight into Helgeland's method and process, but allows fans to take a closer look at one of the things that made this such an entertaining film: the action and jousting sequences. (Who imagined there was pasta inside those lances to make them splinter especially well?) Features include commentary by Helgeland and his good friend, the oft-naked Paul Bettany, as well as 11 behind-the-scenes featurettes, six deleted scenes with the filmmaker's introduction (check out the one with Chaucer's wife), an HBO "making of" special, Queen and Robbie Williams' "We Are the Champions" video, filmographies, and theatrical trailers for A Knight's Tale and Final Fantasy. ~ Terri Clark, All Movie Guide