After his master dies, a peasant squire, fueled by his desire for food and glory, creates a new identity for himself as a knight.After his master dies, a peasant squire, fueled by his desire for food and glory, creates a new identity for himself as a knight.After his master dies, a peasant squire, fueled by his desire for food and glory, creates a new identity for himself as a knight.
- Awards
- 4 wins & 13 nominations
- Christiana
- (as Berenice Bejo)
- Simon the Summoner
- (as Steve O'Donnell)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- GoofsThis is a satirical romance, not a historical documentary. While nominally set in the middle of the 14th century (when Edward the Black Prince and Geoffrey Chaucer were active), it freely amalgamates the costume, custom and slang of many different centuries to create a unique world. The Chaucer character (who mentions his signature Canterbury Tales) bears almost no resemblance to his historical counterpart. Matte replicas of the London Eye and the Eiffel Tower are included to drive home the anachronistic intentions.
- Quotes
Chaucer: You're good. You're very good. My lords, my ladies, and everybody else here not sitting on a cushion!
[crowd roars]
Chaucer: Today... today, you find yourselves equals.
[crowd roars]
Chaucer: For you are all equally blessed. For I have the pride, the privilege, nay, the pleasure of introducing to you to a knight, sired by knights. A knight who can trace his lineage back beyond Charlemagne. I first met him atop a mountain near Jerusalem, praying to God, asking his forgiveness for the Saracen blood spilt by his sword. Next, he amazed me still further in Italy when he saved a fatherless beauty from the would-be ravishing of her dreadful Turkish uncle.
[crowd, boo]
Chaucer: In Greece he spent a year in silence just to better understand the sound of a whisper. And so without further gilding the lily and with no more ado, I give to you, the seeker of serenity, the protector of Italian virginity, the enforcer of our Lord God, the one, the only, Sir Ulllrrrich von Lichtenstein!
[crowd roars]
Chaucer: Thank you, thank you, I'll be here all week.
- Crazy creditsAfter the credits finish, Roland, Wat, Kate, and Geoff have a flatulence contest/drinking game. Wat loses, but Kate is the obvious winner.
- Alternate versionsThere is a slight difference between the UK cinema version and the UK DVD release. In the cinematic release, the queen/Robbie Williams version of We Are The Champions starts playing when William and Jocelyn kiss just before the credits, whereas the DVD release has a different song play. However, We Are The Champions still plays over the last half of the credits.
- ConnectionsFeatured in HBO First Look: The Making of 'A Knight's Tale' (2001)
But I stayed with it, and I'm glad I did. Once you get past the glaring anachronisms (put in the film on purpose, of course), you find the movie is actually quite true to its period.
The presence of Chaucer in the film, combined with some of its details, leads me to suspect that Brian Helgeland has read "Chaucer's Knight" by fellow filmmaker Terry Jones (of Monty Python fame). The book deconstructs the knight in Chaucer's "The Knight's Tale" in a totally unique way -- he is seen NOT as the flower of medieval chivalry (as most scholars have interpreted him), but as a mercenary out for nothing but money and blood. The character in the film Chaucer would have written about, then, is not Sir William Thatcher (Heath Ledger), but Count Adhemar of Anjou (Rufus Sewell).
The part of the film in which this connection "clicked" for me was the scene where Count Adhemar is called away to his command in a "Free Company" -- a particular stain on the reputation of knighthood which Jones talks extensively about in his book.
Jones' book made use of extensive research into medieval history, and Helgeland's film obviously does, too.
Chaucer was a master of satire in his day. Helgeland's use of modern conventions in a period film is a conceit of which - I believe - Chaucer would definitely have approved.
I gave "A Knight's Tale" 9 out of 10 - it's not perfect, but I like it so much, I try to watch it every time it comes on (it's been on HBO and Cinemax pretty regularly for the past several months). Check it out!
- bhirschi42
- Aug 14, 2003
- Permalink
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Details
Box office
- Budget
- $65,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $56,569,702
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $16,511,391
- May 13, 2001
- Gross worldwide
- $117,487,481
- Runtime2 hours 12 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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