Arthur Ranked: The Mythic Monarch's Top Ten Motion Pictures

David Lowery's (The Old Man & The Gun) The Green Knight, a fresh take on the Arthurian legend, is due to be released this summer, with a cast that includes Dev Patel, Alicia Vikander and 'Mumblin' Sean Harris (Mission Impossible, Jamaica Inn).

And on TV, we have Netflix's recent Cursed (2020) and apparently (according to imdb) the upcoming Pendragon, plus straight to video fare such as the awful Arthur & Merlin (2020).

Arthur of the Britons (HTV, 1972-3 ) attempted an more realistic take on Arthur as a Romano-Celtic warlord:

Prior to Vikings, showrunner Michael Hirst tried his hand at the subject with Camelot (2011), some decent casting, but the show let down by an insipid lead (Jamie Campbell Bowers).

So...the many (and generally pretty meh) attempts to bring Britain's greatest hero to the screen.

There are some goodies amongst the dross though, especially John Boorman's Excalibur (1981), the Pythons' Holy Grail (1975) and Lancelot du Lac (1974).

But why is Arthur such a difficult character to bring to the screen?

A chap that gets cuckolded by his best friend and inadvertently sires (sic) a son (the nasty S.O.B Mordred) after being tricked into sex by his (half) sister certainly has dramatic possibilities.  

Oh and did I mention he's a renowned war leader and the founder of Camelot? 

And possesses a mystical sword?

But...he's a bit of drip, burdened by destiny and the wizard Merlin frequently sticking his oar in.

In fact, Merlin is many ways a more interesting character, acknowledged by TV shows such as the Sam Neill Hallmark mini-series and the more recent long-running BBC1 effort.

Any who, here's my Top Ten King Arthur/Arthurian legends on film.

1) Excalibur (1981)

2) Lancelot du Lac (1974)

3) Gawain and the Green Knight (1991 - 1973 version better but no decent clips available)

4) The Fisher King (1991)

5) Perceval le Gallois (1978)

6) Monty Python & The Holy Grail (1975)

7) Knights of the Round Table (1953)

8) King Arthur (2004)

9) Tristan & Isolde (2006)

10) Sword of the Valiant (1984) - only for Sean Connery though

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