Gawain and the Green Knight (film)

Gawain and the Green Knight is a 1973 British film directed by Stephen Weeks, and starring Murray Head as Gawain and Nigel Green in his final theatrical film as the Green Knight.[1][2] The story is based on the medieval English tale Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and also Yvain, the Knight of the Lion by Chrétien de Troyes and the tale of Sir Gareth in Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur.[3]

Gawain and the Green Knight
Directed byStephen Weeks
Written byPhilip M. Breen
Stephen Weeks
Based on
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
by
Produced byCarlo Ponti
StarringMurray Head
Nigel Green
Robert Hardy
CinematographyIan Wilson
Edited byJohn Shirley
Music byRon Goodwin
Distributed byUnited Artists
Release date
  • 1973 (1973)
Running time
93 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Locations used included castles at Cardiff, Caerphilly and Castell Coch, Wales; Peckforton castle, Cheshire; and St Michael's Mount and Roche Rock, Cornwall. St. Govan's chapel on the Pembrokeshire coast was also featured.

Weeks remade the film in 1984 as Sword of the Valiant with Miles O'Keeffe and Sean Connery as Gawain and the Green Knight, respectively.

Plot

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The mysterious Green Knight appears before King Arthur's court in the New Year and demands the head of Sir Gawain as the prize in a bizarre game. Given a year's grace, Gawain sets off in search of the Knight for a rematch.

Cast

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Reception

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The film is unrated on the review-aggregation site, Rotten Tomatoes.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Eden, Michael (8 July 2023). "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight on Screen". Trebuchet. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  2. ^ "Gawain and the Green Knight (1973)". BFI. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  3. ^ Harty, Kevin J. (7 May 2015). Cinema Arthuriana: Twenty Essays, rev. ed. McFarland. pp. 18–19. ISBN 978-1-4766-0844-0.
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