We Will Rock You - An A Knight's Tale Video Essay
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- čas přidán 12. 06. 2024
- 1. I really like Chaucer
2. For some reason I had a real hard time say Helgeland and Ulrich.
3. Aw beans I meant 14th century not 13th
Enjoy
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0:00 - Intro
0:38 - Chapter 1: We Will Rock You
12:28 - Chapter 2: Taking Care of Business
17:54 - Chapter 3: Crazy On You
27:52 - Chapter 4: Golden Years
31:31 - Chapter 5: The Boys are Back In Town
45:04 - Chapter 6: We Are The Champions
Sources:
A Write Knight Takes on Hollywood--and Lives to Tell the Tale
www.latimes.com/archives/la-x...
53% on Rotten Tomatoes
www.rottentomatoes.com/m/knig...
20 Crazy Behind-The-Scenes Details About A Knight's Tale
screenrant.com/details-knight...
Writer-director gives 14th Century jousting a roguish rock'n'roll revamp in hip period flick
In the end, it's just a Canterbury tailspin in which they, uh, lance a lot.”
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv...
“But it's an enjoyable romp and Heath Ledger is a likeably vulnerable hero”
www.theguardian.com/film/2001...
A Knight's Tale Review by Roger Ebert
www.rogerebert.com/reviews/a-...
“Rarely has a period costume picture been quite so craven in courting a young audience as "A Knight's Tale."
A Knight’s Tale Review by Todd McCarthy
variety.com/2001/film/reviews...
AT THE MOVIES: Medieval Tale, Modern Twist
www.nytimes.com/2001/05/04/mo...
Frederick Converse Beach, “The Americana: a universal reference library, comprising the arts and sciences, literature, history, biography, geography, commerce, etc., of the world, Volume 4,” 1903, Section 4
S.R. Crocker, “The Literary World, Volume 23.” 1892, p.53
Chronology of Geoffrey Chaucer's life and times
www.librarius.com/chauchro.htm
Economists call it recession
money.cnn.com/2001/11/26/econ...
The 2001 Recession
ideas.ted.com/an-eye-opening-...
Accounts of Female Blacksmiths & Blacksmithing Throughout History
workingtheflame.com/female-bl...
Historical Costume Inaccuracies in Period Films
www.geekycamel.com/famous-mov...
And entire rant on the weirdness of Crowleys Costume in that one scene of Good Omens
wisteria-lodge.tumblr.com/pos...
Statistics about Women in Hollywood
womenandhollywood.com/resourc...
Hollywood Diversity Report 2020
irle.ucla.edu/wp-content/uplo...
Vagina Monologues Writer Eve Ensler: How Mad Max: Fury Road Became a 'Feminist Action Film'
time.com/3850323/mad-max-fury...
How Star Wars was saved in the edit (By Marcia Lucas)
• How Star Wars was save...
How Pacific Islanders Helped Disney’s Moana Find Its Way
www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/...
Ryan Murphy Says 'Pose' Could Have Never Happened Without Trans Talent
www.hollywoodreporter.com/liv...
Coronavirus May Disproportionately Hurt the Poor-And That's Bad for Everyone
time.com/5800930/how-coronavi...
As Coronavirus Deepens Inequality, Inequality Worsens Its Spread
www.nytimes.com/2020/03/15/wo...
'A perfect storm': poverty and race add to Covid-19 toll in US deep south
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2...
NYC Hospitals Break Out Into Song When Discharging Coronavirus Patients
watch/?v=271...
Men Are Dismissing ‘Little Women.’ What a Surprise.
www.nytimes.com/2019/12/27/op...
Little Women Has a Little Man Problem
www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/...
“Our schools teach girls how to read boys’ stories. We usually don’t teach boys to read girls’ stories.”
www.vox.com/culture/2020/1/13...
#AKnightsTale - Zábava
The real bootstraps were his friends all along.
That is hilarious, thank you
I am crying laughing at this
@@citycrusher9308 Honestly mate why are you here? Just fuck off.
@@citycrusher9308 You feel the need to be a defensive ass? Why? Because she's asking for more voices to be heard? I'm white as all get out, and have nearly the whitest family (with one glaring exception) you can ever meet. I want other voices, and all your reactionary bullshit does is try to drown legitimate commentary in argumentative and inflammatory horsecrap. If your mother didn't tell you this, I will. If you can't say something nice, shut the fuck up.
@@citycrusher9308 shut up dude.
A Knight's Tale is one of the smartest movies ever because it deploys its anachronisms not only knowingly, but practically as a weapon. Jousting was a massively popular sport, real young people danced popular new dances to flirt while popular new music played, but if you filmed it accurately a modern audience would be bored to tears. We wouldn't get it. We'd feel the weight of those 600 years between us.
So the movie goes "no, I want you people to GET IT", and fills jousting with tropes of modern sporting events and has the cast do a hip dance to David Bowie. Is that what it was really like? Hell no. Is what we feel watching it similar to what they felt doing it? Hell YES, and that's the key.
The movie deliberately discards the literal truth in service of the emotional truth.
I agree in large part, but I think that's mostly because we forget that the people of the past were fundamentally people. They felt the same things we do. It's kind of sad we can't connect to those people unless we add in so many modern references as to make it a modern film. But I don't think that is the only way to make modern audiences get it. It can be done.
I also loved how the armor was designed more like sports gear. It was logical and looked awesome.
It's also interesting when think about the anachronisms and then that Chaucer and the Canterbury tales did a similar thing during its time. Making narrative driven story telling more accessible to a wider audience (although not too wide given the time period).
Which is a good thing because Medieval society is weird as compared to Modern society strict social class aside words like c**t, Sh**, and C*ck are not swear words as there was no privacy in the period so they were normal words, however words like OMG, by the Blood of Christ are swear words if used lightly as the period was very Religious.
Women can have Power in rare cases as an example if a Lord dies with no Male heirs the Female one gets the land however should she marry the Husband gets the land, there are even cases when the Queen was the Power behind the throne with figures like Saint Olga, Queen of Kiev.
Jobs of peasants are also tied to family as the many Surnames can tell like Thacher, Tailor, Miller and so on with the job being passed from Father, Son, Mother, daughter.
There is also a language barrier at times between the classes as Most of the higher class tend to be foreigners as an Example a lot of the English Nobility were French and can read Latin though the farther from William the Conqueror we go the more English sounding the Monarch becomes this is even the case today where the current Royal Family are from the German branch.
A little Jousting fact there were 2 types the Joust of Peace and the Joust of War.
The Joust of Peace is the more famous and Safe type as they use specialized lances that break on impact as shown in the film.
The Joust of War on the other hand is a complete simulation of mouted combat with real lances.
"Your men love you William. If I knew nothing else about you, that would be enough" Is one of my favorite lines from anything ever. It's so indicative of what this whole movie was about, about the true honor of having such a loving found family
"There are three different types of people in the world. The bad ones, the ones you follow and the ones you protect."
There is, I kid you not, not one line of this movie that I do not like. Every single time I watch it, I like it more.
Since I was just a boy, away from school sick with the flu, watching it portuguese dubbed on VHS on september 10th to watching it on repeat the next day because... Well, there's nothing else on, everyone is just talking about those dumb towers.
I love this movie and I think most of my love for cinema is derived from it.
I always assumed the "royal all along" thing was something Edward made up to save his life. Like *wink wink nudge nudge* He's totally the nephew of Lord...Tea Kettle
Cal
I always thought that as well. The way he seems to looks at Will in that scene.
I always thought that too,
I felt it followed the theme of the movie, as they both tried to be something theyre not simply to do something they loved.
As will attacked him as a Knight, not as a Prince he made them equals and respected him.
So when he later knights William, its his way of doing the same thing back as a favor. Not because will is actually of royal decent, because he wanted to rise william on his own level, just like william did to him the last time they met
Yeah, the "my royal words are beyond contestation" (paraphrasing) bit always made me think that not only was he lying, he knew everyone would know he was lying but he's reminding them he gets to do that and nobody can gainsay it.
Agreed.
@@elizabethsaltmarsh8306 Exactly!
All those critics remind me of how my southern-born, northern-educated Honors English professor defended this movie to death. The other professors would tell her it was a ridiculous, anachronistic film and she was always like “and? what about it?” I admired her sm
For me it was my History teacher who absolutely adored this film. Even though she could pretty much make an entire game out of spotting the anachronisms. It was one of those times where her cynical posturing slightly dropped to reveal a true romantic at heart. At least that’s how I viewed it at the time.
It's def one of those movies where historical inaccuracy is small potatoes next to the fact that it's just a really entertaining ride. I loved these characters and this premise, it's just got so much charm. If it was supposed to be based on actual events, I could understand why history buffs would be upset. But it's purely fictional, and it knows it is. As a history nerd myself, I wish other history nerds would occasionally calm tf down and just learn to enjoy things. Yes, it's a ridiculous movie. But that's what makes it fun
My professor begged the class not to think of 'the Father of English Literature' as someone stuffy, and played a clip from this movie so we'd think of Chaucer like this instead!
@@paristhompson7522 As a fellow history nerd I can tell you that I'm quite calm and have enjoyed this movie, and will continue to enjoy it :)
love it
*He's blond he's pissed*
*He'll see you in the lists*
*LICHTENSTEIN, LICHTENSTEIN*
*He's blond, he's tan*
*He comes from Gelderland*
*HE COMES FROM GELDERLAAND*
*GEEELDEEERLAND GELDERLAND GELDERLAAAAAND*
*GELDERLAND GELDERLAND GELDERLAAAAAaaand*
I am from Gelderland (born and raised). it's a province of The Netherlands.
When my youngest brother would play football (soccer) games my other siblings and me would occasionally watch him and root for him, singing this song.
He has blond hair and sometimes a little bit of an anger problem, so it fitted perfectly! XD
lol I always thought it was
"He's blonde, he's hanged
He comes from Gelderland"
WHOOPS
@@tss3393 *The Pope may be French bit Jesus is English! YOU'RE ON!*
I know a man from Liechtenstein. When I first met him and he told me where he was from I mentioned this film.
Not gonna lie, the "That's your name Will. Your father heard that." line absolutely DESTROYS me every time; I started choking up just watching that scene again
Regarding the "conveniently royal" revelation, I always read that bit as meaning that the Black Prince, with a wink and a nudge, did some forging of his own, and it actually stuck because he's royal himself. So it really was friendship that pulled him out of the lower classes. Friendship with a royal.
A bit more in keeping with the themes, anyway.
Yeah, "oh but he is totally royal you guys! I mean it! Don't look it up, you can trust me, I'm the prince!"
@@AnnekeOosterink "And if you don't want to trust me, good luck questioning me."
I just wrote this exact comment myself, should have looked first. Glad to see I'm not alone! :)
Yeah same
@@AnnekeOosterink "Don't worry, if you don't trust me you'll just get a an all expeensives paid trip to the bottom of the lake!"
I always thought it was heartbreaking when Chaucer is yelling “listen to me... listen to me” at the stocks. Until this point he has been able to capture/enchant every crowd he’s in front of with his words. Yet against this mob his words are as powerless as Watt’s threats. The cut speech although lovely doesn’t have the same impact for me.
Chaucer was also my favorite character in one of my favorite movies growing up. I’d rewind just to rewatch his scenes. So happy to see a video essay giving him the attention he deserves
I mostly agree with you about the cut speech... After watching this video, I feel like the best version would have been somewhere in between. The way the deleted scene played out, Chaucer was able to win the crowd over a bit too easily, and the entire speech he gives -- while very emotional -- feels a little too on the nose. It also _does_ weaken the arrival of Prince Edward a little. But I still think that the final edit of the movie could've been improved.
What if a revised edit had kept some choice parts of Jeff's speech, BUT, like in the final cut, they weren't landing with the crowd, and Chaucer's tearful words were paired with an ever more belligerent crowd with all hope seemingly lost? I think that would have been an incredible reworking of the scene, and would have segued just as well to the reveal of the Black Prince (which they clearly cared about, as Ladyknightthebrave points out).
I agree! Like speaking is his weapon but he cant use it in this instance.
That "to me he is gold" part had me nearly in tears ngl
my little sister recommended that we bring back jousting as the the perfect "social distancing" sport, because you can stay six feet apart with a lance. I'm all in if someone wants to set up a tournament.
My friend, your family would love renaissance festivals. (Ohio Renaissance Festival has real jousting, but some like Kentucky Highland Festival, or so I've been told, do staged jousts, so do your research if you wanna see it live.)
try HEMA - Historical european martial arts.
medieval combat as a sport. Despite what hollywood says, medieval martial arts could be as sophisticated as the eastern codes.
Jousters were the elite sports people of the time, their stars being the equivalent of Le Bron, Muhammed Ali or any top tier athlete
"turns out he'd been royal all along" ?
Are you reading that as he actually was from an ancient royal house? i've always read that as the prince just said it and then is like 'im the prince, contradict me scrubs?'
I mean based on the director's commentary where he spelled out a lot of other things in great detail and never said a word about the prince lying I kind of think it was literal. All he had to say about that scene was that he always wanted to use the word 'contestation' in a movie. Although the sentence contradict me scrubs is pretty glorious and thank you for writing it
@@Ladyknightthebrave i mean, if that's the director's take then fair. i just think it makes so much less sense than the prince being like 'i like this lad, boom, posh'.
but hey ho xD
This was one of a couple lines I always took as BS and manipulation. The other one being "Nooooo. They said that you were good with horseshoes but shite with armor. The fact that you were a woman wasn't even mentioned." She was refusing to touch his armor without cash up front, and he's broke. So he reads her and realizes that if he insults her gender, then he's just another asshole, and she'll tell him to f-off and ignore him. But if he insults her work, then she'll have something to prove. And it works. She fixes his armor.
At least, that's how I always read it.
@@Ladyknightthebrave Well you have obviously done more research on this movie than I have but without extra research and just going strictly off what is in the movie I still see it as the prince was lying. The first time I watched that scene I thought it was beyond obvious that he was lying that I didn't think twice about it and never even knew others thought that this scene meant Will really was royal all along until I watched this video. Other than that I agree with pretty much the rest of your analysis, great review.
@@Xai47 I'm 100% with you on this, it never struck me that way at all. I always took it as "I respect this person, and he *is* as noble as they come."
As a man who loves his father, I absolutely adore the relationship between Will and his father. I think it means so much to any child to make their parents proud, and I am so glad that they didn't put in any artificial conflict between them.
It’s so refreshing and good to see a relationship like that. As someone who doesn’t have a good relationship with my father, it’s healing and hopeful and means so much to see.
“Look at this queen! She’s ready to beat some people with her hammers to defend her friend. I love her!” I love you for having said that.
A generic sports movie based on Chaucer set in the 14th century to a classic rock soundtrack? Greenlit. How this movie survived its pitch meeting is just amazing to me.
This isn't a movie I remember very well, probably because I was about three when it came out - but I asked my older brother and sister-in-law about it, and they both said "Helloooo it's a lance" back to me. 🤣
Its a deeply quotable bit
Lol I was introduced to this movie by people quoting it. My cousin would laughingly quote Jocelyn so much that I watched the movie just so I could be in on the joke.
I think there's another aspect to Geoff's relief in they scene at the stocks. He's absolutely letting go of all that tension of will's imprisonment - but there's a sadness or a capitulation there too. He *wrote* Will the Knight, Von Lichtenstein, he spent all this time justifying to the group and in the deleted scene, to the people, his knightliness and his earning of his status by virtue. He facilitated the creation of a knight from a peasant by the strength of his character.
It's a recognition that in spite of will's virtue and his talent and work, in spite of their journey, what saves will is the luck of finding a noble prince. There's a sort of recognition that his job is over, and ultimately, what saves will was not his relationship with his herald, the writer, but with a fellow noble, the prince who still inhabits so much of the entitlement and rights by birth that has caused them so many problems.
Privately, the prince does not espouse the same entitlement as Ademar, but he gives lip service to it, to the importance of birth, by justifying - to will's fellow peasants no less - his heritage above all else, backed up by the Prince's royal authority.
Perhaps I'm reading too much into this, but I feel in that glance down that the above ironies are not lost on Chaucer, who simply accepts in this scene the relieving way their lives are being controlled by their betters, in the same way they had to accept the horror of the same when details of wills arrest was discovered.
Chaucer is relieved, but he knows they must capitulate to their society. The game is over. Will is a "real" knight now.
"You're gonna see Paul Bettany's butt."
Oooooh nooooo...
At least him and the wife will have some war stories to talk about.
Been there, done that, didnt wear the T-shirt.
That's... why I'm here
Oooh yeaah!
*clicks harder*
Oh no what a shame...
"What do you think of when you think of "A Knight's Tal-"
"WILLIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!
Sir William Thatcher. Your father heard that name.
I can't blame Jocelyn for getting him hurt. In the movie they make a point of mentioning that he could just withdraw from the challenges, but he refuses. So really he's getting beat up because his pride won't let him back down AND he wants to do as she asks.
I think it's also possible that she didn't realize just how badly he would and did get hurt until after the fact. Given that women presumably weren't allowed to go anywhere near jousting, she would have had zero experience with what it's like. Even watching it, it's not obvious in the moment (at least not to me) that he's getting anything more than a mild bruise or two.
Nah, to me it's the underlying theme of a "woman scorned".
He understands that she wants him to suffer, so taking the easy way out would be cheating. And not knightly.
I am only a minute in and you've pointed out that chaucer's is one of the best parts of this movie. I hope that you know that I will love you forever for this video essay (somehow more than I already love you for your other video essays, which is saying something as your theme analyses actually have helped inspire some writing of novels of my own).
That's really sweet and yeah Chaucer is my favorite. Thanks for watching!
Yeah people are sleeping on ladynight- she’s the shit 💕
What a delightful an wholesome essay about a pretty wholesome and absolutely delightful movie
I watched this film as a kid but rewatched it later in uni after having learned about Chaucer and was like WHUAT?!?! I knew there was a reason he was always my favourite character :D
i watched the extended edition with my mum as a kid so i never knew jeff's speech was CUT it was always just a part of the movie to me! i'm so grateful that it's the version i watched the HEART OF IT! the acting in this movie was so tender and really something else
Oh my god I thought there was an extended version out there somewhere with this scene included but I wasn't sure. I'm glad it eventually received it's rightful place in the film
@@Ladyknightthebrave when I saw it for the first time on Bluray (as it doesnt say extended on the box)
I was like.. "this wasnt in the vhs is when I was a kid?!!! There is mooore?😯😯😯🥳🥳"
@@Ladyknightthebrave I have no idea how I've watched the extended edition, tv reruns maybe? But I certainly have.
I remeber watching this in theaters, dragged by my girlfriend thinking it would be some dumb romantic comedy. It's one of my favourite films of all time and I would watch the hell out of it when I used to pay for cable. Now I need the Blu-ray.
I absolutely love your videos btw!
@@Ladyknightthebrave I've only ever watched the extended edition so I didn't know what scenes weren't originally included, so when you said Chaucer's speech at the end was cut, along with meeting his wife (which Olivia Williams is delightful as his wife, I'm sad she was cut), I was genuinely surprised.
@@OffbeatWorlds Same, I was genuinely surprised that wasn't originally in the film.
This is the first video essay of yours I've seen, and the fact that it's THIS movie, and you point out things like Chaucer and how the "found family" storyline is way more compelling and more the emotional core of the film than the "change your stars" plot, and the way women are written in the film, and just all the little moments and facts and the scenes that made me fall in love with Paul Bettany and Heath Ledger and Alan Tudyck, all of that has me practically in tears. This was a joyous watch, and I'm thrilled somebody finally did a video essay on this film and treated it with the respect it deserves. I may be going a little over the top, but I love this film, and at a young age, it was one of those films that deepened my passion for not only film, but acting, poetry, music, writing. It's all in there. Thanks again for doing this video, and causing me to cry in public. 💚
"You're gonna see Paul Bettany's butt several times." You say that like it's a bad thing.
"MENE MENE TEKEL UPHARSIN" - "You have been weighed, measured, and found wanting" - those were the words written by a disembodied divine hand on the wall of the emperor's palace - it's the writing on the wall!
At 43:10 or so you say that at the end he was "conveniently royal the whole time" but my interpretation of that line has always been slightly different. Prince Edward's line basically boild down to "I have some secret documents that says he's noble and you can't question it because I'm a Prince" so he just invents it all out of whole cloth. Seems nicer to me.
[edit] Holy crap it seems that basically everyone thinks this and I didn't check the comments section first.
Cause the movie makes it very explicit that is exactly what the Black Prince did... he even made the point that he was doing it & that he was using the power his father the King had invested in him as Prince to do so. That quite literally the only person in the whole of England who could gainsay him was his own dad (and everyone grasping that the King would never gainsay his own son gaining a loyal Knight in such a manner.)
Shouting his own name was partially for Ademar. William was able to do everything he ever dreamed and more but as someone else. Always hearing someone else's name. He let his enemy, himself and the world know who this Knight is.
When they were all telling him to run I couldn't help but think of a saying I heard once regarding honor.
"As flowery of a statement as it is, honor comes not from one's own heart, but from the hearts and smiles of those around them."
The whole "meeting Kate" scene in where William says that being a woman didn't even come up, makes so much sense! I don't understand how you didn't get this.
William goes to all the blacksmiths, but no-one will help him. As you (and the director) mentioned; it's not normal for a woman to make armour at all. They stuck to the simple things because they only learned the trait form their husband and continued it to keep from starving. So obviously it would be a non-sensible thing to go to a woman with a problem that is only ever (normally) fixed by men. He has no other choice really, and takes quite a big leap of faith in hopes that she is any good. Horseshoes are so very different to armour!
Most (not rich) women in this time had to work, and take care of their children and keep up the house etc. They had little choice in employment and often just followed in the footsteps of their mother or mother-in-law, just keeping heads above water.
In this case, Kate seems to like her job, she has a passion for it. But she never (or hardly ever) got paid to make/fix armour. She wants to be equal to the others in her profession, but no-one gives her a chance. Then comes William, who she sees as just another guy that thinks lowly of her and she starts by throwing the first punch.
"I don't work for free".
William explains his situation in quite a complaining and rude-ish way (imho) and she reacts just like she did before. She won't be bullied or treated as anything less than the others. William gets this (he is also trying to strive for equality) and takes a different approach. Not insulting or belittling her for her sex, but coaching out her pride and drive for equality. Therefore he tries and steer it towards questioning her abilities as a blacksmith, not a woman.
This is great analysis except the film literally showed William when introduced to Kate without meeting her, he made a face doubting her as if he was disgusted. And immediately after he make this line.
This was beautiful. Apparently A Knight's Tale is on Netflix, so I'll go watch that now. Thanks for reminding me this movie.
Not anymore, sadly...
@@stephenleskowat4482 recently, it's now on IMDB tv :)
Love to see you mention Ever After!
Omg yes PLEASE! Is my favorite film 😍✨
Fun fact I found out randomly: Ulrich von Lichtenstein was the name of an actual knight (can't remember the time period off hand, I think 1300s or 1400s). Probably not a coincidence, but still, a nice little touch. And yeah, this movie is really one of the most quotable and funniest movies I've ever seen, and I first saw it when I was like 8, so it has absolutely held up.
I remember reading some interview about how they made all his titles up, and was all like, but Liechtenstein AND Gelderland (I mean, I live in Gelderland) are real places and not near each other at all and also Gelderland didn't strictly exist yet, but alright. :P
Everything you said about Chacuer's character is exactly why I love him. He was immediately my favorite when I saw this at 13 because he was funny, brilliant, loyal and warm. Its wonderful to see a video essay on this classic!
It seems like this is a story of human compassion, determination, passion, and love, told through the lens of recognizable history augmented by the sheer fun of familar and moving music. Thank you for bringing this back into my life! (I got the video notification last night, and my friends' response to my more or less maniacal laughter, once I explained it, was to watch the movie.) Thanks for not only providing excellent observation and insight, but also for helping my friends and me relive how fun this movie is. ^_^ You do some awesome work, and it is much appreciated. It sounds cheesy af, but the power of love really can change a person's stars, be it friendly love or love in other forms, and I really really appreciate your pointing that out. Ugh, your videos are great dude. Thanks for them!!!
And I, too, always choke a little bit at Jeff's silent moment of emotion at William's knighting. How powerful such a small thing can be....
Rest In Peace Heath Ledger. The world forever misses you
Love this essay. I will add the part where you mention he’s telling Kate that she’s shite with armor not horse shoes wasn’t him being inconsistent, it was him using his wits to bait her into helping because he knew she’d be too proud to ignore his comment
A Knight's Tale isn't my favorite movie of all time, but heck, it is a great fun movie.
in 10th grade my english teacher showed this movie to our class after reading and thoroughly analyzing many of the canterbury tales. as a bunch of 15/16 year olds, we were very not into what was about to be shown, but let me tell you when that movie opened with we will rock you.... this movie probably became one of the best things we'd ever gotten to watch in a class (second only to maybe bill nye lol). we didn't actually get to finish it, but we would reference it a lot for the rest of the year. i kinda forgot about it until now, but maybe i'll go back and finish it this time lol
*sees "A Knight's Tale Video Essay" in my video recommendations* Finally.
I was around 10 when this movie came out, and it remains one of my favorites. I'm overdue for a rewatch. Thank you for this lovely essay!
I watched this movie literally every time I had a sleepover with the person who was my best friend through elementary and middle school. It's still near and dear to my heart. I totally understand and agree with the whole like "I love this movie, but also has lots of room to improve? But I love this movie" because that basically sums it up. It just kind of feels like a casual type of good time. Like, your friends and you made a movie together in the neighborhood and had a lot of fun with it, but with bigger budgets and higher quality haha. It makes a wonderful movie for a relaxed but fun hangout :D
Ah, this one pulled at my heartstrings. Thank you so much for making this video. A Knight's Tale is one of my all-time favorite films, and Heath Ledger was one of my favorite actors. That bit where Geoff closes his eyes as Will is knighted also gets to me, I cry every single time!
Well, you really got me in my feels over A Knight's Tale (and specifically Chaucer) after this vid. It's incredibly validating to see someone else have a mental breakdown over Paul Bettany and his acting choices because I have been screaming about Chaucer into the void for years. So glad the algorithm sent you my way! Thanks for doing the research so the rest of us don't have to.
I remember watching this in my early twenties, when it came out, and what a massive crush I had on Laura Frasers Kate. I mean, who has the time to care about some spoiled noble women when here we have a competent, gorgeous, blacksmith! Proficiency is always hotter than good breeding.
I can see how Kate has a accessible thing going on, the problem with women like that sometime is that they get a lot of attention from lower status men and it develops a bit of a complex
I only remember crying in like 1 movie, but somehow your retrospectives summon up a well of emotion that didn't hit in the tonnes of times I've watched a knights tale or mash or the other stuff you've covered. I start tearing up
I just want to say I watch this video at least once a month (and go through phases when I watch it weekly or even daily) and I'll never get tired of your voice and perspective. I love your content so much and I so appreciate how you help me appreciate the movies and shows I've loved even more.
Damn, I love this movie... it just warms my heart every time. Bless you, Ledger, you were a delight and a treasure. Rest in Peace.
This is absolutely one of my favorite movies of all time. I have the fondest memory of seeing it in theaters 20 years ago, and this essay really brought out some feelings I didn't know I had, and made me love it even more. Thank you.
Bit late to this but my God tears of joy have been spurred by this video as the very thought of someone giving this classic from my childhood that I've rewatched hundreds of Times it's just deserts never mind the spectacular 50 minutes runtime of this video is just enough to make me tear up
Thank you.
_A Knight's Tale_ is my #1 favorite movie of all time. I watched it over and over again when I was a kid and rewatching it now on occasion as an adult, I always find something new to appreciate about it. This video was a great way to express everything I love about it and more and I'm glad to hear someone else adore it. Thank you!
God, your videos are incredible, really. Your editing, the background music you play, the formatting and the crescendo of heartfelt moments... you do such a great job, this video made me cry three times and I've only seen the movie about twice, and that's about ten+ years ago. Truly, you astound me. Thank you!
That's very kind of you to say. I put a lot of effort into those things so I'm glad it shows :-)
I always thought that the "losing my tournament" montage was also a great device for showing just how good Kate's armor was, emphasizing how much he relied on help from his friends. ❤
Chaucer is indeed best character. 😍
Would have loved to see Ledger make more magic times like this.
I immediately thought of Eragon as the poster child for a studio trying and failing hard to recapture the magic of LotR/Harry Potter. 😅
I'm not crying, YOU'RE crying!!
Seriously. This movie gets me bawling. There is so much emotional impact, so much love between the friends, such weighty callbacks in the dialogue, it just hits me from all sides. Definitely one of my favorite movies. Thank you for doing it justice, for for reminding me that I haven't watched it in too long....
I’ve watched this video like 3 times now and for some reason the ending always brings me to tears, I can’t explain why but there’s something so beautiful about it
I had never seen A Knight’s Tale before. I love all your work, so when this came up in my subscriptions, I decided now’s the time I should finally “get around to it.” I’m so glad I did! The movie is amazing, and your observations are fantastic as ever. Thank you for taking the time to put this all together!
I love love love this movie. I saw it at the theater when it was hotter than Hades in Tucson that Summer and there was nothing else that looked interesting. I left the theater completely entertained and happily surprised. I never miss a chance to watch it. Still miss Heath.
Jon Speedgato Figueroa You still in Tucson? It’s 102 today😅
Mark Addy is more known to my family as the lovable father on the sitcom Still Standing - both the show and this movie are beloved quote factories for us - so calling him the father of the group makes me smile :)
Also if you like Rufus Sewell’s villainy in this, I recommend watching The Illusionist. He gives another great performance
A few years ago, I moved into a new place, and the only thing I had to watch was A Knight's Tale, I watched that movie like 12 times over several days before I finally got cable. It's so good.
You are the kind of creator I've always been looking for, I love seeing something I didn't have much of an opinion on being explored through the eyes of someone who connected with it, this movie has always been a fun childhood memory for me, so thank you for bringing it back with a depth I've never seen before! T-T
That's very kind, thank you!
I didn't need to go to bed before 4 am anyway!
yees
Same!
Honestly this and the Iron Giant is still one of my favorite moves to this date and I have very fond memories of and I think one of the mainly reasons is because of what they taught kids and adults even back than...its all about your character and what you choice to be and your never stuck being what you are now(I think I worded that right)
I love this movie, it reminds me so much of the kind of story that would develop in tabletop RPGs, these misfits coming together having wacky adventures and becoming a family. Chaucer is a massive inspiration for me whenever I play a Bard, and is one of my favorite characters in any medium.
Great video, truly shows why this movie is a beloved cult classic.
"She has great taste in hats." FTFY. But seriously I just found your channel and LOVE it! I can't wait to see more
This movie had a resurgence in popularity in the mid 2000's when I was on high school and I was heavily in my "not like other gay boys" phase so I never really gave it a chance. This essay really spelled out what I missed so I think now at age 30 (thank you for your condolences) I will actually give the movie the place in my heart it seemingly deserves.
I'm glad I helped you see this in a new light :)
How many gay boys did you have to compare yourself against in the mid 2000s?
@@The_Jovian Uuuh, two. Maybe three. I should add I was the worst?
31:24, it always looked like Bettany pissed off Tudyk in that take.
Thanks for sharing this. Knights Tale is one my of my favorites despite it not being a "classic/great" movie. I think its the stocks scene that made me love it. The speech coupled with the joust with the Black Prince pay off is something I enjoy no matter how many times I see it.
I will always love this movie. I always have. My Dad showed it to me. He was a big fan of the story and the music. He loved movies. And I sat with him, seeing him clapping to the rhythm of "we will rock you". I think I was eight or nine. We quoted this movie a lot when I was growing up. This one and Back to the future. And seeing this essay I'm just so grateful that my Dad taught me something about film by watching movies with me. And I'm grateful for what this movie taught me.
As one millennial to another, your love of this movie has gotten you another fan. time to binge through the rest of your content during these tumultuous times.
I cannot tell you how much I love this. ♥ A Knight's Tale is one of my favorite movies. The characters, the modern music, Heath Ledger (of course), and Paul Bettany was outstanding. The whole dynamic of their little band of friends was fun to watch and entertaining, as much as it was endearing. I absolutely agree about the part where Joseline lets Will get hurt, over, and over. It's always bothered me as something unnecessary, and definitely not something a loving woman would let happen to the man she loves. In any case, I loved watching this video essay. I love breaking down movies and finding the detailed moments, the wonderful lines, or character reactions that make us love a movie. I just found your channel but I am looking forward to watching more of these. ~Caroline
Awesome video! I've always loved that part too, Chaucer's face when Will is knighted. It just says it all. So great! Thanks for all your hard work on this.
I just rewatched this movie recently after having not seen it in years and years having always loved it. Now I love it even more.
This video essay was incredible, can’t wait to see more of your content
Such an epic, wholesome adventure.
I miss growing up in the 90's/00's.
Why don't we have many movies like this anymore??
Happiness is..... when your favourite youtuber finally uploads a video 💜🤣
🎉
This is the third video of yours I watch in a binge, I just discovered your channel today and all three of them haven't failed to make me cry. I don't know what it is, maybe the way you seem so passionate talking about these stories, but your content is really powerful keep it up
This is one of those movies that if I see it on the live channel list , I will always watch.
Do you know the feeling after watching a video, when you're like: "i really liked that, i should subscribe to this..." and you scroll down to discover you already are?
How I loved this movie and still one of my favourites. Is fun, cool, awesome, enjoyable, entertaning, and the soundtrack.... uffff good Lord the best selection of songs there is!
I ALWAYS cry during these video essays.
I’m honestly at a loss for words. Thank you so much for the time and effort that you put into every single one of these amazing videos!
I really love that movie. Geoffrey Chaucer was my personal Highlight.
He did not hype the onscreen audience but also the offscreen audience.
And he was shown in such a fragile spot, that he was instantly believable, while also competent. He just NEEDED the others to function.
personally find it really upsetting when male characters get to defy the system in a very unrealistic way and become self actualized, and the female characters get to like... make 1 pithy quip. as a treat.
Unfortunately I dont know of many genderflipped examples that arent anime or cartoons. Does westworld count?
Like Kate is enough for me to make up for the lack of strong writing for Jocelyn...but thats getting into subjective art territory and this movie could have grown in the writing of the women either way sooooo....Sometimes we all like imperfect films, this is a personal favorite of mine but I'm not going to call it flawless.
Ill just add my opinion here, any film created with a political writing stance is terrible, a film should be story first, and we can take the hits to writing equality, if the narrative is well constructed. Also this film is hardly a criminal case of writing inequality
@@petermccannell7565 "any film created with a political writing stance is terrible"
--> not only is this statement inherently silly (because art is politics, and an absurdly significant number of great movies are inherently political whether you realize it or not), it pairs with the rest of your comment to belie a fundamental misunderstanding. That is to say, that it demonstrates a misunderstanding of the fact that portraying women or minorities poorly (or omitting them altogether) is still a political statement. Whether by intention or ignorance.
Step outside your biases for a second. Do you think there might be a reason why you:
1) Think films which make a conscious effort to incorporate elements of equality are all "terrible" (whatever that even means)
2) Are totally fine if there are inadequacies in the "equality" of a film so long as you like the narrative (with zero realization on your part that, for someone who was a part of one of those poorly represented groups, such representation might certainly be an issue)
3) Don't think the suboptimal representations of women in this film "is that big a deal"?
Almost like the person at the restaraunt who gets their meal delivered exactly as they requested it, but thinks the people who only got half their order are overreacting a bit. Of course they would react in that tone-deaf way if they're blind to their own bias ("I got what I want. I don't see the problem. Everyone else needs to just stop being so dramatic").
Practice more empathy.
I strongly recommend "The Memoirs of Lady Trent". It is a series of five books with currently one spinoff, and it is an utterly unique story set in an extremely Victorian setting of how Isabella defies the system to study dragons.
This is a *delightful* movie. I watched this repeatedly as a kid and although I didn't yet know what slash fanfiction was, I longed for it with all my heart. So *many* possibilities~ 😌 Also, my mother was glad to watch it with me because the villian was an actor she liked, whose name we can never remember and so, in this house, is known as Half-moon Eye Man.
INCREDIBLE. his name is Rufus Sewell but that's way better
This movie is one of the few movies that when it came on the tv, no matter what i was doing i would watch it till the end. It is my favorite movie and thank you so much for this.
I just can't seem to stop rewatching your videos. It's like the voice in my head turned into a nice friend, and I can listen without exhausting myself.
i've heard once or twice of this movie (fun fact: it came out the year i was born) but now it totally skyrocketed to the top of my watchlist. i don't really care about spoilers because it's how you talk about media that resonates with me and makes me want to watch it. i am once again in awe about how good your videos are! ps. i can't wait for the jojo rabbit/book thief video and i'm glad you're sticking with it.
I adore this freaking movie so much. And this was a brilliant take on it
I'm SO glad I stumbled upon this video. I had no idea that other people loved this movie so much. Not only did it cement me getting interested in history when I was a kid, I just loved the characters and the action. I'm really glad to hear somebody else explain why this movie is so great. Thank you.
This was so special to watch. It was my childhood film! I watched it so many times that the disc would start to skip, but I would still watch and wait for it to start playing again. Seeing you talk about it and analyse it just makes me so happy. Just awesome. Thanks for making this!
This video is everything I needed, best way to start my morning, 10/10. Great editing too!
Glad you enjoyed it!
I hope it's not weird to comment twice, but I just remembered a moment from the beginning of the video that made me unreasonably happy. You were doing your tour of 2001 pop culture and you mentioned the A Teens. Me to my husband: "She gets me!" I had like 3 of their albums and I've never heard anyone mention them before. This whole video, but definitely this moment, made my day.
Since I was a kid watching this film on cable tv I’ve always been very fond of it. It’s a simple story but has likable characters and very funny moments.
I love this video essay not only because the movie was great, but because you have excellent skill in structuring these essays. The callback to the shot of chaucer closing his eyes was so well done that it literally gave me the same emotional payoff as watching the movie itself. This was all so well done! Instant sub from me :)
So this movie has been a favorite of my family ever since I was a little kid. Even though I've gotten into film studies and have gained a more critical eye with that sort of thing this is one of those movies that I will always say is great.
My dad showed it to me and my brothers when we were toddlers and almost every single year since it came out at one point we end up all sitting down and watching A Knight's Tale together. And I will always treasure it and I will always cry when Will gets knighted and Chaucer is relieved even though I know it's coming always always always. Because it really is a hopeful and beautiful film. It's fun and funny and full of so much heart that it's bursting at the seams with it.
Also the quotes. My god the quotes.
Fun fact (and this is in no way a criticism, I just really like this fact): people are always hanged or will hang, they aren't hung. I have no clue why this linguistic tic is a thing, but it always amuses me.
I LOVE A Knight's Tale and this video is SO good! Chaucer was also my favorite character! Stay safe and healthy!
Hung is the past tense of Hang-to suspend... Hanged is the past tense of Hang-to kill someone with a rope from above & removing support from below (so technically being Hung or being Hanged depends on how the execution was carried out... if you were dragged up and suspended to suffocate the you were Hung, if you were dropped to snap your neck then you were Hanged.) In this era being Hung was far more common than being Hanged... they even had a term called the Tyburn Jig in reference to the Tyburn Tree where hangings took place outside London for centuries, they used horses attached to the rope to pull people into the air & they would wildly flail their legs while they slowly suffocated to death.
Never seen a video from you before, and here we are. This is a brilliant perspective, well researched, very well written, and handsomely delivered. Thanks for the hard work! It's great to take a look back at a movie I've loved for a long time and identify with all the reasons I loved it rather specifically instead of with a broad brush.
I just wanted to comment to say thank you for an incredibly made video about one of my favourites from my childhood. Your editing, narrating and research were really interesting, very entertaining and of a professional quality! I even got a little teary once or twice thanks to the music, nostalgia and your qenuine sincerity. So from a stranger on the internet, many thanks and keep kicking arse and taking names!
Thanks so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it ^_^
I had the VHS when i was little and i've always loved this movie... it's like, the music starts and suddenly my smile machine turns on. This movie made me love Paul Bettany and i would really like to see him in a similar role in the future, because although him as Vision is lovely and really sweet, i find him a bit stiff (and of course, he has to be because he's basically a sentient robot) and limited in its range of emotions.
Seeing Heath Ledger so young and bright is really bittersweet, i think that no actor death has hit my generation quite like his and seeing the interview with the director and hearing the emotion in his voice is heartbreaking. I really love this video and your love for the movie is so clear in your voice it made the essay a breeze and a really pleasant view ^^
"And I wish I could give you all some easy answers on how to write women well, but there isn't some standard criteria that can apply to all films."
Ok, that last part is so important, I feel like it's understated here.
Characters, stories, situations, etc. Doesn't matter which, because in all of them, the most important part is there is no standard. Characters in particular are both a view into a world for people who don't live it, and a self reflection for people who do. James Bond is a great character because men want to be like him. Characters like Homer Simpson or Peter Griffin are great specifically for the reactions "Oh, I totally know someone like that", and "I've been there" and "Wait, there are people like that?". Family sitcoms are best when there's at least one character in the cast you get completely, who feels like your perspective in the story.
I think most people here haven't lived through a civil war, but read Half of a Yellow Sun, and you will understand it (obvious content warning is obvious; Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie pulls no punches), and that's not to mention that the characters end up so human. You will love them. You will hate them. You will relate to them. They never say their motivations, but you will understand them. I can't vouch for the movie, but crack it open.
But there is no formula for good characters. Only the result. Meanwhile, as you try to match people's image of certain types of people, don't forget there are 6,000,000,000 people, each with at least 20 opinions about what (person X) is like.
While there is not one-size-fits-all solution, a good start would be making all characters people with motivations and thoughts and opinions, you know? Instead of the sexy lamp syndrome many female characters suffer from.
@@AnnekeOosterink It all comes down to the reason that character exists.
@@PredatorH2O Yeah, they need to have a role in the story, but for female characters the main thing they do is too often being sexy while standing next to the main character, and being their wife/girlfriend/love interest. That's just so boring, especially because the other way around virtually never happens. (I'm sure there's like three movies where it's reversed, but it happens in almost every action movie). It's boring and tiring and I'd almost accept ANYTHING else at this point.
"God love you William, so do I." gets me every time. Roland is so good and deserves all the good things
This video essay convinced me to watch this movie, and I think it’s become one of my favorite movies ever. Thank you so much for this.
Always loved this movie. This is gonna be a great way to spend my next hour
Exceptional video. I enjoyed every minute of it.
I’m beyond thrilled to have discovered this channel. How rare to find someone as articulate and insightful about their subject, as opposed to “react” videos. My first find was Rogue One and thoroughly enjoyed that, however this was a loving take on a real favourite film of mine. Bravo!
I first saw this movie in high school and I cannot begin to describe how in love with Paul Bettany Shakespeare-quoting, frock-coat-wearing teenage me was.