| A Knight's Tale | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Brian Helgeland |
| Written by | Brian Helgeland |
| Based on | "The Knight's Tale" byGeoffrey Chaucer |
| Produced by |
|
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Richard Greatrex |
| Edited by | Kevin Stitt[1] |
| Music by | Carter Burwell |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Sony Pictures Releasing[1] |
Release date |
|
Running time | 132 minutes[3] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $65 million[4] |
| Box office | $117.5 million |
A Knight's Tale is a 2001 Americanmedievalaction comedy film[5][6] written, co-produced and directed byBrian Helgeland. The film starsHeath Ledger as William Thatcher, a peasant squire who poses as a knight and competes in tournaments, winning accolades and acquiring friendships with such historical figures asEdward the Black Prince (James Purefoy) andGeoffrey Chaucer (Paul Bettany). Its 14th-century story is intentionally anachronistic, with many modern pop culture references and a soundtrack featuring 1970s music.[7] The film takes its name from Chaucer's story "The Knight's Tale", part ofThe Canterbury Tales, and also draws several plot points from Chaucer's work.
A Knight's Tale was released byColumbia Pictures in the United States on May 11, 2001. It received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $117.5 million against a budget of $65 million.
At ajousting tournament in14th-century Europe, squires William Thatcher, Roland, and Wat discover that their master, Sir Ector, has died. With one more pass, he could have won the tournament. Destitute, William wears Sir Ector's armour to impersonate him, winning the tournament and taking the prize.
Although only nobles are allowed in tournaments, William is inspired to compete and win more prizes. Roland and Wat would rather take their winnings and leave, but William convinces them to stay and help him train. While traveling, they encounter a youngGeoffrey Chaucer, who is also destitute and agrees to forge apatent of nobility so William can enter,assuming the name of "Sir Ulrich von Liechtenstein" fromGelderland. But William is brought before Simon the Summoner and Peter the Pardoner: Chaucer has a gambling problem and is in their debt. William demands Chaucer be released and promises payment.
During the competition, William's armour is badly damaged; he goads Kate, a female blacksmith, into repairing it without payment. He wins the tournament's sword event, enabling him to pay Chaucer's debt. In the joust, he faces Sir Thomas Colville, who withdraws from the tournament after being injured by William, though they exchange a ceremonial pass so that Colville can retain the honour of never having failed to complete a match.
The proceedings are observed by Jocelyn, a noblewoman with whom William has become infatuated, and Count Adhemar ofAnjou, a rival both in the joust and for Jocelyn's heart. In the final joust, Adhemar defeats William by knocking his helmet off. William vows revenge, but Adhemar taunts him, "You have been weighed, you have been measured, and you have been found wanting."
William is invited to a banquet and Kate shows him how to dance. There, he meets with Jocelyn again and, once more, Adhemar attempts to humiliate Will. The attempt backfires as Will stuns the audience with his dancing.
Kate joins William's party and forges new lightweight armour. In the following tournament, Adhemar and William are both assigned to tilt against Sir Thomas Colville, but they learn that he is actuallyPrince Edward, theheir apparent to the English throne. Unwilling to risk harming him, Adhemar withdraws; but William chooses to joust against Edward anyway and then addresses him by name, further earning his respect.
Adhemar is called away to theBattle of Poitiers, and William achieves several victories in his absence. William proves his love for Jocelyn by complying when she first asks him to deliberately lose (in contrast to knights who promise to win "in her name"), and then, just before he would be eliminated, to win the tournament after all.
The group travels to London for the World Championship. William recalls leaving his father to squire for Sir Ector and learn to become a knight, hoping to "change his stars". Adhemar has also arrived in London and announces that he is in negotiations with Jocelyn's father for her hand in marriage. William dominates at the tournament, but is seen visiting his now-blind father by Adhemar. Adhemar alerts the authorities to William's true identity.
William is arrested and placed in thepillory, but is defended from the hostile crowd by his friends. Just as the mob reaches its frenzy, Prince Edward reveals himself. He acknowledges William's honour and ability to inspire his friends' dedication that is in the best traditions of knighthood. Edward then announces that William is in fact descended from an ancient noble family, and knights him "Sir William". He asserts that as Prince-royal, his declaration is "beyond contestation".
William returns to the tournament to face Adhemar in the final match, but Adhemar cheats with an illegally sharpened lance, seriously injuring William. Entering the final pass, William is losing by two lances and must unhorse Adhemar to win. He demands to be stripped of his armour while Chaucer buys time by performing the introduction of William that he omitted earlier. William, unable to hold the lance due to his injuries, asks Wat to strap it to his arm.
Finally, William tilts against Adhemar, with his father and Jocelyn in attendance. Bellowing his true name as he charges, Will knocks Adhemar to the ground with a crushing blow; Adhemar experiences a vision of William and his friends mockingly telling him thathe has been "weighed, measured, and found wanting". With this final blow, William wins the world championship. In the ensuing celebration, as Jocelyn and William embrace, Chaucer remarks that he shouldwrite an account of these events.
After the credits, Roland, Wat, Chaucer, and Kate are sitting in an attic having a flatulence contest.
In addition,Nick Brimble has a cameo as Sir Ector, a noble knight whose untimely death sets the plot in motion.
A Knight's Tale was filmed entirely on location in theCzech Republic atBarrandov Studios,Prague, during the summer of 2000.[8] There, while the film was in production,Heath Ledger metHeather Graham during her simultaneous filming ofFrom Hell.[9]
Lances were created that would convincingly explode upon impact without injuring the stunt riders. The body of each lance was scored so it would break easily, and the tips were made ofbalsa wood. Each was also hollowed out, with the holes filled with balsa splinters and uncookedlinguine.[10]
Director Brian Helgeland says in theDVD Special Edition's commentary that he had intended to show what Geoffrey Chaucer might have been doing that inspired him to writeThe Canterbury Tales during the six months in which Chaucer seems to have gone missing in 1372.[7]
Heath Ledger's principal suit of armour was made in steel by UK-based Armordillo Ltd. They also created several stunt replicas of this armour, Count Adhemar's armour, and all the jousting armours for men and horses in lightweight, flexible, and nearly unbreakable polyurethane resin.
The film, which notionally took place during theMiddle Ages, is notable for its deliberate use ofclassic rock songs in its soundtrack. The ten that were credited in the film are listed in order of appearance:[11]
In addition, the film's score makes use of the work of Estonian composerArvo Pärt, his compositionFratres (Brothers) being heard in the scene in which William is knighted by Prince Edward.
| A Knight's Tale: Music from the Motion Picture | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by Various Artists | |
| Released | May 8, 2001 |
| Genre | Rock,country,pop |
| Label | Columbia |
| Producer |
|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Artist(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "We Will Rock You" | Brian May | Queen | 2:14 |
| 2. | "Low Rider" | Thomas Sylvester "Papa Dee" Allen,Harold Ray Brown, Morris "B.B." Dickerson, Leroy Jordan,Charles Miller,Lee Oskar,Howard E. Scott, andJerry Goldstein | War | 3:11 |
| 3. | "Takin' Care of Business" | Randy Bachman | Bachman-Turner Overdrive | 4:50 |
| 4. | "Golden Years" | David Bowie | David Bowie | 3:27 |
| 5. | "Ramble On" | Jimmy Page andRobert Plant | Train | 4:35 |
| 6. | "Crazy On You" | Ann Wilson andNancy Wilson | Heart | 4:50 |
| 7. | "Further Up On The Road" | Don D. Robey andJoe Medwick Veasey | Eric Clapton ft.Robbie Robertson | 4:29 |
| 8. | "Get Ready" | Smokey Robinson | Rare Earth | 2:50 |
| 9. | "I Want To Take You Higher" | Sylvester Stewart | Sly & The Family Stone | 5:20 |
| 10. | "The Boys Are Back in Town" | Phil Lynott | Thin Lizzy | 4:28 |
| 11. | "One Of Your Own (score)" | Carter Burwell | Carter Burwell | 1:53 |
| 12. | "We Are The Champions" | Freddie Mercury | Queen andRobbie Williams | 3:54 |
| 13. | "Pieces of My Heart" | Dan Powell and Adam Smalley | Dan Powell | 3:28 |
| 14. | "Eye Conqueror" | Arion Salazar | Third Eye Blind | 4:07 |
Tracks 5, 6, 13, and 14 do not appear in the actual film whileYou Shook Me All Night Long byAC/DC appears in the film but is not on the soundtrack.
| Chart (2001) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)[12] | 127 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[13] | Gold | 500,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
A Knight's Tale was released onDVD andVHS on September 25, 2001, with theVHS release being delayed by three days to September 28 when Sony took down aSpider-Man teaser trailer that was recalled due to theSeptember 11 attacks.[14][15]
On May 20, 2025, theUltra HD Blu-ray discs were released by Sony featuring the theatrical cut and extended cut.[16][17]
Review aggregation websiteRotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 59% based on reviews from 153 critics, with an average rating of 5.90/10. The website's critical consensus says, "Once you get past the anachronism,A Knight's Tale becomes a predictable, if spirited,Rocky on horseback."[18] OnMetacritic, the film holds a score of 56 out of 100, sampled from 36 reviews, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[19] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of “B+” on an A+ to F scale.[20]
Roger Ebert gave the film 3 stars out of 4 and argued that the anachronisms made little difference, writing that the director himself "pointed out that an orchestral score would be equally anachronistic, since orchestras hadn't been invented in the 1400s."[21][22] In anobituary forDavid Bowie, culture criticAnthony Lane referred to the film's use of the song"Golden Years" as "the best and most honest use of anachronism that I know of."[23]
Newsweek revealed in June 2001 that print ads contained glowing comments from a film reviewer who did not exist for at least four films released byColumbia Pictures, includingA Knight's Tale andThe Animal (2001).[24] The fake critic was namedDavid Manning and was created by a Columbia employee who worked in the advertising department.[24] "Manning" was fraudulently presented as a reviewer forThe Ridgefield Press, a smallConnecticut weekly.[24]
A Knight's Tale made $16.5 million during its opening weekend, ranking in second place behindThe Mummy Returns.[25] The film earned $56.6 million at the North American box office and an additional $60.9 million internationally, for a worldwide total of $117.5 million.[4]
The film was nominated for three awards at the2002 MTV Movie Awards. Shannyn Sossamon was nominated for Breakthrough Female performance, losing toMandy Moore inA Walk to Remember.[26] The film was also nominated for Best Kiss, and Best Musical Sequence, losing toAmerican Pie 2 andMoulin Rouge!, respectively.[27]
In 2012, a TV series adaptation was reported to be in development byAmerican Broadcasting Company, written byRonald D. Moore.[28]
In April 2024, it was revealed that directorBrian Helgeland had pitched a sequel toNetflix who passed on the project.[29]
A musical adaptation of the movie had its world premiere inManchester Opera House on 11 April 2025. The limited run ended on 10 May 2025 with an anticipated transfer to the West End at an as yet unannounced later date.[30][31]
.jpg)