''Lancelot du Lac'' is a 1974 French

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

written and directed by

Robert Bresson Robert Bresson (; 25 September 1901 – 18 December 1999) was a French film director. Known for his ascetic approach, Bresson contributed notably to the art of cinema; his non-professional actors, Ellipsis (narrative device), ellipses, and s ...

. It retells the story of

Lancelot Lancelot du Lac (French for Lancelot of the Lake), also written as Launcelot and other variants (such as early German ''Lanzelet'', early French ''Lanselos'', early Welsh ''Lanslod Lak'', Italian ''Lancillotto'', Spanish ''Lanzarote del Lago' ...

and

Guinevere Guinevere ( ; cy, Gwenhwyfar ; br, Gwenivar, kw, Gwynnever), also often written in Modern English as Guenevere or Guenever, was, according to Arthurian legend, an early-medieval queen of Great Britain and the wife of King Arthur. First ment ...

's love as

Camelot Camelot is a castle and court associated with the legendary King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and, since the Lancelot-Grail cycle, eventually came to be described as the ...

and the

Round Table The Round Table ( cy, y Ford Gron; kw, an Moos Krenn; br, an Daol Grenn; la, Mensa Rotunda) is King Arthur's famed table in the Arthurian legend, around which he and his knights congregate. As its name suggests, it has no head, implying that e ...

fall apart. It is based on

Arthurian legend The Matter of Britain is the body of medieval literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and Brittany and the legendary kings and heroes associated with it, particularly King Arthur. It was one of the three great Wester ...

and

medieval romance As a literary genre, the chivalric romance is a type of prose and verse narrative that was popular in the noble courts of High Medieval and Early Modern Europe. They were fantastic stories about marvel-filled adventures, often of a chivalric k ...

s, especially the

Lancelot-Grail The ''Lancelot-Grail'', also known as the Vulgate Cycle or the Pseudo-Map Cycle, is an early 13th-century French Arthurian literary cycle consisting of interconnected prose episodes of chivalric romance in Old French. The cycle of unknown authors ...

cycle, and the works of

Chrétien de Troyes Chrétien de Troyes (Modern ; fro, Crestien de Troies ; 1160–1191) was a French poet and trouvère known for his writing on Arthurian subjects, and for first writing of Lancelot, Percival and the Holy Grail. Chrétien's works, including ''E ...

. In common with Bresson's later films, the cast was composed of amateur actors, several of whom did not appear in any other film. Bresson's direction demanded a purposeful lack of emotion in the acting style, and reduced or eliminated the fantastical elements of the Grail legend. While much of the production is intentionally stylised as Medieval "Romance", the film is punctuated with moments of graphic violence.

Plot summary

King Arthur has sent out 100

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

s to retrieve the

Holy Grail The Holy Grail (french: Saint Graal, br, Graal Santel, cy, Greal Sanctaidd, kw, Gral) is a treasure that serves as an important motif in Arthurian literature. Various traditions describe the Holy Grail as a cup, dish, or stone with miracul ...

. Arthur is dismayed when it turns out that the mission was futile and 70 knights have died in its course. Among those who have returned is

, the lover of Queen Guinevere. He is haunted by the death of his comrades and torn between his duty and his love for the Queen. He wishes to end the affair, but Guinevere refuses. She implies that instead of being slain by enemies, the knights sent for the Grail turned on one another, Lancelot chief among them. To make matters worse, many knights of Camelot either are wary of or outright despise Lancelot, who is seen as a favorite even among the Round Table, save for a few, among them

Gawain Gawain (), also known in many other forms and spellings, is a character in Arthurian legend, in which he is King Arthur's nephew and a Knight of the Round Table. The prototype of Gawain is mentioned under the name Gwalchmei in the earliest ...

and Lionel, who are his greatest friends among the knights' ranks. Lancelot, falling once more to his love for Guinevere, wishes to forgo an upcoming

tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

to go on a tryst with the Queen. Gawain tries to convinces him otherwise, but fails. En route to the tournament, Mordred (who earlier came upon Lancelot and Guinevere's secret meeting spot and discovering her scarf there and suspects Lancelot missing the tourney for the Queen) tries and fails to convince the King of the affair. Later on, during the tourney, a strange knight bearing a white shield vanquishes one knight after another. Gawain and Arthur recognizes the knight as Lancelot, through his horse and the way he rides. Lancelot goes on to take down more knights, Mordred among them, before making his leave. As he departs, he staggers and falls, obviously injured. Gawain is later informed by the jilted Queen that Lancelot has "disappeared" and the knight with the white shield could not be him. Lionel (who had wounded the knight of the white shield earlier) wishes to defend Lancelot's honor, but is stopped by Gawain, who sends riders in search for Lancelot, to no avail. It is then believed that Lancelot is dead. Gawain later seeks out the Queen at her secret meeting place, but Guinevere is resigned to her love with Lancelot and refuses to leave. Gawain departs, only to be met Arthur accompanied with knights,

Mordred Mordred or Modred (; Welsh: ''Medraut'' or ''Medrawt'') is a figure who is variously portrayed in the legend of King Arthur. The earliest known mention of a possibly historical Medraut is in the Welsh chronicle ''Annales Cambriae'', wherein he ...

, who had tipped his King off. The King immediately imprisons Queen

in the very same tower she and Lancelot once had their dalliances. Lancelot is later revealed to be hiding and recovering in Escalot, cared for by an aging farmer. With the help of Lionel and knights loyal to Lancelot, he breaks out the Queen, killing two knights (one of them being

Agravain Sir Agravain () is a Knight of the Round Table in Arthurian legend, whose first known appearance is in the works of Chrétien de Troyes. He is the second eldest son of King Lot of Orkney with one of King Arthur's sisters known as Anna or Mor ...

, Gawain's brother). Arthur starts immediately a campaign against the castle where the lovers were looking for shelter. The resulting battles result in many losses and casualties, among them Gawain. Despite this and his brother's death, he does not begrudge his once-friend and believes that though he and Arthur tried to save Guinevere, only Lancelot succeeded. He then dies of his wounds. Guinevere, guilt-ridden over the blood spilt for their love, compels Lancelot to return her to Arthur, which he begrudgingly complies. He is later informed of Mordred's betrayal. Lancelot immediately chooses to ride against him, on Arthur's side. The resulting

Battle of Camlann The Battle of Camlann ( cy, Gwaith Camlan or ''Brwydr Camlan'') is the legendary final battle of King Arthur, in which Arthur either died or was fatally wounded while fighting either with or against Mordred, who also perished. The original leg ...

is a bloodbath in which none survive, including King Arthur and Mordred. Lancelot, the last man standing, staggers across the battlefield. Whispering Guinevere's name, he slumps over, dead, the last thing he sees being a falcon flying high.

Cast

Luc Simon Luc or LUC may refer to: Places * Luc, Hautes-Pyrénées, France, a commune * Luc, Lozère, France, a commune * Le Luc, France, a commune * Luč, Baranja, Croatia, a settlement People and fictional characters * Luc (given name) * Luc (surname) ...

as Lancelot du Lac * Laura Duke Condominas as

Queen Guinevere Guinevere ( ; cy, Gwenhwyfar ; br, Gwenivar, kw, Gwynnever), also often written in Modern English as Guenevere or Guenever, was, according to Arthurian legend, an early-medieval queen of Great Britain and the wife of King Arthur. First ment ...

Humbert Balsan Humbert Jean René Balsan (21 August 1954 – 10 February 2005) was a French film producer and chairman of the European Film Academy. He was known for securing financing and distribution for diverse and often challenging films. In February 2005 ...

as Gauvain (Gawain) *

Vladimir Antolek-Oresek Vladimir may refer to: Names * Vladimir (name) for the Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Macedonian, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak and Slovenian spellings of a Slavic name * Uladzimir for the Belarusian version of the name * Volodymyr for the Ukr ...

King Arthur King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as a ...

Patrick Bernhard Patrick may refer to: * Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name * Patrick (surname), list of people with this name People * Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint *Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick ...

* Arthur De Montalembert as Lionel * Charles Balsan * Christian Schlumberger * Joseph-Patrick Le Quidre * Jean-Paul Leperlier *

Marie-Louise Buffet Marie Louise or Marie-Louise may refer to: People * Marie Louise of Orléans (1662–1689), daughter of Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, queen consort of Charles II of Spain *Marie Louise of Hesse-Kassel (1688–1765), daughter of Charles I, Landgrave ...

* Marie-Gabrielle Cartron * Antoine Rabaud * Jean-Marie Becar *

Guy de Bernis Guy or GUY may refer to: Personal names * Guy (given name) * Guy (surname) * That Guy (...), the New Zealand street performer Leigh Hart Places * Guy, Alberta, a Canadian hamlet * Guy, Arkansas, US, a city * Guy, Indiana, US, an unin ...

Production

The film was shot from the end of June to the start of September 1973 in Noirmoutier-en-l'Île. It was shot on 35 mm color film with an aspect ratio of 1.66 : 1.

Release

The film premiered at the

1974 Cannes Film Festival The 27th Cannes Film Festival was held from 9 to 24 May 1974. The Grand Prix du Festival International du Film went to ''The Conversation'' by Francis Ford Coppola. The festival opened with '' Amarcord'', directed by Federico Fellini and closed ...

in May 1974, followed by its theatrical release in France on 26 September 1974. It had its world television premiere in West Germany on 4 May 1974.

Reception

The film was well-received among critics, currently holding a 95% "fresh" rating on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

based on 16 reviews. It was

Michael Haneke Michael Haneke (; born 23 March 1942) is an Austrian film director and screenwriter. His work often examines social issues and depicts the feelings of estrangement experienced by individuals in modern society. Haneke has made films in French, G ...

's second-place choice in the 2002 ''

Sight & Sound ''Sight and Sound'' (also spelled ''Sight & Sound'') is a British monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute (BFI). It conducts the well-known, once-a-decade ''Sight and Sound'' Poll of the Greatest Films of All Time, ongoing ...

'' poll of the greatest films ever made. The film won the

FIPRESCI Prize The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI, short for Fédération Internationale de la PRESse CInématographique) is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world fo ...

at the

. David Lowery cites this movie as one of the inspirations behind '' The Green Knight'', the adaption of the Arthurian legend, ''

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight ''Sir Gawain and the Green Knight'' is a late 14th-century chivalric romance in Middle English. The author is unknown; the title was given centuries later. It is one of the best-known Arthurian stories, with its plot combining two types of f ...

''.

References

External links

* * {{Films based on Arthurian legends 1974 films French fantasy drama films 1970s French-language films Films directed by Robert Bresson Films set in England Films set in the 6th century Arthurian films Films scored by Philippe Sarde 1970s fantasy drama films 1974 drama films 1970s French films