''Prince Valiant'' is a 1997 Irish-British independent sword and sorcery film directed by

Anthony Hickox Anthony Hickox (born 30th January 1959) is an English film director, producer, actor and screenwriter. He is best known for his work in the horror genre, with films like '' Waxwork'' and its sequel, '' Waxwork II: Lost in Time'', '' Sundown: T ...

, written by Michael Frost Beckner, and starring

Stephen Moyer Stephen Moyer (born Stephen John Emery; 11 October 1969) is an English film and television actor who is best known as vampire Bill Compton in the HBO series ''True Blood''. His first television role was in 1993 as Philip Masefield in the TV ad ...

, Katherine Heigl,

Thomas Kretschmann Thomas Kretschmann (; born 8 September 1962) is a German actor who has appeared in many European and American films. His notable roles include Lieutenant Hans von Witzland in '' Stalingrad'' (1993), Hauptmann Wilm Hosenfeld in '' The Pianist'' ( ...

, Joanna Lumley,

Ron Perlman Ronald Perlman (born April 13, 1950) is an American actor. His credits include the roles of Amoukar in ''Quest for Fire'' (1981), Salvatore in ''The Name of the Rose'' (1986), Vincent in the television series ''Beauty and the Beast'' (1987–199 ...

, and Edward Fox. It is a loose adaptation of the long-running ''

Prince Valiant ''Prince Valiant in the Days of King Arthur'', often simply called ''Prince Valiant'', is an American comic strip created by Hal Foster in 1937. It is an epic adventure that has told a continuous story during its entire history, and the full stretc ...

'' comic strip of

Hal Foster Harold Rudolf Foster, FRSA (August 16, 1892 – July 25, 1982) was a Canadian-American comic strip artist and writer best known as the creator of the comic strip ''Prince Valiant''. His drawing style is noted for its high level of draftsmanship a ...

, some panels of which were used in the movie. In it, Valiant must battle the Vikings and a scheming sorceress to save the kingdom.

Plot

The story is based on the myth of

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 ...

. A young, inexperienced squire Valiant, masquerading as Sir Gawain, is sent to accompany the

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

princess Lady Ilene, a guest at Camelot, on her way back home. Little does he know that meanwhile, Arthur's wicked sister

Morgan Morgan may refer to: People and fictional characters * Morgan (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Morgan le Fay, a powerful witch in Arthurian legend * Morgan (surname), a surname of Welsh origin * Morgan (singer), ...

has retrieved a spellbook from

Merlin Merlin ( cy, Myrddin, kw, Marzhin, br, Merzhin) is a mythical figure prominently featured in the legend of King Arthur and best known as a mage, with several other main roles. His usual depiction, based on an amalgamation of historic and le ...

's tomb and convinced the Viking warlord Sligon, ruler of the kingdom of Thule, to steal the magical sword Excalibur during a joust tournament. Valiant and the princess become part of the struggle of "he who holds the sword rules the world" which leads them both to love and Valiant to his princely destiny, as it turns out he is the rightful heir to the throne of Thule. The usurper is killed by his also evil brother Thagnar. During the final confrontation, with the help of Thule's ruler Boltar, Morgan is destroyed, Thagnar is slain, and Valiant rescues the princess and recovers Excalibur.

Cast

* Katherine Heigl as Princess Ilene *

as Thagnar * Edward Fox as

* Udo Kier as Sligon * Joanna Lumley as Morgan le Fay *

as Boltar * Warwick Davis as Pechet *

Gavan O'Herlihy Gavan John O'Herlihy (29 July 1951 – 15 September 2021) was an American actor. He was known for playing Chuck Cunningham in the first episodes of ''Happy Days'', as well as his appearances in films such as ''Never Say Never Again'', ''Death W ...

as King Thane *

as Sir Gawain * Ben Pullen as Prince Arn * Marcus Schenkenberg as Tiny

Production

The film was recut by German producer

Bernd Eichinger Bernd Eichinger (; 11 April 194924 January 2011) was a German film producer, director, and screenwriter. Life and career Eichinger was born in Neuburg an der Donau. He attended the University of Television and Film Munich in the 1970s and bou ...

without the knowledge of director

. In his autobiography ''Size Matters Not: The Extraordinary Life & Career of Warwick Davis'', Warwick Davis, an actor in the film, called it an "absolute disaster" which was "premiered, panned and bombed," and "even the wonderful Joanna Lumley - who still managed to put in an amazing performance as Morgan le Fay - couldn't save it." He blames this on the director, who he says "seemed intent on partying all night long and giving roles to his friends." His best friend, Captain Crunch, can be seen in various shots within the movie.

Reception

The film was generally poorly received. '' Empire'' gave ''Prince Valiant'' two stars out of five and stated, "a promising, swashbuckly romp is entirely scuppered by some indiscriminate broadsword editing, thereby removing any fun the name cast might have had, and leaving a poorly dubbed, effects-lacking film disappointingly limp." Some other reviews, however, were more positive. '' The Telegraph'' included it among top ten Arthurian films in 2014.

References

External links