Reach for the stars – “A Knight’s Tale” 4K UHD

4K ULTRA HD REVIEW / HDR SCREENSHOTS

The late Australian actor Heath Ledger stars as peasant William Thatcher, masquerading as knight ‘Sir Ulrich von Liechtenstein of Gelderland.’ He’s flanked by his co-squires and friends Roland (right) and Wat (left) played by Mark Addy and Alan Tudyk.

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4K screenshots courtesy of Sony Pictures via Filmmaker Mode - Click for copy from this German site.

“A KNIGHT’S TALE”

4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray; 2001; PG-13 for action violence, profanity, nudity, and brief sexual material; Digital copy via Amazon Video (4K), Apple TV (4K), Fandango Home (4K), Movies Anywhere (4K), YouTube (4K)

Best extra: Original “HBO Making-Of Special” (2001)

WE NEED some good feels in these scorching and crazy times. Director/writer Brian Helgeland’s “A Knight’s Tale,” starring the late Heath Ledger, who was 21 years old during the production, delivers it all in a lively tale of adventure, humor, heartbreak/true love, and bone-shaking action. Check that Dolby Atmos soundtrack during those jousts!

Then there’s the anachronistic music mix blended in with Carter Burwell’s original score. “We Will Rock You,” Queen; “Golden Years,” David Bowie; “Crazy on You,” Heart; “I Want to Take You Higher,” Sly and the Family Stone; “The Boys are Back in Town,” Thin Lizzy, and more, adding a burst of light and thunder to those Dark Ages. That Dolby Atmos soundtrack positively rocks the room.

The cast is a delight with Paul Bettany as a brilliant Chaucer; Rufus Sewell (the villain – boo, hiss!) as Count Admemar; Mark Addy and Alan Tudyk pair up as creative and hard-working squires Roland and Wat; Laura Fraser as no-nonsense smithy Kate; and first-timer Shannon Sossamon playing our knight’s true love, Jocelyn. Still, the leader of the pack is Heath Ledger as William Thatcher, a starry-eyed peasant who has dreamt of becoming a knight since he was a boy.

(1) Most of “A Knight’s Tale” was filmed in Prague, in the Czech Republic. (2&3) Young William masquerades as his master, Sir Ector, who died just before his next jousting event during a tournament in 14th-century Europe. Wat and Roland celebrate William’s victory. (4) William receives a solid gold leaf as a reward. The team will have another meal!

This is one of Ledger’s best performances, a role he says he “had to play,” in the “HBO Making-Of Special” included on the Blu-ray disc. He won a postmortem Academy Award for his performance as the Joker in Christopher Nolan’s “Dark Knight” (2008). A performance of which all other actors who take on the role are compared to.

Most consider “A Knight's Tale” one of Ledger’s top 10 films. Movieweb.com lists it as No. 8 in his filmography, landing between "10 Things I Hate About You," and "Two Hands." Collider.com regards “A Knight's Tale as a bombastic and highly energetic romp” at No. 6, with its modern jukebox, while highonfilms.com rates Ledger’s performance of William Thatcher at No. 6. 

There are moments during “A Knight’s Tale” when the tragedy of his death at 29 hits hard … then we’re swept away by his heartfelt performance, the adventure and comedy.  

“These stories of the heart. I think they’re timeless,” Ledger says in the bonus feature.

The story is based on Geoffrey Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales.” Anyone with a college course in English Literature is familiar with the writer’s rowdy, raunchy stories. “A Knight’s Tale” is their fictionalized origin. He boasts of his revenge against two malcontents with, “I will eviscerate you in fiction. Every pimple, every character flaw. I was naked for a day; you will be naked for eternity.”

William’s father (Christopher Cazenove) apprentices him to Sir Ector (Nick Brimble) after the boy’s heart has been captured by dreams of becoming a knight and winning tournaments. “Change your stars, and live a better life than I have,” he says.

 (1&2) William wants to continue in the Medieval game circuit and convinces Roland and Wat to help with his training. “I think he’s getting worse,” Wat says. “He is getting worse,” Roland confirms. (3) The trio stumble upon writer Geoffrey Chaucer (Paul Bettany), who's had to forfeit his clothes because of a gambling debt. (4&5) William is thunderstruck by Jocelyn (Shannon Sossamon), a lady of noble birth. (6) Chaucer becomes a ringmaster and herald, announcing William’s (aka von Liechtenstein) victory in the sword competition. 

Several years later, William is still with the old knight, joined by companion squires Roland and Wat. They travel the land, competing in tournament after tournament. It’s a harsh life, and they are destitute, wondering where their next meal will come from, when they discover Sir Ector is no longer napping. He’s dead. What to do, what to do?

William hatches the plan that he will masquerade as a knight himself, continue their quests for small tournaments, and win whatever prize is available. Roland attempts a reality check: “You’re a knight in your heart but not on paper, and paper’s all that matters to them.” It’s prison or death if they’re caught, with a side of torture.

Together, the trio create a new identity for William – Ulrich von Liechtenstein,1200-1275, a German minnesinger (bard, specializing in love songs), poet and knight of the Middle Ages, who actually existed. It’s a fiction that, after they meet, Chaucer takes and runs with, becoming a WWE-like herald at William’s tournaments.

“Yes, behold my lord Ulrich, the rock, the hard place, like a wind from Gelderland he sweeps by blown far from his homeland in search of glory and honor, we walk... in the garden of his turpulence!”

After some hard-knock training and lots of falls, William wins backwater tournament after tournament, supporting his friends and new ally, Kate, a widow and blacksmith. She’s taken on her husband’s profession, repairing and creating new armor for William. All goes well, until William inadvertently meets the love of his life, the Lady Jocelyn, who, in turn, falls for him.

Separated by tourney travels, William writes to her with the help of Chaucer and his friends: “It is strange to think, I haven't seen you since a month. I have seen the new moon, but not you. I have seen sunsets and sunrises, but nothing of your beautiful face. The pieces of my broken heart are so small that they could be passed through the eye of a needle. I miss you like the sun misses the flower; like the sun misses the flower in the depths of winter.”

 (1&2) Count Admemar of Anjou (Rufus Sewell) is the battle-hardened knight, who plans to claim Lady Jocelyn for himself. Right, Oscar-nominated actress Bérénice Bejo, of the Best Picture winner “The Artist,” plays Jocelyn’s lady-in-waiting. (3&4) A determined William prepares for his next match, scoring a perfect hit with the lance. (5) Wat and Roland cheer William on.

Jocelyn’s affection for William brings on the ire of the smug and lethal Count Adhemar, who plans to make her his own, and ruin William in battle and through investigating his identity as “Sir Ulrich.”

Will William’s fall be as meteoric as his rise? Does true love between peasant and noble have a chance? Will the team get another meal? “A Knight’s Tale,” holding up after 25 years, is a treasure.

Try the Extended Cut, approximately 11 minutes longer and available in this set with the theatrical presentation, to enhance your experience.

VIDEO

Gadzooks – visuals in this Sony release knocked me off my seat from the opening scene. Captured on 35mm (2.39:1 ratio aspect) by Richard Greatrex (“Shakespeare in Love,” 1998), “A Knight’s Tale” has been remastered in True 4K, with Dolby Vision and HDR10 grading, eliminating banding, fuzzy imagery, and that flat, sunburned skin that comes from Digital Noise Reduction. This presentation delivers gorgeous HDR color–rich, bright, and genuine – deep blacks, sharp detail and excellent contrast, and natural film grain – all missing in earlier presentations.

“A Knight’s Tale” looks and sounds even better on 4K UHD and Dolby Atmos than it did in theaters. The enclosed 1080p disc was also sourced from the new 4K master, but lacks the higher resolution and the expansive colors and contrast levels.

AUDIO

As noted above, the new Dolby Atmos soundtrack is a total win, cleaning up dialogue, and delivering environmental and special effects in soft to bombastic sound as fits the scene. Height speakers are very active with thundering horse hooves, splintering lances that explode on impact, and the roar of the crowds. Then there’s always the music adding its own special effects.

The Blu-ray includes the previous six-channel DTS-HD track, which also boasts clean and effective dialogue, sound and music. Surround sound rules!

 (1) William pairs with Lady Jocelyn at a dance, introducing a dance of Gelderland, made up on the spot, to David Bowie’s “Golden Years.” (2-4) Wat and Roland escort William to the next joust as the crowd roars and Lady Jocelyn looks on. (5-7) Jocelyn has forbidden William to win, and he takes a bad hit, resulting in a dislocated shoulder. She arrives later to assure him of her love. 

EXTRAS

The Blu-ray disc includes all of the extras, including a lively commentary with director/writer Brian Helgeland and Paul Bettany. There’s not much extra info about the film, but Helgeland often thanks Ridley Scott for his support and advice.

Look for the extras on the Blu-ray disc, including five new deleted and extended scenes, in addition to 11 “Behind-the-Scenes” featurettes and six originally deleted scenes. Also new is a gag reel, and “Quill and Quarterhorse: 2^nd Unit Photograph” featurette, showing horses launching off their mark, and a handwriting old world English.

Also find a music video with Robbie Williams & Queen: “We are the Champions.”

The “HBO Making-Of” remains 15 minutes of entertaining interviews and demonstrations.

Rufus Sewell describes jousting as “Two heavily armored men with trees under their arms, trying to hit each other’s heads.” He goes on to detail wearing plate armor during summer in Prague. “It’s a hundred degrees outside. You’d regularly have to have water poured on you. We’d watch the steam go ‘ssss’ because it would get like a hotplate.”

“The lances are a constant nightmare, really,” Production Designer Tony Burrough says. “Just the number of lances that we’re getting through by the day.”

Allan Graf, 2^nd Unit Director/Stunt Coordinator, adds that no balsa wood was left in Prague. “This is real. There’s nothing fake about it. Yes, we use balsa wood lances, but they’re getting the impact. We’re going to be ‘deadmanning’ where they come in with a cable and they’re pulled off [their horse.] We’re gonna drag a guy with the horse. Every stunt has something new.”

“Lances are hollowed out and filled with debris. Most of the splinters seen in the movie are spaghetti or different kinds of pasta,” Helgeland explains, showing an example.

So, prepare yourself for a unique and adventurous medieval tale with a stellar cast, a modern soundtrack, and fun – lots of fun. “It’s about people’s dreams, that’s what makes it universal,” Bettany says.

“A Knight’s Tale” is one to be watched again and again.

FOOTNOTE: The Limited Edition 4K Ultra HD Steelbook has been completely sold out in the U.S. and most of Europe since late June. You can find a copy via this favorite Germany site: https://www.jpc.de/

— Kay Reynolds

(1) William prepares to enter the World Championship in London. He is stopped and arrested because Ademerar has revealed his true identity as a pauper from Cheapside, the city's slums. (2) William's father (Christopher Cazenove), now blind, comforts his son. (3&4) Imprisoned, William is tortured by the Count. Placed in a pillory, William is jeered by the crowd while his friends try to defend him. (5&6) Prince Edward (Philip Lenkowsky), who knows William from a past encounter, proclaims his honor and knights him as "Sir William," allowing him to enter the tourney and face Count Ademerar. 

SPECS:

• 100 GB disc

• True 4K mastering

• Video bitrate: 51.15 Megabits per second

• 3-perf 35mm Super 35 format, 2.39:1 aspect ratio

• Theatrical Cut 132 minutes, Extended Cut 144 minutes

• HDR10 maximum light level: 1004 nit

• Max frame average light level: 515 nit

• Box office: $56.5 million domestic and $177.4 million worldwide