Camelot (1967)
Based on T.H. White's The Once and Future King, the
movie Camelot is based on Arthurian legend in only the most remote
sense. While the principals Richard Harris (Arthur), Vanessa
Redgrave (Guenevere) and Franco Nero (Lancelot) all give terrific
performances, the film (and the musical on which it is based)
amounts to an unsatisfying and sanitized retelling of the legend.
Camelot is ultimately just another old-fashioned musical,
and is pretty light and fluffy, for the most part. Mordred's
origin is again ignored and Morgan le Fay is never even mentioned.
Nor is there any hint of the pagan witchery behind Mordred's
villainy.
Camelot succeeds at depicting the ideals of chivalry,
but not with the spiritual forces which played such an important
part in the myth. Ultimately, it is neither witchcraft nor dark
forces which mine the foundation of Arthur's realm, but merely
gossip and infidely.
Paul Andrew MacLean
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