Gawain and the Green Knight (film)

This article is about the 1973 film. For the 1984 version, see Sword of the Valiant. For the 2021 film, see The Green Knight (film).

Gawain and the Green Knight
Directed by	Stephen Weeks
Written by	Philip M. Breen Stephen Weeks
Based on	Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by Anonymous
Produced by	Carlo Ponti
Starring	Murray Head Nigel Green Robert Hardy
Cinematography	Ian Wilson
Edited by	John Shirley
Music by	Ron Goodwin
Distributed by	United Artists
Release date	1973 (1973)
Running time	93 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

Gawain and the Green Knight is a 1973 British film directed by Stephen Weeks, and starring Murray Head as Gawain and Nigel Green in his final theatrical film as the Green Knight.^[1][2] The story is based on the medieval English tale Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and also Yvain, the Knight of the Lion by Chrétien de Troyes and the tale of Sir Gareth in Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur.^[3]

Locations used included castles at Cardiff, Caerphilly and Castell Coch, Wales; Peckforton castle, Cheshire; and St Michael's Mount and Roche Rock, Cornwall. St. Govan's chapel on the Pembrokeshire coast was also featured.

Weeks remade the film in 1984 as Sword of the Valiant with Miles O'Keeffe and Sean Connery as Gawain and the Green Knight, respectively.

Plot

The mysterious Green Knight appears before King Arthur's court in the New Year and demands the head of Sir Gawain as the prize in a bizarre game. Given a year's grace, Gawain sets off in search of the Knight for a rematch.

Cast

• Murray Head as Gawain
• Ciaran Madden as Linet
• Nigel Green as Green Knight
• Anthony Sharp as King
• Robert Hardy as Sir Bertilak
• David Leland as Humphrey
• Murray Melvin as Seneschal
• Tony Steedman as Fortinbras
• Ronald Lacey as Oswald
• Willoughby Goddard as Knight
• George Merritt as Old Knight
• Pauline Letts as Lady of Lyonesse
• Richard Hurndall as Bearded Man
• Peter Copley as Pilgrim
• Geoffrey Bayldon as Wiseman

Reception

The film is unrated on the review-aggregation site, Rotten Tomatoes.

See also

• List of films based on Arthurian legend

References

1. Eden, Michael (8 July 2023). "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight on Screen". Trebuchet. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
2. "Gawain and the Green Knight (1973)". BFI. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
3. Harty, Kevin J. (7 May 2015). Cinema Arthuriana: Twenty Essays, rev. ed. McFarland. pp. 18–19. ISBN 978-1-4766-0844-0.

External links

• Gawain and the Green Knight at IMDb