In a time when Arthur has brought peace to the land, one of his knights has left the Round Table and taken up arms against the king. Prince Malagant (Ben Cross) is seen as an enemy to the throne and is not above terrorizing border villages just to incite fear in his name. The Lady Guinevere resides over one of these towns and feels the imminent threat of the warlord, but she has also accepted a marriage proposal by Arthur in order to help secure the safety of her land.
Along the road to Camelot, Guinevere is ambushed by some of Malagant's men, but thanks to a wandering swordsman by the name of Lancelot, she is saved and seen safely to her new kingdom. While Lancelot and Guinevere's encounter is brief, they immediately find a spark that will eventually lead to the death of Arthur and the fall of Camelot.
When Lancelot shows up in the town and performs a courageous act in order to catch the eye of Guinevere, Arthur also takes notice and commends the man for his bravery. After a few more interactions, Lancelot is made a knight, and joins the Round Table. The passion between Guinevere and Lancelot quickly grows, but their forbidden love is held mostly in check, until that is, the day that Lancelot decides he cannot stay and decides to leave. Before he can walk away, their emotions break through, and, of course, Arthur comes in.
First Knight is just a great movie, and while it doesn't have the mysticism and enchantment that most versions of this story do, what it has is a lot of really good character development and a solid story coupled with great actors. Connery plays the perfect Arthur full of wisdom and regal might, while Gere takes on the role of the dashing rogue with a death wish all too well.
The special features for First Knight not only offer the standard allotment of deleted scenes, making-of features and cast commentaries, but it also has a nice gem in the Arthurian Legend Commentary. Here, you get to learn about the history of the King Arthur myth and how it differs from the movie. I found this commentary really interesting and enjoyable.
This Special Edition version of the movie is nice for anyone who hasn't already picked up the movie. As for the High-Def Blu-ray aspect, the video is clear and beautiful, so that is a nice benefit. Seeing Camelot in its High-Def glory is a sight to behold.
