Instant Favorite.

i must have seen a different film!!

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

This is probably the best film on the subject, that usually gets boggled up in romanticised legends and Hollywood schmalz and nonsense. The script is very apt and convincing, and the action is thoroughly efficient, never admitting a dull moment and never getting lost in pathetic sentimentality. Jean Wallace as the Queen is alwaýs a difficult character to interpret, but here for once she is not overdone in her wanton weakness or outrageous shamefulness. Cornel Wilde started as an Olympian master at fencing, and this film must have been something of the ultimate realization of his dreams. He makes a very convincing Frenchman, and there are two great battle scenes which alone make the film outstanding. The one thing to object against is the king. Brian Ahearne makes the best of it in a reliable performance as usual, but why has the king to be so old? In another version Sean Connery was equally old, but there is nothing in any legend to imply that King Arthur must have been an old man when he married Guinevere. Both Joshua Logan's 'Camelot' (two years later) and the excellent TV screening of 'The Mists of Avalon' both make the king as young and fresh as Guinevere, and both Arthurs are more convincing. For some reason Morgan le Fay is absent here, Merlin is rather second hand, and Sir Mordred is not given much of a character. Of course, the centerpiece is Lancelot and Guinevere, they need no one else, and their story is quite good enough to give Mordred and Morgan as little space as possible. The highest credit though goes to the script, which actually Cornel Wilde himself was part of besides directing the whole thing himself.

King Arthur sends his trusty right hand man, the knight Sir Lancelot to a rival kingdom to win the hand in marriage of Guinevere. He succeeds, but falls in love with the maiden. She marries Arthur but secretly yearns for Lancelot. After a time, they become lovers & when Arthur finds out, their friendship – sabotaged by a rival knight – becomes very strained.Originally released in the United Kingdom as Lancelot & Guinevere, this 1963 adventure film was directed by its star, Cornel Wilde. Wilde also produces & cast his wife at the time, Jean Wallace, as Guinevere.While not the definitive version of the Camelot story, Sword of Lancelot is still reasonably watchable. The film has some passable acting &, like most of Wilde's directorial efforts, filled with action scenes. The fights & battles are the showpiece of the film & are quite violent, even by 1963 standards. There is some passable plotting but the pace tends to drag a little inbetween the battles. Wilde & Wallace might be a good pair on the screen but they are both a little too old for their roles. Having said that, Sword of Lancelot is still a pretty reasonable Dark Ages adventure film, although I still prefer something like Under the Red Robe over this.

In and around the castle Camelot, brave Cornel Wilde (as Lancelot) and virtuous Brian Aherne (as King Arthur) vie for the affections of lovely Jean Wallace (as Guinevere). The emphasis is more on swords than sorcery; and, the fighting is more violent than the production year suggests. Clearly, "Lancelot and Guinevere" was meant as a more realistic, for the times, "Knights of the Round Table" film. And, Mr. Wilde can be seem dismembering opponents. The sexual situations are not as advanced, however...Ironically, the three stars are around 20 years too "advanced", in physiological years, for the parts; it's not too bad, though, as they only look around 10 years too old. They are still very attractive. And, so are two young cast members "introduced" to film goers, Iain Gregory (as Tors) and Michael Meacham (as Modred); they more than hold their own among the veterans. The producer/director/star credits should confirm any vanity production suspicions. It was re-titled "Sword of Lancelot" in the USA. **** Lancelot and Guinevere (6/2/63) Cornel Wilde ~ Cornel Wilde, Jean Wallace, Brian Aherne, Iain Gregory

A good action film that is reasonably faithful to the Arthurian legends as interpreted (and sometimes actually written) by Thomas Malory in the 15th century. The addition of the "Viking Invasion" dates only to the movie itself, but provides for some good action sequences. And action is the hallmark of this movie. The battle scenes are very well done and the arms and armor (except for the Vikings' horned helmets) are reasonably authentic for the late 11th century. The individual sword fights seem like hard and deadly work----no dancing and prancing or choreographed acrobatics as in most films of this genre. Just clanging metal and men straining in their armor, with gory and graphically depicted consequences.The film is indeed part soap opera, as is the Lancelot/Guinevere part of the Arthurian Cycle, but these interludes are done in a matter of fact, rather stark manner. This and the copious action scenes make for a fast moving, absorbing pace with little down time. The dialogue is a bit clipped and less theatrical than in most epics but this only adds to its realistic qualities.An excellent film by a man (Cornel Wilde) very underrated as both an actor and filmmaker.