Another The Green Knight Film

I discovered a new short film, The Green Knight (2022) based on Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. 

It is on Amazon for purchase but also free on YouTube.

Michael

Trendy on The Green Knight

From the latest number of Arthuriana comes more on The Green Knight:

Tredy, Dennis. "‘The forme to the fynisment foldes ful selden’ (l.499): A Comparison of David Lowery’s Screenplay and His 2021 Film Adaptation The Green Knight." Arthuriana, vol. 34 no. 1, Spring 2024, pp. 21-44. Project MUSE, https://doi.org/10.1353/art.2024.a924597.

Abstract:

This study closely compares David Lowery’s film The Green Knight to his 2018 screenplay, detailing the many changes he made during two months of filming in 2019 and in post-production. These include changes due to location choices and budget, those regarding Lowery’s use of literary and cinematic subtexts, those made to his main characters (both male and female), and structural modifications distorting the linearity of the storyline. The analysis reveals Lowery’s organic filmmaking techniques, his changing priorities and how one’s vision at the outset of such an endeavor does indeed seldom match its final form.

Aronstein and Finke on Mrs. Davis

From the latest Arthuriana:

Aronstein, Susan and Laurie Finke. Review of Mrs. Davis, by Tara Hernandez and Damon Lindelof. Arthuriana, vol. 33 no. 4, 2023, p. 68-70. Project MUSE, https://doi.org/10.1353/art.2023.a915339.

Narayanan on The Green Knight

 From a recent issue of Arthuriana:

Narayanan, Tirumular (Drew). "'Why is He Indian?': Missed Opportunities for Discussing Race in David Lowery's The Green Knight (2021)." Arthuriana, vol. 33 no. 3, Fall 2023, p. 36-59. Project MUSE, https://doi.org/10.1353/art.2023.a910870.

Abstract:

This article explores the depiction of Gawain in The Green Knight (2021). Despite having cast Dev Patel in the starring role, the film avoids any substantive discussion of race in Camelot. By trading in optical diversity alone, it deploys BIPOC bodies without ever telling their stories. (TDN)

Pugh on The Green Knight

Recently published in Arthuriana. Copies are available by subscription or from Project MUSE, if you're lucky enough to have access.


Pugh, Tison. "Seminal Semiotics and Pornographic Displeasures in David Lowery’s The Green Knight (2021)." Arthuriana, vol. 32 no. 3, Fall 2022, pp. 41-57. Project MUSE, doi:10.1353/art.2022.0030.

Abstract:

In The Green Knight, a cinematic adaptation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, director David Lowery includes a lingering shot of Gawain’s ejaculate. Lowery reframes this pornographic image as an alienating, rather than pleasureful, experience; in so doing, he probes similar themes concerning displeasure’s effects as the Gawain-Poet.

Harty on The Green Knight (Again)

More from Kevin J. Harty on The Green Knight:

Harty, Kevin J.. "Notes Towards a Close Reading of David Lowery’s 2021 Film The Green Knight." Journal of the International Arthurian Society, vol. 10, no. 1, 2022, pp. 29-51. https://doi.org/10.1515/jias-2022-0004

New and Recent from Arthuriana

From recent issues of Arthuriana:

Aronstein, Susan and Taran Drummond. Review of The Green Knight, by David Lowery. Arthuriana, vol. 31 no. 3, 2021, p. 90-92. Project MUSE, doi:10.1353/art.2021.0030.

Francis, Christina. "Babylon 5, An Arthurian World in Space." Arthuriana, vol. 31 no. 3, 2021, p. 3-20. Project MUSE, doi:10.1353/art.2021.0023.

Hughes, Shaun F.D. "Some Thoughts on The Northman (2022)." Arthuriana, vol. 32 no. 2, 2022, p. 89-101. Project MUSE, doi:10.1353/art.2022.0014.

Yri, Kirsten. Review of From Camelot to Spamalot, Musical Retellings of Arthurian Legend on Stage and Screen, by Megan Woller. Arthuriana, vol. 32 no. 2, 2022, p. 117-119. Project MUSE, doi:10.1353/art.2022.0023.

CFP Out With the Old, In With the New: Changing Trajectories in David Lowery’s The Green Knight (7/30/2022; SAMLA Jacksonville, FL 11/11-13/2022)

This seemed worth cross-posting.

Out With the Old, In With the New: Changing Trajectories in David Lowery’s The Green Knight

source: https://call-for-papers.sas.upenn.edu/cfp/2022/06/06/out-with-the-old-in-with-the-new-changing-trajectories-in-david-lowery%E2%80%99s-the-green

deadline for submissions: July 30, 2022

full name / name of organization:
SAMLA: South Atlantic Modern Language Association

contact email:
mcrofton@fit.edu



For close to seven hundred years, Gawain has been a favorite hero in Arthurian myth, especially when it comes to his legendary accomplishments—and faults—in Gawain and the Green Knight. No matter how much readers may root for him in his quest with the Green Knight, many of us can’t help but wonder…what if? All of that changed with David Lowery’s 2021 film, The Green Knight, which presents viewers with an abundance of scenarios that many of us haven’t even anticipated. In doing so, Lowery has forever altered the way scholars approach the medieval poem. This panel seeks to explore some of the most powerful changes Lowery makes to the base text of Gawain and the Green Knight, and what we can learn about the importance—or dangers—of retelling popular stories in new and inventive ways. Please submit a 250 word abstract, a brief bio, and A/V requirements by July 30th to Melissa Crofton at mcrofton@fit.edu.



Last updated June 7, 2022

The Green Knight Updates

Two updates on The Green Knight:

First, Kevin J. Harty, Arthurian film expert par excellence, has provided a review of the film (spoilers included) for the Medievally Speaking site.  

Second, news broke recently of a one-night, online-screening event (at least in the US) for the film. The cost is $20 for a one-time viewing. More details are at the A24 Screening Room website. 

Like many, I'd like to see (and own a copy of) the film; however, this option isn't an event I can support, especially assuming the home video version (whenever that releases) will be about the same price (or less). 

CFP The Green Knight (2021): Key Critical Perspectives (A Roundtable) (9/15/21; ICoMS Kalamazoo 5/9-14/2022)

From the ISSM listserv; posted on behalf of the organizers:

Dear All,

Please see below a CFP for K’zoo 2022 on David Lowery’s new film (which I understand is now out in the US but sadly is not opening in the UK for another fortnight!).

Cheers,

Renée & Valerie

CALL FOR PAPERS

The Green Knight (2021): Key Critical Perspectives (A Roundtable)

The International Society for the Study of Medievalism (ISSM) invites submissions for a sponsored roundtable on David Lowery’s film The Green Knight (2021) for the 57th International Congress on Medieval Studies, which will take place online from Monday 9 May to Saturday 14 May 2022.

This roundtable seeks participants to identify and discuss an element of Lowery’s long-anticipated film, starring Dev Patel. In short presentations (10 minutes), panelists are invited to consider an element of the film in light of a focal keyword inspired by Medievalism: Key Critical Terms (2014), including: archive, authenticity, authority, Christianity, co-disciplinarity, continuity, feast, gender, genealogy, gesture, gothic, heresy, humor, lingua, love, memory, middle, modernity, monument, myth, play, power, presentism, primitive, purity, race, reenactment, resonance, simulacrum, spectacle, transfer, trauma, and troubadour. 

Submissions of 250-300 WORDS should be made via the Confex Online System no later than Wednesday 15 September 2021. This session is listed under “Session Selection: Roundtables.”

Queries about the session can be sent to Valerie Johnson (vjohnso6@montevallo.edu) and/or Renée Ward (rward@lincoln.ac.uk).

 

New Trailer for The Green Knight (2021)

The latest trailer for the upcoming film The Green Knight (2021) was released this week (just in time for Kalamazoo). It looks interesting (cool design for the Green Knight, for example), but I'm not sure how much of it is really true to the story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. We'll find out together this July, I guess.

New from Kevin J Harty

I've been a bit slow catching up (again), but a recent number of Arthuriana includes an updated survey of Arthurian film by Kevin J. Harty. The full citation follows.

Harty, Kevin J. "James Bond, A Grifter, A Video Avatar, and a Shark Walk into King Arthur's Court: The Ever-Expanding Canon of Cinema Arthuriana." Arthuriana, vol. 30 no. 2, 2020, p. 89-121. 

The essay can be accessed by researchers from Project MUSE at https://muse.jhu.edu/article/763924.

Sword and the Scoob Update

Warner Bros. has updated the information on the home video release of Scooby-Doo! The Sword and the Scoob.

https://www.wbshop.com/collections/movies-and-tv-pre-orders/products/scooby-doo-the-sword-and-the-scoob-dvd

In addition to streaming video, it will also be available
on DVD starting 23 February 2021.

In addition to this news, the they released the cover art seen in this post.

 

Here is the official synopsis of the film:

Scooby-Doo and the gang journey back in time to help King Arthur save his throne from an evil sorceress. While there, Shaggy unwittingly pulls out Excalibur from a nearby stone to cut a block of cheese and now no one is sure who the rightful ruler is! The legendary wizard, Merlin, appears and explains that the throne of Camelot must be determined through TRIAL BY COMBAT! Our heroes pull out all the stops to try and win the tournament, break the witch's hold on King Arthur, and find a way back to the present in this legendary story of Scooby Doo in King Arthur's Court! 

 

 

Coming Soon: Woller's From Camelot to Spamalot

From Camelot to Spamalot:Musical Retellings of Arthurian Legend on Stage and Screen

https://global.oup.com/academic/product/from-camelot-to-spamalot-9780197511039?q=arthurian&lang=en&cc=us#

 

Megan Woller 

A new look at the Arthurian legend
First book that groups significant works of Arthurian musical adaptations together
Includes discussion of archival material

Paperback, $35.00 (also available as hardcover and ebook)

This item is not yet published. It is available for pre-orders and will ship on 22 March 2021. 

248 Pages

6 1/8 x 9 1/4 inches

ISBN: 9780197511039

 

Description

For centuries, Arthurian legend has captured imaginations throughout Europe and the Americas with its tales of Camelot, romance, and chivalry. The ever-shifting, age-old tale of King Arthur and his world is one which depends on retellings for its endurance in the cultural imagination. Using adaptation theory as a framework, From Camelot to Spamalot foregrounds the role of music in selected Arthurian adaptations, examining six stage and film musicals. The book considers how musical versions in twentieth and twenty-first century popular culture interpret the legend of King Arthur, contending that music guides the audience to understand this well-known tale and its characters in new and unexpected ways. All of the productions considered include an overtly modern perspective on the legend, intruding and even commenting on the tale of King Arthur. Shifting from an idealistic utopia to a silly place, the myriad notions of Camelot offer a look at the importance of myth in American popular culture. Author Megan Woller's approach, rooted in the literary theory of scholars like Linda Hutcheon, highlights the intertextual connections between chosen works and Arthurian legend. In so doing, From Camelot to Spamalot intersects with and provides a timely contribution to several different fields of study, from adaptation studies and musical theater studies to film studies and Arthurian studies.

 

 

Table of Contents


Acknowledgements 

Introduction 

Part 1: Adapting Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
Prelude: Twain as Adapter
Chapter 1: Musical Storytelling and Revision in Rodgers and Hart's A Connecticut Yankee
Chapter 2: Bing Crosby's Stardom and Legend in A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court 

Part 2: Adapting T.H. White's The Once and Future King
Chapter 3: Interpretation and Characterization in Lerner and Loewe's Camelot
Chapter 4: Naiveté and the Depiction of Arthur's Childhood in Disney's The Sword in the Stone

Part 3: Monty Python as Adapters
Chapter 5: Parody and the Role of Song in Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Chapter 6: Notions of Place, Legend, and Broadway in Monty Python's Spamalot 

Conclusion

Archival Collections
Bibliography
Index 

 

 

Author Information


Megan Woller is Director of Liberal Studies and Assistant Professor of Fine Arts at Gannon University. Her research interests include film music, musical theater, popular music, and music and gender. She is the author of articles on film musical adaptations in The Oxford Handbook of Musical Theatre Adaptations, Music and the Moving Image, and Studies in Musical Theatre. 

 

 

Scooby-Doo in King Arthur's Court!

 Coming soon to home video:

 

 

 

 

Green Knight Teaser

A24 recently released a teaser for its upcoming film The Green Knight.




(My thanks to Rodney Parrish and other members of the Arthurian Popular Culture Discussion List for the head's up.)

Happy Birthday, Will Rogers!

Goggle is celebrating the 140th birthday of Will Rogers today with an animated Google Doodle.

Happy birthday to the Connecticut Yankee of 1931.

Dragons of Camelot

I finally got around to watching The Dragons of Camelot (2014).

Directed by Mark K. Lester, the production was filmed on location in Wales and serves as a continuation of the Arthurian story that pits Arthurian heroes against Morgan le Fay (and her dragon allies) for rule of the country after Arthur's death. Lancelot and Guinevere play pivotal roles as does their son, Galahad. He is aided in his quest by former Grail seekers Bors, Percival and his sister, Dindrane. Merlin is also featured and is instrumental to Morgan's defeat. There are some notable divergences from the tradition, but the film does make a useful contribution to the After-Arthur subgenre.

The dvd release includes a short documentary on the making of the film.

Harty Celebration in Arthuriana

The latest number of Arthuriana (29.2 for Summer 2019) is a special issue celebrating the work of Kevin J. Harty. It also features a number of reviews of recent films.

Relevant content is as follows. Subscribers may access the issue at the journal's website and Project MUSE.


Preface
Alan Lupack and Barbara Tepa Lupack 3

‘Who are the Britons?’ Questions of Ethnic and National Identity in Arthurian Films
Christopher A. Snyder 6

Queer as Folk
Donald L. Hoffman  24

Tristan in Film
Joan Tasker Grimbert 47

A Connecticut Yankee at the Movies
Barbara Tepa Lupack 64

Romancing the Cold War: America’s Atomic Narrative Gets Medieval [on Adventures of Sir Galahad]
Susan Aronstein 86

From Kids as Galahad to Kid Galahad
Alan Lupack 102



REVIEWS
 

Joe Cornish, dir., The Kid Who Would Be King
Alan Lupack 119
 
David Mackenzie, dir., Outlaw King
Andrew B.R. Elliott 121
 
James Wan, dir., Aquaman  
Susan Aronstein and Taran Drummond 124

Croft on Orphan Black!

Janet Brennan Croft has an intriguing new essay out in the recent issues of Mythlore. It can be ordered direct at http://www.mythsoc.org/mythlore/mythlore-134.htm.


Here is the citation:

Croft, Janet Brennan. “ ‘Auntie, What Ails Thee?’: The Parzival Question in Orphan Black.” Mythlore, vol. 37, no. 3, Spring/Summer 2019, pp. 117-39.