I've always been fascinated by the Arthurian legends. What's perhaps most interesting about the legends of King Arthur is that as you delve more deeply into the material, instead of becoming clearer, the image of Arthur becomes hazier, as if receding behind a wall of mist. The archetypal King Arthur, complete with Guinevere, Lancelot, the Knights of the Round Table, Merlin, and Camelot, is a complex compilation, assembled over the centuries with different contributions coming from Welsh bards, medieval English historians, and French troubadours. Add in the findings of archaeologists and historians studying the retreat of the Romans from Britain and the subsequent Saxon invasions, and the only thing that's clear is that Britain was in dire need of a hero in the 5th century. Whether or not he was named "Arthur," and whether he did some or all of the heroics credited to him by the earliest sources, is still up for discussion.

All this introduction leads us to the documentary under review, King Arthur: The Truth Behind the Legend. Since I'm well-versed in the material, I was curious, to say the least, about how this documentary would manage the wealth of possible topics. In the end, I can say that it doesn't handle the topic nearly as badly as the cheesy presentation might imply, though it also doesn't do any more than scratch the surface of what could have been a truly fascinating topic.

Viewers will be forgiven if they think that this program was made sometime in the 1980s; there's an odd dated feeling about it, and the shots of the armored knight on his white horse that appear throughout the program could have come straight out of Excalibur. Nonetheless, King Arthur was made in 2004, probably to coincide with the release of the action-adventure film of the same name.

Here's the good part: King Arthur: The Truth Behind the Legend has its facts straight. Despite having a rather over-dramatic narrator, the program sticks to pretty solid ground as it explores the topic of Arthur's origins. For isntance, we learn how the British historian Geoffrey of Monmouth was the first to popularize the Arthur story, basing it on earlier Celtic materials and adding a generous dash of his own invention. Later, the program discusses Thomas Malory's Morte d'Arthur, which essentially became the definitive version of the basic legend; I was impressed that the documentary even mentions the fact that Malory drew on other, earlier works by the same name, and that his manuscript was substantially edited by his printer, Caxton.

Where King Arthur: The Truth Behind the Legend stalls is not in the accuracy of what it presents, but in the vast amounts of interesting material that it simply ignores. None of the basic topics are elaborated on; rather, a fact is mentioned and left as it is, without any fleshing-out. Just about every topic that's actually mentioned could have been given a more complex and interesting treatment, from the fact that Malory wrote his epic work while he was in jail to the different versions of Arthur's downfall. That's not even mentioning the whole topics that are completely ignored, like the French contribution to the legends.

I wouldn't have a problem with some material being glossed over if the program were otherwise full of information; I'll freely admit that there's far more material out there than could possibly be talked about in only 90 minutes. However, the program as it is contains substantial amounts of padding. In between short snippets of information, we get lengthy sequences of images with background music but no narration... and often the images aren't even particularly relevant. Lingering shots of Roman ruins, English monasteries, and forest glades may have seemed to fit the tone of the program, but in truth they only serve to dilute an already fairly fluffy program.

The DVD

Video

King Arthur: The Truth Behind the Legend appears in a 1.33:1 aspect ratio, and for what was probably a fairly low-budget piece, offers a reasonably good transfer. The print is clean and free of flaws, and the picture is bright with good colors, though overall the image is quite soft.

Audio

The soundtrack is straightforward, with the narrator's voice coming across clearly and distinctly. The musical part of the soundtrack is handled well and never interferes with the narration.

Extras

There are no special features on this disc.

Final thoughts

King Arthur: The Truth Behind the Legend is probably worth a rental for viewers who are interested in the background behind the Arthur legend and don't know more than the basic outlines of the story. While it's a very light-weight program, and a bit cheesy at times, the facts that are presented are correct and the overall treatment of the material is sound. Rent it.