View source for Gawain and the Green Knight (film)

{{short description|1973 British film}}
{{about|the 1973 film|the 1984 version|Sword of the Valiant|the 2021 film|The Green Knight (film)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2016}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Gawain and the Green Knight
| image          =
| caption        =
| director       = [[Stephen Weeks]]
| producer       = [[Carlo Ponti]]
| writer         = Philip M. Breen<br>Stephen Weeks
| based_on       = {{based on|[[Sir Gawain and the Green Knight]]||[[Anonymous work|Anonymous]]}}
| starring       = [[Murray Head]]<br />[[Nigel Green]]<br />[[Robert Hardy]]
| music          = [[Ron Goodwin]]
| cinematography = [[Ian Wilson (cinematographer)|Ian Wilson]]
| editing        = [[John Shirley]]
| distributor    = [[United Artists]]
| released       = {{Film date|1973}}
| runtime        = 93 minutes
| language       = English
| country        = [[United Kingdom]]
| budget         =
}}
'''''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]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Eden |first=Michael |date=2023-07-08 |title=Sir Gawain and the Green Knight on Screen |url=https://www.trebuchet-magazine.com/sir-gawain-and-the-green-knight-on-screen/ |access-date=2023-11-07 |website=Trebuchet |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.bfi.org.uk/film/b466b713-a13b-5528-ac43-5e977c5fedea/gawain-and-the-green-knight|title=Gawain and the Green Knight (1973)|publisher=[[BFI]]|access-date=3 November 2023}}</ref> The story is based on the medieval [[English language|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]]''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Harty |first=Kevin J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=syUkCQAAQBAJ |title=Cinema Arthuriana: Twenty Essays, rev. ed. |date=2015-05-07 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1-4766-0844-0 |pages=18–19 |language=en}}</ref>
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 (actor)|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 ==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
* {{IMDb title|0070093|Gawain and the Green Knight}}
{{Sir Gawain and the Green Knight}}
{{Stephen Weeks}}
[[Category:1973 films]]
[[Category:1970s historical fantasy films]]
[[Category:Arthurian films]]
[[Category:British historical fantasy films]]
[[Category:Films based on poems]]
[[Category:Films set in castles]]
[[Category:United Artists films]]
[[Category:Films scored by Ron Goodwin]]
[[Category:1970s English-language films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Stephen Weeks]]
[[Category:1970s British films]]
[[Category:English-language fantasy films]]
[[Category:English-language historical films]]
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