A Knight's Tale

Bibliographic Information: Black, T., Helgeland, B., & Van Rellim, T. (Producers), & Helgeland, B. (Director). (2001). A knight’s tale [Motion picture]. United States: Columbia Pictures.

Plot Summary: In this Cinderella tale, a destitute squire named William assumes the identity of his deceased master, Sir Ector, in a jousting tournament.  William wins the tournament and splits the earning with his fellow squires, Roland and Wat.  William comes up with an idea- continue competing to win more money.  Roland and Wat do not think this is a very good plan since only nobles are allowed to joust in tournaments, and the risk seems high, but William convinces them to go along with the plan.  On their way to their first tournament they enlist the help of Geoffrey Chaucer (yes, that Geoffrey Chaucer) who helps forge a patent of nobility for Sir Ulrich von Liechtenstein-- William’s new identity.   The group experiences much success, and William, under the guise of Sir Ulrich, falls in love with a noblewoman named Jocelyn.  In the jousting ring, William encounters Count Adhemar, who become his rival not only for the tournament prize, but for Jocelyn as well. If William is to continue jousting, he must keep his real identity a secret from everyone, including Jocelyn.  How long can he continue this act?

 

Critical Evaluation: A Knight’s Tale repeatedly touts the theme of changing one’s destiny.  This theme is played out in many scenarios.  When William was a young boy living in London, his father encouraged him to “change his stars,” so he left his peasant lifestyle and father behind to squire for Sir Ector.  Back in 14th century Europe, social class defined one’s lifestyle, and it was not easy to improve social status like it is now.  William sacrificed his relationship with his father for his first opportunity to change his stars.  His second opportunity came along when Sir Ector unexpectedly died and William assumed his identity in the jousting tournament despite the risk of getting caught.  William’s actions show us that changing our stars is going to require sacrifice and risk-taking.  

The movies also contains many allusions to literature and modern pop-culture, thus helping the audience to relate to the middle ages.  The biggest allusion is that of Geoffrey Chaucer, the writer who wrote The Canterbury Tales in which “A Knight’s Tale” appears first.   The movie also contains a soundtrack full of 70’s classic rock music tracks like “We Will Rock You” by Queen, and “You Shook Me All Night Long,” by ACDC.

  

Reader’s Annotation:  William finally has a chance to change his destiny.  Assuming the identity of Sir Ulrich von Liechtenstein, William is going to rock the Middle Ages with his jousting skills.

Information about the director: Brian Helgeland has wrote, produced, and directed A Knight’s Tale. He was born in Providence, Rhode Island to Norwegian immigrant parents.  Helgeland received his undergraduate degree in literature from Dartmouth in Massachsetts, and then studied film at Layola Marymount University in L.A.

    Helgeland wrote and co-produced L.A. Confidential (1997), and earned an Academy Award for his work.  The day before the Academy Awards ceremony, he received a Razzie, an award honoring the worst in film, for his work on The Postman. Some of Helgeland’s other well-known works include Conspiracy Theory (1997), The Bourne Supremacy (2004), Robin Hood (2010),  and Salt (2010) (YAHOO! Movies, n.d.).

Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, Romance

Curriculum Ties: Social Studies/History (Middle Ages)

Booktalking ideas (one or two):

1. Changing your stars.

2. Geoffery Chaucer’s perspective

Reading level/Interest age: 13+

Challenge Issues: This movie contains “action violence, some nudity and brief sex-related dialogue” (IMDb, n.d.)

To defend challenged material I would:

1.    Read/watch/listen to the material to become familiar with the content.

2.    Familiarize myself with the Arizona Common Core curriculum standards http://www.azed.gov/azcommoncore/teacher/ to defend how the material can support the learning of these standards.

3.    Refer to the Library Bill of Rights: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill

4.    Refer to the collection policy of my library.

5.    Collect reviews from staff/students/patrons who have used the material

Why I included this movie: I chose this movie because of the allusion to Chaucer and his work, The Canterbury Tales, and because of it’s historical setting.  The main character, William is a good example for people who want to change their position in life.  I also think the modern soundtrack appeals to the younger generation and helps this film shed the reputation of a “boring period piece.”