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Lancelot of the Lake

Lancelot of the Lake (1974)

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Average Rating: N/A
Critic Reviews: 3
Fresh: 2 | Rotten: 1

audience

71

liked it
Average Rating: 3.7/5
User Ratings: 1,241

My Rating

Movie Info

As with his earlier Trial of Joan of Arc, French-filmmaker Robert Bresson effectively casts unknowns in his interpretation of the Knights of the Round Table saga. Breaking with the standard romantic spin on this legend, Bresson offers us a selfish, ruthless Lancelot, no better than the other grubby "nobles" who seek but fail to find the Holy Grail. Returning from his futile mission, Lancelot callously renews his affair with King Arthur's Guenevere, who likewise is depicted in less than

Unrated,

Art House & International, Drama

Robert Bresson

May 25, 2004

Cast

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All Critics (16) | Top Critics (3) | Fresh (15) | Rotten (2) | DVD (4)

It's stunningly beautiful, mesmerising, exhausting, uplifting, amazing -- all the things you could possibly expect from a masterpiece.

June 24, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out
Time Out
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The style is intact but the content is missing.

May 9, 2005 Full Review Source: New York Times
New York Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

It belongs with Pickpocket and Au hasard Balthazar at the highest level of Bresson's achievement.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader
Chicago Reader
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Bresson's stripped-to-the-bone adaptation eschews the traditionally heroic, spectacular, fabulous, and exaltedly romantic aspects of the legendary saga in order to lay bare the confusion and pain within the human soul.

August 28, 2006 Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Richly symbolic drama, endlessly inventive.

August 22, 2006 Full Review Source: Classic Film and Television
Classic Film and Television

It's often characterized as a 'despairing' film in Bresson's late oeuvre, but in fact, it's an elegiac lamentation...beautifully rendered in loving, rhythmic care.

December 1, 2004 Full Review Source: Filmjourney

Cuts to the heart of the Arthurian tragedy… strips away the early grandeur of Camelot, leaving only the demoralized foundering in the wake of the failed Grail quest.

August 22, 2004 Full Review Source: Decent Films Guide
Decent Films Guide

Bresson strips away frippery to such an extent that it should be a coma-inducing slog, but it's not.

July 14, 2004 Full Review Source: culturevulture.net
culturevulture.net

It has a magnificence that creeps out a little at a time, especially over repeated viewings.

May 24, 2004 Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid
Combustible Celluloid

For Bresson fans, this is as good as it gets...for now at least.

May 23, 2004 Full Review Source: Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine

Even with a well-known story as its backdrop, it is only upon the third or fourth viewing that one can even begin to contemplate the larger questions at work in the film.

May 17, 2004 Full Review Source: Not Coming to a Theater Near You
Not Coming to a Theater Near You

One suspects that Bresson wanted to interpret Arthurian legend in a way that would emphasize its petty emotions and physicalities.

February 8, 2004 Full Review Source: Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine

Having seen Bresson's filmography in full (including this film twice), I'm convinced that Lancelot of the Lake is on par with his very best and most transcendent work.

November 26, 2003 Full Review Source: Film and Felt
Film and Felt

Casts a magical spell over an old legend and reinvents it.

November 3, 2003 Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

A sublime masterpiece, at once majestic and accessible.

May 24, 2003 Full Review Source: Film4
Film4

Bresson's knights are wanderers in the forest whose every move reverberates with the clang of chain mail.

March 10, 2003 Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle
Austin Chronicle

Bresson's style may not be for everyone, but one has to respect his strength as an artist.

February 27, 2001 Full Review Source: Q Network Film Desk
Q Network Film Desk

Audience Reviews for Lancelot of the Lake

i love the tales of king arthur, from excalibur to monty python :P this is of course the most minimalist version possible. and it's bloody! those who've seen a bresson film will know what to expect. for the rest, read bort16's review; i think he's said it all
September 10, 2008
rubystevens
Stella Dallas

Super Reviewer

Returning empty handed in his two-year search for the Holy Grail after having made a wrong turn somewhere, Lancelot(Luc Simon) is given a warm welcome back from King Arthur(Vladimir Antolek-Oresek). Mordred(Patrick Bernhard) emerges from the shadows just long enough to remind everybody that he told them so, before slinking back to his hole. All Queen Guinevere(Laura Duke Condominas) wants to know is why her knight, Lancelot, is not wearing her ring anymore.

To start, "Lancelot of the Lake" takes an intriguing approach to violence, with the only graphic detail in its opening sequence(if it looks familiar, it should be pointed out that "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" was made the following year), before pretty much avoiding it for the rest of the film, which speaks volumes to the knights' worthiness, considering their history of bloodshed and pillaging. This film is set during the downward slide of Arthur's rule, as he has no wish to replace any fallen knights. Otherwise, the movie can be talky, focusing more on relationships, which confirms the eternal power of this venerable tale.
May 3, 2012
Harlequin68
Walter M.

Super Reviewer

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Foreign Titles

  • Lancelot, Ritter der Königin (DE)
  • Lancelot of the Lake (Lancelot Du Lac) (UK)
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