Blu-ray Review: First Knight

THE MOVIE: 3 3/4 stars out of 5

First Knight gives us a new take on the legend of King Arthur and Camelot, namely a love triangle. First Knight stars Sean Connery as King Arthur who seeks to marry Lady Guinevere played by Julia Ormond. However, one of the former knights of the roundtable, Malagant (Ben Cross), has turned evil going out on his own and seeking the destruction of Camelot. While on her way to Camelot to marry King Arthur, Lady Guinevere’s group is attacked by Malagant’s forces. It is here that she is rescued by a drifter, Lancelot, played by Richard Gere who with his bravery, is invited by Arthur to become a knight in the round table. While Guinevere want s to marry Arthur, she falls in love with Lancelot. This love triangle weaves its way in and out of and forms the basis of the rest of the film. The film itself culminates in an attack by Malagant on Camelot itself. Recommended for a Saturday night viewing with your wife or significant other.

THE VIDEO: 4 7/8 stars out of 5

The video here is encoded with AVC and presented in its original aspect ratio of 1:85:1 and is in a word, outstanding. In the opinion of this writer, this is a reference encode. The colors here are outstanding looking very natural and beautiful. The subtle shades of green here are a sight to behold as is the rest of the color palette presented here. Flesh tones are outstanding and are some of the best I have seen in my home. Black level is outstanding as well giving the film a totally three dimensional image. Clarity is amazing as well, so much so that is looks as if you are looking through a freshly cleaned window watching the action. Detail is also remarkable. You can seen every pore and blemish on the faces of the actors. The same is true of the clothing where you can seen the stitching on the costumes and the texture of the fabrics. Shadow detail is outstanding as well where I noticed no black crush at all. All of the details in the shadows in Malagant’s headquarters are clearly visible. As you can tell, I loved this encode and was shocked at how good this film looked in my theater. It totally kills the old DVD release which looks looks like a bad VHS copy in comparison. Very well done.

THE AUDIO: 4 7/8 stars out of 5

I am pleased to be able to report that the Dolby True HD track here is every bit as good as the video. For starters, the dialogue track is outstanding. The dialogue is beautifully recorded and rendered here with excellent fidelity. It literally sounds as though the actors are in the room with you as you can hear every subtle aspect of their voices with startling realism. The rest of the sound field is just as good with a smooth, open and dynamic sound. The surround speakers are used beautifully giving you a very immersive sound, placing you right in the middle of the action. Bass is deep and tight and really packs a wallop during the battle scenes. Last but not least, the musical score here really shines providing a full, rich and dynamic sound which is among the best sounding scores in a film that I have ever heard in my theater room. Simply outstanding.

IN CONCLUSION

First Knight is an outstanding release in terms of video and audio quality which are both of reference quality. Fans of this film will simply love this release on Blu-Ray. Recommended.

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