The Princess Bride 1987, First Knight 1995, The Three Musketeers 1993, A Knights Tale 2001, The Man In The Iron Mask 1998, and Robin Hood: The Prince Of Thieves 1991
Epic and adventurous are two words that perfectly sum up tonight's marathon. It has everything that one desires when going to the movies. Great acting, great writing, great directing, strong storytelling, pure spectacle, strong leading men, damsels in distress, and burning romances that seep deep into the soul. The time period for these movies is the perfect setup giving it a sense of wonder and grand spectacle with characters you come to care about, root for, and in some cases want to be in the real world. Who doesn't want a Robin Hood who steals from the rich and gives to the poor? Who doesn't aspire to be the best and get the girl like Heath Ledger from A Knights Tale? Who wouldn't want a group of friends who would stand together as brothers in the cause of right like The Three Musketeers? What makes this marathon so iconic and exciting is that it gives you people that you would want to be or stand with. In some cases, people would want a romance as spontaneous as The Princess Bride starring Cary Elwes and Robin Wright Penn. Nominated for an academy award for Best Song and often cited as being the film that took the whole damsel in distress story arc and gave it a fresh reimagining, the story centers around a romance told to a boy sick in bed by his grandfather. The story itself revolves around a young woman named Buttercup being kidnapped by a gang in hopes of starting a war. The only person who can save her is an old childhood flame whose now known as The Dread Pirate Roberts. During his quest, Roberts befriends a thief and his hired helpers such as an accomplished swordsman and a super strong giant to become his companions in his quest to save Buttercup. The Princess Bride remains one of the greatest romantic adventure movies of all time, and continues to be remembered as the film that turned the damsel in distress formula on it's head. The second movie of the lineup is First Knight starring Sean Connery, Richard Gere, and Julia Ormond. From the director of Ghost comes another adventure and romance tale where a young Lancelot falls in love with a beautiful young woman named Guinevere, whose arranged to be married to King Arthur. What begins as a rescue of the young lady from captivity becomes a passionate forbidden romance as a violent warlord tries to seize power from Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. First Knight takes the theme more seriously compared to Princess Bride and upgrades the setting and general storyline with a general threat towards society with romance thrown into the mix. It may not be the classic that The Princess Bride has become but it's def one of the better midevil films and a perfect followup to a strong opening. The third movie of the marathon is the Walt Disney 1993 blockbuster titled The Three Musketeers starring Kiefer Sutherland, Charlie Sheen, Chris O Donnell, Oliver Platt, and Tim Curry. The storyline centers around three swordsmen of the disbanded French King's guard along with one young man who aspires to become a musketeer himself. Their quest is to save their king from the scheming of the Cardinal Richelieu. Unlike First Knight, Three Musketeers reverts back to the lightheartedness and fun of Princess Bride while never straying away from it's main narrative. The film also benefits from the all star cast whose chemistry and energy makes this one a fun treat to behold. The fourth movie of the marathon is completely centered around star power with the presence of one of cinema's greatest performers gone too soon. A Knight's Tale starring Heath Ledger and Paul Bettany centers around a peasant squire whose hungry for food and fame, begins a new identity for himself as a knight after his master dies. As he makes a living winning tournaments, Ledger's character Will meets a beautiful princess and comes across an evil and taunting opponent that forces him to come to terms with his humble beginnings and lying about his true self to the people he cares about. A Knight's Tale comes right after 10 Things I Hate About You and The Patriot in the early stage of Heath Ledger's career. It was the film that gave him his first role as a leading man, making women melt for him. It serves as a worthy addition to an already well established line up. The film was not a box office success when it came out but is now looked upon fondly by fans of the late actor. The fifth movie of the lineup is The Man In The Iron Mask starring Leonardo Dicaprio fresh off the success of Titanic, Gabriel Byrne, John Malkovich, and Jeremy Irons is a nice throwback to the story arc of The Three Musketeers. This time the story centers around the iconic heroes being much older and having to deal with a corrupt king who has a secret twin brother locked away in a dungeon. The twin is revealed to be the real heir to the throne forcing the Three Musketeers to devise a plan of possibly switching the two brothers and ending the cruel reign of King Louis XIV of France played by Leonardo Dicaprio. The Man In The Iron Mask brings the serious tone of First Knight back into the mix with the theme of a man who got shunned out of being the rightful King of France being freed from captivity and given a second chance. Whereas Three Musketeers comes off as a fun film, Man In The Iron Mask is a more mature version of their story with a higher call to service. The sixth and ultimately final movie of the marathon is the 1991 star studded blockbuster Robin Hood Prince of Thieves. Starring Kevin Costner, Alan Rickman, Morgan Freeman, Christian Slater, and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio. Perhaps the most iconic hero of them all, the story focuses on Robin Hood coming to England and deciding to fight back as an outlaw after witnessing the tyranny of the Sheriff of Nottingham. Prince of Thieves is perhaps the most successful of the modern day interpretations of the character, and remains one of the most popular films ever made. It carries with it all the essential ingredients of this evenings lineup such as action, adventure excitement, romance, and thrills. It takes the spectacle to it's highest point and brings it to a richly satisfying conclusion.
So what are these movies all trying to say when you put them all together as one? The message behind most of these movies is that it is vital to fight for what is right and to defend what means most to you and others. Forbidden romances can become a reality and be the right ones ultimately, and a true friendship would come off as looking something similar to what The Three Musketeers present themselves as. Sometimes you must take a stand on issues that matter and remain loyal to your kingdom.
Our heroes for this evening:
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