July 19, 2017
Tonight, we go basic with the link from yesterday’s movie.
George Romero directed Night of the Living Dead. He also directed a
little-known classic called Knightriders. If you don’t know Knightriders, you
have truly missed out.
The story is, on the surface, a very simple one. A
travelling renaissance festival has forsaken the “ways of the world” and live
under the Arthurian Code of Chivalry. Their only nod to the present is that, rather
than using horses for their jousting tournaments, their steeds are motorcycles.
The leader of the troupe is King William, played by a young Ed Harris. His
queen, Linet, is loyal to her king, but she sees the problems of the outside
world creeping into their world. William’s knights include Gary Lahti as
The troupe’s world does, in fact, begin to crumble when, at
one stop, they are hassled by the local police. One of the troupe is framed for
holding drugs, and rather than bow to the police’s demand for a payoff, they
take the vendor to jail. William demands to go along so his “subject’ has a
witness. The vendor is beaten mercilessly while William is helplessly locked in
the next cell, watching the beating.
The troupe’s lawyer gets the two out of jail, but the damage
has been done. He also brings an offer for the troupe to go “to the big time,”
performing before huge crowds and making major money, but William rejects the
offer, preferring the life of Arthur. Members of the “knights,’ however, stand
up to William and leave for the rich life. Eventually, though, they see the “rich
life” is not for them, and return to the troupe. A tournament is held, a private one, for
their eyes only. Should William’s knights win, William will remain their king. Should
Morgan’s men win, he will assume the throne and William will go off to his
exile.
I will save the ending for your viewing, of course…
What makes this movie so fascinating is the beauty of it.
This is a film as far removed from Night Of The Living Dead as it can be. No
gore, no visceral shots of gut-chomping, no shock scares. Instead, there are
moments of brilliant camerawork, capturing sunrises butting through trees ,
waterfalls turning rays of sunlight into prisms of majesty, just amazing stuff.
There are great action scenes of the knights in action on the jousting field, handling
motorcycles like the steeds of old, leaping downed bikes, fighting with
medieval weaponry, fighting for what they believe in.
All the while, though, there are glances of Romero
everywhere. Dawn of the Dead alum Ken Foree plays the troupe’s blacksmith and
weaponry maker. Christine Forrest, who became Romero’s wife on the last day of
shooting, plays Angie, the head mechanic for the bikes, the “keeper of the
royal horses,” as it were. Stephen and Tabitha King make appearances as attendees
at one of the festivals. And, for all you trivia buffs, Patricia Tallman, who
later played Barbara in the Savini-directed remake of NOTLD, appears as an
attendee who falls head over heels for Sir Alan.
Watching this movie, you cannot help but feel a desire to
join the group. Who doesn’t feel a need now and then to say “Kiss my ass” to
the ‘real world’ and take off and join the circus, or, in this case, the Renn
Fest life. Dump the cell phones and televisions and the electronic addictions,
and just live like a knight of the Round Table. Trust me when I say that, if
you say you wouldn’t, you’re lying to yourself. Me, I call those days “Mondays.”
There are some great things about this movie other than the
ones I have already talked about. The court magician, Merlin, is played by
internationally-known storyteller Brother Blue. Trained as an actor at Yale and
as a pastor at the Harvard Divinity School, Blue is incredible to watch. He
moves, well, like you would think a court magician would. He is William’s
counsel as well as his best friend. His long face, tattooed with blue
butterflies, is so expressive. When Blue speaks, you are riveted, but, like any
great actor, he says even more when he says barely anything.
Watching Tom Savini as an actor is also something to behold.
Why he has not been an actor his whole career is a mystery. He can seethe with
menace, and yet, look heartbroken when he sees his way of life crumbling. His
Morgan is a time bomb, waiting to explode, but even he doesn’t know exactly why
he is on a short fuse. He loves the life of the knights, but he wants to be
famous for it. William does not desire fame, he desires life. This conflict
boils and boils until the end of the movie, when the pot boils over.
It is an interesting feeling, watching this movie, knowing
George Romero headed it up. It feels almost like George took a vacation from
the flesh-eating ghouls and decided to go very mellow for a while. There are no
lives in the balance, no monsters to survive. Rather, the real world IS the
monster to survive. The lives in the balance are the lives being led by the
members of the troupe. Some have pondered that George was taking a swipe at
America becoming so content in its capitalism and commerciality. Given the
movie was made in 1981, it might even be considered an early statement against
Reaganism and the false prosperity Reagan brought to fruition.
Politics aside, this movie is definitely one to put on your “to
watch” list. Finding it on one of the pay-movie sites may be difficult, but,
thankfully, the Powers That Be deigned a Blu Ray release a couple of years
back. It is definitely worth the price, though, because I promise you, you will
watch Knightriders more than once.
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