We Will Rock You - An A Knight's Tale Video Essay

The real bootstraps were his friends all along.

A Knight's Tale is one of the smartest movies ever because it deploys its anachronisms not only knowingly, but practically as a weapon. Jousting was a massively popular sport, real young people danced popular new dances to flirt while popular new music played, but if you filmed it accurately a modern audience would be bored to tears. We wouldn't get it. We'd feel the weight of those 600 years between us. So the movie goes "no, I want you people to GET IT", and fills jousting with tropes of modern sporting events and has the cast do a hip dance to David Bowie. Is that what it was really like? Hell no. Is what we feel watching it similar to what they felt doing it? Hell YES, and that's the key. The movie deliberately discards the literal truth in service of the emotional truth.

"Your men love you William. If I knew nothing else about you, that would be enough" Is one of my favorite lines from anything ever. It's so indicative of what this whole movie was about, about the true honor of having such a loving found family

I always assumed the "royal all along" thing was something Edward made up to save his life. Like wink wink nudge nudge He's totally the nephew of Lord...Tea Kettle

All those critics remind me of how my southern-born, northern-educated Honors English professor defended this movie to death. The other professors would tell her it was a ridiculous, anachronistic film and she was always like “and? what about it?” I admired her sm

He's blond he's pissed He'll see you in the lists LICHTENSTEIN, LICHTENSTEIN He's blond, he's tan He comes from Gelderland HE COMES FROM GELDERLAAND

Not gonna lie, the "That's your name Will. Your father heard that." line absolutely DESTROYS me every time; I started choking up just watching that scene again

Regarding the "conveniently royal" revelation, I always read that bit as meaning that the Black Prince, with a wink and a nudge, did some forging of his own, and it actually stuck because he's royal himself. So it really was friendship that pulled him out of the lower classes. Friendship with a royal. A bit more in keeping with the themes, anyway.

I always thought it was heartbreaking when Chaucer is yelling “listen to me... listen to me” at the stocks. Until this point he has been able to capture/enchant every crowd he’s in front of with his words. Yet against this mob his words are as powerless as Watt’s threats. The cut speech although lovely doesn’t have the same impact for me. Chaucer was also my favorite character in one of my favorite movies growing up. I’d rewind just to rewatch his scenes. So happy to see a video essay giving him the attention he deserves

my little sister recommended that we bring back jousting as the the perfect "social distancing" sport, because you can stay six feet apart with a lance. I'm all in if someone wants to set up a tournament.

"turns out he'd been royal all along" ? Are you reading that as he actually was from an ancient royal house? i've always read that as the prince just said it and then is like 'im the prince, contradict me scrubs?'

As a man who loves his father, I absolutely adore the relationship between Will and his father. I think it means so much to any child to make their parents proud, and I am so glad that they didn't put in any artificial conflict between them.

“Look at this queen! She’s ready to beat some people with her hammers to defend her friend. I love her!” I love you for having said that.

A generic sports movie based on Chaucer set in the 14th century to a classic rock soundtrack? Greenlit. How this movie survived its pitch meeting is just amazing to me.

This isn't a movie I remember very well, probably because I was about three when it came out - but I asked my older brother and sister-in-law about it, and they both said "Helloooo it's a lance" back to me. 🤣

I think there's another aspect to Geoff's relief in they scene at the stocks. He's absolutely letting go of all that tension of will's imprisonment - but there's a sadness or a capitulation there too. He wrote Will the Knight, Von Lichtenstein, he spent all this time justifying to the group and in the deleted scene, to the people, his knightliness and his earning of his status by virtue. He facilitated the creation of a knight from a peasant by the strength of his character. It's a recognition that in spite of will's virtue and his talent and work, in spite of their journey, what saves will is the luck of finding a noble prince. There's a sort of recognition that his job is over, and ultimately, what saves will was not his relationship with his herald, the writer, but with a fellow noble, the prince who still inhabits so much of the entitlement and rights by birth that has caused them so many problems. Privately, the prince does not espouse the same entitlement as Ademar, but he gives lip service to it, to the importance of birth, by justifying - to will's fellow peasants no less - his heritage above all else, backed up by the Prince's royal authority. Perhaps I'm reading too much into this, but I feel in that glance down that the above ironies are not lost on Chaucer, who simply accepts in this scene the relieving way their lives are being controlled by their betters, in the same way they had to accept the horror of the same when details of wills arrest was discovered. Chaucer is relieved, but he knows they must capitulate to their society. The game is over. Will is a "real" knight now.

"You're gonna see Paul Bettany's butt." Oooooh nooooo...

"What do you think of when you think of "A Knight's Tal-" "WILLIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!

I can't blame Jocelyn for getting him hurt. In the movie they make a point of mentioning that he could just withdraw from the challenges, but he refuses. So really he's getting beat up because his pride won't let him back down AND he wants to do as she asks.

I am only a minute in and you've pointed out that chaucer's is one of the best parts of this movie. I hope that you know that I will love you forever for this video essay (somehow more than I already love you for your other video essays, which is saying something as your theme analyses actually have helped inspire some writing of novels of my own).