The Green Knight is an adaptation of the classic Middle English chivalric poem “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight”. While the crux of the film remains faithful to the story, the filmmakers have made some modifications to this tale in order to enhance the Gawain’s journey. Also, in this film, none of the famous Arthurian characters (and very few characters in general) are actually referred to by name. Instead, they are just called King, Queen, Mother, etc.

Gawain is not a knight, though he is the king’s nephew. He often spends his days in the sketchier side of the kingdom, bedding mistress Essell (Alicia Vikander). He loves her very much, and she would marry him in an instant, but Gawain knows that they can’t really have a future together—he will be expected to marry a lady one day. Gawain’s mother (Sarita Choudhury), is the king’s sister, and a practitioner of witchcraft. One Christmas evening, the king (Sean Harris) has gathered his knights to dine and share tales of their bravery, but Gawain’s mother is not in attendance…she is off performing a ritual to summon some sort of supernatural creature. Gawain has no stories to contribute to the conversation as he has never gone on any kind of knightly quest. However, the festivities are suddenly interrupted as a massive knight rides into the great hall, holding an axe. His skin looks like tree bark, and he has an strange green glow.

The Green Knight (Ralph Ineson) proposes a game to any man who would accept his challenge. He will allow any knight to strike a blow on him, but requires something in return from the man who nicks him. Exactly one year later, that man must reunite with him at the Green Chapel, where the Green Knight will return the gesture, exacting a blow of equal measure on that knight. When none of the king’s brave knights step up to the challenge, Gawain volunteers—this would surely give him a story to share at future festivities! With one swift swing of the King’s sword, he lobs off the Green Knight’s head, which falls to the ground. However, soon afterwards, the Knight rises, picks up his head and rides away, telling Gawain that they shall meet again in one year hence. While initially there is much celebration and joy, the next year passes quickly, and Gawain is faced with the reality that he must reunite with the Green Knight for his own beheading. With Christmas just a week away, Gawain sets out on his quest to find the Green Chapel and accept his fate. However, along his journey he encounters many challenges—a scavenger (Barry Keoghan), a protective fox, wandering giants, a mysterious woman named Winifred (Erin Kellyman), and a suspiciously welcoming Lord (Joel Edgerton) and Lady—all of whom try to derail him from his quest.

When I first saw the trailer for this film, I was excited, expecting this to be more of an action-packed Arthurian knight’s tale. I had read “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” in high school, and was curious to see a feature adaptation. However, once I saw that the film was produced by A24, I was spooked a bit—I have found many of A24’s films to be a bit too artsy for my taste. So I ended up going into this film with really low expectations. I’m glad to say that I was somewhat pleasantly surprised. The Green Knight hits most of the major story beats from the original poem, following Gawain on his fantastical journey to meet up with the Green Knight and accept his fate. This is a very beautiful film, with shots often looking like works of art. While watching the disc’s bonus material, I found it fascinating to see how much work was done via visual effects to achieve the film’s aesthetic. It comes across very natural looking despite it’s somewhat surreal nature at times—the countryside is filled with green hills and mountains, grey cloudy skies, and beautiful stone castles and chapels. The score is also very unique, with its blend of operatic, choral and string music that can be both beautiful and haunting.

There isn’t a whole lot of action to the film—the film concentrates more on Gawain’s spiritual journey as he makes his quest to the chapel. The filmmakers also throw in a few fake-outs, exploring alternate turns of events before jumping back to reveal what actually happened. Dev Patel delivers a strong performance, really conveying the range of emotions Gawain experiences on his journey. And even though the King is whispering most of the time, there is something truly captivating in Sean Harris’ voice. In the final act there is this long dialogue-less montage that explores more in 10 or so minutes, than several of the longer dialogue-filled scenes of the film. This may have been my favorite portion of the movie.

That said, at times I did find the film to a bit too artsy and overly quirky just for the sake of being quirky. First there’s the title cards that pop up throughout the film to denote the different chapters of Gawain’s quest. They feel like something out of a Wes Anderson film, appearing at jaunty angles or in odd locations, and in varying fonts and colors. (There’s a whole 8-minute bonus feature devoted to them.) Then there’s the film’s odd camera angles—in one scene the camera just randomly pans up and around until it’s upside-down and then stays there for a while. In another scene the camera constantly spins in a circle as time progresses. There are also other shots that just linger on a bit too long—while the scenery is beautiful, I don’t necessarily need to see Gawain riding his horse in the same spot for 5 minutes at a time. In general, I think at least 30 minutes of the film’s over 2-hour runtime could have been edited to make the pace of the film a little faster, but I’m sure that’s not the tone or experience the director was going for.

Lionsgate’s 4K Ultra HD release looks and sounds amazing. The video presentation is often breathtaking, with a muted palette of grey cloudy skies, mixed with the lush countryside, and beautiful stone castles and other structures. There are several scenes that take place in near darkness, but black levels remain perfect throughout, and it’s still possible to make out what is happening. The visual effects blend in seamlessly, looking quite natural and undetectable—I didn’t even realize some things were effects until I watched the bonus material. The Atmos audio track provides clear dialogue, and showcases the film’s unique score. The track also provides a generally-immersive ambiance throughout Gawain’s quest, such as the crack of thunder, and enemies pounding on the castle walls. The Blu-ray and 4K discs come packed in a standard UHD keepcase, with a rounded-corner slipcover, along with an insert with redemption instructions for a 4K Vudu digital copy of the film. Both discs also include nearly 60-minutes of behind-the-scenes featurettes with the cast and filmmakers.

What’s Included:

Film: (1:32:48)

4K Ultra HD:

• 2160p / Widescreen 1.85:1
• Dolby Vision
• Audio: English Dolby Atmos, English Descriptive Audio
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish

Blu-ray:

• 1080p / Widescreen 1.85:1
• Audio: English Dolby Atmos, English Descriptive Audio
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish

Digital (Code subject to expiration, may not be valid after 10/12/2022):

• 4K Digital Copy redeemable via Vudu (not Movies Anywhere compatible)

Extras:

• Boldest of Blood & Wildest of Heart: Making The Green Knight (35:23)
  The cast and filmmakers talk about the original Arthurian tale the film is based on and some of the changes made to the character of Gawain, the decision to not mention Arthur and the other knights by name, casting the film, depicting the Green Knight, filming in Ireland, designing and building the sets, the cameras and technology used to film, the costumes, the score, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with screenwriter/director/producer David Lowery, producers James M. Johnston & Toby Halbrooks, director of photography Andrew Droz Palermo, production designer Jade Healy, costume designer Malgosia Turzanska, composer Daniel Hart, and stars Dev Patel (“Gawain”), Alicia Vikander (“Essel”/”The Lady”), Joel Edgerton (“The Lord”) & Kate Dickie (“Queen”).
• Practitioners of Magic: Visual Effects (14:39)
  Visual effects supervisors Eric Saindon (Weta Digital) & Nicholas Ashe Bateman (Maere Studios) demonstrate the various ways visual effects were utilized in the film, from enhancing and aging locations or adding time lapses, to lobbing the head off of the Green Knight, making giants come o life, adding flames, creating matte paintings, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and examples of scenes with and without the various layers of effects.
• Illuminating Technique: Title Design (7:53)
  Title designer Teddy Blanks talks about his process and references for creating the unique title treatments that pop up throughout the film. He discusses his use of colors and fonts, and the push from the director to take advantage of the COVID delay to re-do the titles and “just get weird”.
• Theatrical Trailer (2:28)
• Also From A24 (6:53)
  Trailers for On The Rocks, @zola & Minari play back-to-back.

Final Thoughts:

I have seen many glowing reviews for this film, however this is not the type of film that will have universal appeal. It is not your typical action-packed Arthurian knight’s tale. It will appeal to folks who enjoy a more artistic film that takes its time and moves at a slower pace, making the beauty of the scene its top priority. The filmmakers are definitely going for a very deliberate pace and look. However, for others who are just curious to check this out because they read the original poem when they were in school, a rental may be a better option. That said, Lionsgate’s 4K Ultra HD release features a stunning picture and excellent sound, and includes nearly an hour of bonus material. Fans of the film will not be disappointed with the disc’s top-notch presentation and interesting look behind-the-scenes at the making of the film. In general, I think this release is definitely worth a look, but it definitely won’t be everyone’s cup of tea.