Knightriders Blu-ray Review

• 23rd Apr 2013

Three things made me smile during the opening sequence to this movie.

#1 – Boobies – I know it seems immature, but you have to take time to enjoy the little things in life. Title sequence nipple action is one of them! If a movie has this anywhere in the first 3 mins, it’s always a good indication of what’s in store.

#2 – Ken Forees name pops up – yes! The man is an absolute legend in my book and any movie with him in tow is not going to fail!

#3 – Knights on motorbikes – looks awesome! Great idea! More films should have this.

Now I’m well and truly on-board!

Arrow Video has once again hit the bullseye by bringing Knightriders onto DVD for the first time in the UK and onto Blu ray for the first time WORLDWIDE! Written and directed by the great George A Romero Knightriders is a tale of travelling medieval stunt riders who try and live their lives to the ideals of King Arthur.

With a superb array of actors including the aforementioned Ken Foree, we also have a great performance from another one of Romero’s Dawn of the Dead cast with Tom Savini playing the part of Morgan the Black Knight. Also in his only big screen appearance is the late Brother Blue as the mystical Merlin. We even have a hilarious cameo from the awesome Stephen King whom Romero was writing a script with for Creepshow at the time! You will also spot many more familiar faces from the dawn and day of the dead films, but I won’t spoil them for you and you can play that game at home!

In one of his very first big roles we see Ed Harris play Billy, the main character in this tale who we would know better from such films as Apollo 13, The Abyss and The Trueman Show.

Although this film was made 32 years ago, it still holds some truth with the world we live in today with financial limitations in America threating the travelling troupes future and their idealistic lifestyle.

It is Billy, or the self-titled King William who suffers from these outside influences of the modern world the most. Between the battle of bent police officers after their pound of flesh and the thought of outside magazine companies and agents wanting to cash in on his act, Billy’s world starts falling apart and the knights family starts to fall apart with it!

If it’s the normal blood and guts you’re after, then you won’t find it here. What we have in Knighriders is a moving tale with a great plot and good character development and focus. Some say it’s a far cry from Romero’s other work but I disagree. Yes there is a lack of zombies and not a lot of blood and guts splattered across the screen but I definitely felt like I was watching one of Romero’s films. Wonderfully shot with some great humour in all the right places and characters which you find yourself actually caring about as they draw you deeper into the unfolding of the story! With a running time of over 2 hours, it didn’t feel like a long film at all and I didn’t feel that any of this was drawn out or any of the scenes were unwarranted for screen time. I would almost go as far to say this could be one of his greatest accomplishments as a director.

But the burning question is, Have Arrow Video done this release justice?

Well that’s a silly question really as Arrow Video have yet to disappoint and they have released another beautifully transferred classic onto Blu Ray. The crew at Arrow sure know how to polish up there films and any fan of Knightriders will not be disappointed and I’m positive that this IS the release they have been waiting for.

With a healthy array of special features this is a must have for any Romero fan. With a commentary from Romero, Savini, John Amplas and Christine Romero that’s just the tip of the iceberg!

For your hard earned money you will also be spoilt with 3 cast interviews:

A date with destiny is a great interview where Tom savini looks back on his time making the film.

The Genesis of a legend sees star Ed Harris remembering his first leading role, and finally

Medieval Maiden – an interview with the actress Patricia Tallman who plays Julie in the movie.

You also get the trailer and TV spots and Arrows famous reversible sleeve and collector’s booklet. Arrow loves the films it releases and you can tell this by the amount of effort they put into the transfers and overall package, and we love the films that Arrow release. Great job arrow, you’ve done it again!

Knightriders is released on April 22^nd