A Knight's Tale
May 11, 2001 in theaters
A peasant squire named William Thatcher assumes the identity of a dead knight and enters jousting tournaments across medieval Europe, chasing glory and noble status that was never his by birth. Brian Helgeland's 2001 crowd-pleaser anachronistically scores its tournament sequences to rock anthems, treating the Middle Ages as a backdrop for an underdog sports story.
Cast
Director
TRAILER
QUOTE
"A man can change his stars."
DID YOU KNOW?
Heath Ledger actually learned to joust for the film, training extensively with a professional jousting coach before production.
THE VERDICT
Synthesized from published reviews
A medieval sports film that plays Wembley-stadium rock anthems during jousting tournaments and somehow makes it work completely. Brian Helgeland bets everything on Heath Ledger's charisma and wins -- Ledger carries the anachronistic premise on pure likability, turning William Thatcher's underdog climb into something genuinely moving. Paul Bettany's Geoffrey Chaucer is one of the great scene-stealing supporting performances of the 2000s.
GALLERY
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