Camelot

King Arthur marries Guinevere and founds the Round Table: an order of knights that defends right rather than exercising force. Lancelot arrives from France, joins the table, and an affair begins with the queen. Arthur knows and does nothing for years. In the end the law forces him to apply his own order. The subject is not the triangle but a lawgiver being subject to the law. Arthur spent his life limiting arbitrary power; now that rule will burn his wife. The best passage is not the battle but the scene in which he realises the trap. The form is a large-scale musical: long, shown with an intermission, and heavy with costume. Richard Harris sings, and his voice is untrained; that choice was the most argued-about aspect at the time. The source is the Lerner and Loewe Broadway musical, itself drawn from T. H. White's novel. The production won three Oscars, for art direction, costume and adapted score. Vanessa Redgrave and Franco Nero met on this film; their relationship and their son began here. Joshua Logan directs. Who it is for: viewers who like classical Broadway musicals and the Arthurian legend. Who it is not for: anyone with no patience for length; the film runs close to three hours and visibly sags in the middle.