Film Broads

Part 1 promised a thrilling conclusion and we got... well, something. Kind of a bummer, actually. Of course, this is just the middle of the trilogy so we can forgive it. At least we got more Hiddleston!

It's a tale of two Harrys. We're back in the histories, but this one is actually just good (promise!). Grab a capon and a cup of sack and settle in.

Three trousers parts, unorthodox legal documents and a whole lot of bigotry---what could it be but The Merchant of Venice? We're doing our best with this one, y'all.TW: Antisemitism, racism

It's now year two with the Bard, and we're kicking it off with a play that it's very possible you have never heard of. Who the heck is King John, and what does he have to do with the 1960s???

One year of Shakespeare come and gone, and to celebrate we're giving ourselves and you a little treat: we're talking Hamlet. It's not just any matchup, either. Today it's Branagh vs. Olivier, no holds barred. Who's the real prince of Denmark, and who is a quintessence of dust?

Heads up... the audio is real rough on this one. Sorry. We're comparing two versions of the play that makes people say, "wait, there was a Richard II?"

Romeo and Juliet is great--who'da thunk! But there's a lot to unpack in the two most famous film adaptations, and in the play itself.Zeffirelli article on Vulture: https://www.removepaywall.com/search?url=https://www.vulture.com/article/romeo-juliet-olivia-hussey-leonard-whiting-paramount-lawsuit.html#google_vignetteHistorical hose: https://rowantreeworkshop.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/02/Mens-medieval-hose-1.jpg

We may have gone a bit overboard on this one. In our defense, come on. It's A Midsummer Night's Dream! Content warning: excessive ranting about Mickey Rooney.

We didn't know anything about it either, but hey! It's a comedy! This is also the entrance of our man Kenny B to the podcast, and you really have to see it to believe it.

If it has so many errors, why didn't he just get an editor (I apologize immediately)? This is a wacky one, and each version has its own interesting celebrity cast member with differing degrees of likelihood. It's time for double trouble in Ephesus!

We're getting into the real stuff, folks. Come enjoy the antics of the man who was so evil everyone decided to chuck the whole royal family and start over from scratch.

The tragedy has landed! And oh buddy, what a tragedy it is. Luckily, there are a couple of actually good filmed versions of it. Trigger warning for basically everything.

We're back in comedy land, and this one is arguably less sexist than the last one! Though that might just be because it's mostly about dudes. You might have heard the title, but we bet dollars to donuts you couldn't tell us a thing about it. There are reasons why.

The trilogy ends here! Bigger battles! More stabbings! Tom Sturridge naked in a field! You don't want to miss the shocking conclusion to the Wars of the Roses!

Ok, jumping into the deep end already, huh? We discover why people don't stage the Henry VI trilogy, but also why we sort of wish they would.

The Shake Up has officially begun! We're starting with two adaptations of The Taming of the Shrew: Sam Taylor's film from 1929 and Franco Zeffirelli's from 1967.

Prithee attend! The Shake Up is coming January 29, 2025. We're comparing film adaptations of Shakespeare plays from the first to the last. Come for the bawdy jokes, stay for the pathos. It's going to be anything but stuffy, we promise. Theme music is Cantiga 166 by Hildegard Von Blingin'.

The journey has come to an end (because we simply can't do this any longer. That's how the grail quest ended, right?). Let's send it off with our most requested episode ever! In January, get ready for... The Shake Up!

Hallelujah, a serviceable film. Better than serviceable, it's actually pretty good! It looks like someone actually got Tristan and Isolde right, during a very big year for Arthuriana on film.

Thus concludes our last, torturous October on this Grail Quest, and it truly is the worst yet. All apologies to everyone who worked hard on this film, but listener, you should never, ever watch it. This is unhallowed ground.

We're not going to call it a good movie, but the bar is so low at this point. We had a good time and we can't ask for much more than that.

What if someone adapted the buckwild backstory of Merlin as though it was a bland, aughts-era hero boy story? It might look a little something like this... Bonus: Merlin and the Dragons (1991) is actually pretty nice!

Hey, it's something somebody may have actually watched! It was hugely popular when it aired, but does The Mists of Avalon hold up two decades later? **note: at the beginning of the episode there is brief discussion of the author of the book and her participation in CSA during her life**

We have on our hands a remarkable thing: a king Arthur movie that is well made, and interesting, and also very boring and kind of mean? We're not going to tell you to watch it (unless you really want to), but we'll explain in the episode.

Can it be? An Arthurian story we've never covered? Be still, my heart. Let's meet Marie de France and Lanval!

Well, it's an easy watch at least. We've got another Connecticut Yankee on our hands, but did Disney manage to do anything interesting with it? And would it really be possible to build a medieval mountain bike?

If you want some straight up and down mid-century Arthuriana, it doesn't get more stock-standard than this. No, that's not supposed to sound like a compliment.

Is it possible to Frankenstein a good movie from the remains of a prior, not very good movie? Maybe, but Siege of the Saxons is not it, off-brand Robin Hood notwithstanding.

We thought the 2000s Tristan and Isolde was a low water mark, but this one gives it a run for its money. Is it impossible to make a good Tristan and Isolde? And, more crucially, who the hell is Dinas?

It's the King Arthur movie against which all others are measured. It's Excalibur.

Once upon a time, one man and his second wife decided they could make movies without the studio system that didn't seem to want them. But did they manage to pull it off?

October is for bad movies, apparently, and this is one really tested our limits. Listen to the episode, but don't watch the film. Truly.

New archaeology dropped! Turns out Arthur was a Roman. Or a Sarmatian? What even is a Sarmatian? And who decided Clive Owen should play him? Find out all this and more in this episode! Content warning: The movie features discussion of sexual assault and it comes up in the episode.

Dad's mowing the lawn, your big brother is still asleep, and the whole weekend is ahead of you. Grab a bowl of Froot Loops and the tv remote, because it's time to watch some cartoons. But the question is: what do King Arthur and the Knights of Justice and Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders have to do with Arthuriana (and where do we get these action figures??)?

What could King Arthur have to do with mid-century American politics? As it turns out, more than you'd think!

Well, it finally happened, folks. We found a movie we just hate. Find out from us why it's so bad, but for the love of god don't watch it.

It's our first cartoon since the first adventure on this Grail Quest. But how does this childhood favorite hold up? And does it have anything at all to do with legend?

We found a weird, hilarious, beautiful little gem and we couldn't be happier about it. This movie was a complete delight, but how does it compare to its source material? Editor's note: I misspoke towards the end of the episode; "sang real" translates as "royal blood," not "holy blood." Sorry! -Ashley

CONTENT WARNING: This episode discusses depictions of racism including actors in brown face, and sexual assault Not gonna sugarcoat it, this one is bad even by 50s standards. Some good hats, though.

This movie asks questions few dare to ask, such as "what if Lancelot wore jeans?" and "what if Arthur had weird goblin energy?" 

This was a long one to watch, and a long one to record (especially with our very talkative new cohost!). But then, the life of Merlin should be a pretty complicated tale. We just didn't expect... well, a lot of this.

Two good movies in a row? It feels like Christmas! Oh, wait. This is the story of a very beautiful jerk who gets his face touched a lot. We really like it.

Finally some good f*cking food. The Kid Who Would Be King is a delightful adventure for all ages (did we mention it's delightful?). But how does it compare to the legends it invokes?

We tried to find something spooky for October, and while it turns out this movie wasn't that spooky it sure is something.  CORRECTION: We will address this further at the beginning of the next episode, but we neglected to do our homework and it turns out the actors in this film are all actually from the UK. Oops!

We're back in the romance genre with this film from our long-ago youth. The cast is stacked, the color grading is set to sepia and King Arthur is nowhere to be seen, now it's time to get sexy. At least, that's the idea.

Well we had to cover one of the versions of it at some point, though it remains to be seen if it has much to do with Arthuriana at all... Come for the Bing Crosby tunes, stay for the, um, horse-based comedy?

One of the most recent Hollywood forays into Arthuriana, this Guy Ritchie romp may leave you pumped up, or perhaps just scratching your head. Is there ANYTHING of the source material in here?

We're back for more, and this one is certainly a change of pace. What does Arthurian legend become when you take out the magic? And also, who told Richard Gere to kiss like that?

We begin our eternal quest at the beginning. Well, in a sense. We've all seen The Sword in the Stone, but what does it actually have to do with Arthurian legend? And what's up with that extremely sad part with the squirrel? GRAIL QUEST updates every last Wednesday.

The monster man is back, but this time the supernatural isn't quite what we usually expect from him. Does his first follow-up to his Oscar win live up to expectations? Next week our new adventure begins with Grail Quest!