Lerner and Loewe's Camelot

8/17/13 Camelot, Best Art Direction - Set Decoration, Best Costume Design, Best Music - Scoring  of Music (Adaptation or Treatment), 1967

I don't know anyone who is not somewhat familiar with and intrigued by the legend of King Arthur; I'm sure they exist somewhere, but I don't know them. Even if you are not one of those people, you can still enjoy Camelot because it's not really buried in the myths and legends, the quest for the Holy Grail does not even warrant a mention. Camelot is a musical and it has a cast that I would not normally associate with musicals, starring Richard Harris as Arthur, Vanessa Redgrave as Guinevere and Franco Nero as Lancelot, whose vocals were dubbed for the movie (Julie Andrews, Richard Burton and Robert Goulet starred in the Broadway production which preceded the film). That fact does not impact the movie at all, in fact, I was surprised, but I thought Redgrave sounded quite lovely, and Harris did a speak-singing kind of thing (like Rex Harrison in My Fair Lady, also a Lerner and Loewe production). The story focuses on the relationship and eventual love triangle between Arthur, Guinevere and Lancelot, and not so much on the stories and quests of the knights, Merlin barely makes an appearance. Camelot won in the visual categories, and I would say that the Set Decoration was very well done, and kind of a mix between what seemed to be real trees and rocks, and then something a little more fantasy-like, I'm not sure that's the best description, but I know what I mean. The costumes covered a wide range, from suits of armor, to gowns for Guinevere and the other ladies and the daily jackets/vests worn by Arthur (I'm sure there is a design-y term for them, but I don't have a clue). Camelot was up against Thoroughly Modern Millie (reviewed in a recent post) and Bonnie and Clyde (you should be well-acquainted on my feelings about the movie, but if you are not, I can sum it up in one word: nooooooooooooooooooooooo). Camelot is suitable for family-viewing, but I warn you, it's long, really long, 2 minutes short of three hours, which did not make me feel better. I did find my attention wandering periodically, but overall, I did like it. The ending is probably overly dramatic and almost reads like a medieval locker room speech, with the coach rallying the players, and yet I still got tingly. Actually, I didn't think it was going to end right there, so I was a little disappointed (by this time, I had a second wind and was ready for another 15 minutes). If you like musicals, and you like Lerner and Loewe musicals, you should definitely watch it. Like I said, you can watch it with the family if they can sit still, you might even be humming 'Camelot' when it's done.Younger viewers (and their older family members familiar with the Harry Potter movies) may recognize Harris as the original Dumbledore from the first two Harry Potter films). See, I can find a connection with just about anything.

blogger's note: A friend of mine, who is a regular reader, just questioned my use of 'tingly'. Just to be clear, that was in reference to Arthur's last speech, not Arthur (or Richard Harris) himself, that would be another blog for another lifetime. I meant to imply that I felt it was inspiring, similar to, although not exactly like, Henry V's St. Crispin's Day speech, 'We few, we happy few...'. So my friend, does that help?