The Green Knight [Blu-Ray]

Director: David Lowery

Cast: Dev Patel, Alicia Vikander, Joel Edgerton

Release Date: October 12, 2021

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Film Rating: 9/10
Disc Rating: 8/10

Synopsis:

An epic fantasy adventure, The Green Knight tells the story of Sir Gawain (Dev Patel), King Arthur’s reckless and headstrong nephew, who embarks on a daring quest to confront the eponymous Green Knight, a gigantic emerald-skinned stranger and tester of men. Gawain contends with ghosts, giants, thieves, and schemers in what becomes a deeper journey to define his character and prove his worth in the eyes of his family and kingdom.

Please Note: Lionsgate Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Post. The opinions I share are my own.

An epic fantasy adventure that takes us back to the days of King Arthur, ‘The Green Knight’ follows the journey of Sir Gawain (Patel) who dreams of nothing more than becoming an honorable knight and is granted a chance at achieving just that one Christmas night when a curious stranger arrives at the castle seeking one willing to partake in a game. As Gawain accepts the challenge, his choices soon begin to linger over him as the second part of the game nears one year later. Now he must set out on a quest to track down the mysterious stranger, but will he have the bravery to follow through with the knowledge that it may also result in his demise.

Written for the screen and directed by talented filmmaker David Lowery (A Ghost Story, Ain’t Them Bodies Saints) who does a fantastic job at the helm of ‘The Green Knight’ guiding along this fantasy adventure with style and heart throughout. The film also owes its share of credit to the capable cast which includes Dev Patel (Hotel Mumbai), Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina), Joel Edgerton (Midnight Special), Sarita Choudhury (TV’s Homeland), Sean Harris (Mission: Impossible – Fallout) and Ralph Ineson (The Witch) along with more, the majority each offering solid performances in their respective roles, especially Patel who does a wonderful job in the lead.

‘The Green Knight’ is a visually stunning, emotionally rich and altogether engulfing fantasy that explores one man’s desire to become a knight and the mysterious green knight and event that arise allowing him that opportunity. But the ramifications he must face if he is to keep his word and retain his honor cause some hesitation along the way, all while he is seemingly tested in various ways during his quest. David Lowery once again manages to offer a powerful, refreshingly unique and enthralling story with ‘The Green Knight’ and this medieval tale of one man’s quest to find himself is quite unlike anything else you’re liable to have seen recently. Utilizing many clever methods to propel the story along such as gorgeous title cards throughout and an eerie sense of unease and breathtaking views of everything from plains to buildings, along with other minor elements that all come together to make this into something quite special. I would strongly encourage any fans of filmmaker David Lowery and/or star Dev Patel to make a point of checking out ‘The Green Knight’ whenever possible. Those who enjoy a rich and beautifully crafted medieval tale will also find a lot to appreciate about this gorgeous and unique film that weaves its adventure in a style we don’t frequently see in cinema these days.

Overall, ‘The Green Knight’ is a meticulously crafted and visually breathtaking fantasy adventure in the era of King Arthur that follows one hopeful young knight’s quest to find himself and the unexpected journey that he takes and hurdles he must overcome to accomplish that. It’s another noteworthy piece of cinema from David Lowery who continues to offer some of the most original and touching films around and it only benefits all the more from a marvelous performance from Dev Patel. ‘The Green Knight’ is definitely highly recommended, especially for fans of beautifully done fantasy adventures of old, along with fans of filmmaker David Lowery and star Dev Patel who won’t want to even consider overlooking this unique masterpiece. At the very least this one should definitely be worth a couple hours of your time and the price of a rental if you’re already even the slightest bit intrigued by it.

VIDEO:

The Blu-ray release of ‘The Green Knight’ features a full 1080p High Definition presentation with the film’s original 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio. The video presentation looks great as a whole and offers a sharp, smooth and nicely detailed presentation with rich, vivid colors that delivers without issue from start to finish. It holds up admirably even during the vastly populated and notably dark sequences occurring throughout, never allowing anything that’s occurring onscreen to become negatively affected. Overall, this is a solid high definition video presentation from Lionsgate that looks consistently great and should please fans and first time viewers alike.

AUDIO:

The Blu-ray release features a Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 channel compatible) soundtrack. Please note that this review pertains solely to the Dolby TrueHD 7.1 audio presentation. This multichannel soundtrack makes a great compliment to the viewing experience and provides a crisp, clean and highly capable audio presentation throughout. It often utilizes all seven available channels in order to send music, nature content and bits of dialogue, along with other fitting audio effects throughout the various speakers, while never causing any dialogue or other simultaneously occurring audio elements to become distorted or rendered inaudible along the way. Overall, this is a wonderful Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 compatible) soundtrack that does its job nicely throughout and shouldn’t disappoint.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The Blu-ray release of ‘The Green Knight’ includes a few notable extras in the way of Behind the Scenes Featurettes that dive into the process of bringing the film to life, featuring interviews/comments with the cast and crew, plus behind the scenes footage and more. Included are ‘Boldest of Blood & Wildest of Heart: Making The Green Knight’ (running approximately 35 minutes in length), ‘Practitioners of Magic: Visual Effects’ (running approximately 15 minutes) and ‘Illuminating Technique: Title Design’ (approximately 8 minutes). The film’s ‘Theatrical Trailer’ (approximately 2 minutes) is also included.

*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray and resized. They will additionally suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on this Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

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Film Rating: 9/10
Disc Rating: 8/10

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‘The Green Knight’ is Now Available to Own on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD & Digital from A24 & Lionsgate Home Entertainment

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