We all fear… but fear can be a gift
February 13, 2020 12:06 PM Subscribe
A24 has released the trailer for its medieval fantasy, The Green Knight, starring Dev Patel, Alicia Vikander and Joel Edgerton. Directed by David Lowery, the movie is based on the poem of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
Oh man. This would have been such a, uh, 'study aid' during my senior level Old English course. Now do Piers Ploughman!
posted by Capt. Renault at 12:12 PM on February 13, 2020 [7 favorites]
posted by Capt. Renault at 12:12 PM on February 13, 2020 [7 favorites]
Looks cool--takes me back to freshman English with the Norton Anthology. We read Sir Gawain..., Gilgamesh, etc.
posted by agatha_magatha at 12:15 PM on February 13, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by agatha_magatha at 12:15 PM on February 13, 2020 [2 favorites]
Where's my sparkly Sean Connery?
posted by Fish Sauce at 12:15 PM on February 13, 2020 [9 favorites]
posted by Fish Sauce at 12:15 PM on February 13, 2020 [9 favorites]
OH HELL YES
posted by Adridne at 12:17 PM on February 13, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by Adridne at 12:17 PM on February 13, 2020 [4 favorites]
Noice. I like the Midsommar/The Witch feel.
posted by Saxon Kane at 12:20 PM on February 13, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Saxon Kane at 12:20 PM on February 13, 2020 [1 favorite]
Where's my sparkly Sean Connery?
Where's my angsty, manbun-sporting Liam Neeson?
posted by hanov3r at 12:20 PM on February 13, 2020 [5 favorites]
Where's my angsty, manbun-sporting Liam Neeson?
posted by hanov3r at 12:20 PM on February 13, 2020 [5 favorites]
This is giving me Black Angel vibes, the short that was made to accompany The Empire Strikes Back. I'm quite looking forward to this.
posted by cazoo at 12:21 PM on February 13, 2020
posted by cazoo at 12:21 PM on February 13, 2020
My conclusion from this episode of In Our Time is that it's kind of a weird story that must have had resonance at the time but you kind of just had to be there. Interested to see how they update it.
posted by bleep at 12:23 PM on February 13, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by bleep at 12:23 PM on February 13, 2020 [2 favorites]
At this point I'd be surprised to see a movie from A24 that did not involve head trauma of some kind.
posted by vverse23 at 12:28 PM on February 13, 2020 [17 favorites]
posted by vverse23 at 12:28 PM on February 13, 2020 [17 favorites]
Oh man I got hyped from the suggestion that this would help with Old English but it is decidedly modern English. Still will watch for sure.
posted by os tuberoes at 12:36 PM on February 13, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by os tuberoes at 12:36 PM on February 13, 2020 [1 favorite]
"In a Time When..."
I'm out.
posted by Everyone Expects The Spanish Influenza at 12:37 PM on February 13, 2020 [10 favorites]
I'm out.
posted by Everyone Expects The Spanish Influenza at 12:37 PM on February 13, 2020 [10 favorites]
In college I read this story and then immediately began work on a spec script for the Tick cartoon show called "The Tick vs. The Green Knight." It was the exact same story, just with the Tick.
posted by UltraMorgnus at 12:59 PM on February 13, 2020 [26 favorites]
posted by UltraMorgnus at 12:59 PM on February 13, 2020 [26 favorites]
A24 seems to know exactly what I want and is determined to give it to me. Fine.
posted by codacorolla at 1:01 PM on February 13, 2020 [18 favorites]
posted by codacorolla at 1:01 PM on February 13, 2020 [18 favorites]
That's . . . that's not a noise that foxes make.
posted by The Bellman at 1:04 PM on February 13, 2020 [13 favorites]
posted by The Bellman at 1:04 PM on February 13, 2020 [13 favorites]
I don't usually feel targeted so specifically for a movie but i will say i think someone at A24 has been spending time in my brain.
posted by Ashwagandha at 1:05 PM on February 13, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by Ashwagandha at 1:05 PM on February 13, 2020 [3 favorites]
Midsommar appealed to the bitterness every straight woman feels about a useless ex, turned up to 11. 11 million.
This is aimed right at my medieval-lit-loving teenage self, the one who developed an intense crush on Worf because HONOR and BATTLE, and wanted to wear nothing so much as bell sleeves and headdresses every day and she is honestly beside herself right now.
posted by emjaybee at 1:17 PM on February 13, 2020 [15 favorites]
This is aimed right at my medieval-lit-loving teenage self, the one who developed an intense crush on Worf because HONOR and BATTLE, and wanted to wear nothing so much as bell sleeves and headdresses every day and she is honestly beside herself right now.
posted by emjaybee at 1:17 PM on February 13, 2020 [15 favorites]
(OPPRESSIVE HORNS INTENSIFY)
posted by boo_radley at 1:17 PM on February 13, 2020 [5 favorites]
posted by boo_radley at 1:17 PM on February 13, 2020 [5 favorites]
You think the Green Knight would have oppressive antlers, not oppressive horns.
posted by GenjiandProust at 1:23 PM on February 13, 2020 [8 favorites]
posted by GenjiandProust at 1:23 PM on February 13, 2020 [8 favorites]
That Oath of Ancients paladin is way to high a CR for him.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 1:23 PM on February 13, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by robocop is bleeding at 1:23 PM on February 13, 2020 [4 favorites]
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooohhh
posted by Foci for Analysis at 1:27 PM on February 13, 2020
posted by Foci for Analysis at 1:27 PM on February 13, 2020
This looks incredible. And I loved David Lowery's Pete's Dragon movie, so I'm even more excited.
posted by sleeping bear at 1:42 PM on February 13, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by sleeping bear at 1:42 PM on February 13, 2020 [1 favorite]
I am so excite!! that trailer is right up my alley. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is one of my fav Arthurian tails and I love creepy folk horror. wooooooooo!!!!
posted by supermedusa at 1:43 PM on February 13, 2020
posted by supermedusa at 1:43 PM on February 13, 2020
This looks incredible. And I loved David Lowery's Pete's Dragon movie, so I'm even more excited.
I haven't seen it yet but A Ghost Story was one of my favorite films of the last few years.
posted by octothorpe at 1:45 PM on February 13, 2020 [1 favorite]
I haven't seen it yet but A Ghost Story was one of my favorite films of the last few years.
posted by octothorpe at 1:45 PM on February 13, 2020 [1 favorite]
I am so goddamn pumped for this. I love Arthurian lore. I have a white stag tattoo and a green man carved in the wall in my apartment and this looks so fucking beautiful.
posted by Young Kullervo at 2:00 PM on February 13, 2020 [5 favorites]
posted by Young Kullervo at 2:00 PM on February 13, 2020 [5 favorites]
I always think of the Toast Version
posted by Carillon at 2:03 PM on February 13, 2020 [26 favorites]
posted by Carillon at 2:03 PM on February 13, 2020 [26 favorites]
I really want this to be good on lots of levels, but especially I want the parallelism of the two hunts - that of the men pursuing the game and the lady pursuing Gawain - to be explicit. That'd be cool.
posted by Caxton1476 at 2:08 PM on February 13, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by Caxton1476 at 2:08 PM on February 13, 2020 [2 favorites]
Also, sere northern landscapes under cold, hard skies? CHECK
posted by Caxton1476 at 2:14 PM on February 13, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Caxton1476 at 2:14 PM on February 13, 2020 [1 favorite]
That's . . . that's not a noise that foxes make.
No one knows what the fox says.
posted by It's Never Lurgi at 2:23 PM on February 13, 2020 [7 favorites]
No one knows what the fox says.
posted by It's Never Lurgi at 2:23 PM on February 13, 2020 [7 favorites]
My conclusion from this episode of In Our Time is that it's kind of a weird story that must have had resonance at the time but you kind of just had to be there. Interested to see how they update it.
It all kind of depends on what you think the point of the story is. On the most basic level, it's a weird adventure story where a guy has a series of bizarre encounters but does his best to muddle through them, and that's almost always going to hold up as long as it's sufficiently bizarre and exciting. You can spend a lot of time with all the concerns about the minutiae of chivalry and the re-working of old stories about swapping games, which is where I think you're going to lose a lot of people. It's on that level that it comes off as absurd and arbitrary to a modern sensibility, because we don't have the context and have little reason to care about the rules of an essentially alien society. However, there's a way to frame it where I think you can get contemporary viewers back again, because a lot of what drives the story is the tension between the overlapping obligations Gawain has to himself, to other individuals, and to society as a whole. The specifics are very different, but I think that's something that is still pretty widely felt nowadays. It's kind of what motivated a fair bit of the action in Game of Thrones, so I do think there's something there to work with if someone were so inclined.
posted by Copronymus at 2:41 PM on February 13, 2020 [13 favorites]
It all kind of depends on what you think the point of the story is. On the most basic level, it's a weird adventure story where a guy has a series of bizarre encounters but does his best to muddle through them, and that's almost always going to hold up as long as it's sufficiently bizarre and exciting. You can spend a lot of time with all the concerns about the minutiae of chivalry and the re-working of old stories about swapping games, which is where I think you're going to lose a lot of people. It's on that level that it comes off as absurd and arbitrary to a modern sensibility, because we don't have the context and have little reason to care about the rules of an essentially alien society. However, there's a way to frame it where I think you can get contemporary viewers back again, because a lot of what drives the story is the tension between the overlapping obligations Gawain has to himself, to other individuals, and to society as a whole. The specifics are very different, but I think that's something that is still pretty widely felt nowadays. It's kind of what motivated a fair bit of the action in Game of Thrones, so I do think there's something there to work with if someone were so inclined.
posted by Copronymus at 2:41 PM on February 13, 2020 [13 favorites]
a24 just out here killing it with every release. i hope they keep it up forever.
posted by Bwentman at 3:05 PM on February 13, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by Bwentman at 3:05 PM on February 13, 2020 [3 favorites]
I love Sir Gawain and the Green Knight so much. Gerald Morris's Arthurian legends have made Sir Gawain the most rugged and handsome and crushable of all Arthur's knights, and shaggy Dev Patel makes me feel things. I... could be convinced to go see this.
posted by ChuraChura at 3:26 PM on February 13, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by ChuraChura at 3:26 PM on February 13, 2020 [1 favorite]
Here is the music from the trailer.
posted by boo_radley at 3:36 PM on February 13, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by boo_radley at 3:36 PM on February 13, 2020 [1 favorite]
I love Gawain and this is all very exciting, but:
Do Yvain next!! It's a story of a Good Guy who bros out too hard with his jousting buddies, is kicked out by his wife, and must win her back by doing anonymous giant-slaying. his best friend is a lion, and they fight crime!
posted by BungaDunga at 3:54 PM on February 13, 2020 [7 favorites]
Do Yvain next!! It's a story of a Good Guy who bros out too hard with his jousting buddies, is kicked out by his wife, and must win her back by doing anonymous giant-slaying. his best friend is a lion, and they fight crime!
posted by BungaDunga at 3:54 PM on February 13, 2020 [7 favorites]
I always think of the Toast version.
Daniel Ortberg's new book Something That May Shock and Discredit You apparently has a chapter called "Sir Gawain Just Wants to Leave Castle Make-Out." I am very much looking forward to reading it.
posted by Hypocrite_Lecteur at 4:25 PM on February 13, 2020 [5 favorites]
Daniel Ortberg's new book Something That May Shock and Discredit You apparently has a chapter called "Sir Gawain Just Wants to Leave Castle Make-Out." I am very much looking forward to reading it.
posted by Hypocrite_Lecteur at 4:25 PM on February 13, 2020 [5 favorites]
A24 is really taking a record label approach to film. I feel similarly about them as I do about Factory, 4AD, or Wax Trax!: maybe not every release is great, but the logo automatically piques my interest.
posted by migurski at 4:26 PM on February 13, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by migurski at 4:26 PM on February 13, 2020 [4 favorites]
Oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy!
posted by The Underpants Monster at 4:59 PM on February 13, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by The Underpants Monster at 4:59 PM on February 13, 2020 [2 favorites]
I always wonder how certain movies get the green light.
"Hey! Remember that Arthurian legend story that some people have heard of and even fewer have read?"
"The Lady Of The Lake And Zombies?"
"No, not tha... what? No, I mean Sir Gawain and the Green Knight"
"What?"
"Exactly. We should turn it into a movie. It's got everything. Knights. Sword fights. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight making out. Magic garters. Beheadings"
"I'm going to repeat 'What?'"
"Yeah, beheadings"
"That wasn't the 'What?' bit, but, please, go on"
posted by It's Never Lurgi at 5:28 PM on February 13, 2020 [8 favorites]
"Hey! Remember that Arthurian legend story that some people have heard of and even fewer have read?"
"The Lady Of The Lake And Zombies?"
"No, not tha... what? No, I mean Sir Gawain and the Green Knight"
"What?"
"Exactly. We should turn it into a movie. It's got everything. Knights. Sword fights. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight making out. Magic garters. Beheadings"
"I'm going to repeat 'What?'"
"Yeah, beheadings"
"That wasn't the 'What?' bit, but, please, go on"
posted by It's Never Lurgi at 5:28 PM on February 13, 2020 [8 favorites]
It's just such a weird little story, which boils down to the question "would you let someone cut your head off just because you promised?" and answers it "yes, because it's the right thing to do." I don't think this was seen as any less weird in ye olde tymes.
posted by phooky at 6:33 PM on February 13, 2020 [5 favorites]
posted by phooky at 6:33 PM on February 13, 2020 [5 favorites]
I get that some haven't read the original so I'll attempt to obscure, but in today's era this better reflect a portrayal of the feminine that we deserve.
posted by xarnop at 7:00 PM on February 13, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by xarnop at 7:00 PM on February 13, 2020 [1 favorite]
I did not realize that Pete’s Dragon and A Ghost Story were by the same director until this thread. I came to Ghost Story expecting what I got, an affecting, original meditation on deep time and capitalism.
I watched Pete’s Dragon at random because I had seen the (underwhelming) original as a kid. I was blown away. I do not want to hype it too much, but the film I expected to see and the film I actually saw were nearly totally distinct. It’s a beautiful film, one that had no actual requirement to even be good, and instead was amazing to me.
The theme of deep time ties those two films together. Sure seems like it’s in this one too.
posted by mwhybark at 8:56 PM on February 13, 2020
I watched Pete’s Dragon at random because I had seen the (underwhelming) original as a kid. I was blown away. I do not want to hype it too much, but the film I expected to see and the film I actually saw were nearly totally distinct. It’s a beautiful film, one that had no actual requirement to even be good, and instead was amazing to me.
The theme of deep time ties those two films together. Sure seems like it’s in this one too.
posted by mwhybark at 8:56 PM on February 13, 2020
I always wonder how certain movies get the green light.
A movie like this is what can come when studios are willing to accept gambling on reasonable profits that come from productions not aimed at trying to attract every single person on the planet and make all the moneys.
If you keep production costs low, develop a identity for quality or to fit the interests of a niche audience well enough to be able to predict a return that may be relatively profitable, compared to cost, or a slight loss by the same consideration and then maintain that sort of production identity through the artists you support, then the studio can both make more interesting movies by taking on greater artistic risk and still make money with the movies that do breakthrough making up for those that fall short and then some. The risk then is necessary for these studios to keep their audiences interested in something different than all the movie-by-numbers stuff that dominate the screens.
posted by gusottertrout at 11:48 PM on February 13, 2020 [7 favorites]
A movie like this is what can come when studios are willing to accept gambling on reasonable profits that come from productions not aimed at trying to attract every single person on the planet and make all the moneys.
If you keep production costs low, develop a identity for quality or to fit the interests of a niche audience well enough to be able to predict a return that may be relatively profitable, compared to cost, or a slight loss by the same consideration and then maintain that sort of production identity through the artists you support, then the studio can both make more interesting movies by taking on greater artistic risk and still make money with the movies that do breakthrough making up for those that fall short and then some. The risk then is necessary for these studios to keep their audiences interested in something different than all the movie-by-numbers stuff that dominate the screens.
posted by gusottertrout at 11:48 PM on February 13, 2020 [7 favorites]
Honestly, I would love it if this was a sort of beginning of a series of films on Arthurian legends. Hell, go whole hog, introduce characters in their own solo films, have a big team up movie, then phase two, everything turns to shit, end it all with Le Morte de Arthur, and I’d be the happiest nerd who ever read tons of scholarly texts on the legends as a teenager. I mean, yeah, I’m essentially asking for Arthurian legend as a series of Marvel films, but I’ve been really good this year, pretty please?
Bonus points if everything has the feel of Swords at Sunset, with the period realism and utter lack of shiny plate armor.
posted by Ghidorah at 5:58 AM on February 14, 2020 [9 favorites]
Bonus points if everything has the feel of Swords at Sunset, with the period realism and utter lack of shiny plate armor.
posted by Ghidorah at 5:58 AM on February 14, 2020 [9 favorites]
I’m essentially asking for Arthurian legend as a series of Marvel films
The Arthurian Cinematic Saga.
posted by asnider at 8:08 AM on February 14, 2020 [3 favorites]
The Arthurian Cinematic Saga.
posted by asnider at 8:08 AM on February 14, 2020 [3 favorites]
Guy Richie's King Arthur: Legend of the Sword from a couple of years ago was intended to be the first film in an Arthurian franchise of something like six movies but then it lost a ton of money and they cancelled the whole thing.
posted by octothorpe at 8:27 AM on February 14, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by octothorpe at 8:27 AM on February 14, 2020 [2 favorites]
Octothorpe, also, it was terrible, just a mishmash of random bits of story with no concept of what they meant, and Guy Ritchie Guy-Ritchieing everything. This looks much better, and if it gave us a wider web that got us, say, Tristan and Isolde for the one shots, and had a sort of, say, harvest king my this connecting everything. Hell, you could even go ahead and have Perceval find the holy grail and be ascended into heaven, all in a vaguely pagan Midsommeresque sort of way. I’d buy tickets to all of that.
posted by Ghidorah at 8:48 AM on February 14, 2020 [6 favorites]
posted by Ghidorah at 8:48 AM on February 14, 2020 [6 favorites]
a series of films on Arthurian legends
I think one could easily turn The Faerie Queene into a whole series of tripped out Arthurian stories.
posted by Saxon Kane at 12:22 PM on February 14, 2020 [2 favorites]
I think one could easily turn The Faerie Queene into a whole series of tripped out Arthurian stories.
posted by Saxon Kane at 12:22 PM on February 14, 2020 [2 favorites]
« Older Toffee planets: hard sci-fi with a crispy outer... | Even The Nicer Moments Are a Little Intolerable Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
posted by firechicago at 12:11 PM on February 13, 2020 [18 favorites]