King Arthur in Hollywood
Knightriders (1981) -- Ed Harris, Gary Lahti
George A. Romero (Night of the Living Dead,
Dawn of the Dead) takes a break from horror films to make this tale of a
traveling gang of motorcycle-riding jousters that masks the last days of
Camelot. (a Renaissance Faire with motorbikes instead of horses) The success of
the jousting tournaments draws attention and money and begins to unravel the
delicate code of honor that the self-styled Arthur (Billy played by Ed Harris)
of the troop has created. The jousters mirror King Arthur's court, complete with
a Merlin (Brother Blue) and Morgan le Fay (Tom Savini) to work on the
progressive madness of Billy as it becomes apparent that he's losing his grip on the
group. Good action scenes and a great performance by the main characters but a
little flawed and long in its attempt to follow the legend. Stephen King has a funny cameo as a beer-guzzling spectator.
