Merlin

Growing up watching the "Hallmark Hall Of Fame" TV movies, I was very surprised by the time and expense that obviously went into this Hallmark production. Odd camera angles, wonderful effects, brilliant color all add to this magical story. Any director facing such a lush story as this with just a limited amount of time has to make cuts here and adjustments there to make the story have some sense. The first half of the movie concerns the birth and growth of Merlin, ther second half with the birth and growth of Arthur. The friendship between Merlin and Arthur really does come across in a way that few "King Arthur" movies have shown. The casting of major celebrities in this movie were all on the money, Martin Short is surprisingly good in his role as Flick, Queen Mab's servant, a creature that lives outside of time. You see him suddenly switching costumes and accents as he does various things. The role reminde me loosely of Tony Randall in "Seven Faces Of Dr. Lao". Very much recommended if you are a fan of Arthurian fantasy or just like a good epic.

I've seen Merlin twice now: once on TV when it originally aired as a 2 part mini-series, and a second time on the DVD I recently purchased. I must admit it was very pleasurable watching the movie without commercials!

I consider Merlin to be one of the greatest TV movies I have seen, even surpassing most theatrical movies as well. I especially liked the camera angles and intriguing scene changes. The story is captivating and blends many different version of the legend.

Highly recommended...

Will tell readers of this review upfront that I love the Authur story, there is something visceral about it, something that speaks simultaneously to the best and worst of mankind and human nature.

So, even as a prolific critic on the IMDb, I am going to be especially critical of any attempt to do the story justice.

That said:

1. If you love your ARTHUR go online and find a used copy of THE FOREVER KING by Murphy and Cochrane. Yes, I know, it is a book that has never yet been set to film. But it might be. It is wonderful.

2. Your next stop is the recent TV series MERLIN with Bradley James. It is really amazing. Uneven but amazing. And there are single scenes in that series which, when noticed and appreciated, are better than the entire movie (miniseries) which is the topic of this review.

3. Your next stop is Boorman's Excalibur. Boorman as director is insane but the film remains a "vision" that is worth exploring.

4. This strange miniseries is your last stop. It is wildly uneven with some very poor writing in places and some atrocious acting in other places. In spite of these flaws -- remember, I am an ARTHUR junkie -- I have seen it several times over the years. It contain possibly the best performances ever given by both Martin Short and Miranda Richardson. Richardson's wonderful facial features and strange voice skills have never been used to better effect, nor likely ever will.

The Arthur legend has been done countless times, generally from the viewpoint of Arthur, but Merlin takes the rarely-used angle of Arthur's most trusted advisor. Also refreshing is the use of the conflict between Christianity and the previous, pagan religions to add a new take on the tales. The special effects are stunning, and they even coaxed a great performance out of Martin Short! Several such great achievements make this one of the best.

In most of the other "king arthur" movies, Merlin usually plays a very useless and small role. But this movie is all about Merlin and Magick. Sam Neill is a really good actor. He is playing a very,intelligent,handsome(!) and pretty mighty sorcerer who is fighting for the justice and goodness. Especially Jason Done who is playing Mordred, he is a very good actor and probably he was the most evil guy in this movie. Miranda Richardson did also a good job as Mab. She was supposed to be evil but i have never seen such a good looking woman. No matter how evil she is. Martin Short (Frik) was funny as usual. Rutger Hauer had a small role in this movie but i liked his acting and the character Lord Vortigern. I cant say enough good things about the players. They were all bright and intelligent. I have seen this movie for dozens times. And i dreamed about the movie the whole week when i first watched it. And also, i think zillions of people (especially teenagers) tried to learn more about magicK and sorcery after watching this movie. watch it and learn why =) Damn, i was gonna forget Isabella Rosellini. She was pretty PRETTY but i somehow did not like her acting. I think it has just something to do with her weak character.