http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FW7lYb9gRf4
(I would like to apologize for the quality of the video, it has been on youtube for six years now, so yes, it is old).
Anyways, this movie portrays Merlin's entire life. So his birth, growing up years, adulthood and old age. For the time it was made (1998-granted not THAT long ago, but that IS for those of you who just watched "Lord of the Rings" or "Pacific Rim") the effects are pretty cool. Or maybe this film just resonates with me because I was introduced to it at a young age. Either way, Merlin (Sam Neill-Doctor Grant from Jurassic Park) is NOT a crotchety old man in this one and he is NOT insane or a tree-loving hippie who runs into the woods when shit gets too heavy. Also it has some well known medieval tales thrown in there like Author and Guinevere, and Queen Mab who is referenced in Shakespeare. So, maybe give it a watch, it won't kill you (it is only 2 minutes long and it has a great cast).
I saw this film, also the animated Hobbit movie. After taking an Arthurian Legends class two years I could see how they lifted and modified some existing legends about Merlin for "Merlin". You can see some of this in the readings for Monday, such as the tower constantly falling down because of two dueling dragons, which also forecasted the future victory of Pendragon.
ReplyDeleteSo this was the only Merlin I ever watched growing up. I was always intrigued by the differing magical capabilities abilities of Merlin, Mab, and Frik. Also I thought it was interesting how Mabs power stemmed from peoples belief.
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