King Arthur Script, Lecture notes of Religion

Download King Arthur Script and more Lecture notes Religion in PDF only on Docsity! King Arthur Transcript Taken from the Director’s Cut with Notes about Changes from the Theatrical Release SCENE 1 Lancelot (voiceover): By 300 AD, the Roman Empire extended from Arabia to Britain. But they wanted more. More land. More peoples loyal and subservient to Rome. But no people so important as the powerful Sarmatians to the east. Thousands died on that field. And when the smoke cleared on the fourth day, the only Sarmatian soldiers left alive were members of the decimated but legendary cavalry. The Romans, impressed by their bravery and horsemanship, spared their lives. (on screen) 452 AD Lancelot (voiceover, during flashback): In exchange, these warriors were incorporated into the Roman military. Better they had died that day. Young Lancelot: Father. They are here. Lancelot (voiceover): For the second part of the bargain they struck indebted not only themselves... Father: The day has come. Lancelot (voiceover): ...but also their sons, and their sons, and so on, to serve the empire as knights. I was such a son. Lancelot’s father: There is a legend that fallen knights return as great horses. He has seen what awaits you, and he will protect you. Lancelot’s sister: Lancelot! Lancelot! Lancelot. Young Lancelot: Don't be afraid. I will return. Young Lancelot: How long shall we be gone? Roman captain: 15 years, not including the months it'll take to get to your post. Villagers: Lancelot! Rus! Rus! Lancelot (voiceover): Our post was Britain--or at least the southern half, for the land was divided by a 73-mile wall built three centuries before us to protect the empire from the native fighters of the north. So, as our forefathers had done, we made our way and reported to our Roman commander in Britain, ancestrally named for the first Artorius, or Arthur. SCENE 2. Only in Director’s Cut. 2 ARTHUR: Mother! I finished it! MOTHER: That’s beautiful! ARTHUR: Mother?....Pelagius! For you! PELAGIUS: Well done, Arthur. You keep it. Deliver it to me when you come to Rome. Come, behold, Arthur: young knights. If you so choose, they may someday be yours to lead, just as your father before you. ARTHUR: I’m to be their commander? PELAGIUS: Yes. But with this title comes a sacred responsibility: to protect, to defend, to value their lives above your own. Should they perish in battle, to live your life gloriously, in honor of their memory. ARTHUR: And what of their free will? PELAGIUS: It has always fallen to a few to sacrifice for the good of many. The world isn’t a perfect place, but perhaps people like you, Arthur, and me, and them can make it so. SCENE 3. 15 YEARS LATER GAWAIN: Ah, as promised, the bishop's carriage. GALAHAD: Our freedom, Bors. BORS: Mm. I can almost taste it. DAGONET: And your passage to Rome, Arthur. FIGHTING NOISES. BORS: Rus! KNIGHTS: Rus! HORTON: Gratia plena, Dominus tecum. Benedicta tu in mulieribus et Dominus tecum. Benedicta tu in mulieribus. Benedictus fructus ventris tui, lesus. Benedicta tu in mulieribus... BORS: Save your prayers, boy. Your god doesn't live here. ARTHUR: Why did Merlin send you south of the wall? WOAD: Spill my blood with Excalibur and...make this ground holy. ARTHUR: Pick it up. Pick it up. ARTHUR: Bors. BORS: What a bloody mess. ARTHUR: That's not the bishop. 5 LANCELOT: Ahh! ARTHUR: It's a magnificent place, Rome. Ordered, civilized, advanced. LANCELOT: A breeding ground of arrogant fools. ARTHUR: The greatest minds in all the lands have come together in one sacred place to help make mankind free. LANCELOT: And the women? SCENE 4 GUARDS: Open the gate! JOLS: Welcome back, Arthur. ARTHUR: Jols. JOLS: Lancelot. ARTHUR: Bishop, please, my quarters have been made available to you. GERMANUS: Oh, yes. I must rest. VANORA: Where have you been? BORS: Oh... VANORA: I've been waiting for you. BORS: Oh, my little flower. Such... passion! Where's my Gilly? Gilly. You been fighting? GILLY: Yes. BORS: You been winning? GILLY: Yes. BORS: That's my boy. Come on, all my other bastards! SCENE 5 ONLY IN DIRECTOR’S CUT KNIGHTS: laughing. ARTHUR: Let us not forget that we are the fortunate ones. Let us raise our wine to those gallant and extraordinary men we have lost, but who will be remembered for eternity. BORS: To freedom! KNIGHTS: Freedom! SCENE 6 6 GERMANUS: Pelagius. HORTON: Very kind of Arthur to give up his room. GERMANUS: But, of course, it is to be expected. JOLS: Sir, I'm here to escort you to the fortress hall. HORTON: When my master meets with your knights, he must be seated last and he must be seated at the head of the table. JOLS: Your master can plonk his holy ass wherever he chooses. SCENE 7 HORTON: His Eminence, Bishop Naius Germanus. A round table? What sort of evil is this? JOLS: Arthur says for men to be men they must first all be equal. GERMANUS: I was given to understand there would be more of you. ARTHUR: There were. We have been fighting here for 15 years, Bishop. GERMANUS: Oh, of course. Arthur and his knights have served with courage to maintain the honor of Rome's empire on this last outpost of our glory. Rome is most indebted to you noble knights. To your final days as servants to the empire. LANCELOT: Day. Not days. GERMANUS: The Pope's taken a personal interest in you. He inquires after each of you, and is curious to know if your knights have converted to the word of Our Savior or...? ARTHUR: They retain the religion of their forefathers. I have never questioned that. GERMANUS: Of course, of course. They are pagans. Hm? For our part, the Church has deemed such beliefs innocence, but you, Arthur, your path to God is through Pelagius? I saw his image in your room. ARTHUR: He took my father's place for me. His teachings on free will and equality have been a great influence. I look forward to our reunion in Rome. GERMANUS: Ah. Rome awaits your arrival with great anticipation. You are a hero. In Rome, you will live out your days in honor and wealth. Alas...Alas, we are all but players in an ever-changing world. Barbarians from every corner are almost at Rome's door. Because of this, Rome and the Holy Father have decided to remove ourselves from indefensible outposts, such as Britain. What will become of Britain is not our concern anymore. I suppose the Saxons will claim it soon. ARTHUR: Saxons? 7 GERMANUS: Yes. In the north a massive Saxon incursion has begun. LANCELOT: The Saxons only claim what they kill. GAWAIN: And only kill everything. GALAHAD: So you would just leave the land to the Woads. And I risked my life for nothing. GERMANUS: Hm. Gentlemen, your discharge papers with safe conduct throughout the Roman Empire. But first, I must have a word with your commander. In private. ARTHUR: We have no secrets. LANCELOT: Come. Let's leave Roman business to Romans. DAGONET: Let it go, Bors. GERMANUS: Rome has issued a final order for you and your men. ARTHUR: Final order? GERMANUS: You are to travel north to rescue the family of Marius Honorius and return, in particular, with Marius's son, Alecto. Alecto is the Pope's favorite godchild and pupil. It is his destiny to become a bishop, perhaps even pope one day. ARTHUR: On this day you ask this of my men. On this day. They have risked their lives for 15 years for a cause not of their own. And now, on the day they are to be liberated, you send them on a mission which is far more dangerous than any other they have undertaken. You tell me, Bishop, how do I go to my men and tell them that instead of freedom I offer death? GERMANUS: If your men are truly the knights of legend, perhaps some will survive. If it is God's will. Your men want to go home, and to get home they need to cross the entire breadth of the Roman Empire. Deserters would be hunted down like dogs. Will you defy the Pope, Arthur? Rome? God himself? ARTHUR: Everything I've done has been for the Church and for Rome. Do not mistake a loyal soldier for a fool, GERMANUS. GERMANUS: Would you leave a defenseless Roman boy, destined to lead our Church, at the hands of the Saxons? Fulfill this mission, and your men will receive their discharge. Their papers will be waiting here the moment they return. You have my word. ARTHUR: You think very hard upon that vow, Bishop, for I will hold you to it. Break it, and no Roman legion, papal army, nor God himself will protect you. That is my word. SCENE 7 CARD-PLAYER: She gave me fleas. 10 will gladly make that covenant. My death will have a purpose. I ask no more than that. LANCELOT: Why do you always talk to God and not to me? Oh, pray to whomever you pray that we don't cross the Saxons. ARTHUR: My faith is what protects me, Lancelot. Why do you challenge this? LANCELOT: I don't like anything that puts a man on his knees. ARTHUR: No man fears to kneel before the god he trusts. Without faith, without belief in something, what are we? LANCELOT: To try and get past the Woads in the north is insanity. ARTHUR: Them we've fought before. LANCELOT: Not north of the wall! How many Saxons? Hmm? How many?! Tell me. Do you believe in this mission? ARTHUR: These people need our help. It is our duty to bring them out. LANCELOT: I don't care about your charge, and I don't give a damn about Romans, Britain or this island. If you desire to spend eternity in this place, Arthur, so be it, but suicide cannot be chosen for another! ARTHUR: And yet you choose death for this family! LANCELOT: No, I choose life! And freedom for myself and the men! ARTHUR: How many times in battle have we snatched victory from the jaws of defeat? Outnumbered, outflanked, yet still we triumph. With you at my side, we can do so again. Lancelot, we are knights. What other purpose do we serve if not for such a cause? LANCELOT: Arthur, you fight for a world that will never exist. Never. There will always be a battlefield. I will die in battle. Of that I'm certain. And hopefully a battle of my choosing. But if it be this one, grant me a favor. Don't bury me in our sad little cemetery. Burn me. Burn me and cast my ashes to a strong east wind. SCENE 9 CERDIC: Don't touch their women. We don't mix with these people. What kind of offspring do you think that would yield? Weak people. Half people. I will not have our Saxon blood watered down by mixing with them. WOULD-BE RAPIST: According to our laws, no man may deny me the spoils of our conquest! CYNRIC: He speaks the truth, Father. CAPTIVE: My lord! O, my lord! God's thanks, my lord. Thank you. Thank you. 11 CERDIC: Kill her. CAPTIVE: No! No! CERDIC: Are you challenging me? If you want to challenge me, you have to have a sword in your hand. As long as my heart beats, I rule and you hold your tongue. Or I'll cut it out. RAEWALD: We are three days' march from the Great Wall, if we camp at night. CYNRIC: We won't camp. The wall-what troops are stationed there? SCOUT: Light Roman infantry and possibly Sarmatian knights. Arthur Castus is their leader. CYNRIC: Arthur? Who is this Arthur? SCOUT: It is said he has never been defeated in battle. It is said he is a great warrior. CERDIC: Why should I trust you? You're a traitor to your own people. CYNRIC: Tell my father of the Roman estate. Speak up! SCOUT: A very high-ranking family live there. They are of great importance to Rome. CYNRIC: Father, their ransom could pay for the entire campaign. CERDIC: I'll attack from the north with the main army. You bring your men down here. Cut off their retreat to the south. Burn every village, kill everybody. Never leave behind you a man, woman or child who can ever carry a sword. SCENE 10 IN DIRECTOR’S CUT ONLY. GERMANUS: To represent the Holy Court, my trusted secretary Horton— Horton!—will be accompanying you on your quest. ARTHUR: Jols, find him a horse. JOLS: This way. GERMANUS: Godspeed as you fulfill your duty to Rome. ARTHUR: My duty is also to my men. GERMANUS: Then get them home. SCENE 11 WOAD: Saxon. MERLIN: How many? 12 WOAD: Thousands. SCENE 12 TRISTAN: Woads. They're tracking us. ARTHUR: Where? TRISTAN: Everywhere. FIGHTING NOISES. LANCELOT: Get back! BORS: Get back! ARTHUR: This way! (Horn sounds in wood.) GAWAIN: What are you waiting for? DAGONET. Inish! Devil ghosts! GALAHAD: Why would they not attack? ARTHUR: Merlin doesn't want us dead. SCENE 13 WOAD: We should have killed them, Merlin. MERLIN: There might be a purpose for Artorius and his Knights. WOAD: No! He is our enemy! MERLIN: So is the Saxon! SCENE 14 (NOT IN DIRECTOR’S CUT) GALAHAD: Oh, I can't wait to leave this island. If it's not raining, it's snowing. If it's not snowing, it's foggy. And that's the summer! TRISTAN: The rain is good. Washes all the blood away. BORS: Doesn't help the smell. GAWAIN: Hey, Bors, do you intend to take Vanora and all your little bastards back home? BORS: Oh, I'm trying to avoid that decision... by getting killed. Dagonet, she wants to get married and give the children names. Women! LANCELOT: The children already have names, don't they? BORS: Just Gilly. It was too much trouble, so we gave the rest of them numbers. LANCELOT: That's interesting. And I thought you couldn't count. 15 MONK: You cannot go in there. No one goes in there. This place is forbidden. MARIUS: What are you doing? Stop this! LANCELOT: Arthur, we have no time. GALAHAD: Do you not hear the drums? ARTHUR: Dagonet. DAGONET (with ax): Agh! Agh! ARTHUR: Key. SOLDIER: It is locked. From the inside. GAWAIN: You, you... go. Move! SCENE 17 LANCELOT: Gawain. PRIEST: Exaudi orationem meam. Exaudi orationem meam. In nomine Dei Patris omnipotentis et in virtute Spiritus Sancti. Who are these defilers of the Lord's temple? LANCELOT: Out of the way. The work of your god. Is this how he answers your prayers? ARTHUR: See if there's any still alive. PRIEST: How dare you set foot in this holy place? There was a man of God. LANCELOT: Not my god! ARTHUR: This one's dead. GAWAIN: By this smell, they are all dead. And you. You even move, you join him. DAGONET: Arthur! You must not fear me. SCENE 18 ARTHUR: Water! Give me some water! HORTON: His arm is broken. And his family? TRISTAN: She's a Woad. ARTHUR: I'm a Roman officer. You're safe now. You're safe. MARIUS: Stop what you are doing! ARTHUR: What is this madness? 16 MARIUS: They're all pagans here! GAWAIN: So are we. MARIUS: They refuse to do the task God has set for them! They must die as an example! ARTHUR: You mean they refused to be your serfs! MARIUS: You are a Roman. You understand. And you are a Christian. You! You kept her alive! SOLDIER: My lord! MARIUS: No! No, stop! When we get to the wall you will be punished for this heresy. ARTHUR: Perhaps I should kill you now and seal my fate. PRIEST: I was willing to die with them. Yes, to lead them to their rightful place. It is God's wish that these sinners be sacrificed. Only then can their souls be saved. ARTHUR: Then I shall grant his wish. ARTHUR: Wall them back up. TRISTAN: Arthur. ARTHUR: I said wall them up! PRIEST: Don't you see it is the will of God that these sinners be sacrificed? Unhand me, devil... They're sinners! SERFS: Get in there! SCENE 19 LANCELOT: We're moving too slow. The girl's not gonna make it, and neither is the boy. The family we can protect, but we're wasting our time with all these people. ARTHUR: We're not leaving them. LANCELOT: If the Saxons find us, we will have to fight. ARTHUR: Then save your anger for them. LANCELOT: Is this Rome's quest or Arthur's? SCENE 20 DAG: Arthur. ARTHUR: How is he? 17 DAG: He burns. Brave boy. ARTHUR: Some of your fingers are out of place. I have to push them back. If I don't do this, there's a chance you may never use them again. GUINEVERE: They tortured me. With machines. To make me tell them things that...that I didn't know to begin with. And then... I heard your voice in the dark. I am Guinevere. You are Arthur... of the Knights from the Great Wall. ARTHUR: I am. GUINEVERE: The famous Briton who kills his own people. SCENE 21 SCOUT: I found tracks coming from the south, but none going back. Horsemen traveling light and fast. Could be Roman cavalry. Could be knights. CERDIC: They know we're after them. SCOUT: They'll head east now, through the mountains. PRIEST: God's holy work has been defiled. I am a servant of God! No, please, I... Agh! RAEWALD: He says they walled him up in a building and took the family. Someone who goes by the name of Artorius. SCOUT: It's him. It's Arthur. CERDIC: Take your men east. Hunt them down. I'll take the main army to the wall. Bring the family there. RAEWALD: And the monks? CYNRIC: Put them back where you found them. PRIEST: I am a servant of God! Please, I... I am a servant of God! Unhand me, you defiler! CERDIC: Burn it all. SCENE 22 LA NCELOT: Yah! GUINEVERE: My father told me great tales of you. ARTHUR: Really? And what did you hear? GUINEVERE: Fairy tales. The kind you hear about people so brave, so selfless, that they can't be real. Arthur and his knights. A leader both Briton and Roman. And yet you chose your allegiance to Rome. 20 ARTHUR: I ran to the burial mound of my father to free her. To kill you. YOUNG ARTHUR: Father, please let loose your sword. ARTHUR: I feel the heat of that fire on my face even now. MERLIN: I did not wish her dead. She was of our blood, as are you. GUINEVERE: If you were so determined to leave us to slaughter, why did you save so many? MERLIN: My men are strong, but they have need of a true leader. They believe you can do anything. To defeat the Saxon we need a master of war. Why do you think I spared you in the forest? That sword you carry is made of iron from this earth, forged in the fires of Britain. It was love of your mother that freed the sword, not hatred of me. Love, Arthur. INSERTED ONLY IN THE DIRECTOR’S CUT GUINEVERE: It is your destiny. ARTHUR: There is no ‘destiny.’ There is only free will. MERLIN: And what of the free will of your knights? Did they die in vain? SCENE 28 MARIUS: Seize him! LUCAS: No! No... FIGHTING SOUNDS. MARIUS: I have the boy! Kill him! FULCINIA: No, don't! Let him go! MARIUS: Kill him now! DAGONET: Down! Hah! LANCELOT: Your hands seem to be better. BORS: Artorius! Do we have a problem? Huh? ARTHUR: You have a choice. You help or you die. ARTHUR: Put down your weapons. SOLDIER: Do it now! Yeah! BORS: How many did you kill? TRISTAN: Four. 21 BORS: Not a bad start to the day! TRISTAN: Armor-piercing. They're close. We have no time. ARTHUR: You ride ahead. SCENE 29 ARTHUR: I'm sorry for your loss. ALECTO: My father lost his way. He used to say the Church is there to help us stay on our path. It didn't help those he made suffer. ARTHUR: The path he chose was beyond the reach of the Church, Alecto. ALECTO: But not of Rome. What my father believed, so Rome believes. ARTHUR: What, that some men are born to be slaves? No, that isn't true. ALECTO: It is so! He told me so. ARTHUR: Pelagius, a man as close to me as any, is there now, teaching that all men are free, equal. And that each of us has the right to choose his own destiny. ALECTO: Teach? How? They killed Pelagius a year past. GERMANUS and the others were damned by his teachings. They had him excommunicated and killed. The Rome you talk of doesn't exist, except in your dreams. SCENE 30 ARTHUR: Is there any other way? TRISTAN: No. We have to cross the ice. ARTHUR: Get them all out of the carriages. Tell them to spread out. ARTHUR: Knights... BORS: Well, I'm tired of running. And these Saxons are so close behind my ass is hurtin'. TRISTAN: Never liked looking over my shoulder anyway. GAWAIN: Be a pleasure to put an end to this racket. GALAHAD: And finally get a look at the bastards. DAGONET: Here. Now. ARTHUR: Jols! JOLS: You two, take the horses. 22 ARTHUR: Ganis, I need you to lead the people. The main Saxon army is inland, so if you track the coastline till you're well south of the wall, you'll be safe. GANIS: But you're seven against 200? GUINEVERE: Eight. You could use another bow. GANIS: I'd rather stay and fight. ARTHUR: You'll get your chance soon enough. (TO SOLDIERS.) This man is now your captain. You do as he says. Am I understood? SOLDIER: Yes, sir. ARTHUR: Go. Go! GANIS: Right. Come on, then! Move on! ALECTO: I am able. I can fight. ARTHUR: No. You must bear witness to all you have seen. There's one thing you must do, and that's get back to Rome. ARTHUR: Hold until I give the command. LANCELOT: You look frightened. There's a large number of lonely men out there. GUINEVERE: Don't worry, I won't let them rape you. SCENE 31 CYNRIC: Archer! ARCHER: We're out of range. CYNRIC: I can see that! ARTHUR: I believe they're waiting for an invitation. Bors, Tristan. GUINEVERE: They're far out of range. ARTHUR: Aim for the wings of the ranks. Make them cluster. CYNRIC: Hold the ranks! Hold the ranks! Hold the ranks! Hold the ranks! Hold the ranks! Hold the ranks! Hold the ranks, or I kill you myself! It's not gonna break. ARTHUR: Back. Fall back! Prepare for combat. FIGHTING NOISES. DAGONET (charging): AAAGH! BORS: Dag! 25 SCENE 35 (NB: In theatrical version, the Guinevere/Arthur encounter comes after the wall and Arthur/Lancelot scene, i.e. she seduces him as a reward, not an inducement.) GUINEVERE: What tomorrow brings... we cannot know. JOLS: Arthur, come to the wall now. PEOPLE: The Saxons are here. JOLS: Make way! Make way! ARTHUR: Knights, my journey with you must end here. May God go with you. LANCELOT: Arthur, this is not Rome's fight. It is not your fight. SOLDIER: Stand fast! LANCELOT: All these long years we've been together, the trials we've faced, the blood we've shed. What was it all for, if not for the reward of freedom? And now when we are so close, when it is finally within our grasp...Look at me! Does it all count for nothing? ARTHUR: You ask me that? You who know me best of all? LANCELOT: Then do not do this. Only certain death awaits you here. Arthur, I beg you! For our friendship's sake, I beg you! ARTHUR: Then be my friend now and do not dissuade me. Seize the freedom you have earned and live it for the both of us. I cannot follow you, Lancelot. I now know that all the blood I have shed, all the lives I have taken have led me to this moment. SCENE 36 ARTHUR in full panoply rides up onto the hilltop, in full view of both camps. Intersperse with cuts to the Saxon camp, the Roman evacuation, and the lighting of the balefires. SCENE 37 BORS: Artorius! Rus! ARTHUR : Rus! SCENE 38 WO ADS prepare to fight. SCENE 39 ARTHUR dominates the skyline, alone 26 SCENE 40 The knights ride uneasily away. SCENE 41 SCOUT: The Roman Auxiliary has left the wall. CYNRIC: And the horsemen? SCOUT: Leading a caravan away from the fort. They're running south...with their tails between their legs. CYNRIC: So there will be no resistance. SCOUT: A few dozen villagers. CERDIC: We're going to slaughter your people. I think you should watch. Your tree might be a good place. SAXON: Up on the hill! CYNRIC: A single knight. Didn't you just say they were gone? What is this, a ghost? SCOUT: One man. A tiny fly on the back of your... great army. CERDIC: Who is he? SCOUT: Arthur. CERDIC: Arthur. Aah. SCENE 42 SCOUT waving the parley flag to bring ARTHUR out to talk to CERDIC. CERDIC: Arthur. Hm. Wherever I go on this wretched island I hear your name. Always half-whispered, as if you were a... god. All I see is flesh, blood. No more god than the creature you're sitting on. ARTHUR: Speak your terms, Saxon. CERDIC: The Romans have left you. Who are you fighting for? ARTHUR: I fight for a cause beyond Rome's or your understanding. CERDIC: Ah. You come to beg a truce. You should be on your knees. ARTHUR: I came to see your face, so that I alone may find you on the battlefield. And it would be good for you to mark my face, Saxon, for the next time you see it, it will be the last thing you see on this earth. CERDIC: Ah. Ah, finally. A man worth killing. Aah! Prepare the men for battle. 27 SCENE 43 The KNIGHTS’ horses are uneasy. BORS: Whoa. Easy. Whoa. Whoa. LANCELOT: Shh. Shh. (Sighs. He knows what’s coming.) TRISTAN (to hawk): Hey. You're free. KNIGHTS grin at each other. No words are needed. SCENE 44 The KNIGHTS arrive on Arthur’s hilltop, Lancelot in the lead. SCENE 44 CERDIC: He's got a plan, this Roman. Send what's left of your infantry. CYNRIC: Do you want to kill my men? CERDIC: They're my men! No. You stay here with me. SAXONS: Slachtung fiand! (Or whatever their pseudo-Saxon war-cry is.) SCENE 45 ARTHUR: Knights, the gift of freedom is yours by right. But the home we seek resides not in some distant land. It's in us and in our actions on this day. If this be our destiny, then so be it. But let history remember that as free men we chose to make it so. Rus! KNIGHTS: Hah! FIGHTING NOISES: Argh! SCENE 46 There! On the hill! Rus! Aargh! CERDIC: Raewald. The left flank. You go with him. RAEWALD: Move out! SAXONS: Slachtung fiand! Shields up! Argh! MERLIN: Pull! FIGHTING NOISES. CERDIC: Arthur... SCENE 47