The Mists of Avalon

Update as of August 28, 2002- I just finished reading the book and now I like the movie even more than ever. True, a lot is missing, but it's like that with most movies that are ported to the screen. The book itself is longer than all three of Tolkein's Ring series combined and I for one am glad that they didn't try to follow the The Mists of Avalon too closely. It would have been overdrawn and boring like "The Fellowship of the Ring."
It is kind of disappointing that over 20 years of plot time is cut out of the movie, but it's more tragic when people die young and it keeps the plot moving along swiftly. Also, TNT probably can't afford to make a 12 hour epic that follows the plot inch by inch.
I don't know how Bradley would react if she were alive today, but I think the movie is MUCH more accessible to a wide variety of audiences than the book is. And I think that being able to convey Bradley's message (that all religions are one and the same and that love is blind) is far more important than literary accuracy.
With that idea in mind, the film is much like Christianity is in the book. It's a simpler explanation of things for simpler people.


let's hear it for Morgaine!   December 12, 2005
Monarch (San Fran Bay area, California)
8 out of 9 found this review helpful

What a great movie! I love the spin on the Arthurian legend that this gives. I was going to say pretty much the same as the person before me, but she took care of it! This is a neat look at the pagan religion coming into a clash with the christian religion (or vice-versa). I definitely agree that Viviane is a compassionate character that got carried away. I would have to rate this movie better than Merlin, though, and agreed-- far better than the slop of "Excalibur."


A Marvelous Tale   November 27, 2005
Parthena Black (Oklahoma)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

I was absolutely entranced with this movie when it aired on television and read the book soon after. Having studied Arthurian legend in college, I found Morgaine's version refreshing and far more absorbing than some of the rather dry tales I read in school. While the female perspective of the story shifts the meaning of some of the events, I found it far more striking that this version brings Christianity's squelching of the Old Religion to the forefront. This may not be obvious to those who are not familiar with nature based faiths. Those who have studied or practice these religions will spot this immediately. Although Viviane has let power go to her head and misuses that power, other glimpses into the practices of herbalism, shamanism and divination are quite accurate. The film also portrays Arthur as quite the marshmallow, a side of him that had not struck me so strongly in other tales.

The acting is flawless, the scenery is beautiful and the story is one to get lost in. Although it is told in a different voice, it still contains all of the juicy elements we love in medieval tales.

I highly recommend reading the book after seeing the movie, if you haven't read it yet. After seeing the movie, you'll understand the 900-plus pages better and will be able to visualize the story.


I thought this was a wonderful movie.   March 19, 2002
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

...Yes, it would have been nice to have *everything* in it, but that's just not realistic. For what they had to work with, time-wise, I think they did a wonderful job. There are very few movies based on books that don't make significant changes because of time constraints.

I watched the movie first, then read the book...I enjoyed both immensely. By the way, I highly recommend others to do it this way -- watch the movie FIRST, then read the book. This allowed me to put faces on all the characters as I read, and I could picture each scene with more detail. Only drawback is if you watch the movie again, you might find yourself (as I did) looking for scenes that you thought you saw, only to realize that you'd pictured them in your head while reading the book.

But all in all, though I liked the book more, I do love the movie, and I'm planning on buying it on DVD.


Great movie!!!   April 8, 2002
Carolyn Reynolds (Ojai, CA United States)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

Great photography! I would watch this one again and again! Good classic of the mythology stories. Nice to see movies about the women behind the men in the myths we all know so well. As in, the rest of the story...