George A. Romero's name is associated with some of the scariest movies ever made. With the likes of Night Of The Living Dead, Dawn Of The Dead and Martin, Romero had cemented himself as a master of horror. But in 1981 he surprised fans by Knighriders to the big screen. Unlike is other films, this one had no monsters or zombies, really no horror aspects at all. It centered around a traveling troupe of performers who replicated the time of King Arthur and his Knights. All done from the back of a motorcycle. This was a leap for Romero who pulled it off with flying colors. One of the main reasons was the casting of Ed Harris as Billy, the leader of the troupe and King. Ed Harris, in my opinion is one of the greatest actors of our time, and his moody, conflicted portrayal of Billy just proves it. Billy is set on his ideals and the life he has chosen and fully believes in the Aurthurian ideals. But the lure of more money and a constant butting of heads with the Black Knight Morgan (Tom Savini) starts to tear the troupe apart.
Overall this is a very well written and acted out movie. Ed Harris is a anchor for a wonderful supporting cast which includes some Romero regulars like Tom Savini and Ken Foree. There are some impressive motorcycle stunts throughout the move as the troupe acts out jousting and sword play on bikes and hacks (a side-car type motorcycle). There are 3 main stunt/tournament sections in the movie, the last being the most involved and lasting a good 15 minutes. The movie runs just over 145 minutes, There are a few sections that could have been cut for time, but the overall movie would have suffered from any deletion.
If I had to give this movie a rating I would say 4 1/2 out of 5 stars. It is well worth the 2 hrs plus you would give up to watch it, and it is one of those movies you can sit and watch multiply times. It is a little difficult to find at some movie rental stores, but can be found online at netflix.com and Blockbuster.com.
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