Prince Valiant (1997 film)

Prince Valiant is a 1997 sword and sorcery film produced by Constantin Film, directed by Anthony Hickox, with a screenplay by Michael Frost Beckner. The cast includes Stephen Moyer, Katherine Heigl, Thomas Kretschmann, Joanna Lumley, Ron Perlman, and Edward Fox. The film loosely adapts Hal Foster’s long-running comic strip of the same name, incorporating some of its original panels. The story follows Valiant, a young squire who must fight Vikings and a scheming sorceress to save the kingdom.

The plot draws on Arthurian legend. Valiant, posing as Sir Gawain, escorts Welsh princess Lady Ilene home from Camelot. Meanwhile, Arthur’s wicked sister Morgan retrieves a spellbook from Merlin’s tomb and persuades Viking warlord Sligon to steal Excalibur during a jousting tournament. Valiant and the princess become caught in a struggle for the sword, which leads them to love and reveals Valiant as the rightful heir to Thule’s throne. The usurper Sligon is killed by Valiant. In the final confrontation, Morgan is destroyed, Thagnar is slain, and Valiant rescues the princess and recovers Excalibur.

The film was recut by German producer Bernd Eichinger without director Anthony Hickox’s knowledge. Actor Warwick Davis, who played Pechet, described the film in his autobiography as an “absolute disaster” that “premiered, panned and bombed,” adding that even Joanna Lumley’s strong performance as Morgan le Fay could not save it. Davis blamed the director, saying he “seemed intent on partying all night long and giving roles to his friends.”

Reception was generally poor. Empire gave it two stars out of five, noting that “a promising, swashbuckly romp is entirely scuppered by some indiscriminate broadsword editing, thereby removing any fun the name cast might have had, and leaving a poorly dubbed, effects-lacking film disappointingly limp.”