King Arthur

Factual error: I normally wouldn't bother with this sort of nitpicking, but this film specifically claims to be historically researched - and it's full of historical blunders. For a start, the film is set as the Empire withdraws its last troops from Britain - which was in 407 AD. Now Artorius Castus was a real Roman officer who really did command Sarmatian foederati at Hadrian's Wall, but he died around 200 AD. Cerdic was a real Saxon warlord who did go raiding the Britons with his son Cynric, but he did this in the early 500s. Pelagius really was tried for heresy, but he was acquitted and died of old age; the trial was a decade after this setting, and in the fifth century you couldn't be executed for heresy anyway. Also in the fifth century the Pope had no authority over Imperial troops. I could go on and on but that will do for now.

Revealing mistake: When Arthur is giving his speech before the last battle, in the background are three radio towers. You never know Arthur might need a radio to find out tomorrow's weather.

Factual error: In the beginning, which is around 400 A.D., it shows that the saddles have stirrups on them. Stirrups were not introduced in Europe until centuries after the fall of the Western Roman Empire.

Factual error: Tristan's bird of prey is a Harris' Hawk - a species native to the South-West United States and Mexico, and thus unknown and unavailable in Europe at the time the movie is supposed to take place.

Continuity mistake: In the scene where the knights are sitting at the round table near the beginning of the movie one of the knights has a plus sign shaped scar on his forehead. In the next shot,the same knight now has a sideways cross shaped scar. The scar changes almost every shot throughout the scene.

Continuity mistake: The knights reach the outpost beyond the wall. One of the knights reports to Arthur that the Saxons are approaching. During the exchange he's shown with his hair pushed off his face, then its covering one side of his face, then its off again.

Phillip Churchfield

Factual error: All the Roman troops wear armour and uniforms appropriate to the 1st century AD (the "classic" era most often depicted in illustrations). The film is actually set several hundred years later, by which time Roman soldiers looked very different.

Necrothesp

Continuity mistake: During the battle at the end of the movie, the first wave of Saxon infantry is sent through the open door in Hadrian's Wall, and then it closes behind them. Mayhem ensues. All but one of the soldiers escapes after the Wodes fire arrows at them while the Knights ride them down. The single survivor staggers through the opening doors (which open just a crack, enough for the guy to slip through), and then stands there, and in that shot we see the doors behind him are now closed. An instant later, it cuts to the hillside where the Knights are standing on their horses looking down at the wall, and we see the doors both standing wide open. Scene cuts back, and we see they're closed again.

Stormsigma

Plot hole: When the two Legionnaires open the gate of the Hadrian's Wall, they lean forward with their shoulders against the doors as if to push, but they are really pulling. (00:33:10)

Continuity mistake: When we see Tristan's bird for the first time, the shots changes between close up and distance. In the distance shot you see both of Tristan's arms out in the air, but in the close ups both before and after, it's only one arm out in the air.

Revealing mistake: At the beginning, when the Woads are attacking the Bishop's Carriage, Lancelot is hitting one of the Woads. The sword isn't even touching the Woad.

Revealing mistake: When Lucan draws the ring of dead Dagonet's finger, you can see the finger move and keep its position. (01:14:00)

Deliberate mistake: When Arthur follows Guinevere to the meeting with Merlin, her and the trees' shadows point at the viewer. Only Arthur has two shadows, one points to the left. The source of the moonlight is below the next ridge, and it's bright like a floodlight. Later, when Arthur is talking to Merlin, his face is always illuminated, even after a 180°-turn. (00:59:00)

Visible crew/equipment: When Arthur is riding with his knights in the open field, there's a front shot of the cavalry line. When the camera lowers down to where we can see the legs of the horses, the trail of the camera stage is visible on the ground.

Deliberate mistake: When the horses shy to get their masters back to Arthur's aid you can see Bors pull the reins to provoke that action. (01:28:35)

Factual error: The major Saxon invasion (the one we see in the movie) was set around 400 A.D. After a short time in the film, the battle of Badon Hill starts. This battle is thought to have occurred around 500 A.D. Arthur must be VERY old.

Audio problem: When the Woads attack in the beginning of the movie, after the knights have pretty much won the day, Bors hold up his fist knives, sticks out his tounge, and yells a sort-of war victory yell which sounds rather comedic. At the end of the movie when the knights and their horses charge into the Saxons out of the fog, you can hear Bors' exact same yell once again.

Continuity mistake: In the scene by Arthur's father's grave, Guinevere places her hand on Arthur's cheek. As the camera shot moves from front to back you see her thumb move from on his cheek to off again several times from one shot to the next.

Factual error: At the very beginning of the movie, the voice-over tells us it's around 300 AD. We see Roman soldiers, carrying shields and standards with the Chi Rho symbols. Those weren't introduced around 300 AD, but much later. Legend has it that emperor Constantine ordered his men to paint the symbols on their shields before a battle in 312, but Constantine's Arch in Rome, which depicts his victorious soldiers, doesn't show any of these symbols and the symbols in the movie are made of iron, not paint. (00:00:50)

Guinevere: This is heaven for me.
Lancelot: I don't believe in Heaven, I've been living in this Hell. But if you represent what Heaven is, then take me there.

More quotes from King Arthur

Trivia: One thing was digitally edited for the promotional posters (the trio of pictures of Guinevere, Lancelot and Arthur): Keira Knightly's (Guinevere) bust was increased purely to attract more viewers.

More trivia for King Arthur

Question: Throughout the movie, the Sarmatian knights shout the word "rus" at each other; Bors in particular says it a lot. Does anyone know what significance this word has or what it means?

Answer: At the beginning of the film, we learn that young Sarmatians were drafted into the Roman military for a period of fifteen years. As the Romans lead young Lancelot away from his family, his father yells 'Rus!', the war-cry that is repeated throughout the film. 'Sarmatian' was the name the Romans gave the Rus, descendants of Norsemen who had settled in lands that still bear their name today: the River Rus (in modern Romania), Russia, Belarus, and Ruthenia. Culturally and geographically, these people were the Rus. So when they were inducted into the Roman army, their war cry of 'Rus!' identified them as being fearsome Rus/Sarmatian warriors, warned their opponents that the Rus were coming for them, celebrated their cultural identity, and symbolized their hope of returning home to the Rus. In the film Arthur honors them by yelling it back, signifying the unusual bond between leader and soldier exemplified in the Round Table, Arthur's respect for the Rus warriors, and his commitment to the idea that all men are born free and have the right to their own lives and beliefs.

Rus were a people combined of Vikings traveling between Denmark and Byzantium, and Slavic people. Sarmatians were before that, but from the same area and did intermingle with Slavs, so their blood is more than likely in there.

Rus was not from Denmark.

RUS is the word for Vikings who ruled the city of Kyev, and by the Ryrik family which assembled many Slavic tribes into "Kyev Rus", which is the name of state and foundation of modern Russia. Russia" as a ethnonim is similar to Rus but is not. Russian call themselves "I am Rus, I am ruski", and their language "ruski", but their country is "Russia" and they are RussiaNS, old name coresponding to Latin word "Ratio" (sense, mind) Race -of people...Sarmatians are Serbs, Serbs are Slavs and old Russians.

Ruthenia was the Roman name for what is now Ukraine. The main part of Rus i.e. Kyivan Rus is actually the land and people who are now known as Ukrainians. The Sarmatians were our ancestors.

Answer: Except the Norseman/Rus came much later than Arthur's time...so that's not it. Though more to the point is the Sarmatian /Scythian relationship and their dynamic with the Romans in respect to this timeline.

Norsemen invaded Britain in the 8th century but were around much earlier. Romans recruited from foreign lands and could possibly have recruited from tribes earlier than this. Rus vikings were first recorded around the 8th century but could also have existed prior to this. It is accepted that Viking history was from 800 AD. However the legendary king Arthur was allegedly invented by a 12th century french poet. The Roman Lucius Artorius Caster died around the end of the 2nd century. So it's all speculative.

Answer: Rus in Latin means country or land. The whole movie was based on winning freedom. Fighting and dying to win them their home, their country. Arturius chooses Britain as his land and his countrymen to defend. So Rus in this context, being they are Roman, their battle cry means 'for country', not Rome but Britain. For home.

Answer: They do not yell "rus", they shout as "rochs". In fact at first the pronunciation in the movie shows that. "Rochs" is a Sarmatian term, in fact it means "light" in modern Ossetian, the only remnants of the Sarmatians in modern world. There were three major Sarmatian tribes in history: Alans, Rochsalans (Rochs-alans or Latinized Roxalans) and Iazyges. Second one bears that prefix, and historically not Roxalans but Iazyges were forced to become mercenaries for Rome. So with that yell there is a little mistake in the movie but this is tolerable at the end.

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