Prince Valiant (1997) a Summary by Helen Chavez
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Prince Valiant (1997) A Summary by Helen Chavez Plot Summary In a time now lost in the mists of memory, the great King Arthur rules in the legendary citadel that is Camelot. His Knights of the Round Table commit acts of derring-do and spend their spare time jousting, much to the delight of the local citizens and especially to Princess Ilene, a guest at Camelot. Watching her from afar is a young, inexperienced squire called Valiant, and when the young Welsh princess is sent home to marry Prince Arn Valiant contrives to accompany her masquerading as Sir Gawain. Meanwhile, the evil sorceress Morgan le Fey, sister to King Arthur, has convinced the tyrannical Sligon, ruler of the Viking kingdom of Thule, that he should steal Arthur's sword, the powerful and magical Excalibur, knowing that its loss could bring about Arthur's downfall. So into the fray comes Sligon's unstable and psychotic brother Thagnar, who manages to steal the sword. Pandemonium reigns. But Valiant is having problems of his own - kidnappers attempt to steal away the Princess, and after various skirmishes, including one with a mysterious character who lives in a cave and purloins treasure, women and other things of value, Valiant manages to return the Princess to her homeland - although he also manages to have a duel with the Princess' jealous fiancé, Prince Arn. All things converge as Valiant is finally informed of his heritage by the stranger from the cave … Boltar of Thule. He informs the lad that he is Prince Valiant, rightful heir to the kingdom of Thule, and with his help, Valiant returns to the land of his birth to rightfully claim what is his … Boltar (Ron Perlman) When Valiant first encounters the big, brawny and utterly fearless Boltar, it appears the man is nothing but a kidnapper and a thief. But he is also clever and ingenious - when Valiant goes looking for the kidnapped Princess Ilene, he has to battle his way through a series of trip-wires which set off a bombardment of fireballs, giving the impression that some foul, evil beast lives deep within the cave. Deep in the bowels of the earth Valiant finds Boltar ensconced in his cavern, surrounded by plunder and few wenches, the big man sprawled in his huge chair, listening to Princess Ilene's tirade of anger at her kidnapping. Boltar is not fazed in the least. His long, curly hair and the bead he has artfully entwined in his beard gives him a rakish air as he languidly drinks a heady cup of wine and grins at Valiant's demand to release the princess. Valiant's challenge to him leaves Boltar singularly unimpressed. "Ah … knight checks king … however, king takes knight …" And with the base of his wine-cup he releases a dart from the arm of the chair, which Valiant only just manages to deflect with his shield. Taking advantage of the young squire's momentary lapse of concentration, Boltar charges, big hands grappling with Valiant as the feisty Ilene tries to help out by wrapping her chains around Boltar's neck and hanging on tightly. She makes barely an impression on the big man, but Boltar decides the whole thing really isn't worth the hassle and escapes, his voice echoing through the recesses of the cavern as Valiant tries to give chase in his heavy armour. "Catch me if you can, little boy!!" The derision in Boltar's voice only serves to frustrate the young man as he fails miserably to follow, held back by the restraints of his armour. But as Valiant and Ilene return to their escort, they are being watched. High above them, hidden amongst the trees, Boltar is watching through strange, kaleidoscopic lenses, and the erstwhile kidnapper is shocked to see an amulet around Valiant's neck … carrying the symbol of a red stallion. Valiant's next encounter with Boltar is equally as violent - Valiant is looking for transport to Thule in an attempt to recover Excalibur, and makes his way to a small coastal village. There, in the drunken atmosphere of a tavern, he rescues a dwarf from the abuse of a local ne'er-do-well, and standing watching the fracas is Boltar. Disposing of the drunkard, Valiant spots the big man standing in the shadows, and Boltar just takes Valiant's accusation that he should be in prison with a philosophical smile. He munches on a plateful of food and calls out to the lad. "Come and take an ale with me?" Valiant grudgingly agrees, and asks in a disgruntled fashion why Boltar is in the town. Boltar takes a swig from his tankard of ale. "Looking for you, actually!" he tells Valiant he isn't exactly difficult to find, because "You leave a trail like a Tuscan leper!" Ignoring the big thief's comments, he tells Boltar he's looking for a ship to take him to Thule … and of course, Boltar knows of one. The dwarf, Pechet, tips out a pouch of gold coins on the table that he has filched from his now unconscious tormentor, and decides that he'll come along too, as Valiant had told the drunk that Pechet was his squire. Boltar looks at the small, one-eyed man … and grins. They are, it seems, now a team. On reaching the shores of Thule, Boltar carries a sea-sick Pechet ashore, while Valiant asks how far away Sligon's castle is. Boltar seems familiar with the lie of the land, and thinks, calculating the distance. "We'll need horses." Valiant makes an instant decision. "Let's go borrow some."And the young warrior heads off inland to look for a spare horse or two. Boltar is astounded. "Borrow! Borrow?? This isn't Camelot!!!" But nevertheless they 'borrow' some mounts from three unsuspecting horsemen and head off to Sligon's fortress, but Boltar finally shows his hand. Deep in a forest, as night falls, Valiant realises they are surrounded by hidden figures … but Boltar lets out a low whistle, and figures resolve out of the mist. The leader is an elderly man, noble and honest, and his face lights up with pleasure. "Boltar! You have returned!" Boltar nods, putting a hand on Valiant's shoulder. "Yes, I have, Father - and I bring you … Valiant." The people surrounding them are the free people of Thule, downtrodden but not downhearted, fighting back against the tyranny of Sligon. Valiant at last comes to know his lineage - he is the one true heir to the kingdom of Thule, rescued from Sligon when an infant by Boltar and his father. The young Boltar took the child to England and made sure he was safe and well in a monastery, leaving him the amulet as a guide for when the young man wished to find out his origins. Valiant has, at last, come home. With Boltar and Pechet beside him and with his small army of loyal warriors he storms the castle, only to discover Thagnar has killed his brother Sligon and taken the usurped crown for himself. Battles ensue, and Boltar leads Valiant's small force into the castle, the big warrior wielding his Frankish sword with devastating effect, his features painted and his mass of hair decorated with sticks. Sweeping all before him, he is fearsome in battle, but even he is unable to stop the tragedy that unfolds before him - in an effort to save Valiant's life, Princess Ilene is run through with Thagnar's sword. Distraught, Valiant manages to kill the fiendish Thagnar, but is devastated to find a stunned Boltar sitting disconsolate beside Ilene's body. Valiant rails against God, how could He take Ilene from Valiant in his moment of triumph? How could he be a king without the woman he loves beside him? And wonder upon wonders, the magical power of the great sword Excalibur, symbol of all that is just and right, breathes life back into the girl's broken body. She stirs in his arms, and a cry of triumph is raised as the defenders of the castle surrender, and Valiant is restored to his rightful place as King of Thule. Returning to Camelot just in time to stop Arthur giving up his crown, Valiant gives Excalibur back to the great king, and requests peace between the kingdoms of Britain and Thule. And just for good measure, he asks permission for he, a Viking, to marry his beautiful Welsh princess. Arthur, joy in his eyes, agrees. And so the young Valiant begins his rule, the woman he loves beside him, supported by the ever-faithful Boltar and the clever little one-eyed dwarf Pechet. And, as the stories say, everyone lived happily ever after … Prince Valiant (1997) The stirring story features betrayals and battles galore, lashings of hearty but not too bloody swordplay which makes it just the ticket for action-loving youngsters and there are some nifty cliff-hangers. Starring Stephen Moyer and Joanna Lumley, Harold R Foster's celebrated mediaeval comic strip hero first appeared on February 13th, 1937, and briskly engaged in such traditional knightly deeds as slaying dragons and rescuing damsels in distress in world-wide syndication. In 1954 he was woodenly played in a pudding-basin haircut by Robert Wagner and now he returns on film in an epic derring do and dark deeds which is easy-going and entertaining thanks to its engaging tongue in cheek approach and, particularly, to its happy refusal to take itself too seriously! It's difficult not to like a movie that includes such characters as Sligon the Usurper and such dialogue as, "Nice chain mail," and "Don't tell me the Welsh need a slapping as well," Prince Valiant is an all-smiting, all-swashbuckling tale of King Arthur's court, a comic-book brought to life.