The legendary wizard tells his story of his war against Queen Mab of the Sidhe and his creation of Camelot.
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In the Dark Ages, Merlin the magician finds himself in opposition to Queen Mab and her cohorts.
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In the Dark Ages, Merlin the magician finds himself in opposition to Queen Mab and her cohorts.
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Legendary wizard Merlin (Sam Neill, "Jurassic Park") recounts his many adventures, including his young love for Nimue (Isabella Rossellini, "Suspiria"), the heroic tragedy of Arthur and Guinevere (...
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Storyline
The legend of King Arthur, this time, from the perspective of the King's Wizard, Merlin. Merlin is a creature born of pagan magic, living in a world converting to Christianity. Merlin is beside Arthur as he gains Excalibur, builds Camelot and is betrayed by his wife, Guinevere. Merlin and Arthur are both menaced by the plots of Morgan Le Fey, her son by Arthur, Mordred, and their cohorts. Through it all, Merlin tries to keep Arthur from the destructive path set by fate. Written by Michael "Rabbit" Hutchison <rabhutch@spacestar.net>
Plot Keywords:
sir lancelot du lac character | sir mordred character | merlin character | sir gawain character | queen guinevere character |Taglines:
Imagine a world where dreams come true...and magic is real. See more »Parents Guide:
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Details
Language:
EnglishRelease Date:
26 April 1998 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Merlin See more »Edit
Box Office
Budget:
$30,000,000 (estimated)Company Credits
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Runtime:
| (2 episodes)Sound Mix:
DolbyColor:
ColorAspect Ratio:
1.33 : 1
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Did You Know?
Trivia
Rachel Colover (Lady Igraine) is better known as British gardener and television presenter, Rachel De Thame. See more »Goofs
Although clothes, architecture, etc. heavily imply a barely post-Roman (5th-6th centuries AD) setting, characters still use the terms England and Normandy, which aren't recorded before the 9th century. It would be more appropiate to refer to them respectively as Britain and Armorica or variations thereof. See more »Quotes
Frik: Handsome is as handsome does. What does that mean? I never really understood the phrase.See more »
Alternate Versions
The televised version has scenes that are not on the video version and viceversa. See more »Frequently Asked Questions
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If you are deciding whether to watch "Merlin", my advice would be to ignore all the extreme comments in this section; some would have you believe that this is the worst movie ever and others that it is a film masterpiece. The fact is that it is a well executed but philosophically shallow (family friendly) telling of the traditional version of the Arthurian legends; with some alterations. As you can probably tell from the title, this story is more focused on Merlin than on Camelot and King Arthur. If you ever wondered what it would be like to see William Shatner play a medieval wizard, you can find a close approximation in the way Sam Neill plays Merlin. This is not as bad as it sounds because Neill is intrinsically more likable than Shatner and because ham acting is necessary in his scenes with Miranda Richardson, who gives her usual dominating performance as both Queen Mab and her sister-the Lady of the Lake. Isabella Rossellini plays Neill's love interest, she looks amazingly young considering her high mileage and the viewer has a lot of time to reflect on her age/appearance because her character is staggeringly boring.
Martin Short and Helena Bonham Carter are very effective in comic relief. And comic relief is the real strength of this production as the dialogue of the villains is often intentionally very amusing (don't want to scare the family too much). Unfortunately this makes Mab and her two allies far more likable than any of the other characters.
While "Merlin" is far superior to 2004's "King Arthur", it is not even remotely in the class of John Boorman's "Excalibur". "Excalibur" is obviously a much better looking film but it is also a much more ambitious film philosophically. And "Excalibur" does not have the plot holes that draw attention to "Merlin's" moronically contrived storyline. Basically "Merlin" is dumbed down enough to make good family viewing but has enough intentionally funny performances and subtly humorous dialogue to entertain more sophisticated viewers.