| Arthur and Merlin | |
| Director: | Marco van Belle |
| Music: | Graham Plowman |
| Cinematography: | Phil Wood |
| Editing: | James Page |
| Distributor: | Signature Entertainment |
| Runtime: | 104 minutes[1] |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Language: | English |
| Budget: | £230,000 |
| Production Companies: | Movie Works |
Arthur and Merlin is a 2015 independent British feature film directed by Marco van Belle and written by Kat Wood and Marco van Belle. The film, which stars Kirk Barker, Stefan Butler, Nigel Cooke and David Sterne, is based on the original Celtic tales of Arthur and Merlin.[2] [3]
In ancient Britain, a time of magic and legend, a powerful druid named Aberthol(Nigel Cooke) is bent on destroying the Celtic people. Keeping the aging Celtic King under his control, Aberthol sends many warriors to their death under the guise of fighting the Saxons. However, Arthur (Kirk Barker) a young warrior, questions Aberthol's true motives. After saving a Christian Celt woman from Aberthol's men, Arthur is mysteriously given a powerful sword that grants him visions showing him not only Aberthol's true intent, but also the one man who can defeat him. When Arthur is banished after confronting Aberthol over the Celt's latest defeat, he sets out to find the man for he knows who he is. The man is Merlin (Stefan Butler) a hermit wizard, who Arthur had saved many years ago, when both were young boys, from Aberthol. While Merlin first refuses to help, he changes his mind once he sees the sword Arthur wields, realizing that the gods that created him, have also chosen Arthur. Now Arthur and Merlin must fight together and defeat Aberthol and save their people. However, they soon learn that Aberthol's plan is far more sinister and far bigger than they originally thought.
The film premiered at the BFI Southbank cinema on 11 April 2015. Later in 2015, the film was released digitally on 14 September via iTunes UK and on 6 November via numerous VOD services in the United States. It was also released in DVD format on 21 September in the United Kingdom, on 7 October in France, and will be released on 16 January 2016 in the United States and around the second quarter of 2016 in Germany.[4]
The film received some positive reviews. It was praised with regards to the relative quality and atmosphere in the movie when compared to its "shoestring budget".[5] [6] [7] [8]