Product Description

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is one of the greatest works of English literature, acclaimed by scholars as the equal of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. It has inspired children's stories, translations in prose and poetry, plays, animations, films and an opera. Yet, despite its fame, the poem, which disappeared for centuries, was written by a poet whose name remains unknown, in an obscure dialect of Middle English.

This program sets out to investigate this unusual phenomenon, retracing the path of Sir Gawain in his fateful meeting with the Green Knight, and noting the haunted scenery through which he passes.
Grounding itself on the latest research into the poem, it attempts to unravel some of the mysteries surrounding it, which it links to the career of an impetuous English monarch, whose fall was ultimately to plunge England into a century of civil war.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #23312 in DVD
• Brand: Ryko Distribution
• Released on: 2008-03-25
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 100 minutes

Customer Reviews

A Great Resource
This British documentary on *Sir Gawain and the Green Knight* is a great resource for teachers of British literature and/or history. It is not a reenactment of the play but a documentary with five parts: "King Arthur and the English Kings," "The Kingship of Richard II," "The Land of Arthur," "The Green Knight," and "The Death of the Fourteenth Century." Bonuses include a segmented interview with Dr. David Matthews, Lecturer in Middle English, Literature, and Culture at Manchester University, and a piece entitled "Chester Cathedral and the Misericords."

The cinematography and music create a haunting mood for the discussion of this anonymous work of literature probably from Cheshire, where the northwestern dialect of Middle English flourished in the fourteenth century. The narrator puts the work within the context of its time, including background information on the Welsh roots of the Arthurian legend and the way Plantagenet kings co-opted the legend to identify the heroic figures with the ruling Norman kings. Much is made of Richard II, who made Chester a principality, bringing, it is argued, the decadence of his court to the northwest.

The video and its bonuses address issues such as the plot, theme, symbolism, and language of the poem, explaining the bob-and-wheel, alliteration, the pentangle, and the spiritual dimensions of the poem. I was interested to see the inclusion of the pagan Green Man as a possible interpretation of the Green Knight. Not a New Ager myself, I am aware that the Green Man has been dusted off for a "new" entry into the twenty-first century, and since he had probably not completely disappeared from the Christian England of the Gawain poet, knowledge of him helps today's student to see a dimension of the poem that may have been unclear to previous generations of readers.

I gave the program a 5-star rating despite the fact that in the bonus interview with Dr. Matthews, the questions which appear on screen contain misspellings that detract from the otherwise high quality of this documentary. With that caveat, I highly recommend this video for anyone who desires to learn more about medieval English culture.

Better than Alibris
I ordered three products through Alibris and one through Amazon. I received this product in three days, with expedited shipping, I still have not received my other order. The price might be a little higher, but the service is worth the cost.