The Mists of Avalon (DVD, 2001)

After seeing this on TNT, I had to have it! It is a great twist on the King Arthur/Camelot story. The view from Morgaine Lefay, a woman's side of the story is great. Anyone who likes King Arthur stories, I think would like this. Not, to mention actresses Anjelica Huston, Julianna Margulies, and the handsome actor Michael Vartan are wonderful

I've read Marion Zimmer Bradley novels before and I thought I'd read this one, but I was wrong, because when I saw the scene in this movie where two characters are going through their "Welcome to Adulthood" rites, I was shocked - because they were brother and sister and they were procreating.

This, historical fantasy, isn't my genre but I was extremely impressed with both the acting and the characterization. I never quite got over my shock at the aforementioned scene, which kind of spoiled the rest of the movie. For that reason, I'd recommend that you read the book (or any book offering more infomation about King Arthur) before you watch the movie.

For more information, go here: http://imdb.com/title/tt024435​3/ or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M​arion_Zimmer_Bradley or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K​ing_arthur or http://mzbworks.home.att.net/

For Alias fans, it's quite amusing to see Edward Atterton (Alias' Danny) mock-dueling with his cousin, played by Michael Vartan (Alias' Vaughn). Their scenes together were delicious, like an inside joke.

Personally, I plan to read MZ Bradley's book again (Meg Cabot's Avalon High is a surprising new twist on King Arthur - and besides, Meg Cabot is always worth a read. Always.) and read up a bit more on Arthurian legend. Then I'll watch the movie again and maybe I'll understand why the incest had to take place.

This film was made based on the book The Mists of Avalon. While the film was very entertaining, it did not follow the original storyline in the book. The book was very long (about 900 pages) and had very complex characters and relationships that developed over time. I guess it was unrealistic to think that these important details could be included in such a short film but the essence of the book was changed in the movie to reflect more of King Arthur's tale from a male perspective than staying true to the female perspective that was done so incredibly well in the book.

So long as you don't expect the book's storyline, a very entertaining film.

Enjoyed this production when it appeared on TNT, but not the numerous commercial interruptions and TV screen pop-ups, so purchased this DVD on Ebay. It is a different take on the King Arthur legend from a feminine point of view with excellent performances, production values, and high-quality DVD transfer.
For a different viewpoint, you should also view John Boorman's EXCALIBUR, a visually stunning film.

Anyone interested in the Camelot stories would definitely enjoy this movie. My favorite part is that the movie focused more on the strong women in king Arthur's life, and on the legend of Avalon, and less on Merlin or Arthur himself. For a "made for TV" movie, I thought it was very well made. Kept me interested from start to finish. Quite different from most books and movies on the subject. I recommend it!