First Knight

First Knight (1995)

  • 47% of critics liked it
    (43 reviews)

  • 59% of users liked it
    (150,270 ratings)

The tale of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table is always ripe for retelling. In this rendition, the sexy Richard Gere is Sir Lancelot, threatening to supersede the aging King Arthur (Sean Connery) by winning the love of his young wife Guinivere (Julia Ormond). This update of the age-old… More

Play Trailer

PG-13,
Directed By
Written By
Lorne Cameron, David Hoselton, William Nicholson
Genres
Drama, Action & Adventure, Romance, Comedy
In Theaters
Jul 7, 1995 Wide
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Critic Reviews

  • Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

    Whenever Zucker stops piling on battle scenes as if he were directing Braveheart, his film casts a romantic spell.

  • Todd McCarthy, Variety

    Aside from casting Richard Gere as Lancelot, First Knight marches out as an agreeably intelligent, mature and well-mounted telling of the legendary King Arthur story.

  • Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times

    The problem for him[Gere], and the film, comes when the non-physical acting begins.

  • Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

    The movie is entertaining enough in its own way, and Sean Connery makes a splendid King Arthur, but compared with the earlier films[Rob Roy and Braveheart] this one seems thin and unconvincing.

  • Joe Baltake, Sacramento Bee

    ...lushly romantic, almost quaint...

Read all 11 critic reviews

See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

  • Universal D


    Not a serious historical piece (and what do we really know of Pendragon anyway?) but a children's fable extolling virtue, the Zuckers take a chance with this glittering fairy tale. Connery is the Arthur the story wants, or is it that we want Connery to be Arthur, its hard to… More

  • Mike S


    Starts off mediocerly, but once Sean Connery enters the stage as the fabled King Arthur, the quality level is instantly raised. Richard Gere looks a bit misplaced as the fearless Sir Lancelot, and wouldn't have been my first pick for the role, but he still takes it on to the best… More

  • Conner R


    Another terrible rendition of King Arthur. Turning the story into nothing more than a romantic threesome is just pure slander. To change the story to fit a movie is one thing, but this should've just left Arthur's name all together. The acting is terrible, quite possibly… More

  • Jon L


    I saw this one in the theatre and can't quite remember the whole film, but I do remember enjoying it.

  • Jason O


    "First Knight" is a version of the Camelot legend. I'm not familiar at all with the legend of Camelot, but I do know one thing, I really like "First Knight." Sean Connery plays the part as King Arthur, Julia Ormond is the Queen, and Richard Gere plays as Sir… More

Read all 20 featured audience ratings

Get It Now

Available in standard definition

Learn more about renting and buying on Flixster

Also available on

UltraViolet Retailers

Other Retailers

Subscription Services

Not Available
Not Available

Cast

See more (20)

Trailers & Clips