Merlin

Drama, Adventure, Family, Fantasy, Romance, Action

Sam Neill	Merlin
Miranda Richardson	Queen Mab/Lady Of The Lake
Helena Bonham Carter	Morgan Le Fey
John Gielgud	King Constant
Martin Short	Frik
Isabella Rossellini	Nimue
Rutger Hauer	Lord Vortigern
James Earl Jones	Mountain King
Paul Curran	King Arthur
Mark Jax	King Uther

Director	Steve Barron
Producer	Dyson Lovell; Chris Thompson
Writer	Peter Barnes; David Stevens
Cinematography	Sergei Kozlov
Musician	Trevor Jones

What kind of guy was the wizard Merlin, anyway? He lives a long time, raises a boy to be a king, props up a Utopian empire with his magic and wisdom, and then watches as it all crumbles under such banal forces as vengeance and betrayal. This four-hour miniseries re-tells the story of Camelot and King Arthur from the perspective of the magic man who sacrifices a great deal to guide mortals toward a better destiny. Sam Neill plays Merlin as an accessible, flesh-and-blood fellow of real passion, powerless to undo the spell of a rival (Rutger Hauer) who has virtually imprisoned Merlin's great love, Nimue (Isabella Rossellini), but gifted enough to counter the treachery of Morgan Le Fey (Helena Bonham Carter) and the wicked Queen Mab (Miranda Richardson). The battle sequences and special effects are striking and original, and it is great fun to see such art-house movie actors as Richardson, Carter, Neill, etc., in fantasy entertainment the whole family can enjoy. (An unrecognizable Martin Short must be singled out, however, for a wonderful, largely dramatic performance as Mab's sidekick, Frik.) Directed by Steve Barron (The Adventures of Pinocchio), Merlin is a nice bit of glossy revisionism of a beloved legend. --Tom Keogh