After years of dominating the midnight circuit
with the likes of Night of the Living Dead,
Martin, and Dawn of the Dead, George A. Romero
took a departure from bona fide horror films to
make this naturalistic tale of a traveling
troupe of motorcycle-riding jousters. (Think
Hell's Angels on Wheels goes to the Renaissance
Faire.) While this may sound ludicrous on the
surface, the film emerges as a powerful
character study.
When the success of
their jousting tournaments--in which armor-clad
bikers go at each other with real lances for the
entertainment of county fair crowds--attracts
the attention of bigtime promoters, creeping
commercialism threatens to spoil their
delicately constructed Camelot. The troupe is a
mirror of King Arthur's court, complete with its
King (Ed Harris), Merlin (Brother Blue), and
Morgan le Fay (Tom Savini). Only they ride
motorcycles, and try to knock each other off
with maces. Ed Harris turns in a topnotch
performance as Billy, the focus of the film, who
goes progressively nuts as it becomes apparent
he's losing his grip on the troupe
(unconsciously playing out the final days of
Camelot).
Knightriders is
thoroughly engrossing during the jousting
tournaments and whenever Ed Harris is onscreen,
but is less successful in-between, when toeing
the line of the Arthurian Legend makes the film
too mannered. And at 145 minutes, the film could
have been trimmed a bit. But why cavil when
presented with the spectacle of Ed Harris
spinning slowly out of control? Watch for a
cameo by Stephen King himself, playing a
spectator debunking the jousting tournaments as
"all fake," through ample mouthfuls of his
hoagie.
Directed by: George A. Romero
Written by: George
A. Romero
Produced by:
Richard P. Rubinstein
Original music by:
Donald Rubinstein
Cast:
Ed Harris .... Billy
Gary Lahti .... Alan
Tom Savini .... Morgan
Amy Ingersoll .... Linet
Patricia Tallman .... Julie
Christine Forrest .... Angie
Warner Shook .... Pippin
Brother Blue .... Merlin
Cynthia Adler .... Rocky
John Amplas .... Whiteface
Don Berry .... Bagman
Amanda Davies .... Sheila
Martin Ferrero .... Bontempi
Ken Foree .... Little John
Ken Hixon .... Steve
John Hostetter .... Tuck
Harold Wayne Jones .... Bors
Randy Kovitz .... Punch
Michael P. Moran .... Cook
Scott H. Reiniger .... Marhalt
Maureen Sadusk .... Judy Rawls
Albert Amerson .... Indian
Ronald Carrier .... Hector
Tim Dileo .... Corncook
David Early .... Bleoboris
John Harrison .... Pellinore
Marty Schiff .... Ban
Robert Williams .... Kay
Molly McCloskey .... Corncook's Woman
Judith Barrett .... Musician Trio
Ian Gallacher .... Musician Trio
Donald Rubinstein .... Musician Trio
James A. Baffico .... Lester Dean
Iva Jean Saraceni .... Helen Dean
Chris Jessel .... Boy Billy
Bingo O'Malley .... Sheriff Rilly
Nancy Hopwood .... Sam
Victor Pappas .... Photographer
Stephen King .... Hoagie Man
Tabitha King .... Hoagie Man's Wife
Jennifer Davis .... Baby in Stroller
Hugh Rouse .... Jess
Antone DiLeo ...
Joseph Pilato .... Disgruntled fair worker
(uncredited)
Taso N. Stavrakis .... Sir Ewain
