Antony Hickox
Il mistero del principe Valiant

LA RECENSIONE

Film based on the comics of the same name published in the thirties and drawn by the great Hal Foster.

En passant, it is worth mentioning that these strips also inspired the Disney story "Duck Avenger," published in a hardcover album in the "Great Disney Parodies" cycle in the nineties.

But let's get to the film in question.

The young squire Valiant is tasked with escorting Princess Ilene, with whom he is secretly in love, to the lands of Prince Arn, the young lady's betrothed, pretending to be the brave knight Sir Gawain.

Meanwhile, the Vikings steal the famous sword Excalibur and King Arthur convenes a war council to appoint people to retrieve it.

This is where the events intertwine, and I confess I got a bit lost in the plot. Let's just say that Valiant eventually recovers Excalibur and manages to marry Ilene after resurrecting her from the death inflicted on her by the evil Sligon, thanks to the magic of his sword.

I must say that the film is full of beautiful special effects and without many pretenses message-wise: it is a movie suitable for dreaming and escaping for an hour and a half from our daily routine, full of deadlines, commitments, and gray normality. The plot, as mentioned, is a bit too intricate and the dialogues could have been more original ("I love you with all my heart," Valiant says to Ilene at one point), but if you want to have fun without applying too much thought, this is a film for you.

P.S. The scene where Valiant and Ilene are suspended over a ditch filled with armored crocodiles (!) is spectacular.