King Arthur: Guy Ritchie, “I see my films as fables”

After Charlie Hunnam, it is the turn of Guy Ritchie, the director of King Arthur, to answer exclusively to some of our questions!
After realizing the great but underrated UNCLE: UNCLE Code , Guy Ritchie returns this week to the movies with King Arthur: The Legend of Excalibur, energetic rewriting of the myth , which takes a few liberties with the original story. So to believe that the British director, to whom we also owe the two feature films on Sherlock Holmes with Robert Downey Jr, likes to reinvent the greatest fictional figures of our culture! Tackling King Arthur, however, is no small matter, especially since the character has already been interpreted dozens of times and has illustrated himself on numerous supports. So history to distinguish itself from what has already been done, Guy Ritchie has infused an epic fantasy to his film, Reusing gimmicks to the gimmicks that make up his trademark . The editor of melty had the opportunity to talk to him a few days before the release of King Arthur in order to ask him about his choice of direction and the challenge of filming the film !
This is the second time you have adapted a well-known fictional character. What attracts you to this kind of exercise?
I do not know. I think I like the challenge. I like the idea of ​​taking a … mark, if you can call it that, to turn it over completely and see if you can make something new, new, contemporary while capturing at the same time The essence of history.
There are many features of fantasy movies in King Arthur: The Legend of Excalibur. Why did you choose this particular approach?
Because I thought it would be more entertaining in this way, mainly. And that it would be more unpublished. I turn my movies on a certain frequency. You know, kind of like a radio frequency. You have ” Classic FM “, you have ” Pop “, you have ” Rock ” or ” Jazz “. And each film has its own film. And if you like this particular sound, then you love the movie too. If you do not manage to be in unison with the rhythm, with frequency, then it’s hard to love the movie. Explaining a rhythm or frequency to someone who does not feel the same is like trying to explain a color to a blind man.
The narrative structure of King Arthur: The Legend of Excalibur is very fragmented, with ellipses, flashforwards, flashbacks. Is this way of editing the film also a way for you to modernize the myth, break codes?
Yes, in a way. I mean, I am very much influenced by the traditional oral narratives, which tend to bounce back and forth in all directions and speak of specters, ghouls, all while being very poetic and colorful. And I love this traditional way of telling stories. So I’m more interested in this way of telling stories, with their folklore. I see my films as if they were fables that gipsy could tell around a campfire.
You did not think of Charlie Hunnam at all to play King Arthur. How did he convince you that he was made for the role? And what about David Beckham, who makes a cameo in the film?
By his enthusiasm, basically. He was very enthusiastic. And when I met him, I felt that he operated on the same frequency as me. So it quickly became clear that we understood each other the kind of film we wanted to do and that we would be able to be in harmony with each other on what we were going to do. As for David Beckham, it was the same thing. He was on the same frequency as us. Do you want to see the film?