Rufus Sewell as Count Adhemar of Anjou, the antagonist who is a wealthy, battle hardened knight. Thatcher offends Adhemar by intruding upon a conversation between Adhemar and Jocelyn, leading to their rivalry and antagonism. Adhemar believes Sir Ulrich (Thatcher) would be a "lesser" knight, "not worth more than a peasant", and starts taunting Thatcher in front of Jocelyn and the public. Taylor, Robert (13 May 2021). " 'A Knight's Tale' 20th Anniversary: Why This Bizarrely Anachronistic Action Comedy Still Holds Up". Collider . Retrieved 22 July 2023. Lane, Anthony (13 January 2016). "David Bowie in the Movies". The New Yorker . Retrieved 27 April 2021. A Knight's Tale". Reel McCoy. 2001 movies. Archived from the original on 14 November 2008 . Retrieved 25 September 2009.

Heath Ledger is excellent as William Thatcher, graduating to a lead role after serving a promising apprenticeship in " The Patriot". William's unlikely ambition is to take part in the joust, but the custom of the day prohibits such a thing due to his lowly birth. Director Brian Helgeland says in the DVD Special Edition's commentary that he had intended to show what Geoffrey Chaucer might have been doing that inspired him to write The Canterbury Tales during the six months in which Chaucer seems to have gone missing in 1372. [7] He was like, 'It’s so inescapable that it should be 'Golden Years' that there’s no way you can disagree with me.'" The presence of Chaucer in the film, combined with some of its details, leads me to suspect that Brian Helgeland has read "Chaucer's Knight" by fellow filmmaker Terry Jones (of Monty Python fame). The book deconstructs the knight in Chaucer's "The Knight's Tale" in a totally unique way -- he is seen NOT as the flower of medieval chivalry (as most scholars have interpreted him), but as a mercenary out for nothing but money and blood. The character in the film Chaucer would have written about, then, is not Sir William Thatcher (Heath Ledger), but Count Adhemar of Anjou (Rufus Sewell). Alan Tudyk as Wat, a violent, young squire who is obsessed with the greater things in life. He grows desperate but is a good friend of William.Top 200 Albums of 2001 (based on sales)". Jam!. Archived from the original on 6 November 2003 . Retrieved 26 March 2022.

Baker-Whitelaw, Gavia (1 August 2020). "In praise of 'A Knight's Tale,' now streaming on Prime—on its 20th anniversary". The Daily Dot . Retrieved 22 July 2023. At the time, I thought that the Bowie choice was a good one and although the dance patterns remained much the same," Hopps said. same high-timber sound as heard in Fargo. The climax of the film is underscored, of course, by "The Chaucer: In Greece he spent a year in silence just to better understand the sound of a whisper. And so without further gilding the lily and with no more ado, I give to you, the seeker of serenity, the protector of Italian virginity, the enforcer of our Lord God, the one, the only, Sir Ulllrrrich von Lichtenstein! Lances were created that would convincingly explode upon impact without injuring the stunt riders. The body of each lance was scored so it would break easily, and the tips were made of balsa wood. Each was also hollowed out, with the holes filled with balsa splinters and uncooked linguine. [10]

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The dance scene in A Knight’s Tale is set to the song “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” by Frankie Valli. The scene features Sir Ulrich von Lichtenstein (Heath Ledger) and Lady Jocelyn (Shannyn Sossamon) dancing together in a crowded ballroom. The scene is intercut with shots of the two characters looking at each other longingly and dancing alone in their own world. The song’s lyrics perfectly capture the emotions of the scene, with lines like “I love you baby, and if it’s quite all right, I need you baby to warm the night.” a b "A Knight's Tale". Box Office Mojo. rl2270987777. Archived from the original on 25 November 2019 . Retrieved 25 November 2019. Mummy' still rules box office". The Berkshire Eagle. 16 May 2001. p.32. Archived from the original on 14 November 2022 . Retrieved 14 November 2022– via Newspapers.com. Spider-Man Gets Cut". Hartford Courant. 19 September 2001. p.42. Archived from the original on 30 July 2022 . Retrieved 30 July 2022– via Newspapers.com. Adhemar is called away to the Battle of Poitiers, and William achieves several victories in his absence. William proves his love for Jocelyn by complying when she first asks him to deliberately lose (in contrast to knights who promise to win "in her name"), and then, just before he would be eliminated, to win the tournament after all.