By 300 AD, the Roman Empire
extended from Arabia to Britain.
But they wanted more.
More land.
More peoples
loyal and subservient to Rome.
But no people so important
as the powerful Sarmatians to the east.
Thousands died on that field.
And when the smoke cleared on the fourth
day, the only Sarmatian soldiers left alive
were members ofthe decimated
but legendary cavalry.
The Romans, impressed by theirbravery
and horsemanship, spared theirlives.
In exchange, these warriors were
incorporated into the Roman military.
Better they had died that day.
(neighing)
Father.
They are here.
For the secondpart ofthe bargain they
struck indebted not only themselves...
The day has come.
..but also theirsons,
and theirsons, and so on,
to serve the empire as knights.
I was such a son.
There is a legend that
fallen knights return as great horses.
He has seen what awaits you,
and he will protect you.
Lancelot! Lancelot!
Lancelot.
Don't be afraid. l will return.
- How long shall we be gone?
- 1 5 years,
not including the months it'll take
to get to your post.
Lancelot!
(all shout out ''Rus!')
(Lancelot) Ourpost was Britain -
orat least the southern half,
for the land was divided by a 73-mile wall
built three centuries before us
to protect the empire from
the native fighters ofthe north.
So, as ourforefathers had done,
we made our way and reported
to ourRoman commanderin Britain,
ancestrally named for the firstArtorius,
orArthur.
Ah, as promised, the bishop's carriage.
- Our freedom, Bors.
- Mm. l can almost taste it.
And your passage to Rome, Arthur.
(horse whinnies)
Argh!
(warcries)
Woads!
(uproar, swords clinking)
Yaa-rgh!
Yah!
Argh!
Argh!
(triumphant cry)
Rus! Aagh!
Rus!
Rus.
Gratia plena, Dominus tecum. Benedicta
tu in mulieribus et Dominus tecum.
Benedicta tu in mulieribus.
Benedictus fructus ventris tui, Iesus.
Benedicta tu in mulieribus...
Save your prayers, boy.
Your god doesn't live here.
Why did Merlin send you south of the wall?
Spill my blood with Excalibur and...
make this ground holy.
Pick it up.
Pick it up.
- Bors.
- What a bloody mess.
That's not the bishop.
God help us.
- What are they?
- Blue demons that eat Christians alive.
You're not a Christian, are you?
Does this really work?
(mutters gibberish)
Nothing.
Maybe l'm not doin' it right.
(man chuckling) Arthur!
Arthur Castus. Your father's image.
l haven't seen you since childhood.
Bishop Germanius. Welcome to Britain.
l see your military skills
are still of use to you.
Your device worked.
Ancient tricks of an ancient dog.
And these are the great Sarmatian knights
we have heard so much of in Rome.
l thought the Woads control
the north of Hadrian's Wall.
They do, but they
occasionally venture south.
Rome's anticipated withdrawal from Britain
has only increased their daring.
- (man) Woads?
- British rebels who hate Rome.
Men who want their country back.
- Who leads them?
- He's called Merlin.
A dark magician, some say.
Tristan, ride ahead
and make sure the road is clear.
Please do not worry, Bishop.
We will protect you.
Oh.
l've no doubt, Commander.
No doubt.
Dozens don't worry me
nearly so much as thousands.
Thousands?
Well, now that we're free men,
l'm gonna drink till l can't piss straight.
- You do that every night.
- l never could piss straight.
Too much of myself to handle...
down there.
Well, it's a problem.
No, really, it is. lt's a problem.
- lt's like a baby's arm holding an apple.
- (all) ..baby's arm holding an apple.
(laughter)
l don't like him, that Roman.
lf he's here to discharge us,
why doesn't he just give us our papers?
- ls this your happy face?
- (Bors laughs)
Galahad, do you still
not know the Romans?
They won't scratch their asses
without holding a ceremony.
Why don't you just kill him,
and then discharge yourself after?
l don't kill for pleasure, unlike some.
Well, you should try it someday.
You might get a taste for it.
- lt's a part of you. lt's in your blood.
- No, no, no. No.
As of tomorrow
this was all just a bad memory.
Ohh.
l've often thought about what going home
would mean after all this. What will l do?
lt's different for Galahad.
l've been in this life longer than the other.
So much for home.
lt's not so clear in my memory.
You speak for yourself. lt's cold back there
and everyone l know is dead and buried.
Besides, l have, l think, a dozen children.
Eleven.
You listen. When the Romans leave here,
we'll have the run of all this place.
l'll be governor in my own village
and Dagonet will be my personal guard
and royal ass-kisser. Won't you, Dag?
First thing l will do when l get home is
find a beautiful Sarmatian woman to wed.
A beautiful Sarmatian woman?
Why do you think we left in the first place?
(moos like a cow)
What about you, Lancelot?
What are your plans for home?
Well, if this woman of Gawain's
is as beautiful as he claims,
l expect to be spending
a lot of time at Gawain's house.
- His wife will welcome the company.
- l see. And what will l be doing?
Wondering at your good fortune
that all your children look like me.
ls that before or after l hit you with my ax?
(whistles)
Where you been, now? Where you been?
And what will you do, Arthur,
when you return to your beloved Rome?
Give thanks to God that l survived to see it.
You and your god! You disturb me.
l want peace, Lancelot. l've had enough.
- You should visit me.
- Ah!
lt's a magnificent place, Rome.
Ordered, civilized, advanced.
A breeding ground of arrogant fools.
The greatest minds in all the lands
have come together in one sacred place
to help make mankind free.
And the women?
(guard) Open the gate!
- Welcome back, Arthur.
- Jols.
Lancelot.
Bishop, please, my quarters
have been made available to you.
Oh, yes. l must rest.
(Bors chuckles lewdly)
- Where have you been?
- Oh...
- l've been waiting for you.
- Oh, my little flower. Such... passion!
Where's my Gilly? Gilly.
- You been fighting?
- Yes.
- You been winning?
- Yes.
That's my boy.
Come on, all my other bastards!
(all cheer)
Pelagius.
Very kind of Arthur to give up his room.
But, of course, it is to be expected.
(knocking)
Sir, l'm here to escort you
to the fortress hall.
When my master meets with your knights,
he must be seated last
and he must be seated
at the head of the table.
Your master can plonk his holy ass
wherever he chooses.
(laughter)
His Eminence, Bishop Naius Germanius.
A round table?
What sort of evil is this?
Arthur says for men to be men
they must first all be equal.
l was given to understand
there would be more of you.
There were. We have been
fighting here for 1 5 years, Bishop.
Oh, of course.
Arthur and his knights
have served with courage
to maintain the honor of Rome's empire
on this last outpost of our glory.
Rome is most indebted
to you noble knights.
To your final days
as servants to the empire.
Day. Not days.
The Pope's taken
a personal interest in you.
He inquires after each of you,
and is curious to know if your knights have
converted to the word of Our Savior or...?
They retain the religion of their forefathers.
l have never questioned that.
Of course, of course.
They are pagans. Hm?
For our part, the Church
has deemed such beliefs innocence,
but you, Arthur,
your path to God is through Pelagius?
- l saw his image in your room.
- He took my father's place for me.
His teachings on free will and equality
have been a great influence.
l look forward to our reunion in Rome.
Ah.
Rome awaits your arrival
with great anticipation.
You are a hero.
ln Rome, you will live out your days
in honor and wealth.
Alas...
Alas, we are all but players
in an ever-changing world.
Barbarians from every corner
are almost at Rome's door.
Because of this, Rome and the Holy Father
have decided to remove ourselves
from indefensible outposts,
such as Britain.
What will become of Britain
is not our concern anymore.
l suppose the Saxons will claim it soon.
- Saxons?
- Yes.
ln the north a massive
Saxon incursion has begun.
- The Saxons only claim what they kill.
- And only kill everything.
So you would just
leave the land to the Woads.
And l risked my life for nothing.
Hm.
Gentlemen,
your discharge papers with safe conduct
throughout the Roman Empire.
But first, l must have a word
with your commander.
- ln private.
- We have no secrets.
(slams table)
Come. Let's leave Roman business
to Romans.
Let it go, Bors.
Rome has issued a final order
for you and your men.
Final order?
You are to travel north
to rescue the family of Marius Honorius
and return, in particular,
with Marius's son, Alecto.
Alecto is the Pope's
favorite godchild and pupil.
lt is his destiny to become a bishop,
perhaps even pope one day.
On this day you ask this of my men.
On this day.
They have risked their lives for 1 5 years
for a cause not of their own.
And now, on the day they are to be
liberated, you send them on a mission
which is far more dangerous
than any other they have undertaken.
You tell me, Bishop,
how do l go to my men and tell them
that instead of freedom l offer death?
lf your men are truly the knights
of legend, perhaps some will survive.
lf it is God's will.
Your men want to go home,
and to get home they need to cross
the entire breadth of the Roman Empire.
Deserters would be hunted down like dogs.
Will you defy the Pope, Arthur?
Rome? God himself?
Everything l've done has been
for the Church and for Rome.
Do not mistake a loyal soldier
for a fool, Germanius.
Would you leave a defenseless
Roman boy, destined to lead our Church,
at the hands of the Saxons?
Fulfill this mission, and your men
will receive their discharge.
Their papers will be waiting here
the moment they return.
You have my word.
You think very hard upon that vow, Bishop,
for l will hold you to it.
Break it, and no Roman legion,
papal army,
nor God himself will protect you.
That is my word.
- (man) She gave me fleas.
- (man #2) You better hope they're fleas.
Best of three.
(baby mewling)
Who wants another drink?
- (Lancelot) Ahh.
- (sighs)
When you gonna leave Bors
and come home with me?
My lover is watching you.
Mmm...
You look nothing like him.
You're all Bors.
- Tristan...
- How do you do that?
l aim for the middle.
Oh, they want more!
- Here. Be a mother to your son.
- Oh, come here.
Dagonet, where you been?
We've got plans to make.
Here, please. Sing.
- No.
- Just a last one.
- No, l'm trying to work.
- Come sing. Shut up!
Vanora will sing.
- (Vanora) No, no.
- (chants of ''Sing!')
- (man) Sing about home.
- (Gawain) Don't drop the baby.
(singing fades)
(singing fades)
Arthur!
Arthur!
Arthur! You're not
completely Roman yet, right?
Rus!
Knights...
brothers in arms...
your courage has been tested
beyond all limits.
Yes.
But l must ask you now for one further trial.
Drink.
We must leave on a final mission for Rome
before our freedom can be granted.
Above the wall, far in the north,
there is a Roman family in need of rescue.
They are trapped by Saxons.
Our orders are to secure their safety.
Let the Romans take care of their own.
Above the wall is Woad territory.
Our duty to Rome,
if it was ever a duty, is done.
Our pact with Rome is done.
Every knight here
has laid his life on the line for you.
For you.
And instead of freedom
you want more blood?
Our blood?
You think more of Roman blood
than you do of ours?
Bors! These are our orders.
We leave at first light, and when we return
your freedom will be waiting for you.
A freedom we can embrace with honor.
l am a free man!
l will choose my own fate!
Yeah, yeah.
We're all going to die someday.
lf it's a death from a Saxon hand
that frightens you, stay home.
Listen, if you're so eager to die,
you can die right now!
- Enough. Enough!
- l've got something to live for!
The Romans have broken their word.
We have the word of Arthur.
That is good enough.
l'll prepare.
Bors?
- You coming?
- Of course l'm coming!
Can't let you go on your own!
You'll all get killed!
l'm just saying what you're all thinking!
Vanora'll kill me.
And you, Gawain?
l'm with you.
Galahad as well.
O merciful God,
l have such need of your mercy now.
Not for myself, but for my knights,
for this is truly their hour of need.
Deliver them from the trials ahead,
and l will repay you a thousandfold
with any sacrifice you ask of me.
And if, in your wisdom,
you should determine that that sacrifice
must be my life for theirs,
so they may once again taste the freedom
that has so long been denied to them,
l will gladly make that covenant.
My death will have a purpose.
l ask no more than that.
Why do you always talk to God
and not to me?
Oh, pray to whomever you pray
that we don't cross the Saxons.
My faith is what protects me, Lancelot.
Why do you challenge this?
l don't like anything
that puts a man on his knees.
No man fears to kneel
before the god he trusts.
Without faith, without belief in something,
what are we?
To try and get past the Woads
in the north is insanity.
- Them we've fought before.
- Not north of the wall!
How many Saxons? Hm?
How many?!
Tell me. Do you believe in this mission?
These people need our help.
- lt is our duty to bring them out.
- l don't care about your charge,
and l don't give a damn about
Romans, Britain or this island.
lf you desire to spend eternity in this place,
Arthur, so be it,
but suicide cannot be chosen for another!
- And yet you choose death for this family!
- No, l choose life!
And freedom for myself and the men!
How many times in battle have we
snatched victory from the jaws of defeat?
Outnumbered, outflanked,
yet still we triumph.
With you at my side, we can do so again.
Lancelot, we are knights.
What other purpose do we serve
if not for such a cause?
Arthur, you fight for a world
that will never exist.
Never.
There will always be a battlefield.
l will die in battle.
Of that l'm certain.
And hopefully a battle of my choosing.
But if it be this one,
grant me a favor.
Don't bury me in our sad little cemetery.
Burn me.
Burn me and cast my ashes
to a strong east wind.
(woman screaming)
Don't touch their women.
We don't mix with these people.
What kind of offspring
do you think that would yield?
Weak people.
Half people.
l will not have our Saxon blood
watered down by mixing with them.
According to our laws, no man
may deny me the spoils of our conquest!
He speaks the truth, Father.
My lord! O, my lord!
God's thanks, my lord.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Kill her.
(wails)
No! No!
(softly) Are you challenging me?
lf you want to challenge me,
you have to have a sword in your hand.
As long as my heart beats,
l rule and you hold your tongue.
Or l'll cut it out.
(neighing)
We are three days' march from
the Great Wall, if we camp at night.
We won't camp.
The wall - what troops are stationed there?
Light Roman infantry
and possibly Sarmatian knights.
Arthur Castus is their leader.
Arthur? Who is this Arthur?
lt is said he has never been defeated
in battle. lt is said he is a great warrior.
Why should l trust you?
You're a traitor to your own people.
Tell my father of the Roman estate.
Speak up!
A very high-ranking family live there.
They are of great importance to Rome.
Father, their ransom
could pay for the entire campaign.
l'll attack from the north
with the main army.
You bring your men down here.
Cut off their retreat to the south.
Burn every village, kill everybody.
Never leave behind you a man, woman
or child who can ever carry a sword.
Saxon.
How many?
Thousands.
(horse whinnying)
(Tristan) Woads. They're tracking us.
(Arthur) Where?
Everywhere.
Yaah!
Get back!
Get back!
This way!
(warcries)
Yaah!
What are you waiting for?
Inish.
Devil ghosts.
- Why would they not attack?
- Merlin doesn't want us dead.
We should have killed them, Merlin.
There might be a purpose
for Artorius and his Knights.
No!
He is our enemy!
So is the Saxon!
(clap ofthunder)
(Gawain groaning)
Oh, l can't wait to leave this island.
lf it's not raining, it's snowing.
lf it's not snowing, it's foggy.
And that's the summer!
The rain is good.
Washes all the blood away.
Doesn't help the smell.
Hey, Bors, do you intend to take Vanora
and all your little bastards back home?
Oh, l'm trying to avoid that decision...
by getting killed.
Dagonet, she wants to get married
and give the children names.
Women!
The children already have names,
don't they?
Just Gilly.
lt was too much trouble,
so we gave the rest of them numbers.
That's interesting.
And l thought you couldn't count.
You know, l never thought
l'd get back home alive.
Now l've got the chance,
l... l don't want to leave my children.
- You'd miss 'em too much.
- l'll take them with me.
l like the little bastards.
They mean something to me.
Especially number three.
- He's a good fighter.
- That's because he's mine.
l'm going for a piss.
(laughter)
- (guard) Who are you?
- l am Arthur Castus,
Commander of the Sarmatian Knights,
sent by Bishop Germanius of Rome.
Open the gate.
(man) lt is a wonder you have come.
Good Jesus.
Arthur and his knights.
You have fought the Woads.
Vile creatures.
Our orders are to evacuate you
immediately.
But that... that is impossible.
- Which is Alecto?
- l am Alecto.
Alecto is my son.
And everything we have is here in the land
given to us by the Pope of Rome.
- Well, you're about to give it to the Saxons.
- They're invading from the north.
- Then Rome will send an army.
- They have. Us.
- We leave as soon as you're packed.
- l refuse to leave.
Go back to work! All of you!
- You heard! Go!
- All right, all right.
- Go!
- Get back to work, all of you!
Go back!
lf l fail to bring you and your son back,
my men can never leave this land.
So you're coming with me
if l have to tie you to my horse and drag
you all the way to Hadrian's Wall myself.
My lord.
Lady, my knights are hungry.
Go.
Come!
Come. Let us go, hm?
(man) Sir, you're famous.
You're Arthur, aren't you?
l'm Ganis. l'm a good fighter and l'm smart.
l'd serve you proudly.
Are you from Rome?
From hell.
- Sir.
- Who is this man?
He's our village elder.
What is this punishment for?
- Answer me!
- He defied our master, Marius.
Most of the food we grow
is sent out by sea to be sold.
He asked that we keep
a little more for ourselves, that's all.
My ass has been snappin' at the grass
l'm so hungry!
You're from Rome. ls it true
that Marius is a spokesman for God
and that it's a sin to defy him?
l tell you now.
Marius is not of God.
And you, all of you,
were free from your first breath!
Help this man.
Help him!
Now hear me. A vast and terrible army
is coming this way.
They will show no mercy, spare no one.
Those of you who are able
should gather your things
and begin to move south
towards Hadrian's Wall.
Those unable shall come with us.
You, serve me now.
Get these people ready.
(Ganis) Right, you heard him.
You go grab enough food and water
for the journey.
Let's get a hurry on, else we're all dead!
Come on, hurry.
They have flanked us to the east.
They're coming from the south,
trying to cut off our escape.
They'll be here before nightfall.
- How many?
- An entire army.
And the only way out is to the south?
East.
There is a trail heading east
across the mountains.
lt means we have to cross behind Saxon
lines, but that's the one we should take.
Arthur, who are all these people?
They're coming with us.
Then we'll never make it.
(distant drums beating)
- Come on, get back to work!
- Back to work!
Move.
Move.
Move!
- What is this?
- You cannot go in there.
No one goes in there.
This place is forbidden.
(Marius) What are you doing?
Stop this!
Arthur, we have no time.
Do you not hear the drums?
Dagonet.
Agh!
Agh!
- Key.
- lt is locked.
From the inside.
- You, you... go.
- (whimpers)
Move!
- Gawain.
- (man chanting) Exaudi orationem meam.
Exaudi orationem meam.
In nomine Dei Patris omnipotentis
et in virtute Spiritus Sancti.
Who are these defilers
of the Lord's temple?
Out of the way.
The work of your god.
ls this how he answers your prayers?
See if there's any still alive.
How dare you set foot in this holy place?
- There was a man of God.
- Not my god!
- (Arthur) This one's dead.
- By this smell, they are all dead.
And you.
You even move, you join him.
Arthur!
You must not fear me.
Water! Give me some water!
His arm is broken.
And his family?
She's a Woad.
l'm a Roman officer.
You're safe now.
- You're safe.
- Stop what you are doing!
What is this madness?
- They're all pagans here!
- So are we.
They refuse to do the task
God has set for them!
They must die as an example!
You mean they refused to be your serfs!
You are a Roman.
You understand.
And you are a Christian.
You! You kept her alive!
- (soldier) My lord!
- No! No, stop!
When we get to the wall
you will be punished for this heresy.
Perhaps l should kill you now
and seal my fate.
l was willing to die with them.
Yes, to lead them to their rightful place.
lt is God's wish
that these sinners be sacrificed.
Only then can their souls be saved.
Then l shall grant his wish.
- Wall them back up.
- Arthur.
l said wall them up!
Don't you see it is the will of God
that these sinners be sacrificed?
- Unhand me, defil... They're sinners!
- Get in there!
We're moving too slow.
The girl's not gonna make it,
and neither is the boy.
The family we can protect, but we're
wasting our time with all these people.
We're not leaving them.
lf the Saxons find us, we will have to fight.
Then save your anger for them.
ls this Rome's quest or Arthur's?
(weak moans)
- Arthur.
- How is he?
He burns.
Brave boy.
Some of your fingers are out of place.
l have to push them back.
lf l don't do this, there's a chance
you may never use them again.
- (cracking)
- (cries)
(cracking)
They tortured me.
With machines.
To make me tell them things that...
that l didn't know to begin with.
And then...
l heard your voice in the dark.
l am Guinevere.
You are Arthur...
of the Knights from the Great Wall.
l am.
The famous Briton
who kills his own people.
l found tracks coming from the south,
but none going back.
Horsemen traveling light and fast.
Could be Roman cavalry.
Could be knights.
They know we're after them.
They'll head east now,
through the mountains.
God's holy work has been defiled.
l am a servant of God!
No, please, l... Agh!
He says they walled him up in a building
and took the family.
Someone who goes
by the name of Artorius.
lt's him.
lt's Arthur.
Take your men east. Hunt them down.
l'll take the main army to the wall.
Bring the family there.
- (man) And the monks?
- Put them back where you found them.
l am a servant of God!
Please, l... l am a servant of God!
(monk) Unhand me, you defiler!
(sighs)
Burn it all.
Yah!
My father told me great tales of you.
Really?
And what did you hear?
Fairy tales.
The kind you hear about people so brave,
so selfless, that they can't be real.
Arthur and his knights.
A leader both Briton and Roman.
And yet you chose your allegiance
to Rome.
To those who take
what does not belong to them.
That same Rome that took your men
from their homeland.
Listen, lady, do not pretend
you know anything about me or my men.
How many Britons have you killed?
As many as tried to kill me. lt's the natural
state of any man to want to live.
Animals live! lt's a natural state of any man
to want to live free in their own country.
l belong to this land.
Where do you belong, Arthur?
How's your hand?
l'll live, l promise you.
ls there nothing about my land
that appeals to your heart?
Your own father married a Briton.
Even he must have found something
to his liking.
(gallops away)
We'll sleep here.
Take shelter in those trees.
- Tristan.
- You wanna go out again? Yeah.
lt is here, given to us by the Pope.
These people, they send an army for us.
(rustling)
(footsteps)
You betrayed me.
He means you no harm.
Peace between us this night,
Arthur Castus.
So Rome is leaving. The Saxon is come.
The world we have known
and fought for is ended.
Now we must make a new world.
Your world, Merlin, not mine.
l shall be in Rome.
To find peace?
The Saxon will come to Rome.
My knights trust me
not to betray them to their enemy.
Rome was my enemy, not Arthur.
We have no fight between us now.
You tell that to the knights
you killed before my eyes,
whose bones are buried in this earth.
We have all lost brothers.
You know nothing of the loss l speak!
Shall l help you remember?
An attack on a village.
The screams of an innocent woman.
Mother!
Artorius!
Mother!
Mother!
I ran to the burial mound
ofmy father to free her.
To kill you.
Father, please let loose your sword.
l feel the heat of that fire
on my face even now.
l did not wish her dead.
She was of our blood, as are you.
lf you were so determined to leave us
to slaughter, why did you save so many?
My men are strong,
but they have need of a true leader.
They believe you can do anything.
To defeat the Saxon
we need a master of war.
Why do you think
l spared you in the forest?
That sword you carry is made of iron
from this earth, forged in the fires of Britain.
lt was love of your mother
that freed the sword, not hatred of me.
Love, Arthur.
Seize him!
No!
No...
l have the boy!
- Kill him!
- No, don't! Let him go!
Kill him now!
Down! Hah!
(Lancelot) Your hands seem to be better.
Artorius!
Do we have a problem?
Huh?
You have a choice.
You help or you die.
Put down your weapons.
- Do it now!
- Yeah!
(neighing)
- How many did you kill?
- Four.
Not a bad start to the day! (laughs)
Armor-piercing.
They're close. We have no time.
You ride ahead.
l'm sorry for your loss.
My father lost his way.
He used to say the Church
is there to help us stay on our path.
lt didn't help those he made suffer.
The path he chose was beyond the reach
of the Church, Alecto.
But not of Rome. What my father believed,
so Rome believes.
What, that some men are born
to be slaves? No, that isn't true.
lt is so! He told me so.
Pelagius, a man as close to me as any,
is there now,
teaching that all men are free, equal.
And that each of us has the right
to choose his own destiny.
Teach? How?
They killed Pelagius a year past.
Germanius and the others
were damned by his teachings.
They had him excommunicated and killed.
The Rome you talk of doesn't exist,
except in your dreams.
- ls there any other way?
- No. We have to cross the ice.
Get them all out of the carriages.
Tell them to spread out.
(creaking)
(cracking)
(distant drums beating)
(creaking)
- Knights...
- Well, l'm tired of running.
And these Saxons are so close behind
my ass is hurtin'.
Never liked
looking over my shoulder anyway.
- Be a pleasure to put an end to this racket.
- And finally get a look at the bastards.
Here. Now.
Jols!
You two, take the horses.
(Arthur) Ganis, l need you
to lead the people.
The main Saxon army is inland,
so if you track the coastline till you're
well south of the wall, you'll be safe.
- But you're seven against 200?
- Eight.
You could use another bow.
- l'd rather stay and fight.
- You'll get your chance soon enough.
This man is now your captain.
You do as he says. Am l understood?
- Yes, sir.
- Go. Go!
Right. Come on, then! Move on!
l am able. l can fight.
No. You must bear witness
to all you have seen.
There's one thing you must do,
and that's get back to Rome.
(ice cracking/horses neighing)
(beating drum)
Hold until l give the command.
You look frightened.
There's a large number
of lonely men out there.
Don't worry, l won't let them rape you.
(man shouts command in Saxon)
Archer!
- We're out of range.
- l can see that!
l believe they're waiting for an invitation.
Bors, Tristan.
They're far out of range.
(shouts in Saxon)
Aim for the wings of the ranks.
Make them cluster.
- Hold the ranks!
- Hold the ranks! Hold the ranks!
- Hold the ranks!
- Hold the ranks!
Hold the ranks!
Hold the ranks, or l kill you myself!
lt's not gonna break. Back.
Fall back!
Prepare for combat.
Aagh!
- Dag!
- Cover him.
- Archers move! Move!
- (man) Forward!
Yaagh!
Move! Move! Kill him!
Yaagh!
Yaagh!
The ice is breaking!
Yaagh!
Kill him!
Dag!
Yaagh!
(men screaming)
(Cynric) Back! Back!
Dag!
Pull back! Arthur!
Argh!
Kill him!
Help us!
Aagh!
Argh!
Stay with me.
Dagonet! Stay with me!
Ah, God!
Christ be praised.
Against all the odds Satan could muster.
Alecto, let me see you.
- (Horton) Kindly get out of my way!
- You have triumphed!
Young Alecto, let me see you.
You are here.
- Lucan!
- You, boy! Stop!
(Germanius chuckles nervously)
Our great knights.
You are free now!
Give me the papers. Come, come.
Your papers of safe conduct
throughout the Roman Empire.
Take it, Arthur.
Bishop Germanius.
Friend of my father.
You are free now.
You can go.
Bors.
Bors!
For Dagonet.
This doesn't make him a free man.
He's already a free man.
He's dead!
A grave with no sword.
lt was my father's wish
that if he died on this island,
he would be buried with his knights.
He died in battle?
lt's a family tradition.
l can see why you believe
that you have nothing left here.
Except what you and your knights
have done.
You have your deeds.
Deeds in themselves are meaningless
unless they're for some higher purpose.
We have waged a war
to protect a Rome that does not exist.
ls that the deed l am to be judged by?
You stayed and fought
when you didn't have to.
You bloodied evil men
when you could have run.
You did all that for no reason?
These are your people.
- (knocking)
- (Jols) Arthur, come to the wall now.
- (man) The Saxons are here.
- (soldier) Make way! Make way!
Knights, my journey with you
must end here.
May God go with you.
Arthur, this is not Rome's fight.
lt is not your fight.
(man shouting orders)
(soldier) Stand fast!
All these long years we've been together,
the trials we've faced,
the blood we've shed.
What was it all for,
if not for the reward of freedom?
And now when we are so close,
when it is finally within our grasp...
Look at me!
- Does it all count for nothing?
- You ask me that?
You who know me best of all?
Then do not do this.
Only certain death awaits you here.
Arthur, l beg you!
For our friendship's sake, l beg you!
You be my friend now
and do not dissuade me.
Seize the freedom you have earned
and live it for the both of us.
l cannot follow you, Lancelot.
l now know that all the blood l have shed,
all the lives l have taken
have led me to this moment.
(doorbangs)
What tomorrow brings...
we cannot know.
(shouting)
Artorius!
Rus!
Rus!
The Roman Auxiliary has left the wall.
- And the horsemen?
- Leading a caravan away from the fort.
They're running south...
with their tails between their legs.
- So there will be no resistance.
- A few dozen villagers.
We're going to slaughter your people.
l think you should watch.
Your tree might be a good place.
Up on the hill!
A single knight.
Didn't you just say they were gone?
What is this, a ghost?
(choking) One man. A tiny fly
on the back of your... great army.
Who is he?
Arthur.
Arthur.
Arthur.
(horse whinnying)
(sighs) Arthur.
Hm.
Wherever l go on this wretched island
l hear your name.
Always half-whispered, as if you were a...
god.
All l see is flesh, blood.
No more god than
the creature you're sitting on.
Speak your terms, Saxon.
The Romans have left you.
Who are you fighting for?
l fight for a cause
beyond Rome's or your understanding.
Ah.
You come to beg a truce.
You should be on your knees.
l came to see your face, so that l alone
may find you on the battlefield.
And it would be good for you
to mark my face, Saxon,
for the next time you see it, it will be
the last thing you see on this earth.
Ah.
Ah, finally.
A man worth killing.
Ah!
Prepare the men for battle.
(gives command in Saxon)
(beating drum)
- (neighs)
- Whoa. Easy.
- Whoa.
- Whoa.
Shh.
Shh.
Hey.
You're free.
He's got a plan, this Roman.
Send what's left of your infantry.
- (whispers) Do you want to kill my men?
- They're my men!
(gives command in Saxon)
No. You stay here with me.
(shouts in Saxon)
Knights, the gift of freedom
is yours by right.
But the home we seek
resides not in some distant land.
lt's in us and in our actions on this day.
(shouting)
lf this be our destiny, then so be it.
But let history remember
that as free men we chose to make it so.
(knights) Rus!
Hah!
Argh!
(warcries)
(man) There! On the hill!
- (man shouts command in Saxon)
- (soldiers repeat command)
(soldiers chanting to the marching rhythm)
(distant screaming)
(distant warcry)
Rus! Aargh!
(yells)
(panting)
- (shouts command in Saxon)
- (soldiers repeat command)
(soldiers chanting)
Raewald.
The left flank.
- You go with him.
- (Raewald) Move out!
(shouts command in Saxon)
(soldiers chanting)
Shields up!
Argh!
(screaming)
(warcry)
(shouting)
(warcry)
(agonized screams)
Pull!
Aagh!
Argh!
(rasps) Arthur...
lt was my life to be taken!
Not this!
Never this!
My brave knights, l have failed you.
l neither took you off this island,
nor shared your fate.
(Lancelot) For 200 years, knights had
fought and died fora land not ourown.
But on that day at Badon Hill,
all who foughtput ourlives
in service ofa greatercause.
Freedom.
Arthur. Guinevere.
Our people are one.
As you are.
Now l'm really gonna have
to marry your mother.
Who said l'd have you?
King Arthur!
(crowd) Hail, Arthur!
Let every man, woman, child
bear witness
that from this day all Britons
will be united in one common cause.
(crowd chant) Arthur! Arthur!
Artorius!
(Lancelot) And as for the knights
who gave theirlives,
theirdeaths were cause
forneithermourning norsadness.
For they will live forever,
theirnames and deeds handed down
from father to son, mother to daughter,
in the legends of
King Arthurand his knights.