Described as a ‘rock ‘n’ roll romp through 14th century chivalry and chicanery, A Knight’s Tale starred 21-year-old Heath Ledger – and the unique royal Czech carriage horses, the Kladrubers.
Ledger’s character assumes the identity of his dead master knowing only nobility is allowed to competitively joust. Transforming from a common thatcher’s son to Sir Ulrich von Lichtenstein, he becomes a hero on the medieval jousting circuit.
A Knight’s Tale (Columbia Pictures, 2000) is a satirical romance, not a historical documentary, and freely amalgamates the costume, custom and slang of many different periods to create a very distinctive world. Filmed on location in Prague it even features matte replicas of the London Eye and the Eiffel Tower to underline its anachronistic intentions.
And the unique soundtrack included classic hits such as Queen’s We Will Rock You, David Bowie’s Golden Years and AC/DC’s You Shook Me All Night Long.
Alongside Perth-born Ledger, director Brian Helgeland cast Mark Addy, Paul Bettany and Rufus Sewell, all of whom performed competently; but most electrifying on the screen were the uncredited horses – the mighty Kladrubers.
“Czech carriage horses,” explains Helgeland. “There was a breeder in the country who kept the line going after the Russians had stopped. Their lineage goes back over 700 years, during which they pulled royal carriages and served as the medieval equivalent of tanks. We animated a little steam coming out of the nostrils, so they’d look more like locomotives!”
TRIVIA
Kladrubers are incredibly rare with a population of around 1,200. Of these, around 1,000 are in the Czech Republic, with 500 owned by the National Stud. Their importance to Bohemia is recognised through their inclusion in the UNESCO Czech Heritage site.
Realising the dangers of jousting and working with large animals, the director at first had tried to shoot a lot of the mounted action in front of a blue screen. “We had actors riding sawhorses on a platform, but it looked fake,” he recalls. “The stunt director said, ‘let’s really joust’ and we hired professionals.”
He also had the assistance of French trainer Mario Luraschi (read more about him in ‘The Little Horse That Could’, Equestrian Life, April 2021). Many of the film’s horses were from the Czech National Stud, including Ledger’s bay roan. But it was Luraschi who provided all of the stunt horses including the black Andalusian/Thoroughbred, El Noche, who rears before galloping into the joust. And Emilio, a chestnut Spanish/Anglo Arab, who performs a very complicated scene. When the knight he is carrying (a stuntman) is felled by a lance, the horse flips up and falls backwards though the rail which separates the jousters. It required extensive planning and horsemanship and, in 2002, the team went on to receive an award for this perfectly executed stunt.
“The stunt director said
‘let’s really joust’ and
we hired professionals.”
TRIVIA
The movie’s stunt team received the ‘Best Work with an Animal’ prize at the 2002 Taurus World Stunt Awards. Founded in 2000 by Red Bull soft drink scion, Dietrich Mateschitz, these are given annually in Hollywood and have revived the tradition of recognising animals for their contribution to films.
The big horses trained and practised daily during the four-month shoot. The lead actors did some of the riding but, because of wearing armour, were easily doubled by Czechoslovakian stunt riders. The jousting sequences were performed by four experts, two from a French Renaissance Fair and a couple running a jousting show at the Excalibur in Las Vegas. “They came to Prague and did all of it.”
The cast wore different kinds of armour depending upon the scenes. “You can tell the plastic from the metal,” declares the director. “The plastic armour is on the actors who fell off their horses. When they didn’t have to fall they were wearing metal. Some of it was a straight marriage of metal with sports armour, aka football padding.”
The jousting horses wore lightweight, flexible armour made from almost-unbreakable polyurethane resin. “The lances were created that would convincingly explode upon impact without injuring the riders,” continues Helgeland. “The body of each one 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.”
For the jousting close-ups a Steadicam operator rode behind the riders. “And we used wire work which had been used in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. After rigging the Steadicam operator, we had him fly at 30 miles an hour wearing a crash helmet. We were really nervous that someone was going to get hurt, but it was all mendable – just ribs.”
TRIVIA
Several shots during the final joust have an over-exposed, milky appearance caused when a camera assistant dropped and split a film magazine on the final day of shooting.
To display some authenticity in several scenes, specialists travelled from England who were experts in designing unusual food for films – their challenge was to create a lavish medieval feast. Also, an advisor was retained on set to instruct Laura Fraser, playing Kate, a blacksmith’s widow, in the art of making horseshoes. “I learned to fake it,” she recalls, “but most of my horseshoes came out looking more like ashtrays!”
Heath Ledger, when it came to the horses, was at ease with the basic aspects of riding. I’ve grown up around farmhands and I’m very comfortable with horses. There’s something very universal about anyone who’s on horseback night and day. When you get off you’re walking as if there’s still a horse between your legs.”
But when it came to all the mediaeval accoutrements, it was something else.
“It was pretty hard. The lances were light so we weren’t as heroic as it looked,” he said. “The armour, however, wasn’t made of balsa and it was kind of a pain. It would bounce us up and down when we were riding and put a lot of pressure on our vertebrae, especially the lower back. There were always discs moving and they’d have to get someone in to straighten us out.”
But he still loved making the picture and the richness of its production. “The set was like a playground for all of us. I not only got to act with an amazing ensemble cast, but I rode, sang, danced, did sword fighting, comedy and stunts. An actor’s dream.”
So very sad that this talented Australian actor died eight years later. He was just 28.
A Knight’s Tale’s budget was $65 million and it made $118 million. Running for 132 minutes, it is available on DVD and various streaming services. EQ
Next month, ‘All the Pretty Horses’, (2000) starring Matt Damon and directed by Billy Bob Thornton.
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