Merlin [1998]

Country of Origin: USA / UK
Date(s) of Broadcast: 1998
Number of Seasons: 1
Total Number of Episodes: 2
Average Episode Running Times: 90 mins
Format: colour
Ratio: 1.33:1
Sound: Dolby

PRODUCTION
Production Companies: Hallmark Entertainment / NBC Entertainment
Executive Producer: Robert Halmi Sr
Producer: Dyson Lovell
Line Producer: Chris Thompson
Production Coordinator: Paula McBreen
Assistant Production Coordinator: Ruth Breslaw

SCRIPT
Script: David Stevens, Peter Barnes
Story: Edward Khmara

DIRECTION
Director: Steve Barron
2nd Unit Director: Timothy Webber
1st Assistant Director: Gareth Tandy
2nd Unit 1st Assistant Director: Terry Madden
2nd Assistant Director: Rebecca Tucker
2nd Unit 2nd Assistant Director: Richard Styles
2nd Unit 3rd Assistant Director: Jonathan Scott

PHOTOGRAPHY
Director of Photography: Sergei Kozlov
Camera Operator: Mike Frift
Steadicam Operator: Peter Robertson
Clapper Loader: Catherine Frift
Focus Puller: Simon Mills
B Camera Focus Puller: Martin Shepherd
Gaffer: Eddie Knight
Best Boy: Stewart Monteith
Grip: Rupert Lloyd-Parry
Telecine Colourists: Asa Shoul, Steffan Perry
Lighting: Lee Lighting Ltd

EDITING AND POST PRODUCTION
Editor: Colin Green
Assistant Editor: Dominic Stevens

MUSIC
Music: Trevor Jones
Orchestrator: John Bell
Assistant Music Editor: Tony Lewis

SOUND
Recording Engineer / Soundtrack Programmer: Gareth Cousins
Sound Assistant: Stephen Gilmour
Sound Maintenance Engineer: Shaun Mills
Sound Effects Editor: John Ireland

MAKE UP AND COSTUMES
Make Up / Hair Designer: Aileen Seaton
Hair / Make Up for Sam Neill: Nuala Conway
Costume Designer: Ann Hollowood
Assistant Costume Designer: Justine Luxton
Costume Supervisor: Daryl Bristow
Wardrobe Mistress: Charlotte Finlay

SPECIAL MAKE UP EFFECTS
Special Make Up Designer: Mark Coulier
Special Effects Contact Lenses: Clive R. Kay

Jim Henson's Creature Shop
Project Producer: Piers Hampton

SPECIAL EFFECTS
Physical Special Effects Supervisor: Richard Conway
Matador Artist: Ben Cronin

VISUAL EFFECTS
Visual Effects: Framestore Ltd
Visual Effects Producer: Fiona Walkinshaw
Visual Effects Shoot Coordinator: Matthew Cope
Visual Effects Supervising Designer: Timothy Webber
Visual Effects: Arnon Manor
Visual Effects Artists: Angus Wilson, Avtar Bains, George Roper, Murray Butler, Pedro Sabrosa, Timothy Greenwood, William Bartlett
Visual Effects Cameraman: Stefan Lange
Visual Effects Post Coordinator: Tim Keene
Digital Effects Compositors: Hani AlYousif, Karl Mooney, Tim Burke

DESIGN AND SET CONSTRUCTION
Production Designer: Roger Hall
Supervising Art Director: John King
Art Director: Michael Boone
Assistant Set Decorator: Sonja Klaus
Set Dresser: Karen Brooks
Property Master: Bruce Bigg
Dressing Props: Peter Bigg, Ted Stickley
Stand-By Props: Mitch Niclas, Warren Stickley
Property Storeman: Ray Rose
Stand-By Constructor: Peter Mann [uncredited]
Conceptual Designer: Alan Lee
Draughtspersons: Margaret Horspool, Peter Dorme
Storyboard Artist: John Greaves

MISCELLANEOUS
Script Supervisor: Jean Bourne
Production Accountant: Andy Hennigan
Assistant Accountants: Fry Martin, Rita Kozma, Tina Ellis, Tina McConnell
Production Assistants: Jonathan Pilcher, Oded Levy
Assistant To Dyson Lovell: Bryon Fear
Assistant To Steve Barron: Louise Kramskoy
Associate to Sam Neill: Ian Madison
Production Runners: Jonathan Pilcher, Ben Fogg
Horse Master: Gerard Naprous
Rider: Mark Sugden
Unit Nurse: Patricia Barr

LOCATIONS
Locations: Pembrokeshire, Dyfed, Wales, UK; Snowdonia, Wales, UK; Wales, UK
Studio: Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK
Location Manager: Chris Brock
Location Manager [Wales]: Robin Higgs
Assistant Location Manager: Simon Marsden

STUNTS
Stunts: Andreas Petrides, Lee Sheward

CASTING
Casting [UK]: Noel Davis
Casting [USA]: Lynn Kressel
Extras Casting: 2020 Casting Ltd
Casting Assistant: Oded Levy

CAST
Sam Neill [Merlin]
Helena Bonham Carter [Morgan Le Fey]
Miranda Richardson [Queen Mab of the Fairies, Lady of the Lake]
John Gielgud [King Constant]
Martin Short [Frik]
Paul Curran [King Arthur Pendragon]
Jason Done [Mordred]
Rutger Hauer [Lord Vortigern]
Isabella Rossellini [Nimue]
James Earl Jones [voice of Mountain King]
Mark Jax [King Uther Pendragon]
Jeremy Sheffield [Sir Lancelot du Lac]
Lena Headey [Queen Guinevere]
Daniel Brocklebank [young Merlin]
John McEnery [Lord Ardente]
Thomas Lockyer [Duke of Cornwall]
Billie Whitelaw [Auntie Ambrosia]
Agnieszka Koson [young Nimue]
Emma Lewis [Elissa]
Justin Girdler [young Galahad]
Roger Ashton-Griffiths [Sir Boris]
Nicholas Clay [Lord Leo]
Sebastian Roché [Sir Gawain]
Rachel Colover [Lady Igraine]
John Turner [Lord Lot]
Keith Baxter [Sir Hector]
Janine Eser [Lady Elaine]
Peter Woodthorpe [soothsayer]
Robert Addie [Sir Gilbert]
Nickolas Grace [Sir Egbert]
Peter Benson [1st architect]
John Tordoff [new architect]
Timothy Bateson [Father Abbott]
Alice Hamilton [young Morgan Le Fey]
Peter Eyre [chief physician]
Vernon Dobtcheff [1st physician]
Peter Bayliss [2nd physician]
Talula Sheppard [lady friend]
John Addison [Merlin's gimp]
Christian Simpson [Vortigern's guard]
Darragh Byrne, Rory Byrne [noble children at Camelot - both uncredited]
Bernie Clarke, Emma Hughes [noblewomen at Camelot - both uncredited]
Adam Taussik [nobleman at Camelot - uncredited]
Harry Whitewood [young Mordred - uncredited]

Stand-In: Debbie Hanney

A young Merlin is taught the ways of magic by the evil sorceress Mab and her apprentice Frik. Rejecting Mab's evil ways, Merlin sides with the young King Arthur, helping him to remove Excalibur from the stone and found this court at Camelot. But Merlin is unable to protect Arthur from the machinations of his son Mordred, mothered by his half-sister Morgan Le Fey, and from the infidelity of his wife Guinevere.

A great cast are completely out of their depth in this wholly terrible take on the Merlin legend. This is very much an American view of the Arthurian legend, one that plays down the darker aspects of the myth, removes much of the violence and relies instead on lots of special effects, clichéd [and often horribly modern-sounding] dialogue and actors that shout in that mock-Shakespearian manner so beloved by fantasy film makers. A horrible effort that should get you scurrying straight back to that tape / disc of Excalibur [1981]...

Germany
DVD Distributor: Warner Vision International [3984 25848-2]

USA
DVD Distributor: Artisan Entertainment [96531]

CENSORSHIP HISTORY

USA
Rating: PG

1997
October
27: UK - production begins

1998
February
14: UK - filming ends

April
26: Canada, USA - television broadcast

July
5: Australia - television broadcast

September
15: USA - DVD release [Artisan Entertainment [96531]]

October
18: Germany - television broadcast

December
23: Sweden - video release

1999
April
8: Portugal - television broadcast

November
13: Hong Kong - television broadcast

2000
January
9: New Zealand - television broadcast

October
22: Hungary - television broadcast

2001
September
10: Sweden - television broadcast

Merlín - Spanish title

1998
Casting Society of America, USA
Artios Best Casting for TV Miniseries [Lynn Kressel] - nominated

Emmy Awards, USA
Outstanding Art Direction for a Miniseries or a Movie [Michael Boone, Karen Brooks, Roger Hall, John King] - winner [for Part I]
Outstanding Costume Design for a Miniseries or a Movie [Ann Hollowood] - winner [for Part 1]
Outstanding Makeup for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special [Mark Coulier, Aileen Seaton] - winner
Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Miniseries or a Movie [Avtar Bains, William Bartlett, Murray Butler, Richard Conway, Matthew Cope, Timothy Greenwood, Stefan Lange, Pedro Sabrosa, Timothy Webber, Angus Wilson, George Roper] - winner [for Part 1]
Outstanding Casting for a Miniseries or a Movie [Noel Davis, Lynn Kressel] - nominated
Outstanding Cinematography for a Miniseries or a Movie [Sergei Kozlov] - nominated [for Part I]
Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries or a Movie [Steve Barron] - nominated
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie [Sam Neill] - nominated
Outstanding Miniseries [Robert Halmi Sr, Dyson Lovell, Chris Thompson] - nominated
Outstanding Music Composition for a Miniseries or a Movie: Dramatic Underscore [Trevor Jones] - nominated [for Part 1]
Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Miniseries or a Movie [Colin Green] - nominated [for Part I]
Outstanding Sound Editing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special [John Ireland, Tim Lewiston] - nominated [for Part 1]
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie [Martin Short] - nominated
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie [Helena Bonham Carter] - nominated
Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries or a Movie [Peter Barnes, Edward Khmara, David Stevens] - nominated

WorldFest Flagstaff, USA
Gold Award Television and Cable Production [Steve Barron] - winner

1999
Directors Guild of America, USA
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television [Steve Barron] - nominated

Golden Globes, USA
Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV - nominated
Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV [Sam Neill] - nominated
Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV [Miranda Richardson] - nominated
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture [Helena Bonham Carter] - nominated

Golden Satellite Awards, USA
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television [Martin Short] - nominated

International Monitor Awards, USA
Film Originated Television Specials: Best Achievement [Timothy Greenwood, Martin Parsons, Pedro Sabrosa, Fiona Walkinshaw, Timothy Webber] - winner
Film Originated Television Specials: Color Correction [Timothy Greenwood, Steffan Perry, Asa Shoul, Fiona Walkinshaw, Timothy Webber]

Young Artist Awards, USA
Best Family TV Movie / Pilot / Mini-Series - nominated

SEE ALSO
Arthur the King [1985]
Camelot [1967]
Excalibur [1981]
First Knight [1995]
Knights of the Round Table [1953]
Lancelot du Lac [1974]
Merlin [1992]
Merlin [1998a]
Merlin's Shop of Mystical Wonders [1996]
Merlin the Magician [1899]
Merlin: The Return
Monty Python and the Holy Grail [1975]
Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail [1996]
Prince Valiant [1997]
Willow [1988]

NEWSPAPERS

Svenska Dagbladet 23 December 1998 [Sweden]
review [by Jeanette Gentele]

KEYWORDS

arthurian; knights; sword fights; swords; legends; myths; lakes; medieval; merlin; wizards; magicians; magic; sorcerers; sword and sorcery; dragons; royalty; kings; fairies; incest; infidelity; revenge