Prizmi Tripathi
‘A Knight’s Tale’ is a medieval adventure-comedy film that chronicles the life of a young squire, William Thatcher, who serves Sir Ector, until he suddenly passes away ahead of a jousting tournament. William dons Ector’s armor and participates in the tournament to bag the prize. He scores a win and decides to continue down the path and is helped by his friends Wat, Roland, and Geoffrey Chaucer to keep the secret from spilling out. After winning multiple tournaments, William creates a new identity of Sir Ulrich von Liechenstein, to stay in the game and achieve more success.
While navigating the rough waters of knighthood, William overcomes socioeconomic hurdles and experiences love, defeat, revenge, and sacrifice. The Brian Helgeland directorial takes its title from Geoffrey Chaucer’s eponymous tale from The Canterbury Tales. It premiered on May 11, 2001, and opened to an average response from the critics and audiences with many divided opinions on the anachronisms. However, many viewers were in awe of the movie’s setting, which is a recreation of 14th-century Europe. In case you want to know where it was filmed, we have got your back!
A Knight’s Tale Filming Locations
The adventure movie revolves around French cities in 1370s Europe, with a few scenes set in old London. Well, the movie was extensively filmed in the landlocked country of the Czech Republic in Central Europe. Most of the film was shot in a studio while several scenes were filmed on location. Here are the specific sites where ‘A Knight’s Tale’ was filmed!
Prague, Czech Republic
Because of its medieval charm, Czech Republic has often served as a filming location for medieval or futuristic science fiction movies. Its capital city, Prague, was chosen by the production department as the location because of the city’s temperate oceanic climate, historic heritage, and stunning winding streets. The elegant banquet scene wherein William and Jocelyn indulge themselves in a romantic dance was filmed on a set constructed on a deserted sports stadium, Štvanice Stadium, in Central Prague.
The production department used the same set to film the interior scenes of Notre Dame and Rouen cathedrals. Located on Štvanice Island, in the Vltava River, it was one of the oldest stadiums in Prague but after suffering a decline in care, the stadium was demolished in 2011.
The famous St Vitus Cathedral doubled up as the principal front section of the Notre Dame Cathedral in the scene where William and his friend travel to London for the championship. Widely known for its Gothic architecture, the Roman Catholic metropolitan cathedral is situated within the Prague Castle complex.
The historic Charles Bridge, which covers the Vltava river in central Prague, was used to film the scenes representing the old London Bridge.
Barrandov Studios, Prague
The majority of scenes of the Heath Ledger starrer was filmed in the backlot of Barrandov Studios, located in the cadastral district of Hlubočepy in central Prague.
Often touted as the European Hollywood in the cinematic world, the property served as the filming site for a variety of blockbuster movies like ‘Mission Impossible,’ ‘The Bourne Identity,’ ‘Snowpiercer,’ and ‘Jojo Rabbit,’ among others. Sets were constructed in the backlot to shoot the scenes set in Rouen, Lagny-sur-Marne, and London.
Read More: Best Films About Knights
