The Mists of Avalon (2001)

Such a frustrating disappointment

hyped garbage

It is not only a funny movie, but it allows a great amount of joy for anyone who watches it.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

What's immediately clear in watching this mini-series for anyone's who's carefully read the book is the moment MZB passed and the producers got full control of the film's direction. Part one adheres loosely to the book. Part two departs from it entirely and reverts to the typical telling of the tale. It looses completely the threads of the women's story to the point where the only way to get Morgaine back into the action is to put her on a horse, give her a sword, and send her into battle. Important sub-plots which would tell us more about MZB's character's are dropped ostensibly due to time constraints, but others are created which add nothing at all to the story. In effect, Part one is recognizably MZB, though it loses all its profundity. Part two is NOT recognizable as MZB's story. Anyone who had read the book and was shown only Part two would have no reason to connect the two at all. Yes, lovely costumes, sets, and actors... a nice pageant, but that is not what Bradley wrote. What a shame! What it needed was someone with the dedication that Peter Jackson had for LoTR. Clearly that is not what it had.What I might have thought had I never read the book?... Having spent 22 years in professional theatre, likely I would not have finished watching it. I would have shut it off about 20 minutes into Part two. Let us hope one day to see the treatment this magnificent story deserves, but this is not that day.

If whomever was in charge of the script & casting had actually followed the original story, this could have been fantastic. Sadly, this is another story altogether and not one that made a lot of sense. Julianna Margulies is a great Morgaine, Ian Duncan as Accolon Michael was a almost perfect fit, Michael Byrne made a good Merlin, and Klára Issová was a convincing Raven; aside from these actors, everyone else seemed either horrid & prone to overacting, sorry Ms Houston, or just wrong. Edward Atterton and Michael Vartan did well with the script that was given, but didn't pull off the roles convincingly, in my opinion that is. They both did the wimpy male thing that MZB originally wrote well, so in that sense they were true to character.Great Music, Cinematography by Vilmos Zsigmond is AMAZING, the costumes by James Acheson & Carlo Poggioli were pretty fantastic and Julianna Margulies are the reasons I would give for watching this film. But if you, like me, were hoping for a version of the MZB book, don't bother. Again, this is a completely different story, and not the best one either.

When I watch ''The Mists of Avalon'', I always try to think that this is a movie version, and all the reasons why the story was changed was because of it would be impossible to tell all the story from the books in just one movie. (It would be better if it was a trilogy, like Lord of the Rings in my opinion)The movie itself is good. Not great, but good. The main theme is about the ''Old Religion'',more know as Paganism, trying to resist the big amount of people becoming Christians in the old times. The end of the movie,does not have much in common with the end of the books, as well as many facts and even characters doesn't have a significant importance or even are not mentioned in the film.In the Mists of Avalon,different from many classic versions of the Arthurian legends like ''Merlin'', we have a good Morgaine, a pagan Uther,an annoying and detestable Gwenwyfar(Guinevere), as well as different facts, like Lancelot being Morgaine's and Arthur's cousin, the lady of the lake is Morgaine's aunt and the existence of Morgause, a real villain of the story. Looking more real in some facts, the Mists of Avalon has women having a real power,specially concerning the priestesses. I think the movie is worthwhile,but the books are much better.aka "As Brumas de Avalon" - Brazil

I was very excited when I learned that my favorite book, "The Mists of Avalon," was being made into a mini-series. Unfortunately, the title and characters were the only things this mini-series has in common with the book. Now I realize that this was a long book and that some parts of the storyline would have had to be sacrificed but there were major events and even a few main characters that were simply not there. The basic spirit of the story was gone and the storyline mangled almost beyond recognition. The book's author, Marion Zimmer Bradley, must surely be spinning in her grave. I believe she would be greatly disappointed with this adaptation of her truly wonderful and innovative tale of the women who were the real strength and power of Camelot. Do yourself a favor. Skip this mini-series and read the book.