Lancelot du Lac
d. Robert Bresson, 1974
Robert Bresson's take on the Holy Grail, Lancelot du Lac, is nothing revolutionary to fans of Bresson; though I imagine people not familiar with his work will have the same kind of reaction to this as they would to his other masterpieces Pickpocket and Au hasard Balthazar. This is essentially a medieval story stripped down to its bare essentials: no heightened emotions, the tournaments are shot from the waist down, and the violence (the film itself starts with a decapitation) is disturbingly distant.
Lancelot du Lac transcends its source and becomes a transcendent viewing experience to rank alongside Bresson's best works. Also, the tournament scene I spoke of earlier could very well be the single best scene in all of Bresson.
