Movies
A movie that stars celebrated horror author Stephen King and The Truman Show alum Ed Harris is now streaming for free. Fans and viewers can now watch George A. Romero’s Knightriders for free on Shout! Studios’ official YouTube channel.
The movie stars Harris, along with Gary Lahti, Tom Savini, Amy Ingersoll, Patricia Tallman, Christine Forrest, Warner Shook, and Brother Blue. King makes a brief cameo appearance in the film.
The script was penned by Romero himself as well. Richard P. Rubinstein served as the producer on the project. Laurel Entertainment was the production company, with the movie being distributed by United Film Distribution Company in the USA and United Artists internationally.
What is Stephen King’s Knightriders movie about?
Set in modern-day America, Knightriders follows Billy, a charismatic leader who styles himself “King William” and guides a traveling troupe that stages medieval jousting tournaments on motorcycles. Billy sincerely tries to run the group according to Arthurian ideals, but balancing honor and chivalry against modern realities proves harder every day.
The financial burden of keeping the organization afloat is straining the group, and Billy’s own struggles add to the tension. He is haunted by a recurring dream of a black bird, and he keeps pushing himself in competition despite being injured.
For its wacky premise, the movie actually performed very well with critics and has developed a cult following. Its current Tomatometer score is 81% on Rotten Tomatoes. It holds a 6.3/10 based on a little over 6200 reviews on IMDb. Reviews about the movie were enthusiastic about the soundtrack, acting and photography of the movie, something still echoed by fans or first time viewers alike.
Not every assessment was glowing without reservation. Some commentary described the movie as having dialogue scenes that felt overly forceful. Even so, it has been called one of the director’s major accomplishments, and there is a case that it deserves more recognition than it has received.