Merlin Of The Crystal Cave

Merlin Of The Crystal Cave  A faithful rendering of Mary Stewart’s first volume of her trilogy of Merlin’s life and his part in king Arthur’s reign. I had been wondering if any of these books had been put to film, sadly only this one work exists. It is a good introduction to Mary Stewart’s Merlin; an honest man who is sometimes baffled by his own power and horrified by the consequences of man’s misuse of that power. The scenery is beautiful: George Winter and Trevor Peacock do a wonderful job of portraying Merlin and Ralf, his lifelong servant and friend. For those who are not used to BBC low budget, there are some technical problems that would never be allowed in an American production. Cheifly, the soft focus in the beginning that is supposed to let us know that these are future events, and the badly done voice-over of one of the child actors who obviously had the wrong octave to match the adult George Winter’s voice. If you have ever wondered about Merlin’s childhood and point of view, this is the movie for you. Ms Stewart is faithful to legend, and you can find her major plot points in any historic report of king Arthur’s story. If you want to see what happens after the end of the movie, pick up the next book in the series, “The Hollow Hills”. Also if you have missed ever seeing Excalibur, that movie also takes up nicely where this one leaves off. Enjoy!