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Summary: DVD has the entire movie
Review: Only buy the DVD! Some memorable scenes were noticably cut from the VHS and they're back on the DVD.
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Summary: Happy Endings Matter!
Review: I own several movies that tell the same tale in different ways, the tale of Merlin and King Arthur and Sir Lancelot. Of these the ones that have really stood out are "The Mists Of Avalon" , "Excalibur" and "Merlin". Of these 3 I must say that Merlin is my favorite. This is because the first 2 while wonderfully told and acted out, the endings were far from happy and feel good and more remeniscent of classic French movies with their tragic endings with only small glimmers of brightness. Merlin,however, is a fairy tale movie with a fairy tale ending..a happy one.. There is also quite a lot of humor and wit blended in this movie as well. If you enjoy movies that take place during the Arthurian time period then this is one you will want to add to your collection!
Rating: 
Summary: Merlin's Life
Review: In almost all Camelot-inspired movies the central figures have been King Arthur, Excaliber, the Knights of the Round Table, the love triangle between Arthur, Gwinevere and Lancelot, the Holy Grail and big heroic deeds. In all of them, Merlin is portrayed as a mysterious, elusive, supernatural figure. Now, one can see who is really was - a human being with a background and a history, an up-bringing and a childhood; who had to make some very difficult decisions in his lifetime, and was capable of anger, pity, anguish, vengence and even of falling in love.
'Merlin' shows Merlin's life from the time he was born, his relationship with Queen Mab and the string-pulling he did to ensure that Camelot and King Arthur became an existence. Sam Neill does an excellent job at making Merlin seem like a real person, not 'un-touchable' figure that he is in other movies. It also does a good job of creating the two conflicting worlds of both Christianity and Paganism who were fighting for dominance for Britannia, and is fair in not making one particular religion the 'right' one. Mab, the selfish faerie queen of 'The Old Ways' (Miranda Richardson) is fighting furiously against the incoming swarm of Roman-Christians who are converting her followers and preaching their own religion to the people. This is particularly dangerous to her as if no one believes in her, then she cannot exist. So she she forms a plan with her servent, the gnome Frik (Martin Short)- she will create a powerful child that will rise up to take back the land for her.
And so with her magic she impregnates a young Christian woman called Elissa, who gives birth to young Merlin, but dies shortly after, leaving him in the care of Ambrosia, a pagan who rejected Mab's ways after realising she cared nothing for them. And so Merlin was raised in ignorance of his faerie heritage till one day he manages to tap into his powers to save Nimue (Isabella Rossellini), a young Christian woman who was caught in a bog. The two fall in love, but before anything can come of it, Mab reappears to take him away to her faerie realm and complete his education. Once there however, Merlin finds out Mab's true nature, and in a furious rage, rejects her and her ways, vowing to stop her in any way he can.
What follows is a marvellous 'chess game' between Merlin and Mab in which Pagans and Christians alike: Nimue, Morgan le Fay, King Arthur, Queen Gwinevere, Mordred, Igraine, Uther, Vortigan and even poor Frik, are their helpless and unwilling pawns. It all comes with important moral concerns such as 'the ends will justify the means,' 'breaking vows and promises', and 'I'm doing it for the good of everything else'. This movie will not just entertain you, but leave you with some serious issues to think about.
The movie is also able to give it's own dramatic flair while still being true to the King Arthur legends (the only major difference is Nimue - she was actually the Lady of the Lake and by no means a very nice person) and has great costumes, sets and special effects - in particular the camera movements, whether it be getting a close-up of a snail or the scope of Camelot as King Arthur and his knights ride home.
Everyone plays their parts well, stand-out preformances are that of Sam Neill and Miranda Richardson (who also played the Lady of the Lake) as they continue on with their tug-of-war, and Helena Bonham Carter, who obviously had a great time playing the fascinating Morgan le Fay.
Through it all is the enduring love story of Merlin and Nimue, showing through their roles as Pagan and Christian that harmony between religions is possible, even if it's only on a small scale.
Rating:
Summary: Thoroughly enjoyable
Review: I was skeptical at first about the retelling of the Arthurian legends from Merlin's perspective. I am not a real Sam Neill fan either, so this movie had two strikes against it to start. Then I watched it. Whil some might think the special effects are cheesy, I found them to be at just the right level. Too many movies today go for the great special effects and forget the story. Merlin has a strong, human story that is not overwhelmed by the special effects and gives the viewer a full range of emotion.
I enjoyed how Arthur was seen as a pawn in a game of much higher stakes. I also enjoyed the way Morgan la Fey and Mordred were used. Merlin's perspective is well worth the time the movie takes to view. I most heartily recommend it to fans of knights in shining armor and people looking for an emotional film that does not try to cover a weak story with glitter.
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Summary: Much different interpretation of the Arthurian legends.
Review: 3-hour NBC miniseries tells the Arthurian legends from Merlin's perspective, and is largely unsuccessful. Sam Neill is superb as the titular character (Creating the most convincingly human Merlin to date) and Isabella Rossellini has never looked lovelier (The two also have a lot of striking chemistry), but the film suffers from a poor supporting cast, an abundance of rushed scenes (made even worse on the shortened video version), and a lot of cheesy special effects from the Jim Henson company. Maybe a rental, at best.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't waste your money!
Review: I hesitate to give Merlin even one star...I thought it was pure drivel. I wanted to like it and truly tried to keep an open mind about what I was watching. Instead I found it to be alternately laughable and embarrassing in its depiction of Arthurian legend, as well as in its obvious bias against all things pagan. The plot was bizarre and disjointed and the characters were shallow and narrow minded. I kept waiting for Sam Neill to either chop off Morgan's finger or run screaming from a velociraptor. In fact, I think that death by velocipraptor would be preferable to being forced to sit through this utterly worthless and entirely obnoxious film ever again.
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Summary: More Than Mortal
Review: If your a person of good values and of Celtic heritage this is the movie for you. I was sitting down last night with my bottle of Jameson and a bag of potatoe chips and I have to tell you that this movie told me alot of why we cannot and should not return to the old ways. Being of Irish and English descent this movie showed me alot of what it was like and where to go from there. I would recommend it to anyone who dreams about what I do. As far as a movie goes I thought it was quite well done. After watching Excalibur, The Druids, The Celts, and a few others, I would have to say that no movie with the exception of Braveheart does The Celts any justice.
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Summary: If you have read this far and still don't own it, ....
Review: What are you waiting for? this DVD is really a treat!! It was filmed for TV and perhaps that is a good thing because it fits the screen really well. Ever watch an epic movie on your TV and feel like your missing something? Not so with Merlin! The special effects are tasteful and the cast is too! If you like the genre, this DVD is essential to your collection, enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Strong Movie-- very well told
Review: This movie was made by NBC for television. I didnt expect much, but nonetheless watched it because I am a big fan of the legend of Merlin and King Arthur, etc. I was very impressed and immediately bought the VHS tape from NBC.com. I later bought the DVD because I enjoyed the movie so much. In particular, what made me like the movie was the ambience of the film. It makes incredible use of lighting, and took some pages from music videography. One will note the use of circular panning and varible speed shots (extremely rapid isolated movement in a shot with normal speed surroundings) in the film. These were pre-Matrix, and I felt very well done. Besides the great visual effects of the film, the story is quite compelling. The characters are quite dynamic, and you can see how Mab evolves into from neutral into an evil charater. you can also see how Merlin's strength of character drives him into conflict with an increasingly evil Mab. The love story in the film is a nice side note, but didnt compell me as much as the evolution of the characters. I gave the movie 4 stars because the 2nd part is a bit compressed. I think that the producers undertook too much in the 2nd part, and probably should have made 3 parts. The 1st part is the better of the 2 parts. I would say get this DVD. For 11 bucks, you cant go wrong, and this is a very entertaining and novel telling of a story traditionally told from Authur's point of view.
Rating:
Summary: Merlin
Review: When I saw this movie in my business trip in Mexico, it gave deep impression to me. I was caught by the story about King Arthur and knights. There were romance and adventures I dreamed. At last I faced the another story. Merlin, Mistic Magician who brought up King Arthur and seed the Knights Story. This is fantastic story you have ever met. You should keep this movie. This is last chance you meet in this centuries.
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