I flipped onto Encore and started watching First Knight which I originally saw in the theater back in 1995 and then again from the local video rental store. It’s not a the best rendition of the King Arthur theme, but it’s entertaining enough and I’ll watch almost anything with Sean Connery in it. Richard Gere is a little annoying as Lancelot, but then I always find Richard Gere a little annoying in movies even though I like many of the movies he’s in.

The female lead of the film is Julia Ormond. An actress that was given several large roles around that time period starting with Legends of the Fall where she cut her hair and blew her brains out for Brad Pitt.

For some reason her career never took off like it should have. Possibly the movies she was cast in were subpar except for Legends of the Fall where she was overshadowed by Pitt. One hit with bad choices afterwards have done in a potentially big career before. It’s a tricky road for any actor or actress.

For myself, I had a crush on her once I saw Legends and then subsequently First Knight and I even tolerated Sabrina (with Harrison Ford) which probably shouldn’t have been remade (it’s not bad, just not necessary).

The thing is, even with the subpar film roles Julia Ormond always stood out. I thought she was charismatic and had a beauty not felt in other would be starlets. It was disappointing to see her fade away from the limelight after Sabrina.

Not that she disappeared. She made a wonderful low key mystery called “Smilla’s Sense of Snow” which showed she was able to hold a film on her own without having a male lead beside her. While recognized by critics, it was not a huge hit at the box office.

It’s too bad Hollywood is a business and that number crunchers and marketing departments ultimately make decisions on who will be cast in what. I think we missed out on Julia Ormond as a huge star who should have been put in progressively bigger roles with more onscreen responsibility.

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