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The Projection Booth Scene: An analyzation, part 2.
Tarantino has stated that the projection booth scene is both romantic and a consummation of Shosanna and Fredrick's relationship. After going over this previously in discussions with ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
pellnell andpiecesofalice (I love your brilliant minds), I decided to wrangle up screencaps and have at it. I've retread some previous ground, but it was necessary for the analyzation. Lots of screencaps along with key quotes from Tarantino and my rambling. Again, I'll let the actors' performances do most of the talking.
Now what intrigues me is how the publicity still of Shosanna from the projection booth is of her appearing confident and self-assured:
When the reality is entirely different. It's a split-second decision, but she's grimacing and apprehensive:
As discussed between Tarantino and Kim Morgan from this incredible interview:
"And, in that pivotal moment, she doesn’t want to shoot him. She doesn’t want to kill him."
Despite all that Shosanna and Fredrick have been through, they are still a couple of innocents. Her panic and realization of what she has done is simply moving, as Shosanna sees the contrast between the lavish, over-the-top Goebbels production of Fredrick, and the dying, damaged young man in the projection booth:
Her immediate guilt over acknowledging what she has done and what she feels is stunning, as she is drawn to both the film and Fredrick:
As the script states: "The Face on the silver screen, breaks the young girl's
heart..."
Shosanna hesitates briefly, as she knows what she must do:
Red is the color of passion, power, and love, whereas white is the color of purity and innocence. Dressed in red, Shosanna holds dominance over Fredrick; by using the suggestion of sex, she becomes the sexual aggressor. By shooting Fredrick, Shosanna initiates their consummation. And to go one step further, it can even be said that by using her pistol, a phallic object, Shosanna first penetrates him; as far as sexual positions are concerned, she is on top.
Pistol still in hand, she goes to Fredrick, who is bathed in white light. We see here, in Shosanna, the vulnerability and sensitive part of herself which she has kept private and guarded until now, until meeting Fredrick. Setting the pistol aside, she kneels beside him. The way Shosanna looks Fredrick over, the way she gently touches him, the tenderness she shows him is breath-taking:
Turning him over, to comfort him, Fredrick fires back, reciprocating the act and penetrating her. Shosanna started out on top, and now, the positions have been switched. In their act of consummation, they are both equals. The spray of blood - again, if you want to go that far - could be seen as ejaculate. Interestingly, the blood spray even spreads to between Fredrick's legs.
As her body falls to the floor, you can see Fredrick onscreen behind Shosanna. Getting into more phallic and sexual imagery, he is re-loading his rifle:
Watching her fall, you can see Fredrick's own agony and heartbreak:
Her facial expressions as she falls and writhes on the floor are quite sensual:
There is no hate, no malice in this scene. Fredrick is lovesick and grief-stricken more than anything, which is evident in his facial expression and how his hand violently shakes as he holds back on pulling the trigger once more. Even though Fredrick does so, it is an act of mercy, an act of love:
To get into the sexual connotations, Fredrick's final shot could be viewed as the final thrust to bring Shosanna to climax; it's all in her facial expressions and the way she cries out. And paying attention to them both, their expressions are as if they're in the throes of orgasm (Fredrick's luger is even held at crotch level):
Together, Shosanna and Fredrick die as Ennio Morricone's love theme, Un Amico plays.
It is here that it must also be noted, as Quentin's lovers lay together on the floor of the projection booth, that Shosanna is barefoot.
The sight of women's bare feet is something that any fan (or, even, casual viewer) of the films of Quentin Tarantino is well-acquainted with. However, here, the presence of bare feet extends far past the whims of a foot fetishist - indeed, there is even meaning to be found here.
Though far more obvious in the films Death Proof and Kill Bill, Tarantino utilizes women's bare feet as most other directors utilize nudity. Usually in moments of vulnerability and sexuality, bare feet are shown in place of a nude body, and as proven by this scene, they are no less effective than that of the nudity present in a traditional love scene.
Shosanna ends her scenes in the film as she did at the opening of Inglourious Basterds: bare foot.
But, whereas in the beginning, she is vulnerably in fear for her life, here, she is vulnerable in a manner like that of a tentative young lover and her paramour. It is present in her approach of Fredrick as he lays on the floor and in the absolute compassion she displays for him - truly, in the projection booth, Shosanna's barefoot state is entirely sexual.
Just as bullets and the blood represent their lovemaking, Shosanna's bare feet represents her own nudity with Fredrick. To add further to its importance, Fredrick is the only man she is shown barefoot with; Shosanna is willingly open, exposed, and laid-bare for Fredrick and Fredrick alone.
As discussed withpellnell, death and sex are when all is laid bare and when one is at their most vulnerable. Shosanna and Fredrick have allowed only each other to see those parts of themselves; by giving of themselves fully to one another, their feelings for each other were fully realized. The tragedy lies in the fact that due to the circumstance they are trapped in, Shosanna and Fredrick could not be together in life; however, the beauty is that they have in death what life denied them, to die by the hand of the one who loved them, uniting them for eternity. Even as chaos rages around them and Le Gamaar goes up in flames, Shosanna and Fredrick are as they should have always been: together, at peace, protected, and completely separate from the hideous reality that surrounds them. They remain innocents until their last breath; the war had taken everything from Shosanna just as it gave Fredrick everything, leaving both of them broken.
The deaths of Shosanna and Fredrick are an interesting contrast to the death of Bridget von Hammersmark at the hands of Hans Landa. Whereas Shosanna's and Fredrick's deaths were a consummation of their relationship and feelings for each other, Bridget's was a violation, a rape; aggressive and extremely personal, she did not return Landa's violent affections and opposed him every second of it.
Shosanna and Fredrick are two halves which form a whole. One way or another, it was their fate to be together, and nothing could get in the way of that, nor could anything come between them.
pellnell andpiecesofalice (I love your brilliant minds), I decided to wrangle up screencaps and have at it. I've retread some previous ground, but it was necessary for the analyzation. Lots of screencaps along with key quotes from Tarantino and my rambling. Again, I'll let the actors' performances do most of the talking.Now what intrigues me is how the publicity still of Shosanna from the projection booth is of her appearing confident and self-assured:
When the reality is entirely different. It's a split-second decision, but she's grimacing and apprehensive:
 |
 |
 |
 |
As discussed between Tarantino and Kim Morgan from this incredible interview:
Despite all that Shosanna and Fredrick have been through, they are still a couple of innocents. Her panic and realization of what she has done is simply moving, as Shosanna sees the contrast between the lavish, over-the-top Goebbels production of Fredrick, and the dying, damaged young man in the projection booth:
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Her immediate guilt over acknowledging what she has done and what she feels is stunning, as she is drawn to both the film and Fredrick:
 |
 |
 |
As the script states: "The Face on the silver screen, breaks the young girl's
heart..."
 |
 |
 |
Shosanna hesitates briefly, as she knows what she must do:
 |
 |
 |
 |
Red is the color of passion, power, and love, whereas white is the color of purity and innocence. Dressed in red, Shosanna holds dominance over Fredrick; by using the suggestion of sex, she becomes the sexual aggressor. By shooting Fredrick, Shosanna initiates their consummation. And to go one step further, it can even be said that by using her pistol, a phallic object, Shosanna first penetrates him; as far as sexual positions are concerned, she is on top.
Pistol still in hand, she goes to Fredrick, who is bathed in white light. We see here, in Shosanna, the vulnerability and sensitive part of herself which she has kept private and guarded until now, until meeting Fredrick. Setting the pistol aside, she kneels beside him. The way Shosanna looks Fredrick over, the way she gently touches him, the tenderness she shows him is breath-taking:
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Turning him over, to comfort him, Fredrick fires back, reciprocating the act and penetrating her. Shosanna started out on top, and now, the positions have been switched. In their act of consummation, they are both equals. The spray of blood - again, if you want to go that far - could be seen as ejaculate. Interestingly, the blood spray even spreads to between Fredrick's legs.
 |
 |
 |
As her body falls to the floor, you can see Fredrick onscreen behind Shosanna. Getting into more phallic and sexual imagery, he is re-loading his rifle:
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Watching her fall, you can see Fredrick's own agony and heartbreak:
 |
 |
 |
Her facial expressions as she falls and writhes on the floor are quite sensual:
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
There is no hate, no malice in this scene. Fredrick is lovesick and grief-stricken more than anything, which is evident in his facial expression and how his hand violently shakes as he holds back on pulling the trigger once more. Even though Fredrick does so, it is an act of mercy, an act of love:
 |
 |
To get into the sexual connotations, Fredrick's final shot could be viewed as the final thrust to bring Shosanna to climax; it's all in her facial expressions and the way she cries out. And paying attention to them both, their expressions are as if they're in the throes of orgasm (Fredrick's luger is even held at crotch level):
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Together, Shosanna and Fredrick die as Ennio Morricone's love theme, Un Amico plays.
It is here that it must also be noted, as Quentin's lovers lay together on the floor of the projection booth, that Shosanna is barefoot.
The sight of women's bare feet is something that any fan (or, even, casual viewer) of the films of Quentin Tarantino is well-acquainted with. However, here, the presence of bare feet extends far past the whims of a foot fetishist - indeed, there is even meaning to be found here.
Though far more obvious in the films Death Proof and Kill Bill, Tarantino utilizes women's bare feet as most other directors utilize nudity. Usually in moments of vulnerability and sexuality, bare feet are shown in place of a nude body, and as proven by this scene, they are no less effective than that of the nudity present in a traditional love scene.
Shosanna ends her scenes in the film as she did at the opening of Inglourious Basterds: bare foot.
But, whereas in the beginning, she is vulnerably in fear for her life, here, she is vulnerable in a manner like that of a tentative young lover and her paramour. It is present in her approach of Fredrick as he lays on the floor and in the absolute compassion she displays for him - truly, in the projection booth, Shosanna's barefoot state is entirely sexual.
Just as bullets and the blood represent their lovemaking, Shosanna's bare feet represents her own nudity with Fredrick. To add further to its importance, Fredrick is the only man she is shown barefoot with; Shosanna is willingly open, exposed, and laid-bare for Fredrick and Fredrick alone.
 |
As discussed with
pellnell, death and sex are when all is laid bare and when one is at their most vulnerable. Shosanna and Fredrick have allowed only each other to see those parts of themselves; by giving of themselves fully to one another, their feelings for each other were fully realized. The tragedy lies in the fact that due to the circumstance they are trapped in, Shosanna and Fredrick could not be together in life; however, the beauty is that they have in death what life denied them, to die by the hand of the one who loved them, uniting them for eternity. Even as chaos rages around them and Le Gamaar goes up in flames, Shosanna and Fredrick are as they should have always been: together, at peace, protected, and completely separate from the hideous reality that surrounds them. They remain innocents until their last breath; the war had taken everything from Shosanna just as it gave Fredrick everything, leaving both of them broken. The deaths of Shosanna and Fredrick are an interesting contrast to the death of Bridget von Hammersmark at the hands of Hans Landa. Whereas Shosanna's and Fredrick's deaths were a consummation of their relationship and feelings for each other, Bridget's was a violation, a rape; aggressive and extremely personal, she did not return Landa's violent affections and opposed him every second of it.
Shosanna and Fredrick are two halves which form a whole. One way or another, it was their fate to be together, and nothing could get in the way of that, nor could anything come between them.
no subject
That sounds really nice. I'd enjoy that.
I always go around saying he looks great and people then turn their horrified looks at me, haha. But you know how high school is. I guess others don't like vintage whereas I do.
no subject
There's also a storage basement full of books and other media that don't circulate as often (though they can still be requested), and I love going down there. There's also a collection of film prints, both 16 mm and 35 mm, back from when the library had a projector. They're mainly children's films, but there are a couple I want to steal.
Haha, aw. Oh, most definitely, I do. I love a lot of the '70s and '80s fashions, along with the look of fashion photography from those times. The vintage Vogue magazines are so much fun to look through; there was even a feature on how to dress like Annie Hall.
no subject
Digging through old stuff! That's always fun. I don't know much about projections but I'd love to learn. I love independent filmmaking as well but the only experience I've had was helping a French director create a short animated movie for children around last year or the year before that.
Same here! I've got loads of my mother's old Burda Style magazines from the '80s so I make her sew me something I like or I just dive into her vintage outfits :D And I agree, the photographs of those times or even modern photos inspired by them are gorgeous.
no subject
I love going through old things! I was shocked upon finding a print of an animated short film from the late '70s, The Devil and Daniel Mouse, which was out of print for years and highly sought after. It came out on DVD five years ago or so, but my library had a print the entire time! I know nothing about projectors, but I always thought it'd be interesting to learn.
only experience I've had was helping a French director create a short animated movie for children around last year or the year before that
That's amazing! My film experience is limited; I helped with sound and on set photography with a short film and creating gore effects for another.
That's seriously awesome! Back in high school, I went to my local thrift store to find that someone donated their collection of late '70s/early '80s designer sunglasses - the kind that take up half your face - and I bought a pair with white frames for a few dollars. Everyone thought they were strange and tacky (and they probably are, that's why I love them), and then later, after graduating and going to college, they came back in style.
There's something striking about the aesthetics of that time period: the colors, the clothes, the way people looked; it's all so stunning.
no subject
That's amazing. Who knows what else there is that's hiding under stuff that might have such value like that short film.
Was the creating the gore effects interesting?
Oh, no, don't remind me. I had a pair of vintage sunglasses like those myself, only with blue and black frames. Last summer, a family friend's little daughter who was quite fond of going through my drawers in my room found them and broke them playing around. They were probably my most favourite glasses ever, oh how I was sad over them.
I was so happy when I found out that the 70s fashion was back on trend for the spring 2010. Not that I care what's in most of the time, but just another excuse to wear the gorgeous stuff that belonged to that time.
no subject
There's quite a few Shirley Temple, Laurel & Hardy, Three Stooges, and Marx Brothers films and Disney cartoons, too. My main interest is that there's a print of Something Wicked This Way Comes, and I was delighted to find the original Jodie Foster Freaky Friday.
It was! I love make-up special effects and re-creating them. I generally stick to the '70s/'80s methods, such as jello and food coloring for fake innards (I made chunks of brain, and it was so hot outside that day, that they melted into mush, which worked well). The fun of it is to figure how to make the effect so it works and convincingly affect those who watch it.
Some useless trivia: Tom Savini is considered the king of special make-up effects. He was, at one point, the only effects man who could create a convincing scalping. He also trained Greg Nicotero who does all of the gore effects for Tarantino's films. Greg played the Gestapo officer Stiglitz face-fisted.
Oh, goodness, that's a shame! I think mine are buried somewhere under other wonderfully useless things of mine.
I got excited to see gaucho pants have come in style. Of course, I love the originals that came in bright patterns. I also really love that tacky, '70s burnt orange color, so I have a few vintage-style shirts in that color.
no subject
Simon Pegg was going to be Archie? I remember him from Mission Impossible 3...I quite like Michael though. I was suprised when I read that he's going to be playing Edward Rochester on the new Jane Eyre film though.
Ah, must be better than the 2003 version. I didn't enjoy that one at all because of Lindsay Lohan. I don't like her.
That sounds really fun to do. Or maybe I have a twisted mind and wouldn't mind making chunks of brain and...organs :P
I look at Tom's filmography and the names are all obviously horror movies. But that's really an interesting piece of trivia. Hahaha, the face fisting was...not how I would prefer to die. :P
Since I'm supposed to be moving to Italy around the next couple of months now I need to get rid of most of my wonderfully useless things :( I'm so sad.
I only have two pairs of gaucho pants but the weather doesn't really allow me to wear them right now. =/
no subject
I have a fondness for Jodie Foster in general, and it amuses me to think that she did FF after Taxi Driver. And it's so '70s that I can't help but have a soft spot for it.
It is! I also duct-taped blood-filled condoms into a fake head (another old trick); it worked out well as the blood came out of the nose and the eyes. Tom's work with George Romero is my favorite of his; the two collaborated so well. I don't think I've ever laughed so hard at a death on film before! It's a bit of a rite of passage for make-up effects folk to kill themselves grotesquely on film. Tom blew his own head off with a shotgun a few times.
Aw, sorry to hear that. I know I'll have to to do the same at some point, too (it's going to be a mess, I'm sure). But moving to Italy sounds exciting! Hopefully it all goes smoothly for you ♥
no subject
I saw it on his filmography :D Shame I haven't seen it. Michael's grown on me.
My mum loves Jodie and her movies. My brother has a weird obsession with saying the line You talkin' to me? so I presume he likes the movie. Idk.
Hahaha, nice trick. Did you come up with all of these on your own or was there someone teaching you?
I would want to see myself shot :P I wonder what that would look like. I'd do the whole dramatical fall for sure.
It does, however my only concern is the language for my further education. See I'm no better than the Basterds speaking Italian :P Alright, at least my accent sounds better than Aldo's.
no subject
He was quite good in it; I found him sympathetic even though he was sinister. Though Daniel and Mélanie impressed me the most in IB, Michael certainly left an impression on me, too.
I love Jodie's acting range and how willing she is to take risks with roles. My favorite of her '70s films is The Little Girl Who Lives Down The Lane.
My brother has a weird obsession with saying the line You talkin' to me? so I presume he likes the movie. Idk.
Ha! My brother loves it, too. I can never talk about Harvey Keitel without him bringing up his character in Taxi Driver.
I picked them up from Tom Savini. He published two books in the '80s, which covered his entire career and how he did effects for all of his films up to 1985. I have his first book, and he mentioned the condom trick, which was commonly used in Asian films to get large spurts of blood. Of course, I then had to figure out how to get that trick to work for my effect, but that wasn't too difficult. Though on the first try, the actor was too rough with the head and one of the condoms came loose and splattered.
I have a bucket of liquid latex for making wounds and scars, so when playing around with the stuff, I've found I enjoy the slit throat effect. A bit morbid, I suppose, but I don't think I'm too shabby at making choked, gurgling noises to go along with it.
The transition can be rough, but I'm sure you'll improve once you get into the routine of day-to-day life. And you sound better than Aldo, so that's a start!
no subject
Isn't that movie with Martin Sheen too? My dad loves him. My friends watched it during a sleepover (they thought it would be effective since we happened to be in a big house alone, lol) but I must have fallen asleep. I don't remember anything of it.
I'd love to read those. I'll probably ask my dad to look for it next time he goes to New York.
I totally forgot about that! I quite enjoyed Sweeney Todd, you know, so yes, I so agree with you. It'd be interesting to see. My mum hates that effect but oh well.
I've gotten used to learning languages quickly (I've learned about 5 until I was fifteen) so I don't think it'll be a problem either. Or I just hope so. :|
no subject
So you play piano (Obvious question, I know)? That's amazing! You'll find your niche eventually, though I know it's not easy when you have others, albeit with good intentions, suggesting what you should be doing. My parents are both librarians, so I have worked with many of their co-workers, all of them asking me if I'll work there permanently.
It is! He was excellent; both extremely sinister, yet seductive. Useless trivia for you: the entire Sheen/Estevez family is from my city. It's a film worth watching, I think. It's effective because of what it doesn't show the viewer; it does so much with very little. I also love the very last shot of the film.
The books are Grande Illusions: A Learn-By-Example Guide to the Art and Technique of Special Make-Up Effects from the Films of Tom Savini and Grande Illusions: II. They're easily found in used bookstores and online these days. I'll have to scan some of my favorite effects and post them.
It's such a wonderfully simple effect, but it works so well. The technique for making the slit throat hasn't really changed all that much since its inception, either.
Five languages? That's incredibly impressive! It probably won't be much of a problem for you, though moving and basically immersing yourself in the language can be intimidating, I'm sure.
no subject
I do; and apparently I'm the only one in the family who didn't stop playing after a few years and graduated from the music school. But then I have no piano in my new home so I probably will stop. Shame.
That's cool! And where do you live? Just wondering.
Oh, I made my parents watch Inglourious Basterds just last night. My dad recognized Morricone instantly (which delighted me) and my mother could not watch further when Shosanna and Fredrick died and she spent the next day cooking strudel and proclaiming her disgust of Landa which turned into a some sort of political talk that I did not bother to follow. At least the strudel was nice.
Yes, my father's a bit obsessed with learning languages and, well, making his kids learn more than himself, obviously. I learned all of them when I was very young, which I believe is the easiest way to learn.
no subject
That's really amazing! Maybe later you could get back into it?
The Sheens and the Wright Brothers are probably the biggest claims to fame for my area, which isn't too shabby. I live in Ohio: http://ohio.gov/ I live in the city of Miamisburg, but I'm originally from and work in the city of Dayton. Friends of mine not originally from this State complain about it on occasion, but there's quite a bit to do if you know where to look.
I love that story about your mom, especially her Landa disgust, which diverged into politics and strudel. There's something charming about that, probably because it reminds me of my mom.
I'm being ramble-y and redundant, but that is extremely impressive. And again, that reminds me of my dad. You are right, too, in that it's easiest to learn a language when you're very young. I'm certainly not fluent in French, but I'm not terrible with it, and I think that part of it is from learning French when I was in elementary school. Another boring story: When my family moved from Dayton and I started at a new school, one of my classmates wanted to know about my previous school. I told her about learning French and she got excited and wanted to know more, so I told what au revoir meant. I was a pretentious nine year old, as I thought that everyone knew what it meant, like it was common knowledge or something.
no subject
I was planning on starting to play the cello or drums but that will take time.
Dayton looks pretty from the pictures I googled. So apparently Rob Dyrdek is from Dayton too (he's not someone that important, I just used to watch his show on MTV).
I have the same situation with my French. I can't speak properly but I can understand it well enough and it's been the only language I've been passionate about learning yet I had to stop my education in order to learn Italian to be of use *snort*.
Hahaha, I've done the same thing a few months ago. I was talking to on an online friend about how this actor Colin Morgan wrote "Je m'appelle _______ (co-star's name), je suis loser" notes and stuck them to his co-stars' doors while they were filming in France so that the maids would find them and laugh. I kept saying how funny it was because I assumed everyone knew what that basic phrase meant. The girl pretty much went blank and was like "Uh, what's that supposed to mean". Oh, my bad there.
no subject
I'm not very musically inclined, so I've always been fascinated by those who are. The cello is magnificent, and I imagine that would it be wonderful to learn how to play it. The drums would be great fun, too.
Dayton's a nice place. It's not quite like it was in its heyday in the '70s and '80s, but it's flourishing again. Just this last week, one of Ohio's landmarks (or at least could be considered one), affectionately known as Touchdown Jesus was struck by lightning and burned down.
I really need to get back into my French. I may never be perfectly fluent, but I love speaking the language as well as listening to it. Perhaps you can get back into it once your Italian improves? One of my friends loves Merlin, so she had a picture of that on her tumblr. That's fantastic! I recently made another faux pas with a co-worker who is a linguistics major. I told her the translation of the Til Schweiger film, Keinohrhasen is Rabbit Without Ears. She's nearly fluent in German and I had somehow forgotten that and felt a bit foolish.
no subject
Oh, definitely. I'm in Istanbul for holidays and all my troubled thoughts are back at home stuffed in my wardrobe. :P
I suppose my fondness of Apocalyptica might have had something to do with my love of the cello. And drums, well, my brother promised me he'd make me his permanent bandmate if I learned, haha.
Oh no :( But hopefully it'll be rebuilt?
I started watching Merlin during a very lazy period of my life where at some point I didn't do anything but watch lame TV shows, and I can't stop watching now.
I haven't seen much of Til except in King Arthur and Tomb Raider. Can't say I liked either one of them, but whatever.
no subject
Apocalyptica! I'm not extremely familiar with them, but one of my friends likes them and I recall being impressed with what I've heard of them. That's great that you can get along with your brother like that, at least creatively (my brother is far too infuriatingly critical of everything, so it's best not to share/discuss such things with him).
Jesus shall return! He was originally over 60 feet tall, but they have now promised to build him even bigger and better; they view this as a challenge and a sign that they must be even more vigilant with their faith.
Haha! I have a couple friends who greatly enjoy Merln. For some reason I can easily fall in love with awful, schlocky films, but I have yet to extend that courtesy to television.
I can barely remember who was even in Tomb Raider or Arthur except for the main leads, so I can't claim they made a very big impression on me. Til doesn't seem very discriminating with choosing his roles, I've noticed.
no subject
I generally listen to metal and I love love Metallica so of course I was impressed by their effort to cover Metallica songs. And I have a crazy crush on one of the guys so that might have helped with that.
Speaking of Metallica, I was at a Metallica concert again the day before yesterday and they had The Ecstasy Of Gold by Morricone as their intro. I freaked out from happiness but a lot of people seemed to know it which was pleasantly suprising.
I love the Arthurian Legends! Merlin isn't like an extremely good quality show but it's enough to keep me amused and the actors are gorgeous, lol.
I wouldn't watch Tomb Raider if you paid me now. I don't remember much about Arthur either. I assume it wasn't good enough to leave a mark in my head :P