The dark and adventure-filled tales of chivalrous knights have been inspiring filmmakers for many decades now. Some of the most iconic movie heroes are knights and many of these heroic characters are even inspired by real-life knights who fought for their country bravely and earned the honorable knighthood title in exchange for their selfless services.

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Movie lovers can meet not only encounter realistic knights but all kinds of fantasy and sci-fi-inspired knights as well who have powerful supernatural and magical abilities. Many of these stories are movies that are based on legends and myths about virtuous knights, but movie fans can also find some of the scariest and most ruthless knights who serve their dark masters.

7 The Knight of Umbar - The Lord Of The Rings

Nazgul in The Lord Of The Rings

While The Lord of The Rings movies, as well as other stories inspired by Tolkien's tales, have their fair share of unforgettable heroes and knights, the series' most iconic one is The Knight of Umbar, the seventh member of the dark and merciless Black Riders.

Just like the other Nazguls, The Knight of Umbar was a servant of Sauron. The legend says that he was a brave and powerful knight before he became the Dark Lord's servant. The Lord of The Rings has some of the most unforgettable movie characters who can turn invisible and have other magical abilities, and it follows a group of heroes who are trying to save their world before it is destroyed by Sauron.

6 William Wallace - Braveheart

William Wallace in Braveheart

Braveheart's iconic Scottish knight William Wallace was inspired by a real-life historical figure named Sir William Wallace who was one of the most iconic heroes and leaders of the First War of Scottish Independence. He's one of the bravest knights not only in movies but in real life too, who fought during many bloody battles to free his homeland.

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Braveheart has some powerful battle scenes as well as one of the most riveting movie speeches of all time. Its story follows the adventures of the Scottish rebel, William Wallace, who goes against King Edward I of England after his bride is murdered and his freedom and land are threatened.

5 Max von Sydow - The Seventh Seal

Max von Sydow and Death in The Seventh Seal

Max von Sydow is one of the most iconic knights in movies who was not only a brave warrior but a surprisingly great chess player as well. It's one of the most thought-provoking knight movies about life, death, and religion that follows Max's journey after the Crusades.

Movie lovers can also meet a wide range of fascinating characters and see how they respond to the plague and death. The Seventh Seal is one of the most iconic classic movies that's set during the Black Death and follows the adventures of a medieval knight as he challenges Death to a game of chess when he wants to take his life.

4 Robin Hood - Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

Robin Hood in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

Robin Hood is another iconic movie knight whose story was inspired by a real-life figure, Nottinghamshire's most infamous outlaw, Robin Hood. While in the legend Robin belonged to one of the lower classes, in the movie, he was originally a knight during Richard the Lionheart's crusade.

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Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves is one of the best Alan Rickman movies with a fun and adventure-filled story that follows the journey of Robin, who wants to avenge his father. To achieve this, he joins forces with a band of thieves who hide in the Sherwood forest and fight against the Sheriff of Nottingham.

3 King Arthur - Monty Python and the Holy Grail

King Arthur and his knights in Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Thanks to King Arthur and his knights' hilarious adventures in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, movie lovers were introduced to some of the silliest knights ever seen on screen. Even though this iconic comedy by Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones' was inspired by the myth about Arthur Pendragon, it's a much more surreal version of it.

It's a laugh-out-loud funny fantasy adventure movie that follows King Arthur's adventures during the Middle Ages as he embarks on a quest to find the Holy Grail and fails miserably. By the end of the movie, his knights are either murdered or arrested, and they never find what they were looking for.

2 William Thatcher - A Knight's Tale

William Thatcher in A Knight's Tale

A Knight's Tale is Heath Ledger's funniest role in which he plays the part of a simple peasant boy named William Thatcher. While William wasn't a noble by birth and started his journey to knighthood with a lie, he eventually proved himself to be a loyal and brave warrior.

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A Knight's Tale's fun story follows William's adventures after the young boy decides to create a new identity for himself and become a knight. Thanks to the training he did with his former master, he actually does well during jousts, but things get more complicated for him when he falls for a noblewoman named Jocelyn.

1 Luke Skywalker - Star Wars

Luke Skywalker in Star Wars

Star Wars is one of the most popular sci-fi movies that inspired games as well as other sci-fi filmmakers and authors around the world. While Luke Skywalker might not be the strongest Jedi Master of the Star Wars franchise, he is its most iconic Jedi Knight.

Luke proved his bravery and showed off his exceptional fighting abilities during many fights against the Galactic Empire and become a respected and beloved Jedi Knight who ended up mentoring many other new Jedis. Star Wars' epic space opera story follows the age-old war between the age Jedi and the Sith.

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