Basically Excalibur is a contemporary retelling of Arthurian legend. The cast is an exceptionally strong ensemble of Anglo-Irish talent like Patrick Stewart, Helen Mirren, Gabriel Byrne, Liam Neeson and Nicol Williamson. It's also got an epic feel to it (not surprising given the source material) with a lengthy running time and a plot that spans decades.

I don't think it's that outlandish to say that this film was Boorman's labour of love, it's very well crafted; sumptuous cinematography, lavish sets, lean dialogue, brilliant music (various Wagner efforts performed by the London Philharmonic) and a range of interesting characters that each has an arc that develops in tandem with the story.

Tonally the film (purposefully) wanders wildly from darkness to light; the acts are very clearly defined; first the Kingdom is established and flourishes; which leads to betray and the emergence of evil in the second, then in a blistering third act there is a muted sense of forgiveness… more »

Basically Excalibur is a contemporary retelling of Arthurian legend. The cast is an exceptionally strong ensemble of Anglo-Irish talent like Patrick Stewart, Helen Mirren, Gabriel Byrne, Liam Neeson and Nicol Williamson. It's also got an epic feel to it (not surprising given the source material) with a lengthy running time and a plot that spans decades.

I don't think it's that outlandish to say that this film was Boorman's labour of love, it's very well crafted; sumptuous cinematography, lavish sets, lean dialogue, brilliant music (various Wagner efforts performed by the London Philharmonic) and a range of interesting characters that each has an arc that develops in tandem with the story.

Tonally the film (purposefully) wanders wildly from darkness to light; the acts are very clearly defined; first the Kingdom is established and flourishes; which leads to betray and the emergence of evil in the second, then in a blistering third act there is a muted sense of forgiveness and resolution. The first act is very entertaining and full of familiar stories (the Sword in the Stone & the Knights of the Round Table) the second act where Lancelot and Guinevere get their rocks off is all about the melodrama and the third act is a searing blend of startling imagery, fierce battles, sorcery and redemption that really does mark out Excalibur as an extraordinary piece of cinema.

There are some amazing moments that stick in the mind; the opening "teaser" (for want of a better word) in which Merlin counjours up the dragons breath so Uther Pendgragon can ride across a great expanse of nothingness to bed his rivals wife and play his part in creating the future King. Perceval's search for the grail through a nightmarish vision of medieval Britain, the bright red sun setting over the body strewn ground as Arthur and Mordred face off against each other in a brutal and bloody embrace....

Overall, all the ingredients of a great film are present and accounted for, and I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who have never seen or heard of this movie but who, should they ever see it, may actually end up loving it almost as much as I do.

Good, lusty performances from many of the principles in this Arthurian epic from John Boorman. But at so many times it feels very 'set-bound', and many of the visual effects are mediocre at best. Nicol Williamson, as you might expect as an actor of some considerable talent, gives the best performance of the movie as Merlin, and Helen Mirren is also very good, as is Nicholas Clay as Lancelot. Patrick Stuart lends some fine support. Such a shame then that the two main characters, that of Arthur and Guenevere, are played so appallingly badly by Nigel Terry and Cherie Lunghi. Both of them are never convincing, and they both waft through the film reading their lines as if they either bored or even, at times, stoned! The final battle is satisfyingly bloody, and in fact most of the action scenes are well directed. Music is also quite good throughout, with extracts from Orffs 'Carmina Burana' used to particularly good effect in some of the battle scenes. The ride by Arthur and his knights… more »

Good, lusty performances from many of the principles in this Arthurian epic from John Boorman. But at so many times it feels very 'set-bound', and many of the visual effects are mediocre at best. Nicol Williamson, as you might expect as an actor of some considerable talent, gives the best performance of the movie as Merlin, and Helen Mirren is also very good, as is Nicholas Clay as Lancelot. Patrick Stuart lends some fine support. Such a shame then that the two main characters, that of Arthur and Guenevere, are played so appallingly badly by Nigel Terry and Cherie Lunghi. Both of them are never convincing, and they both waft through the film reading their lines as if they either bored or even, at times, stoned! The final battle is satisfyingly bloody, and in fact most of the action scenes are well directed. Music is also quite good throughout, with extracts from Orffs 'Carmina Burana' used to particularly good effect in some of the battle scenes. The ride by Arthur and his knights through an avenue of trees with cascading blossoms to the strains of Carmina Burana lingers long in the memory! John Boorman is also to be commended for, despite lapses into incoherence, remaining pretty faithful to Malory's 'Le Morte d'Arthur'.