Excalibur (1981)

Oh brother...

My husband and I had seen this in the theatre when it was first released. We remembered it as "really good"...Well apparently tastes change. After 17 years (and one Lord of the Rings Trilogy!) this one makes you laugh or cringe-depending on the scene. The only good part was Sir Percival throwing the sword back to the Lady of the Lake at the end. Thr rest was a lot of clanking, hoof beats, yelling (was everyone deaf?) and hacking. Just plain dumb. October 4, 2008

Near perfection

All in all, and after watching several recent versions and variations on the topic of Arthurian legends, Boorman's 1981 movie remains an almost perfect combination of script, acting, photography, and music. He takes the legend simply to an epic tale. I highly recommend this over any other of its kind. About the DVD itself, the NTSC version that I own provides a standard picture format only. I recently got a PAL version that is widescreen and the difference is meaningful, particularly when it comes to scenes such as the magnificent ending of the movie. July 15, 2008

Interesting but LACKS EXCITEMENT!!!!

MAN! When I saw this movie I thought that it would be the serious version of Monty Python and the Search for the Holy Grail but instead this one IS THE JOKE!

I don't usually complain about low budget films, but this one is much worse than that! I mean... The acting isn't good, the picture quality is poor, the battles were BADLY choreographied, the storyline is SLOW and long, the editing is HORRIBLE (you see most of the events in far view camera), there isn't to much action and adventure (is more blah! blah!blah!), and the production is VERY FAKE!!!!

Maybe the only cool things were the blood and gore, and of course, the story. But even so, they weren't THAT good, (I prefer the cartoon movie Sword in the Stone).
There are some superb low budget fantasy films like Beastmaster, Conan, Highlander or The Road Warrior and they are very exciting, but this one REALLY SUCKS and it doesn't even reach one level of excitement!! This is even worse than Sword and the Sorcerer!

Adios. July 15, 2008

Doesn't work on my dvd player

Okay..I have never claimed to be the brightest star in the sky! I bought this thinking it was a regular DVD and doesn't play on my player. Would need to buy the HD format player that is not being sold now. So be aware of your purchases. This is totally my own fault but don't want others to do the same 15.00 mistake. May 31, 2008

The Full Story of King Arthur!

From the lust of Uther Pendragon and the sorcery of Merlin is born the legendary King Arthur, the Once and Future King. Claimed at birth by the wizard Merlin and raised as the son of good Sir Ector, Arthur grows up to be a wiser man than his father, though still greatly swayed by emotion over logic. His royal lineage is made known when he pulls the sword Excalibur from the stone as a boy, and from then on, Arthur rules Britain in glory until the schemes of his half-sister, the evil witch Morgana, bring his world down upon him, first by exposing the betrayal of his wife Guenevere and his best friend Lancelot, and again by laying with Arthur and creating the bloodthirsty Mordred. The round table, the quest for the grail, the whole story of Arthur, from conception to death, is told in stunning and beautiful detail in the fantasy epic "Excalibur".

Appropriately made in 1981, a time when fantasy films were en vogue, director John Boorman's "Excalibur" is still the best film to turn to for the story of King Arthur. Cleverly balancing fantasy elements with a very believably grounded reality, Boorman's gracefully executed theme throughout the film is of the passing away of the old ways and the coming of the new. Though at times the film seems like it may have suffered a bit from covering so much information in 2 hours and 20 minutes (it is true what some have said, that the quest for the Holy Grail does seem to come out of nowhere), it is a majestic experience from start to finish and comes off as extremely lavish, despite the "shoestring" budget the director claims it was made on. The Irish locations used are glorious, the classical music is rousing, and the cast features the likes of Helen Mirren, Nicol Williamson, Gabriel Byrne, Liam Neeson, Patrick Stewart, Nigel Terry as Arthur, and many more fine actors. The DVD is unfortunately said to be incorrectly matted, and hopefully this will be corrected in a future release. Despite that, it's a movie that everyone should have in their collection and includes the theatrical trailer (I love those early '80's theatrical trailers!), a bit of text info, and a fine commentary from the director. He's not the most thrilling commentator, takes him a bit to get started and there's a big pause after he initially does, but once he gets going he gives tons of great info on the production. It's well worth listening to! If you have any interest in Arthurian legend at all, don't let your collection be without this one!
April 28, 2008

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