CheerupSilver
Very Cool!!!
Suman Roberson
It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.
Josephina
Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.
Smoreni Zmaj
Movie that succeeds to be at the same time bad movie and the best adaptation of legend of King Arthur and Knights of the Round Table. For 1981. it's visually fascinating and deserves Best Cinematography Oscar it's nominated for. But however magical and hypnotizing it may be, it's also full of flaws. It's poorly written, story is undeveloped, things just happen without explanation and movie makes rough time jumps without transition. Characters are two-dimensional and occasional attempts to add them some depth are tragicomic. With few exceptions, acting is better left uncommented. When I was a child I was stunned with this movie, but from current perspective, changed by few decades of movie experience, this movie is so hollow that I simply can not turn the blind eye to all its flaws, but still so beautiful that I can not rate it low either.7/10
Erik
With a magical green light among the meadows of old Roman-Keltic Britannia, John Boorman tells us the epic tale of a young squire who takes more upon his shoulders than any mortal man can be asked to do. Arthur, superbly played by Nigel Terry, is acted through the whole range from young, reluctant squire-thrust-into-kingship to tired and exhausted emperor of Camelot.And all characters here is portrayed most believable from the first rate acting of Helen Mirren, Nicholas Clay, Cherie Lunghi and others. The one though, that makes an effort that stands a head higher than the rest, is Nicol Williamson's Merlin.All I can say is, do not entangle yourself in historical fact hunting and correcting nit-picking of all the over-the-top weapons and armor belonging to other eras. It's the saga of eternal values and the clashing of murky evil and brightly good in such as Paul Geoffrey's portrayal of Percival and his search for The Grail that stands out, not forgetting Charley Boorman's Mordred which is surprisingly good.
Thomas Drufke
Excalibur is probably the King Arthur film that most ambitiously tackles the in-depth mythology and legend of the medieval warrior, which is both a good and bad thing.Let's start with the good. This film is a fascinating dive into the ins and outs of Arthurian Legend, starting with the mystical sword, Excalibur. Sometimes the most interesting way to tell a story isn't through your characters but a representation of their strengths and weaknesses. Excalibur is just that for Arthur. He relies on the sword for strength and wisdom, which in turn is his weakness. The power the sword yields him is bigger than Arthur himself, which is where he can sometimes fall victim to the temptations of greed and self-value. At the same time, the sword is easily the films coolest asset.For the first hour or so, it gets increasingly harder to root for Arthur as a character. Here's a guy who stumbles upon power and acts like he's worked his whole life to get it, and he's hardly humble about his circumstances. It isn't until we realize where the story is going and who the main antagonist is that our protagonist (being Arthur) really hits the right note. All of a sudden, a whiny and largely unworthy King, feels noble and brave through the faults of the villain. It is then that the film takes off to an exciting, but equally strange place.This version of the King Arthur story isn't afraid of embracing the fantasy elements and downright weirdness of the source material. Not only do you have Merlin, the great wizard, manipulating certain situations in the background, but you have plenty of other mystical elements enhanced to fit the story that director John Boorman was trying to tell. With that said, when the film does tackle the mystical side of the story it doesn't always feel in place with the rest of the grounded war film that's in its place. So in that regard, I have mixed feelings on it.However, in all, this is about as good as you can tell the proper Arthurian story. It has everything from a brilliant focus on the sword, Lancelot's jealousy and betrayal, a twisted backstory, Merlin pulling the strings, bloody battles, to an overall epic journey for the King. If there was a film that epitomizes all that is good (and strange) about the mythology, Excalibur is probably it.+Crazy mythology embraced+Epic+Performances+Even dives into the strangeness-Which is where it sometimes takes the film off the rails8.3/10
calvinnme
... after all she witnesses what amounts to the rape of her own mother, and then sees the product of that rape inherit a kingdom (Nigel Terry as Arthur Pendragon). Of course she wants revenge, and justice in the most ironic way for what happened to her mother. Let me explain.Uther Pendragon has peace, has his throne, has a truce with the duke of Cornwall. At a dinner celebrating the truce, Cornwall shows off his beautiful wife, Igrayne. Uther ruins the truce in an unspeakable breach of etiquette by going for Igrayne right there in front of everybody. Hostilities rebegin. Uther begs Merlin to let him have Igrayne by the spell of making so that he looks like her husband, Cornwall. Apparently it was the custom for husbands and wives to have sex in front of their toddler children, and furthermore Uther does not even bother to take his armor off during the act! That's what I mean by rape - Igrayne is being duped into having sex with Uther Pendragon. Morgana, Cornwall and Igrayne's child, looks on, sees through the spell of making, and also envisions her father dying on the battlefield throughout her mother's rape. This is something she never forgets.With Cornwall dead, Uther takes Igrayne for his own, and nine months later she gives birth to a child - Uther's from the rape. But, alas, Uther promised to give Merlin anything that came from his deception, so he must turn over the child, Arthur Pendragon, to Merlin. Uther decides a deal is not a deal, and pursues Merlin and the child, only to be killed by Cornwall's vengeful troops who are still hanging about. Merlin thrusts Excalibur into a stone and proclaims whoever shall draw the sword from the stone will be king. Why do the people keep listening to this guy? I guess the fact that he could turn anybody into a toad is part of it.Time passes, Arthur grows up looking and acting like nobody special (Nigel Terry), and is assisting Kay, a knight in a tournament whose sword is stolen. Arthur just sees the sword in the stone, does not know its significance, and just pulls it out to give to Kay. Merlin announces that Arthur has accidentally pulled Excalibur from the stone and he is king.Well it turns out that more than just the communist peasants in Monty Python's Holy Grail believe that pulling a sword from a stone is not the basis for an acceptable form of government, and Arthur has to work to solidify his kingdom. In the process, he marries Guenevere, daughter of one of his allies, and convinces Lancelot to join him. But Lancelot and Guenevere fall for one another, finally giving in to their feelings. When Arthur comes upon their post coital slumber he plunges Excalibur into the ground and wanders off broken.Now all of this time Morgana (Helen Mirren) is still bitter about her mother's rape and the product of that rape, Arthur, getting a throne because of her mother being deceived. She tricks Merlin into revealing the spell of making, traps him in a crystal, and then decides turnabout is fair play. She makes herself appear as Guenevere, causing Arthur to think his queen has returned to him, and he sleeps with her, conceiving an incestuous child. This child grows to manhood and challenges Arthur for his throne, which is easier than it would normally be because Arthur would have to kill his own son/nephew, plus the land has become barren and the people are starving because nothing grows from the ground, blaming the king. So how does all of this turn out? Watch and find out. This film is very atmospheric. Nicol Williamson steals the show as Merlin with his odd glances and one liners and looking very "unmagician" like at times. If he hadn't played a complete tool in "I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can" a year later, I might still like seeing him in this role.So what have we learned here today? Crime does not pay, the career options are not good for queens who commit adultery, and bitter half siblings can really mess up your life if you give them the chance. Recommended.
