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Excalibur [1981]


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Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review

A lush retelling of the legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, Excalibur is a dark and engrossing tale. Director John Boorman (Deliverance) masterfully handles the tale of the mythical sword Excalibur, and its passing from the wizard Merlin to the future king of England. Arthur pulls the famed sword from a stone and is destined to be crowned king. As the king embarks on a passionate love affair with Guenevere, an illegitimate son, and Merlin's designs on power, threaten Arthur's reign. The film is visually stunning and unflinching in its scenes of combat and black magic. Featuring an impressive supporting cast, including early work from the likes of Liam Neeson and Gabriel Byrne, Excalibur is an adaptation of the legend both faithful and bold. --Robert Lane

Editorial
Special Features

1.85 Wide Screen
DVD 9
French\Italian
English\Italian
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital 5.1 English\Mono French Italian
Dolby Digital 5.1
Interactive Menus
Scene Access
Arabic\Bulgarian\Dutch\English\French\German\Italian\Portuguese\Romanian\Spanish

Editorial
Synopsis

Director John Boorman's passionate adaptation of Sir Thomas Malory's LE MORTE D'ARTHUR stars Nigel Terry as the faithful King Arthur. Necromancer Merlin (Nicol Williamson) offers the magic sword Excalibur to the warlike Uther Pendragon (Gabriel Byrne) in exchange for a promise that he'll make peace with his enemy, the duke of Cornwall (Corin Redgrave). He agrees but breaks his word after catching sight of Cornwall's wife, Igraine (Katrine Boorman). With the magician's help he makes love to the woman in the guise of her husband. She bears a child, Arthur, who is taken by Merlin as payment for his assistance and left in the care of Ector (Clive Swift). Years pass, and the boy, now a humble squire, pulls Excalibur from the stone in which Uther had sunk it--a task no other could accomplish. With Merlin's counsel, he marries the stunning Guenevere (Cherie Lunghi), finds a champion in Sir Lancelot (Nicholas Clay), subdues the skirmishing knights, and builds the Round Table to unite them. Yet his half-sister, Morgana (Helen Mirren), lurks in the shadows, preparing to poison her brother's reign. Perhaps the best film made in this genre, EXCALIBUR benefits from an extraordinary cast, including appearances by Byrne, Patrick Stewart, and Liam Neeson early in their celluloid careers. Counterpointing ethereally filtered sex scenes against scenes of graphic blood-and-guts swordplay, Boorman's sumptuous production galvanizes the familiar mythology, as he charts the transition from an age of magic to one of reason.
Editorial
From the Back Cover

The legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table receives its most impressive screen treatment in Excalibur,from visionary movie maker John Boorman(Deliverence,The General). All the elementa os Sir Thomas Malory,s classic Le Morte D'Arthur are here:Arthur(Nigel Terry)removing the sword Excalibur from the stone;the Round Table's noble birth and tragic decline;the heroicattempts to recover the Holy Grail;and the shifting balance of power between wily wizard Merlin(Nicol Williamson)and evil sorceress The New Yotker'sPauline Kael wrote"one lush,enraptured scene after scene."

Adult, Intelligent & Provocative .. A Dark Arthurian Fantasy..
Review date: 2008-05-16 Rating: 10 out of 10

John Boorman's 1981 film is an exercise in how to treat fantasy in an adult and serious manner.
The fantasy elements are subtle - there are no stop motion monsters to be found here - and yet still pervade the movie with a sense of the magical & arcane. This film in no way attempts a realistic approach to the extent of 2004's King Arthur.
Merlin as portrayed here is dark & ambiguous, constantly aware of the end of the time of magic & the old gods. A very eccentic performance by the
excellent Nicol Williamson. Helen Mirren as the evil & seductive sorceress, Morgana gives an erotically charged performance that is not easily forgotten!
Nigel Terry as Arthur is a bit wooden BUT his tone & manner suits the film's often sombre approach & he brings a sense of dignity to a mythic role.
The movie is over 2 hours long & indeed feels longer (in a good way!).
Very epic, making a mockery of what was not a huge budget. Everything is beautiful, the costumes, the sets, the armour, the weapons - the wonderful photography. Everything glows with otherworldy greens & reds & the sheen of polished steel, tendrils of mist curl around the edge of every frame....
Visually it's a work of art & the score perfectly matches the film, all orchestral & taken from such great works as Carl Orff's O Fortuna & Richard Wagner's Gotterdammerung. Siegfried's Funeral March (Wagner) accompanies both opening & closing credits and is one of the finest classical pieces ever written.
There is plenty of Dark Age combat culminating in the final battle between Good and Evil. The action is stirring & brutal with the screen awash with blood at times. Limbs are hacked off, axes are wielded, sword & spear impales armour & flesh - until 1995's Braveheart, the battle scenes were easily the most violent ever filmed for this genre. When complimented with the intense music, we really are into the realm of the uber-epic.
The battles in 1981 could not be created in the style of The Return Of The King, but what may be lacking in numbers, is compensated for by the violent imagery, the sound of hooves & steel & the sheer cruelty of war.
The final meeting of Arthur & his nemesis, the warlord Mordred (Morgana's dark offspring) is truly horrifying as father & son (yes!)embrace with spear & sword... a very dark & moving denoument..
Speaking of sword, yes, all the elements are present; Lancelot, Camelot, The Lady In The Lake & of course Excalibur!
The Lady In The Lake scenes are the movie's major fantasy element. Neat SFX!
This is the definitive Arthurian fantasy with it's dark & serious tone, it's battle intensity & the erotic atmosphere (There's quite a bit of sex on show here)
Leave the kids to watch Clash Of The Titans - This is very much for grown ups & although different, in terms of tone, it could be likened to the same year's Conan The Barbarian. It has the darkness & the Nietzchian philosophies.

"Knights, Squires - PREPARE FOR BATTLE!!!!!"


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Reviews


The most authentic
Review date: 2008-03-22 Rating: 10 out of 10

I have had this DVD for ages and it remains my favorite. It is authentic with a sense of power, mystic and emotion that most films just miss. The one liners such as "Come father, let us embrace." amplify the emotion.

Superb!


Anál nathrach, orth bháis is bethad, do chél dénmha
Review date: 2008-02-25 Rating: 6 out of 10

Because everything about this film is so over-the-top, it was my favourite movie as a child (yes, my Dad edited out Uther's and Morgana's sex scenes). I bought it on DVD a few years back and, while I found parts of it still arresting (the locations, the music, the camerawork on some shots like the dead Gawain on horseback), it hasn't aged well. Nicol Williamson's camp turn as Merlin would be better suited to pantomime, and Nigel Terry and Cherie Lunghi just aren't a convincing lead couple. An interesting but very flawed film.

You promised me the sword!
Review date: 2007-09-04 Rating: 10 out of 10

They don't make them like this anymore. Fantastic.
Slightly marred by Helen Mirren, because she makes me think of ITV. King Arthurs dad is played by the guy from "Keeping up appearances" but thats okay because HE DOES IT VERY WELL. Captain Picard also stars.

All in all - BEST FILM EVER.




Best epic film ever
Review date: 2007-07-30 Rating: 10 out of 10

Watched this as I was growing up. Surely the best movie about Arthur and Merlin. The acting was great and direction well done. Everything in this movie is believable. The scene where Oother visits Egraine because Merlin turns him into Egraine's husband using scorcery. The scene was hot. They dont make them like that anymore. Great Battle scenes. Great fun.

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Paul Geoffrey
Cherie Lunghi
Nicholas Clay
Nigel Terry
Helen Mirren

Creators:
Nigel Terry (Primary Contributor)
Helen Mirren (Primary Contributor)

Director(s):

Recording label: Warner Home Video
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
EAN: 7321900220187
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: Dubbed, PAL, Widescreen,
Release date: 2000-05-15
Number of discs: 1
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 135 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1981-04-10
Language: English (Original Language)
Language: French (Original Language)
Language: English (Subtitled)
Language: Spanish (Subtitled)
Language: German (Subtitled)
Language: French (Subtitled)
Language: Italian (Subtitled)
Language: Portuguese (Subtitled)
Language: Dutch (Subtitled)
Language: Arabic (Subtitled)
Language: Romanian (Subtitled)
Language: Bulgarian (Subtitled)
Language: Italian (Dubbed)

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