Excalibur - a Medieval Fantasy Tale of Kings and Wizards

No collection of Medieval/fantasy movies would be complete without John Boorman's 1981 masterpiece, Excalibur. That's all you need to know. That's it. End of review.

OH alright, just kidding!

The Premise
Based on Le Morte D'arthur by Sir Thomas Malory, this is the most definitive Arthurian movie to date. A sword was forged that would determine destiny. He who could remove said sword from the rock would become a King. This is the tale of Arthur... of the wizard Merlin and the evil sorceress Morgana. Pulling the sword Excalibur from the stone is just the beginning of Arthur's adventure. Excalibur tells the tale of the birth of the famous Round Table, and the quest for the Holy Grail. Treachery and sword play abounds.

A Who's Who
If for nothing else, watch this movie for the cast. Here you will find the early roles of many of the best actors today.

Patrick Stewart is Leondegrance, a knight who wins the joust and thus the right to attempt to draw Excalibur from the stone. Having failed, Leondegrance then backs the peasant Arthur when Arthur succeeds. Stewart tends to over-act in this, but that is forgivable because he looks damned good in armor. Heh. I'm thinkin I'd like to see him in a kilt.... You will likely know Stewart as Capt. Picard from the Star Trek: The Next Generation series. I think I read somewhere that Stewart is classically trained... at any rate, I adore him in just about everything he has done.

Gabriel Byrne is Uther Pendragon, Arthur's true father. Uther has made a pact with Merlin to let him lie with the beautiful Igrayne, and as a result of this union Arthur is born and they must give the child to Merlin to raise. Byrne is no stranger to tales of this period. You may recall his awesome performance as D'Artagnon in the most recent release of The Man in the Iron Mask. Byrne does a wonderful job portraying Uther Pendragon as a man with human flaws. He yearns for Igrayne, and then feels horrible guilt and agony as a result of that union. Byrne conveys these emotions without fail. The look on his face when Merlin takes the child makes you want to just reach out and comfort him... (actually, I'd like to do a bit more than just comfort him. heh.)

Liam Neesam is Gawain, the Knight of the Round Table who accuses the Queen of treachery with Lancelot. The worst I can say about Neesam in this is that you can see the lines of his Jockey shorts under his armor in his duel with Lancelot... and umm, they didn't wear underwear back then. It did bring up a nice visual fantasy though... Neesam is just cute as hell and a very accomplished actor today, starring in many films such as Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, The Dead Pool, and Ethan Fromme, just to name a few of many. While Neesam has numerous movies under his belt today, I am fairly certain this was his first. For that alone Excalibur is worth watching.

Nicol Williamson is the court magician, Merlin. Merlin is a very talented wizard capable of much helpfulness or mayhem, depending upon his mood. Merlin is basically a good guy, but the line is grey. Williamson is a name you may not recognize. I know I didn't, yet he has a myriad of credits. He does over-act in this quite a bit, but I think he was suppose to. Some of his work includes Hamlet in the 1969 movie of the same name, and the title role of Macbeth. Shakespearian plays demand sweeping motions and exaggerated line delivery, so perhaps this was just habit with him. At any rate, the entire movie is a bit over-acted so his role is no worse than any others. Over-all I think Excalibur was meant to be that way.

"Looking at the cake is like looking at the future, until you've tasted it what do you really know? And then, of course, it's too late."

Nigel Terry (FearDotCom, Rules of Engagement, Merry Wives of Windsor) plays Arthur, who looks really good in chain mail. Arthur, of course, is the one raised as a peasant who then becomes King and goes on to form the Knights of the Round Table. Terry has long been recognized as one of England's premier actors... as far as the US is concerned at any rate. He is, indeed, a fine actor. Poor Arthur goes through so much pain in this tale, and Terry is good at showing this. He is one actor who can convey how his character feels with a mere look, no lines necessary.

Katrine Boorman, daughter of John Boorman, plays Igrayne: bewitched by Merlin, unwitting concubine to Uther, and mother to Arthur. Katrine is absolutely gorgeous, and not a bad actress to boot. She puts much emotion into the character of Igrayne. I am quite surprised she has not done more movies than she has. Most of her credits are foreign films such as Un amour de sorciere and Le Bonheur est un mensonge. That's a shame, I would like to see more of her work.

Cherie Lunghi (Frankenstein, Ransom) is the love of Arthur's life, the fair Guenevere. She, of course, marries Arthur but falls in love with Lancelot, probably one of the world's most well-known betrayals. Lunghi is cute, and doesn't do bad, but she is probably the least of the best in this. Not so bad that you just want to cut your own throat, but a bit stiff none the less.

Nicholas Clay is Lancelot, who pretty much kicks the asses of all of Arthur's knights. He's not looking to really hurt anyone, but to find someone worthy of his fealty... he finds this in Arthur himself. Now, yanno.. Lancelot isn't a bad sort, pretty studly actually, but I don't know that I would betray Arthur over him. In this version, I have to ask: What in the world was Guenevere thinking? Clay does a good job portraying Lancelot, but I think I liked him better as Lord Leo in the 1998 made-for-TV movie Merlin, which I will also get around to reviewing eventually. Perhaps he just got a bit better in the time span between making Excalibur and Merlin, but he does get across the anguish Lancelot goes thru in his betrayal of Arthur.

Robert Addie is Mordred, product of an unholy union between Arthur and his evil sister via sorcery. Mordred is raised by Morgana to depose Arthur as King. As If! Addie is also no stranger to period fantasy having also played Sir Gilbert in the TV movie Merlin... of course this came before that. He also played Sir Guy of Gisburne in the 1983 Robin Hood and the Sorcerer, which is one I've amazingly yet to see... I'll correct that shortly.

Helen Mirren (Gosford Park, Teaching Mrs. Tingle ) plays the sorceress Morgana, Arthur's half-sister and the bane of his existence. She convinces Merlin to school her in the ways of the necromancer, then uses this knowledge to trick Arthur into bearing her a son. Mirren is great in this role. She is very very good at being bad... almost too good.. know what I mean? Hey, I could play this role... if it wasn't for that whole sleeping with your brother thang. heh. Mirren uses body language and facial expression well to convey various evil mind-workings. Her costuming is way off base, but this was not under her control, is it? Besides, Excalibur is a fantasy and not intended to be historically accurate.

DVD
*Length on my version is 140 minutes, but there is a USA version in circulation which has been edited to 119 minutes

*Full length audio commentary by Director John Boorman

*Production notes

*Subtitles in both English and French

Rated R for violence and some partial nudity in the full version, the USA edited version is Rated PG but I have not seen that one so have no clue what was cut. I have no problem with kids aged 13 and up watching this movie, younger kids I would suggest having a parent watch with them.

Last 2 Pence
Of all the movies in the Medieval/fantasy genre in my collection, Excalibur is one that I would not do without. The scenery is lavish, and the feel of the period is priceless. If you have any interest in the Arthurian tales or this time period, you need this movie. I would be so bold as to call this an important work in that so many actors have their roots here. I do not recall what I paid for this one, but I'm sure it can be found for between $5-$10 at any DVD retailer. Give yourself a treat and buy it,