Jonathan slayed by EXCALIBUR (1982) Movie Reaction FIRST TIME WATCHING
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ก.ย. 2024
- Excalibur (1981)
Excalibur is a 1981 epic medieval fantasy film directed, co-written and produced by John Boorman, that retells the legend of King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table, based loosely on the 15th-century Arthurian romance Le Morte d'Arthur by Thomas Malory. It stars Nigel Terry as Arthur, Nicol Williamson as Merlin, Nicholas Clay as Lancelot, Cherie Lunghi as Guenevere, Helen Mirren as Morgana, Liam Neeson as Gawain, Gabriel Byrne as Uther and Patrick Stewart as Leondegrance. The film is named after the legendary sword of King Arthur that features prominently in Arthurian literature. The film's soundtrack features the music of Richard Wagner[8] and Carl Orff,[9] along with an original score by Trevor Jones.
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End Music by: Diego A. R. Delfino
This is a very underrated movie by John Boorman. Music, costumes, story... absolutely all works here. By far, for me, the best film about King Arthur ever.
And the Wagner's music gives it that touch of mystery and grandeur.
Absolutly.
I think the bit where Lancelot returns near the end, and shouts for Arthur always gives me a lump in my throat.
It's far from being underrated. This whole underrated meta is hilarious. This movie was nominated for best picture by the academy. Far from being underrated.
I totally agree with you .😊
"Ready my knights for battle. They will ride with their King once more. I've lived through others far too long. Lancelot carried my honor, and Guinevere, my guilt. Mordred bore my sins. My Knight have fought my causes. Now my brother, I shall be... King!"
"Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government."
Are you sure..??? Couldn't be any worse.....
Monty python LOL but in seriousness since the Lady of Lake choses solely on the basis of truth and Honour, rather than corruption greed blackmail and stupidity, all wrapped up in a false Dichotomy of deception, that we call the Lie of "democracy", I think I'll choose the Lady of the Lake.
Help help I'm being repressed.
I could do with a "moistened bint" right about now. lol
As a strange woman habitually lying in a pond, I would beg to differ. It's quite relaxing, for one. Also, we merely give out the swords. We are not responsible what you silly mortals do with them afterwards.
"What's this !?! I never saw this !" Mind is blown when a human does something so great and noble that even the wisest wizard could not have imagined it.
It was, without doubt, an insanely daring and fiendishly clever thing to do, leaving the choice to Uryens. Arthur trusted in his destiny, and his rival had to decide - before witnesses - just what move a knight who would be King must make. And the right move it was - showing that, all things being otherwise, he'd have been an okay King too. ☺️
A pleasure to watch this movie with someone of a younger generation who has the ability to appreciate it. Thank you very much for the experience. 👍
Hey, since you asked, this was my first introduction to King Arthur. I saw this in a drive-in theater as a double-feature, Excalibur (1981) and DragonSlayer (1981), from my aunt's truck bed filled with blankets and pillows, along with my siblings and cousins. I was 10-years-old!
So many awesome fantasy films from that early 80s era. Excalibur, Conan the Barbarian, Dragonslayer, Beastmaster, Sword and the Sorcerer, Krull. Damn I miss the 80s, a lot more fun than the 2020s in so many ways.
That’s an amazing double feature.
Absolute fave, saw as a kid on HBO, and watch it regularly. It never gets old. They don't make em like this much anymore, except for the MIddle Earth Trilogy. Pure classic.
I was around 15 when I saw this and have been in love with it ever since. So many stars in this one: Patrick Steward, Liam Neeson, Gabriel Byrne...it gets better with age.
"Now, once more, I must ride with my knights to defend what was and the dream of what could be."
Fun Fact: Theatrical movie debuts for Gabriel Byrne, Liam Neeson, Ciarán Hinds, and Cherie Lunghi.
Family Affair Fact: Igrayne, The Lady Of The Lake, and young Mordred were played by writer, producer, and director Sir John Boorman's real-life children: Katrine Boorman, Telsche Boorman, and Charley Boorman.
Good Friemenies Fact: Dame Helen Mirren and Nicol Williamson were initially reluctant to work with each other. They'd been in a previous disastrous production and were not on speaking terms. Writer, producer, and director Sir John Boorman cast them because their natural animosity would be perfect. According to Mirren, she and Williamson "wound up becoming very good friends" during filming.
Armor Up Fact: All of the armor used in the movie was hand made out of aluminium, primarily by British armorer Terry English. English custom-fit the suits of armor for the principal characters, but kept the overall style the same for members of different groups, especially prominent in the nearly "uniform" armor of the Knights of the Round Table. English can be seen in the movie during the tournament scenes. He is the blacksmith who looks up at Arthur (Nigel Terry) when the future King is chasing a thief and stops to contemplate filching a sword from the armorers' tent.
This is one of my top 5 movies of all time and I have watched probably close to 500 movies from the 50s to present day
the 1930's is the best decade for movies, excalibur is in my top 10 all time not top 5.
This is also easily one of my Top 5 movies and I have watched will over 2700 movies from the 20's through to the present. Yes, I am an old man.
@@Hernal03 this is in my top 10 not top 5.i think the 1930's had the best decade for movies. excalibur was and still is the best king arthur movie to date.the actor who played merlin especially was great in this.
Crazy I watched this when it first came out.
“Guards, knights, squires… prepare for battle!”
Terrific movie. The Wagner soundtrack works very well. A foundational movie for so much British and Irish acting talent. Nicol Williamson is the definitive Merlin.
At the end, the three fairies escort King Arthur´s body, over a golden bed, to the fogs of Avalon. In there, he would be buried.
another thing that similar to tolkien LOTR, in the end the main character goes to uniknown land. The difference frodo goes to final land alive, arthur goes to final land as dead bodies
Faries?? Those my friend are VALERIES escorting Arthur to paradise
@@deanzalis6715 They are women of Avalon ... priestesses??
@lauriivey7801 Yes, you are correct
@@deanzalis6715 I love how they kept the mystery of them, and didn't give too many details ... just females in white robes
Uther is played by Gabriel Byrne, who's also in The Usual Suspects, End of Days and Vikings. This was one of Liam Neeson's earliest film roles. Another film with Merlin actor Nicol Williamson is Spawn
He did a nice job on those early episodes of Vikings. It's hard to make a character (Jarl Haroldsson) seem villainous and sympathetic at the same time, but he pulled it off well.
The use of the music of Wagner and Carl Orff's 'O Fortuna' from 'Carmina Burana' is pure EPICNESS!
Boorman is so underrated today. Point Blank, Deliverance, Hope and Glory, The Emerald Forest, all are worth watching. (Zardoz too, but that's pretty crazy)
Zardoz is an absolute acid trip of a movie.
Do not forget Exorcist II The Heretic, you heretic. How dare you call Zardos crazy and not mention The Worst Sequel of All Time. Also, there is the classic WWII film Hell In The Pacific. The ending for that one will blow you away. Along with Excalibur, I love Excorcist II. Call me crazy.
@@edwardtoyebo9690 You're not crazy. I saw Exorcist 2 on first release. I thoroughly enjoyed its craziness. I thought for most people, it would be a bridge too far. The worst sequel for my money is Another 48 Hours.
Zardoz is a spot-on lambasting of the illuminati communist elite class and the stratification of society - them vs. the working class. One of the times I saw it at a revival theater in Manhattan we were sitting behind two guys who sat there hooting at the film and making fun of Connery in his red loincloth. What they didn't realize was that THEY were exactly those people the film was making fun of.
Someone finally reacted to this movie. This is the most complete story done on film. It would be nice if some director who is true to the original story makes an updated version but with the complete story. The film, however, does a pretty good job in telling as much of the story as possible in the time allotted. My first exposure to the King Arthur legend was from my 7th grade teacher who gave us Idylls Of The King to read as part of the cirriculum.
4:13...No mate, as far as I'm aware most of the armour was genuine. Boorman had a load of blacksmiths nearby who at the end of a day's shooting would hammer all the suits back into shape...oh and most people came for Helen Mirren ggrrrrr.
I still own the laser disc of this movie. I have always loved this film. Anyone that bought the LP of the soundtrack has a valuable and rare collectable.
It was an utter joy watching this masterpiece with you! This has been the ultimate Authurian movie for me ever since I first saw it in the theater and has been ever since. No other movie comes close. John Boorman really outdid himself with this film and gave us a truly timeless classic.
It makes me so happy to see people reacting to this movie. I can't even remember how many times I saw this in the theater and it's always been a favorite of mine. In answer to your question, I have no idea where I first encountered the Arthurian mythos -- I was *really* young I think. It was probably via the Disney movie.
My favorite Arthur legend film by far, the music, the costumes, the actors, Merlin eats up the scenes
Roger Ebert saw Merlin as a sort of Noel Coward of medieval days, ready with a _bon mot_ for all occasions. 😁
Percival is probably my favorite character of all time. You don't expect much out of him at first and then he ends up being the best knight out of all of them.
I love this movie.
The quote from Arthur when he refuse to champion Guinevere.
"My laws must bind everyone, high and low, or they're not laws at all"
That is something we should live by every today. Timeless values.
Refreshing to hear someone who totally "gets it" when it comes to the epic nature and grand scale of this movie's storytelling. Really enjoyed how invested and engaged you were in your reaction. Fantasy has always been my favorite genre. Thanks for sharing...
Right On! Did somebody here "hear" me? Im the 70s kid deathly allergic to cgi.😅 100's of millions to make movies just waiting on next pixel to drop not art to me. Could you imagine those millions, along with the lost decades, invested in special & practical effects? I couldn't make it past first hour of Lord Of The Rings the dozen times i tried & tried, thinking dollars, green screens, & cgi cartoons. Yet if it was done by the guy who made this with ABSOLUTELY ZERO CGI, i know id love it like the kids do!😅
Is a shame. Saw this in theater when i was 9. Never cared for King Arthur "Renaissance" genre, but this blew my young mind & bacame an instant favorite.
Thanks the reaction, friends!
See ya!
✌️🌎❤️
One of my all-time favorite movies, at least top 5. It is the truest to the actual Arthurian legend put on film and was based on a few different collective stories not just one or two. The musical score along with the visuals is just brilliant. Something of interest, Merlin is not a name, it is a title. Much of the legend is Welsh, and visiting Wales is on my ancestorial bucket list along with Scotland and Ireland.
Isn't "Myrddin" closer to what it would have been in actuality? (I know it's a spelling used occasionally by scholars, anyway.) 🤨
@@goldenager59 With what very little I've picked up of Welsh names from my ancestry research, it seems about right.
@@firedoc5
It's always a relief to find that my information is reasonably in order. 🤓
@@goldenager59 Know what you mean.
Excalibur is my favorite film about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table! Unfortunately, this movie couldn't be made today.
I'm 49 and can't think of any movie that just sends my heart back to that precious time, maybe when I was 12 or so, when the world around me felt like it was humming with wonderful stuff about monsters, myth and magic. Because it (and similar sources) were SO good, that feeling's still inside me. I'm not superstitious or religious, but there's just a sense of the quest about the world. Nobility and sacrifice.
The land and the king are one. Sleep - sleep in the arms of the dragon.
The director John Boorman did many great films about a sort of quest and transformation.
Egraine in the film was the director's daughter.
Saw this a few times the it first hit theaters. I was blown away by the landscapes & all of that shiny chrome & the classical score.
Wow, you're the first reactor I've seen watch this movie. I grew up with this film, and it's one of my all-time favorites. My first exposure to Arthurian myth, it will always hold a special place in my heart. Plus, I'm sorry, King Arthur leading his knights into battle to the sound of "O Fortuna" is possibly the greatest musical cue in all of cinema.
EDIT: I want to add that your commentary was excellent.
I seen this movie when I was 12 in the theater. Best movie I EVER seen and I've seen it about 15 times since. Love it every time.
Same. The 80s had great fantasy adventure movies.
Best film about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table ever made!
One of my favorites 🎉
The boat at the end are the 3 sisters taking Arthur to the Isle of Avalon to rest until he is needed again.
Sorta Grey Havens vibes.
Great reaction. This is my favorite King Arthur story not for Excalibur, because this shows Arthur as a wise king..who even stunned Merlin with his wise moments. Merlin had grown so used to warlords and not true good knights so seeing Arthur being a true knight. Arthur stating "the swords power was to unity all men not serve the vanity of one. Arthur dealing with the accusations on his wife and not letting emotion take hold..and that laws must apply to kings and peasant alike shows how such a good leader he was. Because if he defended her that would show bias. It sad we don't leaders like this today that realize being king/leader is to serve others not other way around. Also, Sir Percival was one of King Arthurs most honorable knights and finder of the grail because of his pure heart. He was born poor and was elevated to knight and completed many honorable deeds. Merlin was like a proud father in this story.
We watched this multiple times on VHS tape back in the day...CLASSIC!
This is my first experience of the King Arthur story and it’s a movie that I go back to ever so often. It’s a classic. There is so much great movie making in this film. John boorman made amazing films but this film takes the cake. Being English it has always been felt close to my heart. I believe I measure all fantasy movies to Excalibur. Why? No cgi just pure costume. The fighting is unbelievable and honest of the times it was drawing from. You don’t see that these days. And the score speaks for itself. Trevor jones is a genius also went on to do the last of the mohicans.
I never get tired of this movie. It's such a fever dream but also so amazing. Really a classic
They are taking Arthur to Avalon at the end of the film. They filmed with a green filter on the camera to give it an ethereal feel.
The knighting scene always gives me goosebumps
Brings tears to my eyes. Uryens realizing who Arthur is and pledging himself--I could speak volumes comparing that to Peter Jackson's LOTR when Boromir *finally* recognizes Aragorn as his king.
I was a freshman in highschool when this came out. My circle of friends were fanatics for all things medieval and renaissance. We were into Chaucer, Shakespeare, Mallory and often enacted scenes from their works as well as improvisational work, creating our own characters and such. This was before Renfaires, cosplay and D&D were such worldwide phenomena. We lived in the Midland/Odessa area and "The Globe of the Great Southwest " (look it up!) was a big part of our lives. We all went to see this film together and, for us, it was the LOtR of our time. Meant so much to us. Really great to get to experience it with your first time watch reaction❤
Love this movie, it's one of the few that actually keeps to the mythology. One of the things I love, as someone who grew up in Cornwall, is that the terrain looks like Wales and SW Britain (although it's filmed in Ireland). The location where Arthur grants Cornwall the land to the west looks like the upper reaches of the river Tamar, which is the border between Cornwall and Devon and Tintagel castle (where Arthur is said to have been conceived) is on a tidal island/headland off the coast just like in the film; they even got the rocky shingle beach below correct!
On Graham Norton once, Helen Mirren and Liam Neeson told how they met and became lovers on the set of "Excalibur" (1981). Neeson was cast as Gawain. He said he was in full armor when he first saw Mirren. He was very taken with her. As she came closer in her sultry Morgana costume, he said he had to lean forward due to pain. As he put it "the armorer had made no provision for arousal." Mirren said that, at the time, she thought he was having some kind of seizure. ••• So, not your usual boy meets girl story. (-:
“I didn't know how empty was my soul... until it was filled.”
I've had seen many films about King Arthur and his knights. And I sure you you won't find other film like this. It"s so well done than even it was made 43 years ago(now in 2024); had get old so well then it feels actual.
By the way at the end Arthur was taken by the three queens to the Island of Avalon; to recoverd to his wounds and as the legend says; he is waiting 'till the day England needs to him once more".
Jonathan it was a real joy to see someone watch & love one of my top 3 favorite movies of alltime. Boorman was an absolute genius in taking the vast treasuretrove of Grail Romances & Arthurian "Fisher King" lore & distilling it down into one cohesive plot. There can never be a more perfect telling of the story than this.
If you make a study of Grail Romances, you'll be shocked to learn Percival is actually the star of the stories. Hollywood has mythologized it a bit making Arthur more central to the stories than Percival, but it's understandable given how compelling Arthur's stories are. Arguably, Percival & Gallahad are the same person.
I hope this is a beginning for your interest in Grail Romances. They were an epic cycle of stories emerging out of the destruction of European gnostics. Their role in shaping European culture is sadly barely understood anymore in our modern age. It's a topic worthy of your study
I was properly exposed to the Legend in 1975 in Paris, we read La Mort D'Arthur by Thomas Malory (published 1485 C.E.) in my Collège 4ème année (Grade 8 in the US) Literature Class.
As for this particular film, it's considered to be one of the most faithful to the original work of Malory.
The music is from Siegfried’s Funeral March but Richard Wagner….absolutely incredible.
hehehe, Picard kickin ass.... as is right. Dang, that Patrick Stewart never had hair, but always Rocked! I loved how they used the lighting to reflect so on the sword and wedding scene. Was such a dark and gritty film, so well done.
Hey Bud! Super Glad you are checking out this movie for the first time!
A Few Points of Interest...
-The Armor worn by the Warriors Reflects both the Powers that are affecting them and the Land at the time(black for all of them before the Advent of christianity brought to the Land by Lancelot, then the switch to Silver/True Steel for the good guys after chivalry has taken over)
-Also on the point of the armor, Later in the movie, the wear and tear of the armor is remeniscent of the Tarnishing of the pride of man during the Grail Quest, till Percival Sheds his earthly Trappings(aka his armor) to achieve worthiness to retrieve the grail...
-Lastly for this thing, at the end when Arthur is on the boat after the battle of Camlan against mordred, you see him with three ladies hand in hand.. those are supposed to be reflective of BOTH the 3 Fairy Queens of Avalon, the Triple Femenine(of Early Celtic Christianity in britain), AAAAND the 3 Women who were at the crusifiction of Christ( Mary the Mother, Mary Magdelan, And Martha the Cousin of Jesus)....
Hope these Little FActoids help inrich all your further watchings of this MASTERPIECE!! :D
Cheers bro
Over the years, I’ve had occasion to quote this film many times.
Very good review and reaction, I first saw this back in the 80s when I was a kid, Its always been in my list of top 10 best movies of all time. Thanks
I HAVE ALWAYS LOVED THE SWORD & THE STONE MYTHOS.
THIS IS MY FAVORITE VERSION OF THAT ...
If I remember correctly Igrane was Boorman's daughter and the Lady of the Lake, his wife. Amazing to see that Patrick Stewart didn't have hair, even back then.
Although I knew bits of the King Arthur legend it wasn't until I bought the Pendragon RPG back in the late '80s that I delved deeper into it. Which primarily uses the old Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur as a source, which is wonderful.
The first time I read about King Arthur was The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart. I read it 1979 when I was twelve and later read the three sequels. The first three books are written from Merlin's perspective. In this story, Lancelot's name is Bedwyr and he and Arthur had been friends since childhood. In the third book, when Merlin tells Arthur about Bedwyr and Guinevere he's surprised to find that Arthur knows.
Arthur says, "Well, now we know the truth of the prophecy. Now we have seen the shadow. And now we see it falling across Bedwyr's life and mine. But if it is not to destroy our faith in one another, what would you have me do? I must give Bedwyr the trust and freedom to which he is entitled. Am I a cottager, with nothing in my life but a woman and a bed I am to be jealous of, like a cock on a dunghill? I am a king, and my life is a king's; she is a queen, and childless, so her life must be less than a woman's. Is she to wait year by year in an empty bed? To walk, to ride, to take her meals with an empty place beside her? She is young, and she has a girl's needs, of companionship and love. By your god or any god, Merlin, if, during the years of days that my work takes me from court, she is ever to take a man to her bed, should I not be thankful it is Bedwyr? And what would you have me do or say? Anything I say to Bedwyr would eat at the root of the very trust we have, and it would avail nothing against what has already happened. Love, you tell me, cannot be gainsaid. So I keep silent, and so will you, and by that token will faith and friendship stay unbroken."
Arthur loved them both and they loved him. That stuck with me my whole life. Until then, I thought that marital love was the pinnacle of affection and this taught me that the love between friends was just as sacrosanct. It's still my favorite book series. As soon as my brother and I were old enough to watch Excalibur, we watched it so many times that we memorized the entire dialogue. We would quote whole passages going back and forth and it drove our parents crazy. It's still my favorite movie. The story of King Arthur is peak Hero's Journey and it's tough to beat.
This is the best King Arthur movie. period.
Merlin being a bit goofy is because Boorman was well versed in Arthurian Legend. While most of the movie follows Malory's "Le Morte D'Arthur" which is quite serious in tone, some of the older legends of Merlin depict him as a the classic archetype of the trickster who is hiding greater power. This similar to how they depict Odin wandering about the earth in some Norse Myths or as Yoda was depicted in Empire Strikes Back.
The final scene was Arthur being taken to Avalon where he could recover from his wounds and be ready to return when he was needed
First Exposure to the Arthurian Legends : The Great Illustrated Classics, I found a good summarized version of the whole story in grade school. I had heard of Arthur growing up, but I read that at around 3rd grade I guess, and from then, I've loved it all.
It's all but forgotten now, but in 1992 Nigel Terry and Cherie Lunghi were reunited on American television (ABC network) for the series *Covington Cross* (Saturdays, 8:00-9:00 p.m.), wherein Terry played Sir Thomas Grey, a 14th-century landowning widower in the days of Edward III (at least that was the scenario they started out with; concerns about audience carping over authenticity resulted in settling for a more indeterminate milieu). His three sons were Richard, Cedric, and Armus (Jonathan Firth, Glenn Quinn, and Tim Killick respectively) plus a spirited daughter, Eleanor (Ione Skye) who wields a wicked crossbow. And Lunghi essayed the rôle of Sir Thomas's Lady-friend, Elizabeth. I myself never watched any of the episodes (of which there were, regrettably, only thirteen) but the aim, apparently, was to show - with appropriate humor - that families are much the same everywhere, everywhen. (Certainly television ones are, at any rate - just how many widowed fathers with several children and a ladyfriend has TV seen, anyway?!) 🙄 😁
Despite its shortcomings especially in the sfx department, I've never watched the faerie and magic pertaining to Arthurian legend so brilliantly rendered but in this movie, and I like how you characterized its moral essence. Good point too on the stagelike vibe: armors are anachronistic, lines are theatrical, and it's fine because it's just roman courtois put on screen. So few reactors to this great film, glad I found you!
There is a Northumbria version of the Arthur legend,
I came across a local historical site when visiting Vindolanda Roman site .
It was a theatre that showed a movie telling their local version of the story
This is the Arthurian movie that all others are compared. This is the standard. It’s also very overlooked these days.
This is one of my favorite movies ever; I saw it when it came out and was stunned. You mentioned a couple of similarities to Star Wars; I think it's pretty clear that this movie was strongly influenced by the first two Star Wars movies (the only ones that had come out then), and that the "dragon" is essentially a medieval version of the force. Another, more limited influence: the scene when Percival sees an armored knight whom he then discovers to be a corpse pretty much has to have been suggested by an early scene in The Seventh Seal. The character of Sir Gawain was Liam Neeson's first movie role.
Oh heck yes. For us 1980s D&D geeks thus was, well…the Holy Grail. We couldn’t get enough of this movie. The trippiness it brings to the story is perfect for a King Arthur movie (one of the reasons The Green Knight works so well). And it was the movie that introduced Carmina Burana into popular culture. Still one my favorites list. Also try Zardoz, which John Boorman made in the 70s and is weird & wonderful.
My first exposure to the Arthurian myth was Roger Lancelyn Green’s “Knights of the Round Table“ when I was 9 or 10. Then I think I read The Once and Future King when I was about 14, And it made a huge impression on me. (I think I first heard the cast album of “Camelot” at about the same time.) Monty Python and the Holy Grail came out the next year, and I’m pretty sure that Excalibur (five years later) was my next. But Bradley’s The Mists of Avalon, which I read on a plane coming home from backpacking in Europe after college, permanently altered my outlook on the story.
No doubt you’ve been told that the music in this film is all high classical, from Orff’s Carmina Burana to Wagner’s Gotterdamerung.
Practically every actor in it was eventually famous, and yes, many are Shakespeareans, but I don’t think I’d agree that the dialogue is that style - I’d call it overwrought. It’s one of those films (like Troy) which is a guilty pleasure for me, because there’s so much in it I like & so much in it I can’t stand.
Had Arthur championed Guinevere it would have meant the King was above the law, which in this Arthur strives for true justice.
One of my fave movies ,Gabriel Byrne did a pet project documentary on the making some years ago,fyi John Boorman the director was going to flim lord of the rings but there was problems and lost the rights so he ended up making g excalibur .you can find some info of his rings script on line and it is bonkers
Loved this reaction. Not many people enjoy this movie and I'm glad you did. One of my favorites since I was a child
Zack Snyder's 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice' contained a few nods to 'Excalibur'
- 'Excalibur' was playing in the theater that young Bruce Wayne and his parents went to on the night that his parents were killed.
- at the end of the movie Superman stabs Doomsday with an Excalibur-like spear, but is himself impaled by Doomsday, just as Arthur and Mordred killed each other at the end of "Excalibur".
And the line at the end when bruce mentions the round table
Just a few years after this, Patrick Stewart was in Dune and then a few years after that he became Jean Luc Picard
Love this movie and enjoyed your reaction. Another really good John Boorman film is "Hope and Glory" about a British boy in early WW2
Also 57:48 "Who is He?"
That's Arthur's brother Sir Kay, who i think was made Senschal of Camelot. We saw hima rlier in acouple of scenes; the most important being the whole "drawing the sword from the stone" stuff.
I adore this movie, I still go back to it.
Theres a tale Liam Neeson told about him and Ciarin Hinds who were great friends and had worked together a lot seeing Helen Mirren for the first time walking towards them in full Morganna barely there costume and both of them letting out the word "F&*^ in unison. He went on to have a 4 year relationship with her.
I watched this movie for the first time in 1990 when I was 8yo. I saw this cool VHS tape at the store, all in red with Merlin like a dragon on the cover (I think I still have it) and I asked my mom and dad to buy it. And at 8yo I did not fully like it of course, because I did not understand it. I liked the cool armor and fights, but the rest of the movie was above my head.
At the end Arthur is transported to the Isle of Avalon, that is also how most of the legends end where he is "resting"/is dead depends on how you want to interpret it.
Funny trivia spoiler: The Witcher games (well, mostly books) "borrowed" this ending motive from Arthurian legend...the Grail and Arthurian legend in general are a lot more present in the Witcher books than games as this ultimate fantasy homage.
Loved seeing you geek out to this like I used to
I usually hate it, when movies aren't equipment-wise historically accurate (and if asked, I could name maybe only five (!!!) movies set in the Middle Ages that fulfill my criteria - in all of cinematic history!!!) but in the case of "Excalibur" I don't blame John Boorman for creating a world that regarding costumes, armour and other gear reflects the visuals of the 15th instead of the 6th century.
Because it makes sense on a literary level as the legends around King Arthur matched the idealistic perceptions of knighthood during the Late Middle Ages (and people back then highly likely have imagined Arthur and his knights in a contemporary setting).
To some extent Boorman makes the audience feel like 15th century recipients watching a story that for them was almost a thousand years old already but presents "modern" equipment, big castles, tournaments... [of course fantasy versions of them in this case].
I don't know if this was intended but that's how I have always perceived this film. And after all it seems to be based on tales from Sir Thomas Malory's "Le Morte d'Arthur".
Of course there are also some stupid moments when swords or lances cut and pierce through armour as if it was made of tin foil.
I'm not talking about Excalibur itself - it's a magical sword and might do that but with regular melee weapons there is no way to manually penetrate well-made plate armour that evidentially can withstand most of today's small calibre guns.
Nevertheless I've always loved this film since I was a kid and the music by Wagner and Orff fits excellently.
Until today "Excalibur" might be the best cinematic interpretation of the Arthurian legend.
Sorry for my clumsy English (I'm Austrian)! 🙂
Saw this the summer between high school and college. My jaw was on the floor, like yours. A defining movie of my youth. Question: can I yell "Speed of horse!!" when the line at Starbucks is moving too slow?
I always loved Merlin in Excalibur, out of all versions, this merlin is the best, perfect amount of madness in him. Tv show is a lot of fun, but this is The Merlin for me. And I also love the score, A friend of mine had let me copy his copy of Ray Manzerak from the doors' version of Carmina Burana..... had a bit of a hippy groove to the score, but that main tune was pretty cool,
My FB profile has Merlins quote " a dream to some, A nightmare to others."
It's an Extreamly classic, underrated movie
This movie was very influential in 1982 for my group of friends.
To answer your question, I was 6 when I first saw both Excalibur and Sword in the Stone on HBO.
John Cleese played Tim the Enchanter in The Holy Grail.
Man, to be able to experience this for the first time. Happy to see someone who has obvious interest in this kind of story enjoy this movie without picking it apart. I don't want to sound like an old head but... They haven't matched this one yet in terms of Arthurian legend on film.
On my list of best classic 80's sword and sorcery/fantasy:
EXCALIBUR
LADYHAWKE
CONAN, THE BARBARIAN
DRAGONSLAYER
LEGEND
DARK CRYSTAL
This film operates on such an Ur mythic level it's also easy to see why it is difficult to capture its overall vibe. Maybe only a half madman like Boorman could make it work. Fun fact, Arthur's mother was played by Boorman's then 14 year old daughter.
'Arthur' appears in TROY as a head priest. It was cool to see him in another epic.
1st exposure - the Disney cartoon. "Liam Neeson!" Have you seen KRULL? I'll add the CGI version of Beowulf.
For minor reference... Real suits of plate armor only weighs like 30-60 lbs and Excalibur presented in the film is an arming sword, longswords and bastard swords are essentially the same thing. I mean historically the film is totally unreal referring to weapons, castles, and dress. The story is set in the "Dark Ages" which would have been 400-900 AD and chain mail would have been the pinnacle and most castles in England would have been wooden constructions or Roman Era fortfications. It's totally a fantasy in those regards.
Critics pointed out how the characters wore armor in many scenes outside of battle.
Check out another early Liam Neeson role alongside other big names Mel Gibson, Daniel Day-Lewis, Anthony Hopkins and Laurence Olivier. The Bounty (1984)
This film is all about personal growth, integrity, righteousness, and honour.
Most people have religion, but we native celts of Great Britain have the Arthurian legend. And despite popular belief, Percival was Arthurs greatest knight, not Lancelot, who was his greatest fighter. The ship at the end was taking Arthur to Avalon, his final resting place. It's a mythical island that was supposed to be off the coast of Britain.
Great movie, went to the cinema to see it when it came out on the big screen!
This movie straight up rocks. You made some DnD references, but this movie started me in the hobby.
it is indeed a 10 good sir, a 10 indeed 👍
like a lot of my other fav movies, the music gives that much more to the story.
Young Mordred is Boormans Daughter, and older Mordred is his Son Charlie.Charlie is best mates with Ewan McGregor.Theres ur Star Wars connection.They did a few series where they toured the world together on motor bikes.Worth watching.
Child Mordred is Charlie Boorman while adult Mordred is played by an adult theater actor. Two of Boorman's daughters are in the movie, Katheryn plays Igraine and Teshe (RIP) plays The Lady In The Lake.
I loved this movie, had the amazing soundtrack on LP…. and played it VERY loud and often. Merlin TV series… which one!?!? The 70’s series , recent series or even better…. Merlin the miniseries with Sam Neil, Rutger Hauer, Helena Bonham Carter, Sir John Geilgud, Martin Short, James Earl Jones and Isabella Rossellini (highly recommended). For some reason I learned the charm of making and never forgot it.. definitely my favourite easter egg in Ready Player one
A couple of thoughts... Some of the myths make Arthur a Christlike figure as you point out. There parallels are pretty much right on the nose. For example, Belvedere is asked three times to throw the sword in the the lake which echoes Peter denying Christ three times (granted unlike Peter he does finally throw it in). Regarding the ship at the end. The legend goes that he was taken by three women whose identities vary (in some accounts they include Morgan Le Fey where she is still his half sister and not the enemy) by ship to the Isle of Avalon where he would be healed of this wounds to return to Britain when he is needed most which echoes the second coming of Christ. What is interesting is the evolution of the Arthurian myth as earlier stories depict a more pagan legend while keeping many of the archetypes (the boy king, lust causing wars/bringing down kings, etc.). As the stories were adapted to Christianity they started including things like the Quest or the Holy Grail and some of the symbolism mentioned earlier.
1:05:19 - "Uhh....where you going Arthur?" To Avalon? ...or maybe Valinor?