Excalibur

Starring:

Nicol Williamson | Nigel Terry

Director:

John Boorman

Genres:

Drama | Irish

Languages:

English

Reviews:

2 reviews

The legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table receives its most impressive screen treatment in Excalibur, from visionary moviemaker John Boorman. All the elements of Sir Thomas Malory's classic Le Morte D'Arthur are here: Arthur removing the sword Excalibur from the stone; the Round Table's noble birth and tragic decline; the heroic attempt to recover the Holy Grail; and the shifting balance of power between wily wizard Merlin and evil sorceress Morgana. With Patrick Stewart, Gabriel Byrne and Liam Neeson in notable early screen roles, Excalibur serves up one sumptuous moment after an other.

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Don't waste your time!

Ruth from Dublin, 07 Aug 2007

What a disappointment, we stuck 20 minutes of this and gave up!

2 people out of 5 found this review helpful

Dramatic and nuanced retelling of a classic tale

Adrian from Dublin, 16 Apr 2011

This tells a well-known story with rich colour and glorious action. The battle scenes are shockingly bloody; the scenes with Merlin's magic are unearthly and memorable; and the Lancelot-and-Guinevere love story is painfully touching. When you look beyond Boorman's broad strokes of epic storytelling, you see the subtle touches that mark the film as a masterpiece. To pick one example: Merlin simultaneously loves and fears Morgana, and never speaks a word of it, yet the actor (Nicol Williamson) conveys the inner conflict clearly and compellingly. Every time I watch this film, I notice something new. It stands as my personal all-time favourite. If you enjoy beautiful storytelling for its own sake, and if you don't mind that the storyline is predictable or that it has a downbeat ending, then I recommend watching this film. At least, hang in there until Mordred turns up.

1 people out of 1 found this review helpful