VHS : Excalibur [1981]

Rating: - Adult, Intelligent & Provocative .. A Dark Arthurian Fantasy..
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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Rating: - Anál nathrach, orth bháis is bethad, do chél dénmha
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.

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Rating: - You promised me the sword!
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.

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Rating: - Best epic film ever
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.

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Rating: - Visually stunning entertainment
I love most things Arthurian and remember this from when it came out at the cinema. I had a DVD copy, loaned it out and never had it back, so with the current three for £12 offer simply had to replace it.
Jon Boormans visual masterpiece starring Nigel Terry as Arthur and a host of futur stars such as Patrick Stewart and Liam Neesom, this film is high quality and not to be missed. Gruesom at times, it tells the story of Arthur based largely on Le Morte Darthur but focuses on only some parts of the tale; namely the begetting of Arthur, Artgurs rise to King, his winning of the country and Guinever, Guinevere's adultery with Lancelot, Merlins fall, the seeking of the Cauldron and Arthurs demise at Camlan. Theres a stunning OTT performance from Nicol Williamson as Merlin, costumes that if real could not have been worn and faught in (plate armour so massive and shinning), and a very scheming Morgan with son Mordred played partly by Charlie Boorman in his early years. Filmed in Southern Ireland tha landscapes are magnificent and the whole film is accompanied by a magnificent classical score that fits the images exceedingly well. Well worth getting and spending several wet afternoons watching and re watching.