As with its source material John Boorman’s Excalibur has a very episodic structure to it, covering many of the big events in the Arthurian legend that took place over a rather long span of time, with the film opening on Merlin (Nicol Williamson) aiding Uther Pendragon (Gabriel Byrne ) on his securing of an alliance with the land’s many rival lords, only to piss it all away by getting all hot and bothered upon seeing the beautiful Igrayne (Katrine Boorman) and demanding Merlin help him seduce her. This not only ends the alliance, she being married to a rival duke who isn’t up for sharing, but it also produces an heir, one who Merlin quickly claims as payment of a debt.
A very expensive booty call.
The film then races along as it bounces from one key point in Arthur’s life to another, we get young Arthur (Nigel Terry) pulling the sword from the stone, after misplacing his Brother Kay’s sword, falling in love with the captivating Guinevere (Cherie Lunghi) and surrounding himself with his loyal knights; Gawain (Liam Neeson ), Sir Uryens (Keith Buckley ), Sir Perceval (Paul Geoffrey ) and the greatest knight of them all Lancelot (Nicholas Clay). With the Knights of the Round Table formed, and Camelot is built on a shining hill, things all look good with the world, that is until love comes and mucks it all up. Guinevere has her disastrous affair with Lancelot and even Merlin gets distracted by a pretty face in the form of Morgana Le Fay (Helen Mirren ), Arthur’s vengeful half-sister.Can’t say that I blame him too much.
Boorman remains fairly faithful to the source material while also borrowing elements from the tales of Tristan and Iseult and the combining of Morgause and Morgan Le Fay into one character – Morgause being Arthur’s half-sister while the sorceress Morgan Le Fay being Morgause’s sister – and Sir Bedivere is swapped out for Perceval and the noble Sir Galahad is completely absent, despite him being the only actual knight worthy enough to win the Holy Grail. Much of these changes can be attributed to the streamlining of such an epic tale, and for the most part, this works, and I doubt even the most anal Arthurian scholar could be too upset by this adaptation. The film is a testament to visual storytelling and to achieve this Boorman surrounded himself with a stellar team of designers and craftsmen that truly bring the legend to life. From dark castles to lush and magical forests the world of Excalibur is fantastic and a wonder to behold, watching this film one cannot help but become immersed in this tale of love, betrayal and violence.Beauty and violence go hand-in-hand in this film.
Stray Observations:• Uther having sex with Igrayne while still dressed in full plate armour has to be one of the most uncomfortable sex scenes in cinema history.
• Polo ponies were used to make things easier for riding one-handed while wielding a sword with the other, despite the fact that such a horse could hardly support a man in full armour.
• Boorman’s decision to go with full plate armour was intentionally anachronistic, such armour not used until the 15th century, and Terry English’s designs look simply amazing and much of the film’s success is owed to him and production designer Anthony Pratt.
• The "Charm of Making" is easily one of the most iconic spells to be depicted in cinema, "Anál nathrach, orth’ bháis's bethad, do chél dénmha" and was later used to good effect in Spielberg’s Ready Player One.
• Trevor Jones provides an amazingly robust score for Excalibur but the most iconic piece that people will remember is the use of Carl Orff's "O Fortuna" from Carmina Burana.
• One should never fail to mention Patrick Stewart’s awesome performance as Guinevere axe-wielding dad, Leondegrance.
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