Film 5/52: Excalibur (1981)


An early-80s film that I have not seen since the dawn of home video, and had very little memory of, Excalibur is John Boorman's exploration of the King Arthur legend. While it's a bit of a slow burn, by the time it was over I was quite satisfied with it. It perhaps took me a little too long to warm to Nigel Terry's Arthur, but I was immediately captivated by Nicol Williamson's Merlin and Helen Mirren's Morgana, who have some great interactions late in the film. And it was fun to see Patrick Stewart and Liam Neeson in early film roles. I was also quite fond of Cherie Lunghi as Guenevere. Her filmography appears to be comprised of predominantly TV work, but she has turned up in several films that I've seen before and may need to revisit (including The Mission and Kenneth Branagh's Mary Shelley's Frankenstein).

Vonna was taken aback by how often she felt that Month Python and the Holy Grail (1975) must have been inspired by the film, despite my constant reminders that their take on the Arthur legend preceded this one by five years. Still, it makes one appreciate the effort the Python's went to in their storytelling.

It's interesting to think that this film not only came out the same year as George Romero's Knightriders (and was responsible for that film changing its name from Knights, which was a working title for Excalibur at one point), but on the same day. They make for a very unique pairing, though I will always be partial to Romero's epic. 

It was nice to experience Excalibur on a big screen in surround sound, which really kicks in as the film goes on (there were moments where atmospheric noises in the surrounds had me looking over my shoulder). One scene in particular really engages the subwoofer, shaking the theater and effectively supporting the visuals onscreen. I'm glad I chose to watch it as part of this series.


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