Long before Lord of the rings was even thought of there came a tale of swords and magic! (Excalibur (DVD))

Member Name: Judgee

Product:	Excalibur (DVD)
Date:	19/01/02 (227 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Scenery

Disadvantages: The odd hammy performance

People rave over the classic literary masterpiece created by Tolkien over fifty years ago. They wonder at it's longevity and it's place in the history of the world. But swords and sorcery were used in stories long before Tolkien was born. Perhaps the one I am about to mention fuelled his imagination? It is a tale of Knights on horseback, battling evil across the land. Of myth and legend, love and incest, hero's and villains. That story is of the boy king Arthur, born to lead the land and unite the people. Written by Sir Thomas Malory in 1470, "Le Morte D'arthur" was the original title for the story of Arthur and his sword of kings, Excalibur. John Boorman took up the challenge to make the 1981 film epic after giving up on Lord of the Rings. Although he would have preferred to turn Tolkiens classic story into a film, the practical problems in doing so at the time were so great that he turned to Malory's older and perhaps simpler tale, and threw his energy into that instead. Excalibur was born and in turn cinemagoers the world over were in for a treat. Mixed reviews from the critics were luckily ignored by the paying public and it was a box office smash. I hope I can do it justice, it is another of my all time favourite films!


The Cast/Characters/description:

Nigel Terry - King Arthur (the hero)
Nicol Williamson - Merlin (the sorcerer)
Nicholas Clay - Lancelot (the betrayer)
Cherie Lunghi - Gwenevre (the love interest)
Helen Mirren - Morgana (the mad sister)
Gabriel Byrne - Uther Pendragon (the lustful)
Robert Addie - Mordred (the inbred)
Corin Redgrave - Cornwall (the loser)
Paul Geoffry - Perceval (the wannabie)
Patrick Stewart - Leodegrance (the honourable)
Katrine Boorman - Igrayne (the temptress)
Liam Neeson - Gawain (the accuser)


Battle rages throughout the land and as with all wars, the people suffer. Two lords predominately fight for the
crown, Lord Cornwall and Lord Uther Pendragon. Being finely balanced, the battle drags on for years and it is only through the help of a wise old wizard Merlin, that the deadlock is broken. Merlin recognises that the balance of power must be broken and one Lord must overcome the other in order for peace to prevail.


Summoning forth the Lady of the Lake, Merlin calls Uther to the waters edge and instructs him to reach out to the Lady and receive from her a sword that will give him an edge over his rival. Uther gladly excepts the sword known as Excalibur and heads off to confront Cornwall. Recognising the sword of power, Cornwall yields to Uther, and agrees to except him as the one true King in exchange for land. Peace is finally established, Merlin pats himself on the back for a job well done and a large feast is held in honour of the new King.


Unfortunately Cornwall has an attractive wife Igrayne, and although he yielded to Uther in battle, he can't help but flaunt his lady in front of the new King (in an attempt to have the last word perhaps?) But Cornwall's attempts to irritate Uther backfire. Igrayne performs an erotic dance in front of Uther who instantly becomes besotted with her and his lustful desires are plain for all to see, particularly to Cornwall. Yet again war is declared and the two knights storm off in a huff and prepare to do battle.


Cornwall retreats to his castle, and the fortified building proves impenetrable to Uthers army. Spurned on by lust, Uther demands that Merlin helps him get his wicked way with Igrayne. Reluctantly Merlin agrees, but on one condition. Through Uther's union with Igrayne a child will be born. That child is to be given to Merlin. Ruled by his pants, Uther agrees and covered by one of Merlins illusions Uther enters the castle magically disguised as Lord Cornwall. It is safe to say that the castle is not all that Uther enters and eventually a child is born.


Uthers actions cost him dearly though. Merlin turns up to retrieve the child and shortly afterwards, Uther is beaten to a pulp by his disgruntled followers who disapprove of his deceit. In one final act of selfishness, Uther plants Excalibur firmly in a large rock and and promptly dies. The sword can only be removed by the next future king and for years all is restless across the land.


The people starve and just when all hope is lost a lowly squire Arthur, chances upon Excalibur. Not realising the significance of the sword he plucks it out of the rock without a second thought. This upsets a few of the knights who have been battling in a tournament just down the road. They feel that the future King should be of noble blood, not to mention an adult as this squire is just a boy. Not all the knights feel so upset about it though. One of them, Leondegrance, insists that the boy has been chosen and the boy should be king. Outrage ensues and guess what? yes war breaks out again!


Meanwhile Merlin who up until now has been lurking in the shadows, pulls Arthur away from the action. Advising him of his heritage, Merlin instructs Arthur to go forth and unite the land. Confused and bewildered, sword in hand, Arthur makes his way back to the battle, can this boy king really unite the land once more?


I have only mentioned the beginning of the film. Want to know more, well yes you guessed it, go and rent it out as I will say nothing more about the plot to enable people to view it for themselves (even though I guess most people already know the story!)


The cast is great, although there are no particularly spectacular performances. Nigel Terry is more convincing as a mature king and knight than he is as a squeaky voiced teenager. The rest of the cast are believable, but the only real performance of note is that of Nicol Williamson as Merlin. It is so hammed up and over the top at times that you feel like shaking him
! Despite this, he is just so entertaining in his own way that it still manages to add that certain something to the film as a whole. If you note the cast list you will see a few recognisable names. Liam Neeson being one, an early performance that fails to overwhelm you but most likely was the launching pad for some of his more noticeable roles. Old captain Picarde, Patrick Stewart can also be spotted and it amazes me that he still looks quite old even way back then, was he ever young? So as far as the acting goes, well I enjoyed the performances for various reasons but none of them were especially good.


The director/screenwriter Boorman, collaborated with fellow screenwriter Rospo Pallenberg to bring this classic story to the screen. Inevitably it has been chopped and changed in order to make it more viewer friendly but it does retain all the important elements of the book.


There are two aspects that really stand out in this film. The cinematography and the sound track. Filmed, mostly in Ireland, the views are spectacular to say the least. Incidentally, most of the location scenes were filmed in County Wicklow, within a few miles of John Boormans home and a number of other scenes were filmed at Cahir Castle in County Tipperary.


John Boorman always intended to use a classically themed music score and he contacted Trevor Jones to fill in the areas that could not be filled with the sound of Wagner and Orff. He also got him to write alternatives to the music he had chosen for the beginning and the end of the film, incase he was unable to obtain the rights to them. It was not necessary though, he got the music he wanted and boy does it add to the film. One track you may even recognise from an old spice aftershave advert! It truly is amazing and it will help you to be absorbed into the whole atmosphere and feel of the film. I believe a remastered picture CD version was released last year and if you find it particularly inspir
ing you may feel like splashing out!


Well you may be getting the odd mixed message in this review. I say the performances aren't great, which is true. But they do have a certain charm. It is also fascinating for me to see all those actors that have moved on to other things. The story is a classic and has been wonderfully adapted in this film. The music is inspiring and the scenery absolutely beautiful. If you like Lord of the Rings in written or film format then you will probably enjoy this. Very much a "whole being so much more than the sum of it's parts" and something for you to gawp at until they release the second part of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy! There is some brief nudity, mild sex scenes and violence so really not for the little ones though!

This film runs at 2 hours 20 minutes and is rated 15

Summary: Sword and Sorcery Classic!