Excalibur

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Norm S. I absolutely love this film. Liam Neeson and Helen Mirren in their early days Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/24/25 Full Review Blu B All Time Classic. The ultimate question here is for a movie of the King Arthur Legend, to what degree would a person who knows nothing about the legends be able to still enjoy, follow, and come away with something here. And it's very suprising how comprehensive, pretty easy to follow, and how neatly it ties a bow on all the characters by the end without feeling jumpy, bloated, or unfocused. This is a booming epic fantasy a well over 2 hours. The direction is really good here. The cinematography is excellent. The sets, costumes, really well done fight scenes, and special effects are all excellent here. Lots of the film gives off a dream like mythic vibe due to the use of fog, surreal lighting, and blurring camera focusing. It really drives the point home your watching a legend not something real. A realy nice touch to the whole thing. Music is really good. Sometimes I wish it was more catchy and had more use of the opera like soundtrack which is so good. Acting is really good also. I wish there was more Patrick Stewart here as even in his small part he's the best. The acting is campy but it really fits given the style of your watching a legend not real life. Everything else is masterful. Merlin, Arthur, his wife, Lancelot, and company are all fitted in here in a masterfully done way. Whenever we hand it off to another character besides Arthur for a bit, it always makes sense and never feels jumpy. Lots of great character development this fits into all the fights and epic story. How this fits the Holy Grail, Wizard clashes, midevil battles, and the Knights of the Round Table is nothing short of incredible without feeling bloated. This feels like a fantasy tale for adults with its darker tone here and mature characters. I would say besides little kids, everyone should give this a shot here. This is probably the best film ever made about the King Arthur Legends. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/23/25 Full Review Rolando R I saw this at theatre when it came out in 1981 or 82. I really enjoyed this, a whole different and unique way of telling the story. Magical, Mythical and More. And Liam Neeson is in this in a small role. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 09/09/25 Full Review mark j A great retelling of the Arthur legend. Succeeds in creating an immersive world where the rule of a divine king and magical swords and wizards seems natural. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 05/17/25 Full Review Wayne K As well known and often told as the legend of Arthur, his Knights of the Round Table and the legendary sword Excalibur is, it’s hard to think of a movie that can be called the definitive cinematic depiction of this legendary tale. John Boorman’s Excalibur from 1981 certainly has the look and feel of a sword and sorcery epic. The cinematography is incredible, with beautiful locations, vivid colours, incredible contrast between light and dark and landscapes and scenes often encased in swirling mist. It’s no secret that Boorman at one stage was planning to direct a Lord Of The Rings trilogy, several decades before Peter Jackson would do so, and you can see evidence of that on screen. The film does it’s best to fell big. It spans decades, has a massive cast of characters and focuses on landscape changing events. It was hard to know what I thought about it when it was over. I felt truly sucked in by its story, but was frequently baffled by its creative choices. The character of Merlin, the wise and noble tutor of Arthur from adolescence to adulthood, is depicted as a somewhat snarky and sarcastic occasional friend who pops in and out of the story, dispensing cryptic advice before disappearing again, and speaking so quietly that, without subtitles, I’d have no idea what he was even saying. The performances are mixed, with many of them feeling they’re straight out of a soap opera from the 90s. There’s little point discussing how accurate it is, since it’s legend we’re talking about, not verifiable history, but enough of the elements are familiar that even those with only a passing knowledge of the story will recognise it. It has the spectacle of a big budget blockbuster, with occasional moments of goofiness and lots of nice character moments that are sure to stick with you when its all over. A mixed bag, but one that leans more to the positive side. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/21/25 Full Review Joshua m Possibly the worst film ever made. It's worth watching in some sense, just to revel in its utter awfulness. Rated 0.5/5 Stars •  Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 01/10/25 Full Review Read all reviews

Excalibur

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