Excalibur (1981)

Movie that succeeds to be at the same time bad movie and the best adaptation of legend of King Arthur and Knights of the Round Table. For 1981. it's visually fascinating and deserves Best Cinematography Oscar it's nominated for. But however magical and hypnotizing it may be, it's also full of flaws. It's poorly written, story is undeveloped, things just happen without explanation and movie makes rough time jumps without transition. Characters are two-dimensional and occasional attempts to add them some depth are tragicomic. With few exceptions, acting is better left uncommented. When I was a child I was stunned with this movie, but from current perspective, changed by few decades of movie experience, this movie is so hollow that I simply can not turn the blind eye to all its flaws, but still so beautiful that I can not rate it low either.7/10

Excalibur (1981) Starring: Nigel Terry, Helen Mirren, Nicholas Clay, Cherie Lunghi, Paul Geoffrey, Nicol Williamson, Corin Redgrave, Patrick Stewart, Keith Buckley, Clive Swift, Liam Nesson, Gabriel Byrne, Robert Addie, Katrine Boorman, Ciarán Hinds, and Niall O'Brien Directed By: John Boorman Review FORGED BY A GOD. FORETOLD BY A WIZARD. FOUND BY A KING. The tale of King Arthur and his knights of the round table, they need no more films for this is perfection. A great representation of one of the greatest legends ever told. The myth of King Arthur brought to the screen. Uthur Pendragon is given the mystical sword Excalibur by Merlyn. At his death Uthur buries the sword into a stone, and the next man that can pull it out will be King of England. Years later Arthur, Uthur's bastard son draws Excalibur and becomes king. Arthur's evil half-sister Morgana sires a son with him, who may prove his downfall. This film is brought is brought to us by great British thespians and I say that because it shows. It's great work, I loved it. The main lead Nigel Terry who plays Arthur when we first see him in Camelot I immediately thought to myself yep that's a perfect choice for King Arthur. Same when I saw Nicholas Clay as Sir Lancelot and just about everyone cast int this picture. The pacing of this movie was great as well. The story movies along in a brisk pace and tells its story in a great amount of time, it's not too long or two short it feels just right. The director John Boorman I feel wanted to tell the whole tale of those wielded Excalibur and make a faithful interpretation of the myth of King Arthur. This one adventurous fantasy that should be experienced especially for those who are fans of the tale of king Arthur. I'm giving Excalibur a five out of five.

By far the best movie about King Arthur, Excalibur, Lancelot and all the other great names of one of the greatest legends Europe got, besides maybe the Saga of the Nibelungen and a few others. Dark, bloody, mature, fantastic acting, and full of the finest cinematography (beats all the CGI-Superoverload-Bulls******g that nowadays is enough to convince most of the so-called pro-critics to claim a movie "is great" or the "next big thing"). On top without any p.c. and/or "liberal" nonsense of rewriting history/legends etc. which is nowadays so common, that one could come to the conclusion that the real year is not 2017 but 1984 ;)If for whatever reason you just want to watch one movie about the legend of King Arthur and the legendary sword in the stone in your lifetime, this is the only choice for you. The movie: fantastic, great, and almost a legend itself.

This film is one of the best examples of visual mythic storytelling I've ever had the pleasure of watching, and the film has been with me since I was in school. It was required viewing in English Literature for me and, other than maybe Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings saga, represents the best sword and sorcery epic on the big screen. The colors, the armor, the characters, the setting, the over-the-top dialogue and the music, OH the MUSIC, all combine to form an absolute cinematic and artistic treat that perhaps will never quite find a peer.This film, of course, was made after attempts to make The Lord of the Rings failed, and therefore seems to pave the way, quite elegantly for future epic films, decades ahead of it's time. It helped launch several actors into "household name" status. If you want a real treat, watch the film without seeing the cast list and be surprised every time a superstar appears! Treat yourself. Watch this film. Let it grow on you. Let it become part of who you are.You'll be a better person for it, and, I promise, you'll be humming "O Fortuna" for the rest of your life, every time you wish to feel like the Once and Future King, clad in shining armor, ready to save the day!