07-04-2018, 03:08 AM
Excalibur (1981)
This was a regular VHS rental when was a young squire, in part because I was into the Arthurian legends and partly because of all the sex and violence I shouldn't have been watching
. It still holds up (unlike many other Arthur adaptaions) thanks to John Boorman not trying to make things realistic, believable, or too cosy. Lots of future stars looking young and fresh faced, like Helen Mirren, Patrick Stewart, Liam Neeson, Gabriel Byrne and Ciarán Hinds. The Knights all riding around, eating, sleeping, hiking and even shagging in full shining battle armour looks gloriously daft and cramming the whole saga into 140 minutes is a bit of a mad rush. It needed the kind of canvas that Peter Jackson had for LOTR to have done it full justice. Still, the magical atmosphere, mud-splattered action and oodles of crazy sword and sorcery stuff, drenched in glowing coloured lights and mysterious mist is a winner. For me, 'Excalibur' comes closest to capturing that ineffable thing about the Arthurian myth.
Awesome trailer:
It has one of the all-time great movie sword designs. So simple, yet elegant. Adam Savage made himself one:
This was a regular VHS rental when was a young squire, in part because I was into the Arthurian legends and partly because of all the sex and violence I shouldn't have been watching
. It still holds up (unlike many other Arthur adaptaions) thanks to John Boorman not trying to make things realistic, believable, or too cosy. Lots of future stars looking young and fresh faced, like Helen Mirren, Patrick Stewart, Liam Neeson, Gabriel Byrne and Ciarán Hinds. The Knights all riding around, eating, sleeping, hiking and even shagging in full shining battle armour looks gloriously daft and cramming the whole saga into 140 minutes is a bit of a mad rush. It needed the kind of canvas that Peter Jackson had for LOTR to have done it full justice. Still, the magical atmosphere, mud-splattered action and oodles of crazy sword and sorcery stuff, drenched in glowing coloured lights and mysterious mist is a winner. For me, 'Excalibur' comes closest to capturing that ineffable thing about the Arthurian myth.Awesome trailer:
It has one of the all-time great movie sword designs. So simple, yet elegant. Adam Savage made himself one:
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