Excalibur (film)
Encyclopedia
Excalibur is a 1981 dramatic fantasy
film directed, produced and co-written by John Boorman
that retells the legend of King Arthur
and the knights of the Round Table
. Adapted from the 15th century Arthurian romance
, Le Morte d'Arthur
by Thomas Malory
, Excalibur features the music of Richard Wagner
and Carl Orff
, along with an original score by Trevor Jones
. It stars Nigel Terry
as Arthur, Nicholas Clay
as Lancelot, Helen Mirren
as Morgana, Liam Neeson
as Gawain
, Nicol Williamson
as Merlin
and a relatively unknown Patrick Stewart
as Leondegrance
. The film is named for the legendary sword
of King Arthur that features prominently in Arthurian literature.
Shot entirely on location in Ireland
and employing Irish actors and crew, the film has been acknowledged for its importance to the Irish filmmaking industry and for helping launch the film careers of Neeson, as well as Gabriel Byrne
, Neil Jordan
and Ciarán Hinds
.
Excalibur achieved moderate box office success while receiving mixed reviews. Although film critics Roger Ebert
and Vincent Canby
criticized the film's plot and characters, they, along with other reviewers, praised it visually. Excalibur opened at number one in the United States, eventually grossing $34,967,437 on a budget of around USD $11 million, to rank 18th in that year's receipts.
(Nicol Williamson
) retrieves Excalibur
from the Lady of the Lake
for Uther Pendragon
(Gabriel Byrne
). Uther uses it to secure an alliance with Gorlois
, the Duke of Cornwall (Corin Redgrave
). Uther soon ruins the truce with his lust for Cornwall's wife Igrayne
(Katrine Boorman
). Uther forces Merlin to help him seduce Igrayne. On the condition that Uther relinquishes to Merlin whatever results from his lust, Merlin transforms Uther into Cornwall's likeness with the Charm of Making. Cornwall dies while leading an assault on Uther's camp, and his daughter Morgana
awakes upon sensing Cornwall's death. Igrayne, fooled by the disguise, submits to Uther, who impregnates her. The devastated Morgana is the only one who can see past his disguise.
Nine months later, Merlin arrives and takes Uther's son Arthur
. Uther pursues but is mortally wounded by Gorlois's knights. Uther thrusts Excalibur into a stone, and Merlin proclaims that "he who draws the sword from the stone, he shall be king."
(Clive Swift
) and his sons Kay
(Niall O'Brien
) and Arthur (Nigel Terry
) attend a jousting tournament. The victor, Sir Leondegrance (Patrick Stewart
), wins a chance to try pulling Excalibur from the stone, but he fails. Kay's sword is later stolen, and Arthur pulls Excalibur after failing to stop the thief. Word spreads, and Merlin announces to the crowd that Arthur is Uther's son and hence the rightful ruler.
Leondegrance immediately proclaims his support for the new king, but not all are willing to accept. While the others argue, Merlin and Arthur enter the forest, and Merlin tells the boy that he is the rightful king, and that he and the land are one. Overwhelmed, Arthur falls into a long sleep.
When he wakes, Arthur comes to aid Leondegrance, whose castle is under siege by Arthur's enemies. During the battle, Arthur asks Sir Uryens (Keith Buckley
) to knight him, and hands him Excalibur to do so. Uryens is tempted to strike the boy down, but, deeply moved by Arthur's display of faith, Uryens knights the boy, then falls to his knees and declares loyalty, leading the others to follow suit.
(Cherie Lunghi
) and is smitten, but Merlin forsees this leading to future problems.
Years later, the undefeated knight Lancelot
(Nicholas Clay
) blocks a bridge and will not move until he is defeated in single combat, seeking a king worthy of his sword. Lancelot defeats Arthur and his knights. Arthur summons Excalibur's magic and defeats Lancelot, but the sword breaks. Arthur, ashamed of abusing the sword's power to serve his own vanity, throws the sword's remains into the water. The Lady of the Lake offers the restored blade to the king. Arthur vows never to abuse the sword's power again, and Lancelot is revived.
Arthur and his knights unify the land. Arthur creates the Round Table
, builds Camelot
, and marries Guenevere. Lancelot confesses that he, too, has fallen in love with her. Arthur's half-sister, Morgana (Helen Mirren
), a budding sorceress, becomes apprenticed to Merlin in hopes of learning the Charm of Making from him.
(Paul Geoffrey) and takes the boy to Camelot where he becomes a squire.
Sir Gawain
(Liam Neeson
), under Morgana's influence, openly accuses Lancelot and Guenevere of adultery. Lancelot must duel Gawain to defend his and Guenevere's honor. The night before, Lancelot duels himself in a nightmare and awakens to find himself wounded by his own sword. When Lancelot does not arrive at the duel in time, Perceval volunteers to champion Guenevere and is knighted by Arthur. But just before Perceval is about to duel with Gawain, Lancelot appears; the injured Lancelot defeats Gawain but nearly dies from his wounds.
Merlin saves him, and he rides out to the forest to rest. Guenevere realizes her feelings for Lancelot and goes to him in the forest, where they consummate their love. Meanwhile, Merlin lures Morgana to his lair to trap her, suspecting her plots against Arthur. Arthur finds Guenevere and Lancelot asleep together. Heartbroken at their betrayal, he thrusts Excalibur into the ground between the sleeping couple. Merlin's magical link to the land impales him on the sword, and Morgana seizes the opportunity to trap him in a crystal with the Charm of Making. Morgana takes the form of Guenevere and seduces Arthur. On awakening to the sight of Excalibur, Lancelot flees in shame and Guenevere lies weeping.
(Charley Boorman
/Robert Addie
). Because of the boy's "unholy" origin in incest, a curse descends upon Arthur and the land is striken with famine and sickness. A broken Arthur sends his knights on a quest for the Holy Grail
in hopes of restoring the land. Many of his knights die or are bewitched by Morgana.
Morgana captures Perceval who narrowly escapes. Perceval encounters a bearded man with armor under his tattered robes who preaches to followers that the kingdom has fallen because of "the sin of Pride". A shocked Perceval recognizes the man as Lancelot. After Perceval fails to convince Lancelot to come to Arthur's aid, Lancelot and his followers throw Perceval into a river. Perceval has a vision of the Grail during which he realizes that Arthur and the land are one. Answering the riddle, he attains the Grail and takes it to Arthur who drinks from it and is revitalized, as is the land, which springs into blossom.
Frustrated in preparation for battle against Morgana's allies, Arthur calls to Merlin, unknowingly awakening the wizard from his enchanted slumber. Merlin and Arthur have one final conversation before Merlin vanishes. The wizard then appears to Morgana as a shadow and tricks her into uttering the Charm of Making, producing a fog from the breath of the Dragon, and exhausting her own magical powers which had kept her young. She rapidly ages, and her own son kills her.
Arthur and Mordred's forces meet in battle, with Arthur's side benefiting from the fog which conceals the smallness of their army. Lancelot unexpectedly arrives and turns the tide of battle. He later collapses from the old, self-inflicted wound, which never healed. Arthur and Lancelot reconcile, and Lancelot dies with Arthur's honors.
Mordred stabs Arthur with a spear, but Arthur further impales himself to get within reach of the boy. Arthur kills Mordred with Excalibur.
After first ignoring Arthur's dying wish that he throw Excalibur into a pool of calm water, Perceval then finally throws it into the pool, where the Lady of the Lake catches it. Perceval returns to see Arthur lying on a ship, attended by three formally posed ladies clad in white, sailing into the sun toward the Isle of Avalon
.
Even though he was 35 years old, Nigel Terry
plays King Arthur from his teenage years to his ending as an aged monarch.
Several members of the Boorman family also appeared in the picture: his daughter Katrine Boorman played Igrayne
, Arthur's mother and his son Charley Boorman
portrayed Mordred
as a boy. Because of the number of Boormans involved with the film, it is sometimes called "The Boorman Family Project."
's The Lord of the Rings
instead. When Boorman, having written a three-hour-/-one-film-script with Rospo Pallenberg
, submitted the film script to UA, they rejected it, deeming it too costly. Boorman was allowed to shop the script elsewhere, but no studio would commit to it. Returning to the original idea of the Merlin legend, Boorman was eventually able to secure deals that would help him do "Excalibur" instead. Much of the imagery and set designs seen in the film were originally created with "Lord Of The Rings" in mind.
According to Boorman, the film was originally three hours long; among scenes that were deleted from the finished film but featured in one of the promotional trailers was a sequence where Lancelot rescued Guenevere from a forest bandit.
cast Nicol Williamson
and Helen Mirren
opposite each other as Merlin and Morgana, knowing that the two were at the time on less than friendly terms, due to personal issues that arose during a production of Macbeth
seven years earlier. Boorman felt that the tension on set would come through in the actors' performances. This is stated by John Boorman himself in the audio commentary track of the Excalibur DVD.
, County Tipperary
, and County Kerry
. The early critical battle scene around a castle, in which Arthur is made a knight by Uryens, while kneeling in a moat, was filmed in Cahir Castle
, in Cahir County Tipperary
, Ireland
. It is a genuine Norman
castle, one of the best preserved anywhere and the moat is the River Suir which flows around the castle. The fight with Lancelot was filmed at Powerscourt Estate
's waterfall.
According to director John Boorman
, the love scene between Lancelot and Guinevere in the forest was filmed on a very cold night, but Nicholas Clay
and Cherie Lunghi
did the scene in the nude anyway.
, who also crafted the armor for the film Aliens
. The design is anachronistic, resembling more suits of the late medieval period rather than the Dark Ages. Ringwood's designs evolve as the film progresses; at first, the knights' armor is dark, iron-like, and their helmet visors are slightly grotesque, resembling the faces of beasts. Later, the knights adopt the bright, silvery armor and dragon helmet of Lancelot. The forces under Mordred appear in dark armor as well, in stark contrast to his which is bright gold.
was written by Rospo Pallenberg with assistance from John Boorman
.
The film is primarily an adaptation of Malory
's Morte d'Arthur
(1469–70). In order to recast the Arthurian legends as an allegory of the cycle of birth, life, decay, and restoration, the text was stripped of decorative or insignificant details. The resulting film is reminiscent of mythographic
works such as Sir James Frazer
's The Golden Bough
and Jessie Weston
's From Ritual to Romance
; Arthur is presented as the "Wounded King" whose realm becomes a wasteland to be reborn thanks to the Grail, and may be compared to the Fisher (or Sinner) King
, whose land also became a wasteland, and was also healed by Perceval. "The film has to do with mythical truth, not historical truth," Boorman remarked to a journalist during filming. The Christian symbolism revolves around the Grail, perhaps most strongly in the baptismal imagery of Perceval finally achieving the Grail quest. "That's what my story is about: the coming of Christian man and the disappearance of the old religions which are represented by Merlin. The forces of superstition and magic are swallowed up into the unconscious."
In keeping with this approach, the film is intentionally ahistorical. For example, the opening titles state the setting to be the Dark Ages, even though the knights wear full plate armor, a technology of the 15th century. Knights, knighthood and the code of chivalry also did not exist during the period. Furthermore, Britain
is never mentioned by name, only as "the land".
In addition to Malory, the writers incorporated elements from other Arthurian stories, sometimes altering them. For example, the sword between the sleeping lovers' bodies comes from the tales of Tristan and Iseult
; the knight who returns Excalibur to the water is changed from Bedivere
to Perceval; and Morgause
and Morgan Le Fay
are merged into one character.
The sword Excalibur and the Sword in the Stone are presented as the same thing; in some versions of the legends they are separate. In Le Morte d'Arthur
, Sir Galahad, the illegitimate son of Lancelot and Elaine of Carbonek, is actually the Knight who is worthy of the Holy Grail. Boorman follows the earlier version of the tale as told by Chrétien de Troyes
, making Perceval the grail winner.
Some new elements were added, such as Uther wielding Excalibur
before Arthur (repeated in Merlin
), Merlin's 'Charm of Making' (written in Old Irish), and the concept of the world as "the dragon".
, the "Charm of Making" that Merlin speaks to invoke the dragon is evidently an invention, there being no known classical source. It is apparently based upon Old Irish.
Transcribed phonetically as spoken in the film, the charm is pronounced aˈnaːl naθˈrax, uːrθ vaːs beˈθud, doxˈjeːl ˈdjenveː. The most likely interpretation of the spoken words, supposedly composed in Old Irish, though the pronunciation in the film has little relation to how the text would actually be pronounced in Irish, is:
In modern English, this would be translated as:
composed by Trevor Jones
, with the inclusion of classical
pieces from Orff's Carmina Burana
, as well as from Wagner's Ring
and Tristan und Isolde
operas.
Reviews for Excalibur were mixed. Widely hailed for its visuals, setting and overall design, other elements such as the story and performances some critics found wanting. Ebert, for instance, called it both a "wondrous vision" and " a mess." Elaborating further, Ebert said the film was "a record of the comings and goings of arbitrary, inconsistent, shadowy, figures who are not heroes but simply giants run amok. Still, it's wonderful to look at." Canby was more critical, saying that while Boorman took Arthurian myths seriously, "he has used them with a pretentiousness that obscures his vision." In her review in The New Yorker
, Pauline Kael
said the film had its own "crazy integrity", adding that the imagery was "impassioned" with a "hypnotic quality." According to her, the dialogue, however, was "near-atrocious." She concluded by saying that "Excalibur is all images flashing by... We miss the dramatic intensity that we expect the stories to have, but there's always something to look at."
Others have praised the entire film, with Variety
calling it "a near-perfect blend of action, romance, fantasy and philosophy." Sean Axmaker of Parallax View said, "John Boorman's magnificent and magical Excalibur is, to my mind, the greatest and the richest of screen incarnation of the oft-told tale." In a later review upon the Excalibur's release on DVD, Salon's David Lazarus noted the film's contribution to the fantasy genre, stating that it was "a lush retelling of the King Arthur legend that sets a high-water mark among sword-and-sorcery movies." A recent study by Jean-Marc Elsholz demonstrates how closely the film Excalibur was inspired by the Arthurian romance tradition and its intersections with medieval theories of light, most particularly in the aesthetic/visual narrative of Boorman's film rather than in its plot alone.
Excalibur currently has an 79% "fresh" rating on the Rotten Tomatoes
Tomatometer.
, was nominated for Best Cinematography at the 1982 Academy Awards
, but lost to Vittorio Storaro
for Reds.
Boorman won the prize for Best Artistic Contribution, and was nominated for a Palme d'Or
, at the 1981 Cannes Film Festival
.
and Legendary Pictures
in late 2009 with Bryan Singer
attached to direct, but this has been shelved indefinitely as of October, 2011.
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
film directed, produced and co-written by John Boorman
John Boorman
John Boorman is a British filmmaker who is a long time resident of Ireland and is best known for his feature films such as Point Blank, Deliverance, Zardoz, Excalibur, The Emerald Forest, Hope and Glory, The General and The Tailor of Panama.-Early life:Boorman was born in Shepperton, Surrey,...
that retells the legend of King Arthur
King Arthur
King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...
and the knights of the Round Table
Round Table
The Round Table is King Arthur's famed table in the Arthurian legend, around which he and his Knights congregate. As its name suggests, it has no head, implying that everyone who sits there has equal status. The table was first described in 1155 by Wace, who relied on previous depictions of...
. Adapted from the 15th century Arthurian romance
Romance (genre)
As a literary genre of high culture, romance or chivalric romance is a style of heroic prose and verse narrative that was popular in the aristocratic circles of High Medieval and Early Modern Europe. They were fantastic stories about marvel-filled adventures, often of a knight errant portrayed as...
, Le Morte d'Arthur
Le Morte d'Arthur
Le Morte d'Arthur is a compilation by Sir Thomas Malory of Romance tales about the legendary King Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, and the Knights of the Round Table...
by Thomas Malory
Thomas Malory
Sir Thomas Malory was an English writer, the author or compiler of Le Morte d'Arthur. The antiquary John Leland as well as John Bale believed him to be Welsh, but most modern scholars, beginning with G. L...
, Excalibur features the music of Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
and Carl Orff
Carl Orff
Carl Orff was a 20th-century German composer, best known for his cantata Carmina Burana . In addition to his career as a composer, Orff developed an influential method of music education for children.-Early life:...
, along with an original score by Trevor Jones
Trevor Jones (composer)
Trevor Alfred Charles Jones is a South African orchestral film score composer. Although not especially well known outside the film world, he has composed for numerous films and his music has been critically acclaimed for both its depth and emotion.-Career:At the age of five, Jones already had...
. It stars Nigel Terry
Nigel Terry
Nigel Terry is an English stage and film actor probably best known by film audiences for his portrayal of King Arthur in John Boorman's Excalibur . However, he has had a long career in classical theatre....
as Arthur, Nicholas Clay
Nicholas Clay
Nicholas Anthony Phillip Clay was an English actor.-Early life:Born in Streatham London, to Bill and Rose Clay, he studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and began his acting career in the early 1970s with small parts in film and television.-Career:Clay also appeared in several West End...
as Lancelot, Helen Mirren
Helen Mirren
Dame Helen Mirren, DBE is an English actor. She has won an Academy Award for Best Actress, four SAG Awards, four BAFTAs, three Golden Globes, four Emmy Awards, and two Cannes Film Festival Best Actress Awards.-Early life and family:...
as Morgana, Liam Neeson
Liam Neeson
Liam John Neeson, OBE is an Irish actor who has been nominated for an Oscar, a BAFTA and three Golden Globe Awards.He has starred in a number of notable roles including Oskar Schindler in Schindler's List, Michael Collins in Michael Collins, Peyton Westlake in Darkman, Jean Valjean in Les...
as Gawain
Gawain
Gawain is King Arthur's nephew and a Knight of the Round Table who appears very early in the Arthurian legend's development. He is one of a select number of Round Table members to be referred to as the greatest knight, most notably in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight...
, Nicol Williamson
Nicol Williamson
Nicol Williamson is a Scottish-born English actor who was described by English playwright John Osborne as "the greatest actor since Marlon Brando".-Early life:...
as Merlin
Merlin
Merlin is a legendary figure best known as the wizard featured in the Arthurian legend. The standard depiction of the character first appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae, written c. 1136, and is based on an amalgamation of previous historical and legendary figures...
and a relatively unknown Patrick Stewart
Patrick Stewart
Sir Patrick Hewes Stewart, OBE is an English film, television and stage actor, who has had a distinguished career in theatre and television for around half a century...
as Leondegrance
Leodegrance
King Leodegrance is the father of Queen Guinevere in Arthurian legend. His kingdom of Carmelide is sometimes identified with a location somewhere in the southwest of England, but may be located in Breton Cornouaille near the town of Carhaix, which is the Carhaise of L'Histoire de Merlin King...
. The film is named for the legendary sword
Excalibur
Excalibur is the legendary sword of King Arthur, sometimes attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Great Britain. Sometimes Excalibur and the Sword in the Stone are said to be the same weapon, but in most versions they are considered separate. The sword was...
of King Arthur that features prominently in Arthurian literature.
Shot entirely on location in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and employing Irish actors and crew, the film has been acknowledged for its importance to the Irish filmmaking industry and for helping launch the film careers of Neeson, as well as Gabriel Byrne
Gabriel Byrne
Gabriel James Byrne is an Irish actor, film director, film producer, writer, cultural ambassador and audiobook narrator. His acting career began in the Focus Theatre before he joined Londo's Royal Court Theatre in 1979. Byrne's screen debut came in the Irish soap opera The Riordans and the...
, Neil Jordan
Neil Jordan
Neil Patrick Jordan is an Irish filmmaker and novelist. He won an Academy Award for The Crying Game.- Early life :...
and Ciarán Hinds
Ciarán Hinds
Ciarán Hinds is an Irish film, television and stage actor. He has built up a reputation as a versatile character actor appearing in such high profile films as Road to Perdition, The Phantom of the Opera, Munich, There Will Be Blood and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. His television roles include...
.
Excalibur achieved moderate box office success while receiving mixed reviews. Although film critics Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
and Vincent Canby
Vincent Canby
Vincent Canby was an American film critic who became the chief film critic for The New York Times in 1969 and reviewed more than 1000 films during his tenure there.-Life and career:...
criticized the film's plot and characters, they, along with other reviewers, praised it visually. Excalibur opened at number one in the United States, eventually grossing $34,967,437 on a budget of around USD $11 million, to rank 18th in that year's receipts.
The beginning
The sorcerer MerlinMerlin
Merlin is a legendary figure best known as the wizard featured in the Arthurian legend. The standard depiction of the character first appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae, written c. 1136, and is based on an amalgamation of previous historical and legendary figures...
(Nicol Williamson
Nicol Williamson
Nicol Williamson is a Scottish-born English actor who was described by English playwright John Osborne as "the greatest actor since Marlon Brando".-Early life:...
) retrieves Excalibur
Excalibur
Excalibur is the legendary sword of King Arthur, sometimes attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Great Britain. Sometimes Excalibur and the Sword in the Stone are said to be the same weapon, but in most versions they are considered separate. The sword was...
from the Lady of the Lake
Lady of the Lake
The Lady of the Lake is the name of several related characters who play parts in the Arthurian legend. These characters' roles include giving King Arthur his sword Excalibur, enchanting Merlin, and raising Lancelot after the death of his father...
for Uther Pendragon
Uther Pendragon
Uther Pendragon is a legendary king of sub-Roman Britain and the father of King Arthur.A few minor references to Uther appear in Old Welsh poems, but his biography was first written down by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his Historia Regum Britanniae , and Geoffrey's account of the character was used in...
(Gabriel Byrne
Gabriel Byrne
Gabriel James Byrne is an Irish actor, film director, film producer, writer, cultural ambassador and audiobook narrator. His acting career began in the Focus Theatre before he joined Londo's Royal Court Theatre in 1979. Byrne's screen debut came in the Irish soap opera The Riordans and the...
). Uther uses it to secure an alliance with Gorlois
Gorlois
Gorlois was a Duke of Cornwall and Igraine's first husband before her marriage to Uther Pendragon, according to the Arthurian legend...
, the Duke of Cornwall (Corin Redgrave
Corin Redgrave
Corin William Redgrave was an English actor and political activist.-Early life:Redgrave was born in Marylebone, London, the only son and middle child of actors Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson...
). Uther soon ruins the truce with his lust for Cornwall's wife Igrayne
Igraine
Igraine , in Arthurian legend, is the mother of King Arthur. She is also known in Latin as Igerna, in Welsh as Eigyr, in French as Igerne, in Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur as Ygrayne— often modernized as Igraine—and in Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival as Arnive...
(Katrine Boorman
Katrine Boorman
Katrine Boorman is an English actress noted for her portrayal of the character Igrayne in the Arthurian legend film, Excalibur, directed by her father, John Boorman...
). Uther forces Merlin to help him seduce Igrayne. On the condition that Uther relinquishes to Merlin whatever results from his lust, Merlin transforms Uther into Cornwall's likeness with the Charm of Making. Cornwall dies while leading an assault on Uther's camp, and his daughter Morgana
Morgan le Fay
Morgan le Fay , alternatively known as Morgane, Morgaine, Morgana and other variants, is a powerful sorceress in the Arthurian legend. Early works featuring Morgan do not elaborate her character beyond her role as a fay or magician...
awakes upon sensing Cornwall's death. Igrayne, fooled by the disguise, submits to Uther, who impregnates her. The devastated Morgana is the only one who can see past his disguise.
Nine months later, Merlin arrives and takes Uther's son Arthur
King Arthur
King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...
. Uther pursues but is mortally wounded by Gorlois's knights. Uther thrusts Excalibur into a stone, and Merlin proclaims that "he who draws the sword from the stone, he shall be king."
The sword in the stone
Years later, Sir EctorSir Ector
Sir Ector is the father of Sir Kay and the foster father of King Arthur in the Arthurian legend. Sometimes a king instead of merely a lord, he has an estate in the country as well as properties in London. In The Once and Future King T. H...
(Clive Swift
Clive Swift
Clive Walter Swift is an English character comedy actor and songwriter. He is best known for his role as character Richard Bucket in the British television series Keeping Up Appearances. He is less known for his role as character Roy in the British television series The Old Guys...
) and his sons Kay
Sir Kay
In Arthurian legend, Sir Kay is Sir Ector's son and King Arthur's foster brother and later seneschal, as well as one of the first Knights of the Round Table. In later literature he is known for his acid tongue and bullying, boorish behavior, but in earlier accounts he was one of Arthur's premier...
(Niall O'Brien
Niall O'Brien (actor)
Niall O'Brien was an Irish-born actor and member of the Abbey Theatre company. He was born in Dalkey village, Co. Dublin, and grew up in nearby Glasthule. He was educated at Presentation College at Westland Row, Dublin, before going on to join the Abbey School of acting.-Personal life:O'Brien...
) and Arthur (Nigel Terry
Nigel Terry
Nigel Terry is an English stage and film actor probably best known by film audiences for his portrayal of King Arthur in John Boorman's Excalibur . However, he has had a long career in classical theatre....
) attend a jousting tournament. The victor, Sir Leondegrance (Patrick Stewart
Patrick Stewart
Sir Patrick Hewes Stewart, OBE is an English film, television and stage actor, who has had a distinguished career in theatre and television for around half a century...
), wins a chance to try pulling Excalibur from the stone, but he fails. Kay's sword is later stolen, and Arthur pulls Excalibur after failing to stop the thief. Word spreads, and Merlin announces to the crowd that Arthur is Uther's son and hence the rightful ruler.
Leondegrance immediately proclaims his support for the new king, but not all are willing to accept. While the others argue, Merlin and Arthur enter the forest, and Merlin tells the boy that he is the rightful king, and that he and the land are one. Overwhelmed, Arthur falls into a long sleep.
When he wakes, Arthur comes to aid Leondegrance, whose castle is under siege by Arthur's enemies. During the battle, Arthur asks Sir Uryens (Keith Buckley
Keith Buckley (actor)
Keith Buckley is a British actor who has mostly appeared on television since 1958.Buckley has made some appearances in film and television appearing in The Avengers and Randall and Hopkirk in the 1960s and The New Avengers in the 1970s.-Selected filmography:* Spring and Port Wine * The Pied Piper...
) to knight him, and hands him Excalibur to do so. Uryens is tempted to strike the boy down, but, deeply moved by Arthur's display of faith, Uryens knights the boy, then falls to his knees and declares loyalty, leading the others to follow suit.
Guenevere and Camelot
Soon after, Arthur meets Leondegrance's daughter GuenevereGuinevere
Guinevere was the legendary queen consort of King Arthur. In tales and folklore, she was said to have had a love affair with Arthur's chief knight Sir Lancelot...
(Cherie Lunghi
Cherie Lunghi
Cherie M. Lunghi is an English film, television and theatre actress. She is probably best known for her role as Guinevere in the 1981 film Excalibur, as football manageress Gabriella Benson in the 1990s television series The Manageress and for starring in a series of adverts for Kenco coffee. She...
) and is smitten, but Merlin forsees this leading to future problems.
Years later, the undefeated knight Lancelot
Lancelot
Sir Lancelot du Lac is one of the Knights of the Round Table in the Arthurian legend. He is the most trusted of King Arthur's knights and plays a part in many of Arthur's victories...
(Nicholas Clay
Nicholas Clay
Nicholas Anthony Phillip Clay was an English actor.-Early life:Born in Streatham London, to Bill and Rose Clay, he studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and began his acting career in the early 1970s with small parts in film and television.-Career:Clay also appeared in several West End...
) blocks a bridge and will not move until he is defeated in single combat, seeking a king worthy of his sword. Lancelot defeats Arthur and his knights. Arthur summons Excalibur's magic and defeats Lancelot, but the sword breaks. Arthur, ashamed of abusing the sword's power to serve his own vanity, throws the sword's remains into the water. The Lady of the Lake offers the restored blade to the king. Arthur vows never to abuse the sword's power again, and Lancelot is revived.
Arthur and his knights unify the land. Arthur creates the Round Table
Round Table (Camelot)
The Round Table is King Arthur's famed table in the Arthurian legend, around which he and his Knights congregate. As its name suggests, it has no head, implying that everyone who sits there has equal status. The table was first described in 1155 by Wace, who relied on previous depictions of...
, builds Camelot
Camelot
Camelot is a castle and court associated with the legendary King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and eventually came to be described as the fantastic capital of Arthur's realm and a symbol of the Arthurian world...
, and marries Guenevere. Lancelot confesses that he, too, has fallen in love with her. Arthur's half-sister, Morgana (Helen Mirren
Helen Mirren
Dame Helen Mirren, DBE is an English actor. She has won an Academy Award for Best Actress, four SAG Awards, four BAFTAs, three Golden Globes, four Emmy Awards, and two Cannes Film Festival Best Actress Awards.-Early life and family:...
), a budding sorceress, becomes apprenticed to Merlin in hopes of learning the Charm of Making from him.
Lancelot and Guenevere
Over time, Lancelot begins to stay away from the Round Table to keep his distance from Guenevere. On an excursion, he encounters a peasant boy named PercevalPercival
Percival or Perceval is one of King Arthur's legendary Knights of the Round Table. In Welsh literature his story is allotted to the historical Peredur...
(Paul Geoffrey) and takes the boy to Camelot where he becomes a squire.
Sir Gawain
Gawain
Gawain is King Arthur's nephew and a Knight of the Round Table who appears very early in the Arthurian legend's development. He is one of a select number of Round Table members to be referred to as the greatest knight, most notably in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight...
(Liam Neeson
Liam Neeson
Liam John Neeson, OBE is an Irish actor who has been nominated for an Oscar, a BAFTA and three Golden Globe Awards.He has starred in a number of notable roles including Oskar Schindler in Schindler's List, Michael Collins in Michael Collins, Peyton Westlake in Darkman, Jean Valjean in Les...
), under Morgana's influence, openly accuses Lancelot and Guenevere of adultery. Lancelot must duel Gawain to defend his and Guenevere's honor. The night before, Lancelot duels himself in a nightmare and awakens to find himself wounded by his own sword. When Lancelot does not arrive at the duel in time, Perceval volunteers to champion Guenevere and is knighted by Arthur. But just before Perceval is about to duel with Gawain, Lancelot appears; the injured Lancelot defeats Gawain but nearly dies from his wounds.
Merlin saves him, and he rides out to the forest to rest. Guenevere realizes her feelings for Lancelot and goes to him in the forest, where they consummate their love. Meanwhile, Merlin lures Morgana to his lair to trap her, suspecting her plots against Arthur. Arthur finds Guenevere and Lancelot asleep together. Heartbroken at their betrayal, he thrusts Excalibur into the ground between the sleeping couple. Merlin's magical link to the land impales him on the sword, and Morgana seizes the opportunity to trap him in a crystal with the Charm of Making. Morgana takes the form of Guenevere and seduces Arthur. On awakening to the sight of Excalibur, Lancelot flees in shame and Guenevere lies weeping.
Quest for the Grail
Morgana bears a son, MordredMordred
Mordred or Modred is a character in the Arthurian legend, known as a notorious traitor who fought King Arthur at the Battle of Camlann, where he was killed and Arthur fatally wounded. Tradition varies on his relationship to Arthur, but he is best known today as Arthur's illegitimate son by his...
(Charley Boorman
Charley Boorman
Charley Boorman is an English TV adventurer, travel writer and actor. He is well known for his association with motorcycles and enthusiasm for biking.-Education:...
/Robert Addie
Robert Addie
Robert Alastair Addie was an English actor who was best known for playing Sir Guy of Gisbourne in the television series Robin of Sherwood.-Career:...
). Because of the boy's "unholy" origin in incest, a curse descends upon Arthur and the land is striken with famine and sickness. A broken Arthur sends his knights on a quest for the Holy Grail
Holy Grail
The Holy Grail is a sacred object figuring in literature and certain Christian traditions, most often identified with the dish, plate, or cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper and said to possess miraculous powers...
in hopes of restoring the land. Many of his knights die or are bewitched by Morgana.
Morgana captures Perceval who narrowly escapes. Perceval encounters a bearded man with armor under his tattered robes who preaches to followers that the kingdom has fallen because of "the sin of Pride". A shocked Perceval recognizes the man as Lancelot. After Perceval fails to convince Lancelot to come to Arthur's aid, Lancelot and his followers throw Perceval into a river. Perceval has a vision of the Grail during which he realizes that Arthur and the land are one. Answering the riddle, he attains the Grail and takes it to Arthur who drinks from it and is revitalized, as is the land, which springs into blossom.
The final battle
Arthur finds Guenevere at a convent, where they reconcile. She gives him Excalibur, which she has kept safe since the day she fled.Frustrated in preparation for battle against Morgana's allies, Arthur calls to Merlin, unknowingly awakening the wizard from his enchanted slumber. Merlin and Arthur have one final conversation before Merlin vanishes. The wizard then appears to Morgana as a shadow and tricks her into uttering the Charm of Making, producing a fog from the breath of the Dragon, and exhausting her own magical powers which had kept her young. She rapidly ages, and her own son kills her.
Arthur and Mordred's forces meet in battle, with Arthur's side benefiting from the fog which conceals the smallness of their army. Lancelot unexpectedly arrives and turns the tide of battle. He later collapses from the old, self-inflicted wound, which never healed. Arthur and Lancelot reconcile, and Lancelot dies with Arthur's honors.
Mordred stabs Arthur with a spear, but Arthur further impales himself to get within reach of the boy. Arthur kills Mordred with Excalibur.
After first ignoring Arthur's dying wish that he throw Excalibur into a pool of calm water, Perceval then finally throws it into the pool, where the Lady of the Lake catches it. Perceval returns to see Arthur lying on a ship, attended by three formally posed ladies clad in white, sailing into the sun toward the Isle of Avalon
Avalon
Avalon is a legendary island featured in the Arthurian legend. It first appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's 1136 pseudohistorical account Historia Regum Britanniae as the place where King Arthur's sword Excalibur was forged and later where Arthur was...
.
Cast
- Nigel TerryNigel TerryNigel Terry is an English stage and film actor probably best known by film audiences for his portrayal of King Arthur in John Boorman's Excalibur . However, he has had a long career in classical theatre....
as King ArthurKing ArthurKing Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and... - Helen MirrenHelen MirrenDame Helen Mirren, DBE is an English actor. She has won an Academy Award for Best Actress, four SAG Awards, four BAFTAs, three Golden Globes, four Emmy Awards, and two Cannes Film Festival Best Actress Awards.-Early life and family:...
as Morgana Le FayMorgan le FayMorgan le Fay , alternatively known as Morgane, Morgaine, Morgana and other variants, is a powerful sorceress in the Arthurian legend. Early works featuring Morgan do not elaborate her character beyond her role as a fay or magician... - Nicol WilliamsonNicol WilliamsonNicol Williamson is a Scottish-born English actor who was described by English playwright John Osborne as "the greatest actor since Marlon Brando".-Early life:...
as Merlin - Paul Geoffrey as PercevalPercivalPercival or Perceval is one of King Arthur's legendary Knights of the Round Table. In Welsh literature his story is allotted to the historical Peredur...
- Nicholas ClayNicholas ClayNicholas Anthony Phillip Clay was an English actor.-Early life:Born in Streatham London, to Bill and Rose Clay, he studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and began his acting career in the early 1970s with small parts in film and television.-Career:Clay also appeared in several West End...
as LancelotLancelotSir Lancelot du Lac is one of the Knights of the Round Table in the Arthurian legend. He is the most trusted of King Arthur's knights and plays a part in many of Arthur's victories... - Cherie LunghiCherie LunghiCherie M. Lunghi is an English film, television and theatre actress. She is probably best known for her role as Guinevere in the 1981 film Excalibur, as football manageress Gabriella Benson in the 1990s television series The Manageress and for starring in a series of adverts for Kenco coffee. She...
as GuenevereGuinevereGuinevere was the legendary queen consort of King Arthur. In tales and folklore, she was said to have had a love affair with Arthur's chief knight Sir Lancelot... - Patrick StewartPatrick StewartSir Patrick Hewes Stewart, OBE is an English film, television and stage actor, who has had a distinguished career in theatre and television for around half a century...
as King Leondegrance - Keith BuckleyKeith Buckley (actor)Keith Buckley is a British actor who has mostly appeared on television since 1958.Buckley has made some appearances in film and television appearing in The Avengers and Randall and Hopkirk in the 1960s and The New Avengers in the 1970s.-Selected filmography:* Spring and Port Wine * The Pied Piper...
as UryensUrienUrien , often referred to as Urien Rheged, was a late 6th century king of Rheged, an early British kingdom of the Hen Ogledd . His power and his victories, including the battles of Gwen Ystrad and Alt Clut Ford, are celebrated in the praise poems to him by Taliesin, preserved in the Book of Taliesin... - Clive SwiftClive SwiftClive Walter Swift is an English character comedy actor and songwriter. He is best known for his role as character Richard Bucket in the British television series Keeping Up Appearances. He is less known for his role as character Roy in the British television series The Old Guys...
as Sir EctorSir EctorSir Ector is the father of Sir Kay and the foster father of King Arthur in the Arthurian legend. Sometimes a king instead of merely a lord, he has an estate in the country as well as properties in London. In The Once and Future King T. H... - Liam NeesonLiam NeesonLiam John Neeson, OBE is an Irish actor who has been nominated for an Oscar, a BAFTA and three Golden Globe Awards.He has starred in a number of notable roles including Oskar Schindler in Schindler's List, Michael Collins in Michael Collins, Peyton Westlake in Darkman, Jean Valjean in Les...
as GawainGawainGawain is King Arthur's nephew and a Knight of the Round Table who appears very early in the Arthurian legend's development. He is one of a select number of Round Table members to be referred to as the greatest knight, most notably in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight... - Gabriel ByrneGabriel ByrneGabriel James Byrne is an Irish actor, film director, film producer, writer, cultural ambassador and audiobook narrator. His acting career began in the Focus Theatre before he joined Londo's Royal Court Theatre in 1979. Byrne's screen debut came in the Irish soap opera The Riordans and the...
as Uther PendragonUther PendragonUther Pendragon is a legendary king of sub-Roman Britain and the father of King Arthur.A few minor references to Uther appear in Old Welsh poems, but his biography was first written down by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his Historia Regum Britanniae , and Geoffrey's account of the character was used in... - Robert AddieRobert AddieRobert Alastair Addie was an English actor who was best known for playing Sir Guy of Gisbourne in the television series Robin of Sherwood.-Career:...
as MordredMordredMordred or Modred is a character in the Arthurian legend, known as a notorious traitor who fought King Arthur at the Battle of Camlann, where he was killed and Arthur fatally wounded. Tradition varies on his relationship to Arthur, but he is best known today as Arthur's illegitimate son by his...
(adult)
Even though he was 35 years old, Nigel Terry
Nigel Terry
Nigel Terry is an English stage and film actor probably best known by film audiences for his portrayal of King Arthur in John Boorman's Excalibur . However, he has had a long career in classical theatre....
plays King Arthur from his teenage years to his ending as an aged monarch.
Several members of the Boorman family also appeared in the picture: his daughter Katrine Boorman played Igrayne
Igraine
Igraine , in Arthurian legend, is the mother of King Arthur. She is also known in Latin as Igerna, in Welsh as Eigyr, in French as Igerne, in Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur as Ygrayne— often modernized as Igraine—and in Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival as Arnive...
, Arthur's mother and his son Charley Boorman
Charley Boorman
Charley Boorman is an English TV adventurer, travel writer and actor. He is well known for his association with motorcycles and enthusiasm for biking.-Education:...
portrayed Mordred
Mordred
Mordred or Modred is a character in the Arthurian legend, known as a notorious traitor who fought King Arthur at the Battle of Camlann, where he was killed and Arthur fatally wounded. Tradition varies on his relationship to Arthur, but he is best known today as Arthur's illegitimate son by his...
as a boy. Because of the number of Boormans involved with the film, it is sometimes called "The Boorman Family Project."
PG and R-rated versions
The movie was originally put into theatrical release in 1981 as an R-rated film in the USA. Later there was an announcement of a PG-rated version, but it was not widely released. The original R-rated cut is 140 minutes. Most home video versions are the R-rated version, but TV and movie channels show the PG cut, making the movie 119 minutes. The R-rated version features about 21 more minutes of graphic sex and violence.Origin
John Boorman had planned a film adaptation of the Merlin legend as early as 1969, but the studio he offered it to (United Artists) rejected his concept, offering him J. R. R. TolkienJ. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
's The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
instead. When Boorman, having written a three-hour-/-one-film-script with Rospo Pallenberg
Rospo Pallenberg
Rospo Pallenberg is a screenwriter. He was involved in the writing of the John Boorman films Exorcist II: The Heretic, Excalibur, and The Emerald Forest.-External links:...
, submitted the film script to UA, they rejected it, deeming it too costly. Boorman was allowed to shop the script elsewhere, but no studio would commit to it. Returning to the original idea of the Merlin legend, Boorman was eventually able to secure deals that would help him do "Excalibur" instead. Much of the imagery and set designs seen in the film were originally created with "Lord Of The Rings" in mind.
According to Boorman, the film was originally three hours long; among scenes that were deleted from the finished film but featured in one of the promotional trailers was a sequence where Lancelot rescued Guenevere from a forest bandit.
Casting
John BoormanJohn Boorman
John Boorman is a British filmmaker who is a long time resident of Ireland and is best known for his feature films such as Point Blank, Deliverance, Zardoz, Excalibur, The Emerald Forest, Hope and Glory, The General and The Tailor of Panama.-Early life:Boorman was born in Shepperton, Surrey,...
cast Nicol Williamson
Nicol Williamson
Nicol Williamson is a Scottish-born English actor who was described by English playwright John Osborne as "the greatest actor since Marlon Brando".-Early life:...
and Helen Mirren
Helen Mirren
Dame Helen Mirren, DBE is an English actor. She has won an Academy Award for Best Actress, four SAG Awards, four BAFTAs, three Golden Globes, four Emmy Awards, and two Cannes Film Festival Best Actress Awards.-Early life and family:...
opposite each other as Merlin and Morgana, knowing that the two were at the time on less than friendly terms, due to personal issues that arose during a production of Macbeth
Macbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
seven years earlier. Boorman felt that the tension on set would come through in the actors' performances. This is stated by John Boorman himself in the audio commentary track of the Excalibur DVD.
Filming
Excalibur was filmed in Irish locations in County WicklowCounty Wicklow
County Wicklow is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Wicklow, which derives from the Old Norse name Víkingalág or Wykynlo. Wicklow County Council is the local authority for the county...
, County Tipperary
County Tipperary
County Tipperary is a county of Ireland. It is located in the province of Munster and is named after the town of Tipperary. The area of the county does not have a single local authority; local government is split between two authorities. In North Tipperary, part of the Mid-West Region, local...
, and County Kerry
County Kerry
Kerry means the "people of Ciar" which was the name of the pre-Gaelic tribe who lived in part of the present county. The legendary founder of the tribe was Ciar, son of Fergus mac Róich. In Old Irish "Ciar" meant black or dark brown, and the word continues in use in modern Irish as an adjective...
. The early critical battle scene around a castle, in which Arthur is made a knight by Uryens, while kneeling in a moat, was filmed in Cahir Castle
Cahir Castle
Cahir Castle , one of the largest castles in Ireland, is sited on an island in the river Suir. It was built in 1142 by Conor O'Brien, Prince of Thomond...
, in Cahir County Tipperary
County Tipperary
County Tipperary is a county of Ireland. It is located in the province of Munster and is named after the town of Tipperary. The area of the county does not have a single local authority; local government is split between two authorities. In North Tipperary, part of the Mid-West Region, local...
, Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
. It is a genuine Norman
Norman architecture
About|Romanesque architecture, primarily English|other buildings in Normandy|Architecture of Normandy.File:Durham Cathedral. Nave by James Valentine c.1890.jpg|thumb|200px|The nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the...
castle, one of the best preserved anywhere and the moat is the River Suir which flows around the castle. The fight with Lancelot was filmed at Powerscourt Estate
Powerscourt Estate
Powerscourt Estate , located near Enniskerry, County Wicklow, Ireland, is a large country estate which is noted for its house and landscaped gardens, today occupying 19 hectares . The house, originally a 13th century castle, was extensively altered during the 18th century by German architect...
's waterfall.
According to director John Boorman
John Boorman
John Boorman is a British filmmaker who is a long time resident of Ireland and is best known for his feature films such as Point Blank, Deliverance, Zardoz, Excalibur, The Emerald Forest, Hope and Glory, The General and The Tailor of Panama.-Early life:Boorman was born in Shepperton, Surrey,...
, the love scene between Lancelot and Guinevere in the forest was filmed on a very cold night, but Nicholas Clay
Nicholas Clay
Nicholas Anthony Phillip Clay was an English actor.-Early life:Born in Streatham London, to Bill and Rose Clay, he studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and began his acting career in the early 1970s with small parts in film and television.-Career:Clay also appeared in several West End...
and Cherie Lunghi
Cherie Lunghi
Cherie M. Lunghi is an English film, television and theatre actress. She is probably best known for her role as Guinevere in the 1981 film Excalibur, as football manageress Gabriella Benson in the 1990s television series The Manageress and for starring in a series of adverts for Kenco coffee. She...
did the scene in the nude anyway.
Costumes
The costumes were designed by Bob Ringwood, for which he received a BAFTA nomination. The armor was designed by Terry EnglishTerry English
Terry English is an armourer and film prop maker who has been making armour for film for some 20 years. He has worked on a long list of fantasy/ historical films including making the Colonial Marine armour for the science Fiction film Aliens, the medieval armour for Excalibur, Jabberwocky, and Luc...
, who also crafted the armor for the film Aliens
Aliens (film)
Aliens is a 1986 science fiction action film directed by James Cameron and starring Sigourney Weaver, Carrie Henn, Michael Biehn, Lance Henriksen, William Hope, and Bill Paxton...
. The design is anachronistic, resembling more suits of the late medieval period rather than the Dark Ages. Ringwood's designs evolve as the film progresses; at first, the knights' armor is dark, iron-like, and their helmet visors are slightly grotesque, resembling the faces of beasts. Later, the knights adopt the bright, silvery armor and dragon helmet of Lancelot. The forces under Mordred appear in dark armor as well, in stark contrast to his which is bright gold.
Adaptation
The screenplayScreenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
was written by Rospo Pallenberg with assistance from John Boorman
John Boorman
John Boorman is a British filmmaker who is a long time resident of Ireland and is best known for his feature films such as Point Blank, Deliverance, Zardoz, Excalibur, The Emerald Forest, Hope and Glory, The General and The Tailor of Panama.-Early life:Boorman was born in Shepperton, Surrey,...
.
The film is primarily an adaptation of Malory
Thomas Malory
Sir Thomas Malory was an English writer, the author or compiler of Le Morte d'Arthur. The antiquary John Leland as well as John Bale believed him to be Welsh, but most modern scholars, beginning with G. L...
's Morte d'Arthur
Le Morte d'Arthur
Le Morte d'Arthur is a compilation by Sir Thomas Malory of Romance tales about the legendary King Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, and the Knights of the Round Table...
(1469–70). In order to recast the Arthurian legends as an allegory of the cycle of birth, life, decay, and restoration, the text was stripped of decorative or insignificant details. The resulting film is reminiscent of mythographic
Mythography
A mythographer, or a mythologist is a compiler of myths. The word derives from the Greek "μυθογραφία" , "writing of fables", from "μῦθος" , "speech, word, fact, story, narrative" + "γράφω" , "to write, to inscribe". Mythography is then the rendering of myths in the arts...
works such as Sir James Frazer
James Frazer
Sir James George Frazer , was a Scottish social anthropologist influential in the early stages of the modern studies of mythology and comparative religion...
's The Golden Bough
The Golden Bough
The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion is a wide-ranging, comparative study of mythology and religion, written by Scottish anthropologist Sir James George Frazer . It first was published in two volumes in 1890; the third edition, published 1906–15, comprised twelve volumes...
and Jessie Weston
Jessie Weston
Jessie Laidlay Weston was an independent scholar and folklorist, working mainly on mediaeval Arthurian texts.Her best-known work is From Ritual to Romance ; this book is now available as an online text, as are others of hers...
's From Ritual to Romance
From Ritual to Romance
From Ritual to Romance is a 1920 book written by Jessie L. Weston. The work is notable for being mentioned by T. S. Eliot in the notes to his poem, The Waste Land:...
; Arthur is presented as the "Wounded King" whose realm becomes a wasteland to be reborn thanks to the Grail, and may be compared to the Fisher (or Sinner) King
Fisher King
The Fisher King, or the Wounded King, figures in Arthurian legend as the latest in a line charged with keeping the Holy Grail. Versions of his story vary widely, but he is always wounded in the legs or groin, and incapable of moving on his own...
, whose land also became a wasteland, and was also healed by Perceval. "The film has to do with mythical truth, not historical truth," Boorman remarked to a journalist during filming. The Christian symbolism revolves around the Grail, perhaps most strongly in the baptismal imagery of Perceval finally achieving the Grail quest. "That's what my story is about: the coming of Christian man and the disappearance of the old religions which are represented by Merlin. The forces of superstition and magic are swallowed up into the unconscious."
In keeping with this approach, the film is intentionally ahistorical. For example, the opening titles state the setting to be the Dark Ages, even though the knights wear full plate armor, a technology of the 15th century. Knights, knighthood and the code of chivalry also did not exist during the period. Furthermore, Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
is never mentioned by name, only as "the land".
In addition to Malory, the writers incorporated elements from other Arthurian stories, sometimes altering them. For example, the sword between the sleeping lovers' bodies comes from the tales of Tristan and Iseult
Tristan and Iseult
The legend of Tristan and Iseult is an influential romance and tragedy, retold in numerous sources with as many variations. The tragic story is of the adulterous love between the Cornish knight Tristan and the Irish princess Iseult...
; the knight who returns Excalibur to the water is changed from Bedivere
Bedivere
In Arthurian legend, Sir Bedivere is the Knight of the Round Table who returns Excalibur to the Lady of the Lake. He serves as King Arthur's marshal and is frequently associated with Sir Kay...
to Perceval; and Morgause
Morgause
Morgause , known in earlier works as Gwyar or Anna, is the sister or half-sister of King Arthur in the Arthurian legend. In her earliest appearance she is Arthur's full sister by Uther Pendragon and Igraine; Gwyar is her name and she is the mother of Gwalchmei...
and Morgan Le Fay
Morgan le Fay
Morgan le Fay , alternatively known as Morgane, Morgaine, Morgana and other variants, is a powerful sorceress in the Arthurian legend. Early works featuring Morgan do not elaborate her character beyond her role as a fay or magician...
are merged into one character.
The sword Excalibur and the Sword in the Stone are presented as the same thing; in some versions of the legends they are separate. In Le Morte d'Arthur
Le Morte d'Arthur
Le Morte d'Arthur is a compilation by Sir Thomas Malory of Romance tales about the legendary King Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, and the Knights of the Round Table...
, Sir Galahad, the illegitimate son of Lancelot and Elaine of Carbonek, is actually the Knight who is worthy of the Holy Grail. Boorman follows the earlier version of the tale as told by Chrétien de Troyes
Chrétien de Troyes
Chrétien de Troyes was a French poet and trouvère who flourished in the late 12th century. Perhaps he named himself Christian of Troyes in contrast to the illustrious Rashi, also of Troyes...
, making Perceval the grail winner.
Some new elements were added, such as Uther wielding Excalibur
Excalibur
Excalibur is the legendary sword of King Arthur, sometimes attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Great Britain. Sometimes Excalibur and the Sword in the Stone are said to be the same weapon, but in most versions they are considered separate. The sword was...
before Arthur (repeated in Merlin
Merlin (film)
Merlin is a television miniseries which originally aired in 1998 that retells the legend of King Arthur from the perspective of the wizard Merlin...
), Merlin's 'Charm of Making' (written in Old Irish), and the concept of the world as "the dragon".
The Charm of Making
According to linguist Michael EversonMichael Everson
Michael Everson is a linguist, script encoder, typesetter, and font designer. His central area of expertise is with writing systems of the world, specifically in the representation of these systems in formats for computer and digital media...
, the "Charm of Making" that Merlin speaks to invoke the dragon is evidently an invention, there being no known classical source. It is apparently based upon Old Irish.
Transcribed phonetically as spoken in the film, the charm is pronounced aˈnaːl naθˈrax, uːrθ vaːs beˈθud, doxˈjeːl ˈdjenveː. The most likely interpretation of the spoken words, supposedly composed in Old Irish, though the pronunciation in the film has little relation to how the text would actually be pronounced in Irish, is:
- Anál nathrach,
- orth’ bháis’s bethad,
- do chél dénmha
In modern English, this would be translated as:
- Serpent's breath,
- charm of death and life,
- thy omen of making.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack consists of original musicFilm score
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film, forming part of the film's soundtrack, which also usually includes dialogue and sound effects...
composed by Trevor Jones
Trevor Jones (composer)
Trevor Alfred Charles Jones is a South African orchestral film score composer. Although not especially well known outside the film world, he has composed for numerous films and his music has been critically acclaimed for both its depth and emotion.-Career:At the age of five, Jones already had...
, with the inclusion of classical
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
pieces from Orff's Carmina Burana
Carmina Burana (Orff)
Carmina Burana is a scenic cantata composed by Carl Orff in 1935 and 1936. It is based on 24 of the poems found in the medieval collection Carmina Burana...
, as well as from Wagner's Ring
Der Ring des Nibelungen
Der Ring des Nibelungen is a cycle of four epic operas by the German composer Richard Wagner . The works are based loosely on characters from the Norse sagas and the Nibelungenlied...
and Tristan und Isolde
Tristan und Isolde
Tristan und Isolde is an opera, or music drama, in three acts by Richard Wagner to a German libretto by the composer, based largely on the romance by Gottfried von Straßburg. It was composed between 1857 and 1859 and premiered in Munich on 10 June 1865 with Hans von Bülow conducting...
operas.
- Part of Siegfried's Funeral March from GötterdämmerungGötterdämmerungis the last in Richard Wagner's cycle of four operas titled Der Ring des Nibelungen...
was used as the main theme. - Orff's "O FortunaO Fortuna"O Fortuna" is a medieval Latin Goliardic poem written early in the thirteenth century, part of the collection known as the Carmina Burana. It is a complaint about fate, and Fortuna, a goddess in Roman mythology and personification of luck....
" is heard during two scenes when Arthur and his knights ride out to do battle. - The theme between Lancelot and Guinevere is the preludePrelude (music)A prelude is a short piece of music, the form of which may vary from piece to piece. The prelude can be thought of as a preface. It may stand on its own or introduce another work...
to Wagner's "Tristan und IsoldeTristan und IsoldeTristan und Isolde is an opera, or music drama, in three acts by Richard Wagner to a German libretto by the composer, based largely on the romance by Gottfried von Straßburg. It was composed between 1857 and 1859 and premiered in Munich on 10 June 1865 with Hans von Bülow conducting...
", a piece about the romance of Sir Tristram and IseultIseultIseult is the name of several characters in the Arthurian story of Tristan and Iseult. The most prominent is Iseult of Ireland, wife of Mark of Cornwall and adulterous lover of Sir Tristan. Her mother, the Queen of Ireland, is also named Iseult...
, another pair of lovers from the Arthurian tales. - The theme of Perceval and the Grail is the prelude to Wagner's "Parsifal".
Reception
Excalibur was the number one film during its opening weekend of April 10–12, 1981, eventually earning $34,967,437 gross in the United States.Reviews for Excalibur were mixed. Widely hailed for its visuals, setting and overall design, other elements such as the story and performances some critics found wanting. Ebert, for instance, called it both a "wondrous vision" and " a mess." Elaborating further, Ebert said the film was "a record of the comings and goings of arbitrary, inconsistent, shadowy, figures who are not heroes but simply giants run amok. Still, it's wonderful to look at." Canby was more critical, saying that while Boorman took Arthurian myths seriously, "he has used them with a pretentiousness that obscures his vision." In her review in The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
, Pauline Kael
Pauline Kael
Pauline Kael was an American film critic who wrote for The New Yorker magazine from 1968 to 1991. Earlier in her career, her work appeared in City Lights, McCall's and The New Republic....
said the film had its own "crazy integrity", adding that the imagery was "impassioned" with a "hypnotic quality." According to her, the dialogue, however, was "near-atrocious." She concluded by saying that "Excalibur is all images flashing by... We miss the dramatic intensity that we expect the stories to have, but there's always something to look at."
Others have praised the entire film, with Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
calling it "a near-perfect blend of action, romance, fantasy and philosophy." Sean Axmaker of Parallax View said, "John Boorman's magnificent and magical Excalibur is, to my mind, the greatest and the richest of screen incarnation of the oft-told tale." In a later review upon the Excalibur's release on DVD, Salon's David Lazarus noted the film's contribution to the fantasy genre, stating that it was "a lush retelling of the King Arthur legend that sets a high-water mark among sword-and-sorcery movies." A recent study by Jean-Marc Elsholz demonstrates how closely the film Excalibur was inspired by the Arthurian romance tradition and its intersections with medieval theories of light, most particularly in the aesthetic/visual narrative of Boorman's film rather than in its plot alone.
Excalibur currently has an 79% "fresh" rating on the Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
Tomatometer.
Awards
Alex Thomson, the film's cinematographerCinematographer
A cinematographer is one photographing with a motion picture camera . The title is generally equivalent to director of photography , used to designate a chief over the camera and lighting crews working on a film, responsible for achieving artistic and technical decisions related to the image...
, was nominated for Best Cinematography at the 1982 Academy Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
, but lost to Vittorio Storaro
Vittorio Storaro
Vittorio Storaro, A.S.C., A.I.C. is an Italian cinematographer.In 2003, a survey conducted by the International Cinematographers Guild judged Storaro one of history's ten most influential cinematographers.-Biography:...
for Reds.
Boorman won the prize for Best Artistic Contribution, and was nominated for a Palme d'Or
Palme d'Or
The Palme d'Or is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival and is presented to the director of the best feature film of the official competition. It was introduced in 1955 by the organising committee. From 1939 to 1954, the highest prize was the Grand Prix du Festival International du...
, at the 1981 Cannes Film Festival
1981 Cannes Film Festival
- Jury :*Jacques Deray *Ellen Burstyn *Jean-Claude Carrière *Robert Chazal *Attilio D'Onofrio *Christian Defaye *Carlos Diegues *Antonio Gala...
.
Remake
A remake was announced by Warner Bros.Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
and Legendary Pictures
Legendary Pictures
Legendary Pictures is an American film production company, whose parent company, Legendary Entertainment, is based in Burbank, California and was founded by Thomas Tull in 2004...
in late 2009 with Bryan Singer
Bryan Singer
Bryan Singer is an American film director and film producer. Singer won critical acclaim for his work on The Usual Suspects, and is especially well-known among fans of the science fiction and superhero genres for his work on the X-Men films and Superman Returns.-Early life:Singer was born in New...
attached to direct, but this has been shelved indefinitely as of October, 2011.
See also
- List of American films of 1981
- ExcaliburExcaliburExcalibur is the legendary sword of King Arthur, sometimes attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Great Britain. Sometimes Excalibur and the Sword in the Stone are said to be the same weapon, but in most versions they are considered separate. The sword was...
, King Arthur's sword, the central symbol of kingship for Malory and the film - List of films based on Arthurian legend