The wizard Merlin (Nicol Williamson, The Exorcist III) acquires the powerful sword Excalibur from the Lady of the Lake for Uther Pendragon (Gabriel Byrne, The Usual Suspects). The magical weapon allows Uther to be recognized as the King of the Britons. During a feast, Uther begs Merlin to cast a spell that will allow him to sleep with a duke’s wife. Merlin agrees, but only after being promised the king’s future child. Months later, Merlin claims the newborn. When Uther attempts to reclaim the baby, he is ambushed, and before dying, he drives Excalibur into a stone. Legend foretells that only the next true king can free the sword. Merlin places the child, Arthur, with Sir Ector to be raised as a squire. During a tournament to determine England’s new ruler, a grown Arthur (Nigel Terry, The Lion in Winter) unknowingly pulls Excalibur from the stone and is crowned king. He gathers extraordinary knights to his legendary Round Table at Camelot, but his reunion with his magical sister Morgana (Helen Mirren, The Queen) ushers in dark times for his reign. To restore the kingdom, Arthur sends his knights on a perilous quest for the Holy Grail. Among the warriors clad in shining armor are Patrick Stewart (Star Trek: The Next Generation), Liam Neeson (Taken), and Ciarán Hinds (Miami Vice).
What We Thought:
Excalibur is a sword & sorcerer film I remember seeing as a kid, but probably haven’t seen since the 1990s. It’s not as campy as Clash of the Titans or The Beastmaster and it is a much more serious epic that feels like multiple chapters.
I think that’s my biggest takeaway from the rewatch, I forgot how chopped up the movie is. Early on it’s about Arthur removing the sword from the stone and becoming king and then creating the Knights of the Round Table. Then it’s about Lancelot and Guenevere’s affair. Then the third act is Arthur regaining his strength and taking on his son Mordred, his offspring with his powerful sister Morgana. If you remember the movie, Mordred is the gold knight he fights after getting the Holy Grail. The film is almost 2 and half hours long and feels every minute of it.
I think that’s why it’s movie I’ve liked, but never loved, it’s too long. Epics can be long, but the movie is slowed down at parts and feels disjointed because of it. It has great visuals, production design and costuming, but it’s too drawn out for me.
Excalibur checkmarks a lot of boxes for the genre. The cast is fantastic and the last time I saw it I probably didn’t realize that Liam Neeson and Patrick Stewart were two knights. The soundtrack is fantastic with a mix of classical music and incredibly score. I want to love the movie because it’s definitely an adult based Arthurian tale, but it’s a bit too slow for me. The visuals look great in 4K and the score is even better. It also comes with two new commentaries and an archival commentary, making of, a documentary and more in the bonus features so if you are a fan you’ll dig this new package.
Special features include a 4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible); restored original lossless mono and DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio options; optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing; two brand new audio commentaries; archival audio commentary by director John Boorman; The Making of Excalibur: Myth into Movie, a never before released 48-minute documentary directed by Neil Jordan (The Crying Game); newly filmed interviews with director John Boorman, actor Charley Boorman, co-writer Rospo Pallenberg; creative associate Neil Jordan and others; the 120-minute TV version of the film; a retrospective documentary with cast and crew interviews; trailers; image galleries; a perfect-bound booklet; double-sided fold-out poster; and six postcard-sized reproduction art cards.
The Nerds Templar 