'Excalibur' - Classic or Dud

Classic: sex scene in full armor! Camelot's knights had COCK WINDOWS in their armor! How can that be anything but classic? It can't be. Lock the thread.

(though I guess I'll have to wait till tomorrow at least for that)

It looks nice, though, in the ads. The one thing I'll demerit Excalibur for is that so many of the scenes are so dark -- I don't know if that's just the transfer on the video I have, though, I never saw it in theaters.

Gurney Halleck! Baliset solo in the extended version!

Obviously it's completely unhistorical as long as there's Merlin, knights of the round table, metal armour, all the elements of the myth. So yeah it would suck if they've situated him in 500 BC and placed him in his correct political context and people start assuming it's all accurate. (Which of course it couldn't be, and neither could anything else because WE DON'T REALLY KNOW!) Still there's scope for a good version like this.

Oh man, it's this Disney movie ... it sounds like a sequel to Prince of Thieves, except Richard never returned, the Sheriff isn't dead (and he's Malcolm McDowell), and there's a Prince John. KK plays Robin Hood's daughter, Tiffany Hood or something, and she has to rescue him when he's captured in the midst of a plan to bring King Richard's heir (therefore rightful king, yadda yadda) to England.

I've yet to see an advert for this Arthur thing. Not even a listing (saw an advance preview listing for Troy already) -got any of the details?

Maidens lyke not knaves, maidens lyke armour and horses!

Celtic women be CHOPPING!!! (Saxon heads off)

It happened. It was done for a cable channel in the States a couple of years back, should be on DVD.

Really?

Actually, I remember hearing rumours of this, but you know, no cable, no telly at the time.

Must search for that. I bet it's rubbish, though. Sigh. I'll still hunt it down, though.

(How about the Crystal Caves/Hollow Hills?)

(And don't bring up Bauhaus!)

The whole bit about 'the dragon' is just a wee bit too much like 'the force' for my taste, but still....fuckin' classic.

Actually, it isn't so bad, though it's no Excalibur. Nigel Terry's naive Arthur rules.

Which obv. would have been considerably more interesting than the trilogy we've ended up with

Just imagine Nicol Williamson as Gandalf

Excalibur is classic. Things I love about it: the use of 'Seigfreid's Rhine Journey', and of the Parsifal prelude just as Percival sheds his armour underwater and then enters the Grail castle, Guinevere dancing at the beginning, the whole Uther Pendragon prelude which shows how Arthur was concieved with the power of the Dragon, the whole 'you and the land are one' theme, which like Merlin and Morgana sets the atmosphere of paganism and christianity existing alongside eachother, a bearded repentant Launcelot at the battle of Camlann which also features nicely bloody fight between father and son, and of course Merlin.

Not necessarily.

http://c-coy.com/media/reference/excaliber.gif

lol i was coming here to post that

boing boing, right?

merlin amazed me as a kid in this film.

wow, funny i have a DVD-R of excalibur just like that (proper spelling obvs)

Now I want to watch this movie again

Classic classic classic.

Another of Ebert's sins is giving this movie a bad review because he was confused about the plot. He was a bit foggy that day, I suspect, but I guess when reviewing movies is your job, sometimes you have a grumpy day at work.

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19810101/REVIEWS/101010322/1023

Pauline Kael reviews are rarely online, but she basically offers up this movie her breasts.

I'm upset that the awesome gif above misspells "Excalibur".

Are you the mother and father of the child now Merlin?

i can't get throught this, don't know why. looks classic, but hasn't ever grabbed me from 3 or 4 attempts now.

the Parsifal prelude just as Percival sheds his armour underwater and then enters the Grail castle

this sequence is great, the entire movie gets put on hold for a weird mystical sidebar

o_O facts: arthur's mother played by boorman's daughter

The original cut of the film was three hours long.

would love to see this

boorman's output during this period also o_O

Deliverance (1972)
Zardoz (1974)
Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977)
Excalibur (1981)

yeah, that's a strange series of films. i like all of them, but only deliverance and excalibur are really successful, even if looked at solely in terms of their own ambitions. excalibur, though, is one of my favorite movies of all time. so ridiculously overripe.

boorman's 1965–74 run is totally unfuck-able-with

would love to see this on the big screen

out on blu-ray this week, tempting

Remake on the way.

First "weird" film I ever saw, aged about 12. Still absolutely, unreservedly love it, and I chanted the Spell of the Dragon's Breath amid castle ruins only the other day!

The wonderful score by Trevor Jones (Dark Crystal, Last of the Mohicans, Dark City) still awaits a legit release in any form. (In the film, chunks of Wagner are also used).

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-16727853

Nicol Williamson RIP. Always loved his take on Merlin. "A dream to some - A NIGHTMARE TO OTHERS!".

Noooo! Sad news. I watched "Excalibur" for the millonth time just the other night. Truly classic.

Yeah, need to get the Blu-ray of Excalibur pronto. Really want to watch it right now.

That's a good life: you're old enough to play Merlin, and then you live another 30 years.

Finally saw this. What a weird movie. "Excalibur" is edited like a two hour trailer for a movie that was never completed, just a bunch of scenes and random dialog.

i think it tells a pretty straightforward story and is propelled by narrative as much as lurid weirdness, but i've seen it like 10 times...

Ha, I bet it would play as well (or not well) on chapter shuffle.

In a film of crazy scenes this is far and away the craziest:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-pliu-57CE

edited like a two hour trailer for a movie that was never completed, just a bunch of scenes and random dialog.

actually it feels like an homage to the legend of king arthur books in that way, episodic, without a "modern" sense of how narrative works

They're showing this at the cheapie beer theater in Portland next week, I think.

Someone should do a batshit sword and sorcery poll, if there has not yet been one. "Flesh & Blood," "Conan," et al.

All sword & sorcery films of the 70s and 80s are batshit, in all truth. 'Hawk The Slayer'? 'Krull'?

the sword and the sorcerer!

^have had in .avi form on my thumb drive since 2011, the right moment never seems to arrive

Sword and the Sorcerer has the most amazing sword ever depicted in cinematic history, and Richard Lynch. It's well worth your time.

Sword and the Sorcerer was the first certificate AA (14 and over only) i saw at the cinema and it was perfect in every mentalist gory sword that shoots blades way possible

Most amazing cinema sword:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ky5u6vm44ak

also Disney made Dragonslayer for kids lol wtf picture todays Relentless-addled tweens sitting thru that one

Dragonslayer has the best dragon, though.

Sorceress and Yor!

oh i like Dragonslayer it's just fantastically gloomy and slow for a kids movie

Just found a nice Blu Ray rip of this, can't wait to see it again! This was one of my favorite movies as a kid (along with, yeah Conan & Red Sonja). My dad made us fake swords out of wood and I spent many a summer day with my brothers pretending to slay dragons and stuff.

I've been on a big MST3K kick recently and it's funny just how many swords and sandals films were made back in the day.

None can top "Hercules" tho, imho. That movie is INSANE.

I've only ever seen Hercules on Telemundo but it didn't make it any less crazy.

It's pretty much swords & sandals meets Star Wars.

Man, what the hell was up with Boorman's run of "Zardoz," "Exorcist II" and this? I know I interviewed him some time around "The General." I wish I asked him then.

I dunno but I wish he had made a lot more movies on that level of batshit.

Sword and the Sorcerer director Albert Pyun made a new fantasy joint recently which is on NF Instant. It looks execrable. Will watch.

Re: Dragonslayer besides the gloom the other thing that's crazy is the uncompromising score they got from Alex North. High modernism has seldom been allowed in fantasy film music.

I've never seen Exorcist II--is it worth a watch?

I've only ever seen Hercules on Telemundo

I had to read this three times. I wish "Hercules on Telemundo" was a real movie.

I've never seen Exorcist II--is it worth a watch?

not really

Exorcist II is a big fucking mess but it has vision to spare. And one of the best horror scores of all time from Morricone.

It's way better than Zardoz which is awesome for about an hour and then should simply be turned off.

The idea that any movie could be 'way better than Zardoz' is false.

Well, it's not better than the first half of Zardoz...

The Exorcist II trailer is amazing.

Ok ive only ever seen Exaclibur on tv in the 80s or on an old VHS copy. Wow, it looks incredible. Amazing cinematography. Terrific performance by Merlin, too. The sex/death scene is incredible. All the visual effects in this are composed really well. What a gorgeous movie. I really hate that movies no longer use color like this.

You will float on the dragon's breath!

Merlin's voice is at points like a good glass of red wine.

King Arthur freaking out in Merlin's psychedelic jungle, Merlin telling him to chill out and accidentally shooting lightning, so awesome.

Hell yeah Patrick Stewart getting medieval with a huge axe.

Merlin whispers into the horses ear.

Cool trippy pop art Jesus in the church where Arthur marries.

Rad golden dragon statue they have at the castle.

Boorman must like round tables. There's one of them in Zardoz as well.

lol, envious. wish i could see it again for the first time.

"There are other worlds. This one is done with me."

The last grail night has a real Jodorowsky vibe. The grail search has some homages to The Holy Mountain.

last grail knight i mean

yeah, the guy who plays percival even looks a little like jojo

The acting in this movie is so ridiculous. This scene:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipSZn5qcJds

Liam, Liam ...

Nah, this movie is everything it should be. OTT behavior in an OTT world is its raison d'etre.

Well, that's for sure. Talk about a self-fulfilling prophecy.

hella headbands in this picture

The sheer amount of sparkliness in this movie is overwhelming. Also note that Liam wears almost the same outfit (with added sparkliness) in the Clash of the Titans remake.

gets points for being made 7 years after Python

jeez, what an ass on Lancelot

some hip NYC dad brought his 9-year-old to this. haha, fuct for life.

did not recognize Arthur as Derek Jarman's Caravaggio either

I thought the older gaunt & bearded Arthur looked very similar to his Caravaggio. The Lancelot actor died quite young iirc, well in his late 40's.

The King is dead. Long live The King.

http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2015/may/03/nigel-terry

Also a great Caravaggio. RIP.

this is the best movie ever made

aka Boorman's Wagner mixtape - not watched it in years, but saw it a few hundred times in the 80's. It's ace.

Those hairstyles are historically inaccurate, crimpers weren't invented till the 1970s

a guy gets so horny he successfully gallops atop a mist and it's like the 50th wildest thing that happens in this movie

way funnier than monty python

without doubt the coolest Merlin in any King Arthur movie as well

without doubt the coolest Merlin in any King Arthur movie as well

It's the chrome skullcap that does it.

the Merlin actor (Nicol Williamson) was originally meant to do the seemingly cursed role that Ian McKellen eventually took in Apt Pupil. From what I can gather from imdb, first James Mason was approached for it but he shortly after died of a heart attack. Then Richard Burton was considered and died of a cerebral haemorrhage before he was approached. then Nicol Williamson (who was a boozer and smoking 80 a day at one point) is listed for the role on the abandoned Apt Pupil production!

I presume it was abandoned cos he died that year.

Might’ve mentioned this years ago upthread but Boorman’s commentary on the og dvd is great. Also, Mirren and Williamson didn’t like each other and that tension was there throughout the filming.

need to hear that commentary

boorman would be a good candidate for the "people who have figured out how to live" thread

also I assume Ned already knows about this but:

Then there are the ones that got away. The hits (such as Rocky and Alien) he turned down because the scripts left him cold. Or the passion projects he was forced to abandon. Boorman estimates that he spent more time on the films that didn’t get made than on those that did.

In the early 70s, for instance, he corresponded with JRR Tolkien about a screen adaptation of The Lord of the Rings, a full 30 years before Peter Jackson brought it safely home. Boorman wanted to shoot the whole saga as a single three-hour picture. “I saw it as this big dystopian story,” he says. “And in this house, upstairs, we papered the walls with each scene. We’d look at it, stare at it and try to get some sense out of it. And I had all sorts of solutions. I was going to cast nine- or 10-year-old boys as the hobbits. Put them in makeup; beards and things. And then dub them with adult voices.”

Jesus, I say. It would have been a disaster.

“Yeah well,” he chuckles. “It might have been.”

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/feb/13/john-boorman-you-think-the-holy-grail-is-lost-no-i-have-it-on-my-piano

so many hoofbeats