Excalibur details
| Format: | 15 DVD |
|---|---|
| Starring: | Nigel Terry, Liam Neeson, Helen Mirren, Gabriel Byrne, Paul Geoffrey, Nicholas Clay, Cherie Lunghi, Nicol Williamson, Patrick Stewart |
| Director: | John Boorman |
| Genres: | Action/Adventure, Sci-Fi/Fantasy - Sci-fi - General |
| Studio: | WARNER HOME VIDEO |
| Collections: | 100 Big Adventures, 100 Swords and Sandals Films, Full English |
| Name | Discs | |
|---|---|---|
Excalibur |
15 Feature |
DVD Information
| Run time: | 2 hours 15 minutes |
|---|---|
| Rental release: | 15 May 2000 |
| Main languages: | English |
| Dubbed: | French, Italian |
| Subtitles: | Arabic, Bulgarian, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish |
| Hearing impaired subtitles: | English, Italian |
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Most helpful review
Creaky but fun.
By Kilkrazy from Surrey , 29 Jun 2004[Highly rated reviewer]
This is a retelling of the legend of King Arthur, based on the version written by Sir Thomas Malory in 1475.
Although it forms arguably England's major myth cycle, the Round Table legend is a confused mass of celtic, Romano-British, Norman-French, and other accretions. Its re-interpretation is entirely appropriate, and this version presented is well-told, if you can forgive the obvious budgetary limitations.
The plot is stripped to the bare essentials, leaving about a dozen named characters, and losing all the quests except the quest for the Holy Grail. This austere treatment concentrates attention on the key elements of the story.
The film was clearly shot on a small budget. All the locations are in rural Ireland, the castles are represented by sections of walls, or in long shots only, while the cast and crowd scenes have limited numbers of actors and extras.
The battles are surprisingly effective, with the knights crashing around in grey, silver or black plate armor. If you are used to modern spectaculars like Lord Of The Rings, it will seem sadly small scale. However, bear in mind that the entire Round Table only had 101 knights.
The special effects are of their time and look distinctly creaky. But the power of the story should sustain interest nonetheless.
Nicol Williamson gives an eccentric but enjoyable interpretation of the wizard Merlin, and you will spot Liam Neeson and Patrick Stewart among the knights, who later achieved fame in Star Wars and Star Trek.- Was this review helpful to you?
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(65)Arthurian Epic
By FullofStars (41 reviews) from Scotland , 14 Apr 2013Love this film! Yes, some of the dialogue is stiff and the acting a bit wooden but this is one of the defining films of the fantasy genre. It is a truly massive sprawling epic tale of Arthur, encompassing all the stories and interpretations of Camelot. Lots of battle scenes (great armour by the way!), magic, love, jealousy, family rivalry and politics!- Was this review helpful to you?
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So wooden, I gave up thirty minutes in
By andrewbowden (6 reviews) from London , 21 Jan 2013It is rare that I ever give up on a film. I'll see it through to the gritty end no matter what. But with Excalibur I did after just thirty minutes. I had high hopes; friends had raved out this film to me. But what I saw was wooden - often dire - acting, over the top music and a plot that slowly bored me to tears. Lots of people seem to love this film. You may too. But it didn't work for me at all.- Was this review helpful to you?
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a dream to some, a nightmare to others
By iamleggend (5 reviews) , 22 Nov 2012I've loved this film from when i first saw it when i was a teenager. It has everything, action, romance, comedy, darkness, mysticism...plus brilliant music, sets, scenery and cinematography...- Was this review helpful to you?
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A comedy? theres never been a darker version of the legend.
By prior81 (16 reviews) , 02 Sep 2012The films biggest fault is the plots huge jumps in time periods making it difficult to follow. Get over that and its a real treat.
Its visually brilliant, dark, sinister and gory at times. The cast is a whos who of Britains finest acting talents and whats not to like in the Wagner soundtrack.
Its no masterpiece, its flawed, but If any film deserves a remake, its this one.- Was this review helpful to you?
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just brilliant
By cheesekake (1278 reviews) from uk , 30 Jun 2012ok not what you would call a true account of the Arthurian legend but still a brilliant film.
defo worth a watch for all medieval film buffs- Was this review helpful to you?
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