Excalibur R

117K ratings
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Format:  DVD
item number:  F976
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Excalibur (Blu-ray) for $12.10

DVD Details

  • Rated: R
  • Closed captioning available
  • Run Time: 2 hours, 20 minutes
  • Video: Color
  • Encoding: Region 1 (USA & Canada)
  • Released: September 21, 1999
  • Originally Released: 1981
  • Label: Warner Home Video

Performers, Cast and Crew:

Starring &
Performer: , , , , &
Directed by
Edited by &
Screenwriting by &
Composition by
Director of Photography:

Entertainment Reviews:

Certified Fresh79%

TOMATOMETER
Total Count: 43

Upright80%

AUDIENCE SCORE
User Ratings: 50,061
The attempt in Excalibur to produce recognisable or at least historical figures results only in a kind of anachronistic bathos; the content of the film never quite matches up to the technological and cinematic expertise which went into its production. Full Review
The Spectator
Mar 26, 2018
Rating: 2.5/4 -- What a wondrous vision Excalibur is! And what a mess. Full Review
Chicago Sun-Times
Oct 24, 2004
There is humor here (in the form of a vaudeville Merlin, played by Nicol Williamson) as well as a diminution of scale that seems intended to help audiences through the thornier byways of Boorman's vision. Full Review
Chicago Reader
Nov 6, 2013
The result is almost always the handsomest of films to behold. Storywise it has its moments, too, although it never quite achieves the difficult blend of grandeur and madness for which it strives. Full Review
Sky Cinema
Nov 6, 2013
Mr. Boorman takes these myths very seriously, but he has used them with a pretentiousness that obscures his vision. Full Review
New York Times
Aug 31, 2004
...EXCALIBUR is exquisite, a near-perfect blend of action, romance, fantasy and philosophy....Finely acted and beautifully filmed...
Variety
Apr 8, 1981
Exquisite, a near-perfect blend of action, romance, fantasy and philosophy, finely acted and beautifully filmed by director John Boorman and cinematographer Alex Thomson. Full Review
Variety
Oct 8, 2008

Product Description:

Director John Boorman's passionate adaptation of Sir Thomas Malory's LE MORTE D'ARTHUR stars Nigel Terry as the faithful King Arthur. Necromancer Merlin (Nicol Williamson) offers the magic sword Excalibur to the warlike Uther Pendragon (Gabriel Byrne) in exchange for a promise that he'll make peace with his enemy, the duke of Cornwall (Corin Redgrave). He agrees but breaks his word after catching sight of Cornwall's wife, Igraine (Katrine Boorman). With the magician's help he makes love to the woman in the guise of her husband. She bears a child, Arthur, who is taken by Merlin as payment for his assistance and left in the care of Ector (Clive Swift). Years pass, and the boy, now a humble squire, pulls Excalibur from the stone in which Uther had sunk it--a task no other could accomplish. With Merlin's counsel, he marries the stunning Guenevere (Cherie Lunghi), finds a champion in Sir Lancelot (Nicholas Clay), subdues the skirmishing knights, and builds the Round Table to unite them. Yet his half-sister, Morgana (Helen Mirren), lurks in the shadows, preparing to poison her brother's reign. Perhaps the best film made in this genre, EXCALIBUR benefits from an extraordinary cast, including appearances by Byrne, Patrick Stewart, and Liam Neeson early in their celluloid careers. Counterpointing ethereally filtered sex scenes against scenes of graphic blood-and-guts swordplay, Boorman's sumptuous production galvanizes the familiar mythology, as he charts the transition from an age of magic to one of reason.

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Product Info

  • Sales Rank: 12,018
  • UPC: 085392201822
  • Shipping Weight: 0.25/lbs (approx)
  • International Shipping: 1 item

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