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Title: Excalibur (1981)
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| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Nigel Terry | ... | King Arthur | |
| Helen Mirren | ... | Morgana | |
| Nicholas Clay | ... | Lancelot | |
| Cherie Lunghi | ... | Guenevere | |
| Paul Geoffrey | ... | Perceval | |
| Nicol Williamson | ... | Merlin | |
| Robert Addie | ... | Mordred | |
| Gabriel Byrne | ... | Uther Pendragon | |
| Keith Buckley | ... | Uryens | |
| Katrine Boorman | ... | Igrayne | |
| Liam Neeson | ... | Gawain | |
| Corin Redgrave | ... | Cornwall | |
 |
Niall O'Brien | ... | Kay |
| Patrick Stewart | ... | Leondegrance | |
| Clive Swift | ... | Ector | |
The myth of King Arthur (Nigel Terry) brought once again to the screen. Uthur Pendragon (Gabriel Byrne) is given the mystical sword Excalibur by the wizard Merlin. At his death, Uthur buries the sword into a stone, and the next man that can pull it out will be King of England. Several years later, Arthur, Uthur's bastard son, draws Excalibur and becomes King. Guided by Merlin, Arthur marries Guenevere (Cherie Lunghi) and gathers the Knights of the Round Table. Arthur's evil half-sister Morgana (Dame Helen Mirren) sires a son with him, who may prove to be his downfall. Written by Greg Bole <bole@life.bio.sunysb.edu>
I am an Arthurian buff and a film fan (aspiring to be a novelist and a screenwriter). EXCALIBUR is a great, great film that holds up very well after more than 20 years. It is an expert distillation of the essential Arthurian legend (this from someone who has read and re-read Malory's original work, Le Morte D'Arthur, on which the movie was based, as well as Tennyson, White, Steinbeck, and many of the other modern fictional treatments, as well as a lot of the secondary literature on the history and meaning of the Arthur myth). The film is wonderful on many, many levels, from Boorman's masterful direction and writing (along with Pallenberg, his screenwriter), to the cinematography, the armor and costumes, the sets and production design, and the acting (with a great cast too numerous to mention). The film has violence, sex, myth, drama, intrigue, heroics, pathos, and aspirations to art, all in the best senses of those terms. The film probably works best if you already have some sort of sense of the Arthur legends, but I would recommend it to anyone. Also, listen to Boorman's director's commentary on the DVD. Perhaps the best and most lucid DVD commentary that I have heard on video; interesting and sharp comments throughout the entire film, and well worth replaying if you aspire to filmmaking in any way, or just want to hear a smart filmmaker talk about his work. I have tried to write Arthurian stories and an Arthurian script, but all have so far paled in comparison to Boorman and Pallenberg's work. Long live Boorman and long live EXCALIBUR!