Excalibur – The Gold Standard of Arthurian Movies

Sword and Sorcery moves were popular in the 1980s. “Excalibur” led the way. It has a talented cast; many went on to become household names. It has beautiful scenery, impressive sets, a fantastic score, and credible looking fights. The movie was the saga of King Arthur from his conception to his death.

The film opened in America on April 10, 1981. Its budget was about $11 million.[i] It grossed $34.2 million.[ii] The Academy Awards nominated “Excalibur” cinematographer, Alex Thomson, for an Oscar. The movie was filmed in Ireland and it does a good job of showing off the Emerald Isle’s scenery. The film has an excellent soundtrack. The scene of an older King Arthur leading his knights to the song “O Fortuna” is classic. The movie has an MPAA rating of “R” and the UK rating is “15”[iii].

King Arthur was supposed to be a character in the 6^th century. The Arthurian stories mostly came out of the 13^th and 14^th century. Many of the depictions of King Arthur are from the 13^th & 14^th century and show the characters in 13^th & 14^th century armor. This makes the “Excalibur” armor accurate and inaccurate depending on point of view. The full body armor cuts down on the gore somewhat.

[i] United States Movie Database, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082348/reference, last accessed 8/10/19.

[ii] The Numbers, https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Excalibur#tab=summary, last accessed 8/10/19.

[iii] There is a “television” version of the movie with a PG rating.

The story begins with a nighttime battle in a forest. Merlin (Nicol Williamson) sadly watches the battle. Uther Pendragon (Gabriel Byrne) demands Merlin give him Excalibur. Merlin agrees if Uther agrees to a truce. Uther, Excalibur in hand, and Cornwall (Corin Redgrave) make an equally amicable truce. The truce lasts until the party celebrating the truce. Uther is infatuated with Cornwall’s wife, Igrayne (Kathrine Boorman). This breaks the truce.

Uther lays siege to Cornwall’s castle. Merlin agrees to use enchantment so Uther can have a night with Igrayne, for a price. Nine months later Cornwall is dead and Uther has Igrayne and an infant son. Then Merlin comes back demanding his price, the infant. Merlin explains Uther’s position. Uther has many enemies and Merlin can protect the child. Merlin takes the infant, Arthur, and Uther is ambushed. Uther’s dying move is driving Excalibur into a stone. Whoever removes the sword from the stone will be king.

Years later Arthur (Nigel Terry) is a squire. With his brother’s sword stolen Arthur pulls Excalibur from the stone as a substitute. This leads to an argument among the knights whether Arthur should be recognized as the king. Merlin’s appearance adds fuel to the fire. This leads to a battle. Arthur has the opposition leader, Uryens (Keith Buckley), at sword point. A wise move, that even catches Merlin by surprise, causes Urgens to recognize Arthur’s kingship.

King Arthur repels the invaders and unites the land. He has a prosperous kingdom. He married Guenevere (Cherie Lunghi). All seems well in his kingdom. There are underlying problems. The greatest knight, Lancelot (Nicholas Clay), loves Guenevere. To keep from being tempted Lancelot stays away from King Arthur’s castle, Camelot.

King Arthur’s half-sister, Morgana (Helen Mirren), is plotting. She has Merlin’s clairvoyance and Merlin taught her most of his magic. Morgana tells Gawain (Liam Neeson) it’s Guenevere’s love for Lancelot that’s keeping Lancelot away from Camelot. This sets off a chain of events that leaves; Merlin entombed, Morgana with the knowledge Merlin had kept from her, Guenevere and Lancelot separated from King Arthur and each other, Excalibur missing, and Morgana pregnant by King Arthur.

The one bright spot was Perceval (Paul Geoffrey). Perceval was Lancelot’s squire who King Arthur knighted when Lancelot was late to champion Guenevere and none of the other knights would champion her. King Arthur sends Perceval and the other knights on a quest to find the Holy Grail.

Over the 20-year quest all the knights either perished or defected to Morgana, except for Perceval. There was disease and famine in the land. Lancelot had become a priest. Guenevere is living in a convent. Morgana’s son Mordred (Robert Addie) is now a man. Morgana decides it is time for Mordred to take the throne.

Perceval finds the Holy Grail and has King Arthur drink from it. King Arthur knows he and those loyal to him must take the fight to Mordred and Morgana. King Arthur visits Guenevere. To his surprise she has kept Excalibur all these years. Merlin’s spirit comes back to join the struggle. It will be a great battle of sword and sorcery.

Merlin can be surprised, left at a loss, and defeated. While “The Dragon” is mentioned often no physical dragon appears. “The Dragon” is like “The Force” in “Star Wars”. King Arthur when he is at his best is brilliant. Sometimes he makes what seems good decisions but since they are not the best decisions the results are catastrophic. His greatness comes when he realizes his decision wasn’t the best.

Moves that don’t involve fighting often have significant effects on the battle. This is also true of real battles and wars. Often when all seems to be going well for one side there is something happening that will reverse the fortunes. This is also true in real life.

Women, wittingly and unwittingly, play crucial roles in all events. There is Lady of the Lake (Hilary Joyalle) and The Fates. Igrayne sparked a battle and gave birth to the future king. Guenevere assisted in Morgana’s ascendency. She also kept Excalibur until King Arthur needed it again. Mongana dominated the course of events.