Excalibur

Starring: Nigel Terry, Helen Mirren, Nicholas Clay, Cherie Lunghi, Paul Geoffrey, Nicol Williamson, Gabriel Byrne, Liam Neeson, Patrick Stewart
Directed by: John Boorman
Rating: R
Genre: Action, Fantasy
Box Office: $
1981

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary:Arthur (Nigel Terry) pulls the sword Excalibur from the stone, thus signalling he is the next King of England. He rules with his knights of the round table and his wife, Guenevere (Cherie Lunghi), but is angered when he suspects she is having an affair with his best knight, Lancelot (Nicholas Clay).

Review:

Tim: Excalibur is a classic and very literal telling of Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte Darthur. This films takes all of those elements to wonderfully tell the Arthurian legend.

It is amazing that the entire legend of King Arthur is told in his one film- pulling the sword from the stone, the boy king, Guenevere and Lancelot, the quest for the Holy Grail, the battle against Morgana, and more. You will find all of that here.

The cast is excellent. It is especially fun to see a young Gabriel Byrne, Liam Neeson, and Patrick Stewart is small supporting roles. The main cast all are simply incredible.

This film does a good job of making the connection between Arthur and the land he governs. These are pretty deep themes and it says a great deal about this movie that it pursues some of these more meaningful themes. This is much more than a thoughtless adventure/action fantasy. This is an epic telling and one of the best Arthur movies of all time.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 8



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: King Arthur, First Knight, The Sword and the Stone