Sci-Fi Fantasy Week: Excalibur

Welcome milords and ladies to Day 3 of Sci-Fi Fantasy Week and I am have dusted off my DVD rack to bring you yet another gone but not forgotten gem of the genre.  When I speak of Camelot I do not mean Sean Connery and Richard Gere being silly in armor nor do I mean a zany cartoon with two headed talking dragons and far too many sing along.   I am referring to the key elements derived from Sir Thomas Mallory’s classic Le Morte Darthur.   Capturing all facets and characters from said novel and bringing them to the big screen in 1981.  So don thine armour, sharpen and preserve thy blade and prepare for battle!  This is Excalibur.

Well, at least we aren't fighting over who makes a better Batman.

Arthur: Now, once more, I must ride with my knights to defend what was, and the spoiler of what could be.

Writer Rospo Pallenberg (Exorcist II: The Heretic, Excalibur, The Emerald Forest, The Barber of Siberia and The Gaul) and writer/director John Boorman (Zardoz, Exorcist II: The Heretic, Excalibur, Where the Heart Is, The General, The Tailor of Panama and The Tiger’s Tail) dare to dabble in a time of romance, chivalry and siege warfare to the days of the kingdom of Camelot. 

The ever mysterious magus Merlin (Nicol Williamson of Of Mice and Men, The Reckoning, Hamlet, Robin and Marian, Return to Oz and Apt Pupil) has secured Excalibur from the Lady in the Lake for Uther Pendragon (Gabriel Bryne of Miller’s Crossing, The Usual Suspects, Ghost Ship, In Treatment and Just a Sigh) with the agreement of Merlin aiding in the seduction of the Duke of Cornwall’s wife through cast illusion.  Sounds a bit shady thus far but we shall move on. 

Bald brothers, hear me! The skull cap is all the rave!

With the Duke on the battle field and slain only sorceress Morgana (Helen Mirren of Hamlet, Caligula, 2010, The Queen, Red and Red 2) can see through Uther’s disguise while he has his way with her mother.    Nine months later, Merlin sneaks in and is off with the baby while Uther injured from the Duke’s knights hurls Excalibur into a stone claiming the man that draws the blade will be king. 

Come hither stare or looks that could kill??

Years later Sir Ector's (Clive Swift of Frenzy, A Passage to India, Keeping Up Appearances and The Old Guys) boys are Kay and Arthur prepare for a jousting tournament when Sir Leondegrance (Patrick Stewart of Dune, Star Trek: The Next Generation, X-Men, Moby Dick, Safe House and Hamlet) attempts to remove Excalibur and fails.  A thief takes off with Kay’s blade and without any thought other than defending his brother’s honor Arthur draws Excalibur to do battle with the thief.

So the lad is declared king of the realm and all but a few accept this to be but webs are being weaved into what the future may come to be.

I have just a few points to make about the film now.   35mm Spherical captures the action and drama so but this is the year the UK introduced the Arriflex Camera giving almost the same scope as a Panavison anamorphic lens without the same tight consistency.  It is still quite the noteworthy camera to be held to all.   

Now I shall slay Ranuccio!

It is also the film that launched the careers of Liam Neeson, Gabriel Bryne, Neil Jordan and Ciaran Hinds.   Not too shabby in that of its own, this very movie gave SFX credit of now Industrial Light and Magic SFX supervisor Peter Hutchinson.   While this is to be an Arthurian legend told this was primarily shot in Ireland and I am betting they never let the limeys forget that heheh.