EXCALIBUR-1981
Uther Pendragon is killed but not before he sticks his sword Excalibur into a rock. A young King Arthur is able to take the sword out and so begins the legend of King Arthur, Merlin, Guinevere, Lancelot, Morgan Le Fey and the knights of the round table into one great soap opera of fun.
I think this is the best of all the Arthur films, nominated for an Oscar for Cinematography, it features Liam Neeson and Gabriel Byrne in their first film roles although they are not the leads. Liam Neeson met Helen Mirren (Morgan Le Fey) on the set and they ended up living together for 4 years. Oh, the director, John Boorman, used his daughter as the wife of Uther and you see her...um...nude getting pregnant by “Uther” who didn’t even take off his armour. If I had a dad ask me to do that scene, I would have told my dad is a freaky creep.
Saw it way back when. I love King Arthur stories and even saw Camelot on stage in 1963. Did not know your tidbit about Liam and Helen.
ReplyDeleteA great one on the tale indeed. I also enjoyed First Knight. Never knew that about that father daughter. Blah. Freaky creep indeed.
ReplyDeleteExcalibur, mightiest sword of all time. Wrought by Woden, the god of time, legendary blade of King Arthur. Hurled into the lake, it sprang forth again all shining and pure. And now, now it is wielded by she who will eclipse all their deeds... Arthur... Lancelot... and even mighty Coeur de Leon -
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Hi, Birgit!
The above is my favorite "King Arthur" movie, Russ Meyer's Beyond the Valley of the Dolls. I have not yet seen Excalibur, but I admire Liam Neeson, Gabriel Byrne and Helen Mirren. That armour clad love making scene is indeed bizarre. She should have worn her chastity belt. :)
Have a great day, dear friend BB!
Excellent choice! This one's a classic.
ReplyDeleteI admit I have heard of King Arthur, but never this film. I am so glad you are sharing these, because I truly love your synopses.
ReplyDeleteI watched the new King Arthur movie in January and it was awful. I think I'll check out this version as it sounds good.
ReplyDeleteAnother one i’ve Seen. I think the 70s and 80s were my peak cinema days and I OST interest after that. I loved Mary Stewart’s Arthur trilogy, starting with The Crystal Cave, more than any film.
ReplyDeleteBirgit,
ReplyDeleteWe saw this movie. I'm thinking we thought it was okay but not terrific. Now, you got me wanting to see it again just to satisfy my curiosity. Often times older movies turn out to be better than we remembered.
Curious as a Cathy
A2Z Creating iPad Art Sketches "E" - Eyes
I saw this in the theater when it first came out. It's so long ago that I don't remember it much, but I can't recall being particularly overwhelmed by it. Maybe I should give it another chance.
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Tossing It Out
I haven't seen this version, I did really like the Sam Neil one
ReplyDeleteI love Excalibur. I just watched it again a few weeks ago and when I bought the DVD, I was surprised at how it seemed a lot less sexy than it looked to me when it first came out.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you about the sex scene featuring Boorman's own daughter. In the commentary on the DVD, Boorman says someone asked him how he could film his own daughter being raped... which, technically, Igrayne was, because although she willingly had sex with a man she thought was her husband, he was actually Uther, magically disguised as her husband. Boorman's reply was "Well, she wasn't really raped," which I interpreted as meaning she was only acting so she wasn't really raped. In other words, Boorman missed the point of the question, which was "How could you be so freakin' creepy as to ask your own daughter to get naked and simulate having sex in front of you, while you film it?!?"
I would agree with you about the father and daughter!
ReplyDeleteNot seen it, but I do love stories about King Arthur. The way Excalibur was placed in the stone has so many different versions.
ReplyDeleteI was too young for this when it came out, and I haven't seen it since. Ah well.
ReplyDeleteHaven't seen it. I've seen The Mists of Avalon, but that would be M.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know Liam and Helen sat in a tree k-i-s-s-i-n-g. :-)
ReplyDeleteAh Excalibur - it is definitely an experience. Not my fav Arthur film, even with the great cast, but everyone should see it at least once :).
ReplyDeleteTasha
Tasha's Thinkings - Movie Monsters
I watched this film back in my teen, when I was obsessed with arthurian stories. And I have to confess I didn't watch it to the end. But you know, I think I was probably too young to appresiate the film. I alwasy hear so many good things about this movie, especially from movie lovers.
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