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Excalibur

Excalibur

List Price: $12.98
Your Price: $9.74
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: My first Rated R Movie at age 9, Excalibur
Review: I was 9 years old when Exalibur was released. They actually released two versions at the same time, a R version and PG version. My mom was one of those mothers who really didn't mind her child seeing violence or nudity; therefore, we saw the R version. I had never seen a rated R movie before. As the movie began, there were people being hacked to death. I was even feeling a bit queasy as Uther made love to the woman he lusted for. It was so uncomfortable sitting there with my mom while these scenes were playing. But the movie has never left my mind and heart. It has been my #1 favorite film of all time. It just has this energy and emotion to it that you rarely ever get out of a book or film. If you liked Braveheart, then you will love Excalibur. It is a movie that will never get old. It was shot in a way that it will never depreciate.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Movie, terrible transfer to DVD
Review: Let me start by saying that this is a five star movie and hands down the best adoption of the story produced on film. But, the DVD version is very disappointing. The picture quality desperately needs to be cleaned up and for all intent and purposes the sound quality is 2 channel stereo at best with little to no strong bass presence, even though the DVD says 5.1. Also, the rear speakers hardly ever get involved. Considering how great the sound effect were in the theater, it's a shame they couldn't clean it up for DVD.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: great movie to watch by everyone
Review: A rare motion-picture treat,in my opinion the ultimate movie of "King ARTHUR!!!"... This movie i love,because it's so well made. Check it out & you'll know why it's great. I bought it because it'sa aclassic movie.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Greatest Arthurian Movie ever
Review: The wonderful photograph mixes perfectly with the Powerful Wagner Sounds, to create an inspiring and unforgettable movie. Some scenes over the others: Uther Pendragon when he is ceased to death and finally puts Excalibur in the Rock... Merlino, Awakened by Arthur's Love for an old friend...! MOrdred birth in Morgana's castle.

5 stars on 5. One of the best movies I've ever seen!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Erotic retelling of the Arthurian Legend
Review: If you're into the legend of Camelot, then this is the film for you..pulls no punches with the violent nature of the times, and is the story of King Arthur's rise to the monarchy of Camelot from his conception, and what an incredible little twist in the plot brings us to the actual moment of it! Uther sees young Igrayne sensually dancing,and swivelling her hips during a banquet. But she is bethroed to a rival...he eyes her lustily, he swears he must have her, and later strikes up a deal with Merlin, that he may lay with Igrayne for one lust filled night, in exchange for the product of their union. Kudos to John Boorman, as the scene is incredibly set up and shot in a way that can only be described as sheer artistic genius...as Igrayne's real husband is off fighting a brutal battle, Uther is transformed into his rival...he rides into the castle, on the Dragon's breath, and ravishes her, kissing her roughly, while tearing off her dress. Then, in front of a roaring fire, he consumates his lust, incredibly making passionate love to her naked body, while still wearing his tank-like armor! Highly erotic, and fearless love scene, that I have yet to see outdone in any NC-17 film. The rest of the film is just as powerful, showing Arthur's rise and fall. Then the Knights of the Round Table seek out the Holy Grail in vain, and Lancelot betrays Arthur, loving Guenevere behind his back...the battle scenes are very realistic, and watch for a young Jean Luc Picard as one of the knights...highly recommended. Too bad the films of today anywhere near this genre are weak, and fearful...Long live Boorman...he gave us one of the best erotic scenes in the history of film.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: best Arthurian film!
Review: The arthurian legend has never looked better on screen...it is supposedly based loosely on Malory's Le Morte D"Arthur and more than any other film, I think this retelling captures what Malory was trying to describe: although I have yet to see a fully satisfying arthurian film...in this dark moody film version we are presented with a changing brutal world reaching for idealism as expressed in chivalry; here is the sword in the stone, merlin, guinevere, lancelot, even gawaine-would be great if there were a film that cocentrated on lancelot and gawaine-two very interesting characters full of potential...the soundtrack borrows from Wagner and deserves to be on CD one day...if you have to watch one film to give you a grasp of the legend of Arthur, this is it...

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Off with their heads !
Review: Great movie, But a great shame the tops of heads are missing in some scenes. When will they get it right when transfering movies to DVD ?

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Amazing
Review: While I know virtually nothing about the whole Arthur legend, this movie was fascinating a captivating nonetheless.

It's got amazing battle and siege scenes with plenty of swordfighting and gore to please anyone, but it also keeps to relevant areas of the plot. Even so, it takes 2.5 hours, but it's succinctly told, so you don't feel like you're drudging through a never-ending bore.

I feel that one of the most important aspects of any movie is the music. This one does an amazing job. From the eerie frightening music when the Lady of the Lake appears to the renderings of the epic "O Fortuna" when they are riding off to battle, this movie has an absolutely grand score.

The acting is good, if a little awkward at times, as are the character development and the humor. I also noticed a lot of familiar faces looking a lot younger. There was Liam Neeson, Patrick Stewart with some hair, and I'm not sure but I think I recognized Gabriel Byrne.

Although not terribly historically accurate in terms, this is a very good movie. The only other King Arthur movie which is this good is Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Very Highly Recommended, and at a great price.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Not Perfect, But Darn Close...
Review: It's tough to compress the 900-some-odd pages of text that Thomas Malory used to tell his story of Le Morte d'Arthur into 140 minutes, but director John Boorman and screenwriter Rospo Pallenberg give it a good shot. While it sometimes leaves out important details or compresses events in the interest of time, it can never be accused of playing fast and loose with the legend. However, the film also requires a bit of work on the part of the viewer to fill in some of the details, and it's obvious Boorman expects his viewer to be at least passing familiar with the traditions of the Arthurian legend (anyone unfamiliar with the mythology associated with Avalon, for example, may be baffled by the imagery in the film's closing moments).

With its darkened, cloud-streaked skies, lonely stone castles, eerie green lighting, (all caught in beautiful widescreen glory on the DVD!) and use of the music of Richard Wagner, you won't find a moodier, more beautifully shot film. In fact, there are some downright breathtaking cinematic moments in this film -- from the wedding of Arthur and Guinevere (complete with medieval chants and armor polished to a mirror-like sheen) to the Lady of the Lake's clean catch of Excalibur over the swooshing music of Wagner. Great stuff.

While Nicol Williamson turns in a very game performance as Merlin, it's Nigel Terry who carries the film in an underappreciated but wholly believeable interpretation of King Arthur. Terry leaves the scenery-chewing to Williamson, and anchors the film instead with a steady, understated performance. Look also for stars-in-the-making Liam Neeson as the jealous Gawain, and Patrick Stewart as Guenevere's father, Leodegrance.

EXCALIBUR has all the elements one expects in a fantasy; yet, in a sense, Boorman does for the sword-and-sorcery film what Sergio Leone did for the western: whereas prior horse operas showed cowboys riding across the desert and shuffing down dirt streets without a bit of sweat, and firing pistols that never drew blood, Leone made everyone look hot and sweaty, and showed that a Smith & Wesson could rip a real hole through your gut. Boorman does the same for the knight in this film -- knights clunk around clumsily in heavy armor, get skewered on pikes, get their heads bashed in, and cough their guts out in bloody mud puddles. It all lends an air of veracity to the film that makes it all seem like It Could Really Have Happened This Way.

The widescreen format available on DVD gives this film the weight and heft it has long deserved, and there are some real gems lurking among the additional features -- a surprisingly cheezy, Grade B trailer, and a really great alternate soundtrack in which director John Boorman discusses the action and shares some behind-the-scene goodies (such as the fact that Nicol Williamson and Helen Mirren couldn't stand each other, or that the actor playing the teenaged Mordred was actually a first-rate horseman).

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great Movie
Review: This is the best movie about the legend of Auther and his knights of the round table. The battles sences were great. The soundtrack is awlsome. There are a few down falls but they are minor and dont take away from the film. Such as the armour that they wore was plate mail when according to the time period they put the legend in they would have woren chain mail and the myths themselves were a little mixed up but all in all it was mostly accurrate to the tales. This is a must own.


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