Excalibur

Rating:
Summary: Spellbound from first viewing of this John Boorman film,
Review: I first became enchanted with this film version of Sir Author and the Knights of the day in the early 80's. The DVD format should be exciting and seems quite on target for new millenium passage!!! This film is a classic.

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Summary: Excalibur Has Never Looked Better
Review: On DVD, Excalibur is widely cinematic. The sound is excellent, the color more vibrant and the music is unforgettable. The movie is great. Boorman's use of green color, hazy, dream-like environments, climatic battles and Orff's "O Fortuna " make the epic Arthur tale come alive. The only thing missing in the film that I found disappointing is that Boorman did not tell the whole story. He missed Lancelot's relationship with Elaine, and that was significant because Galahad was born from them. How then did Boorman manage to have Galahad suddenly appear in the film and find the Holy Grail ? Elaine's death would have been a good scene. In legend, Elaine kills herself and her body floats on a giant leaf petal across a lake. Could have been a great scene. The angel that Galahad encounters while searching for the Grail could have also been used. But otherwise, it remains a great movie.

Rating:
Summary: Kick-ass-movie, it is a got-to-see-it.
Review: Well this weekend, I saw the movie for the first time. How come i never seen this movie before. well i never liked movies with Knights, kings ect. But this one kicked serious butt. A cool blend of magic, blood, action and adventure, you can't ask for more.

Rating:
Summary: The color of hope
Review: I loved this movie when it came out, and I still put it into the VCR now and then to watch favorite parts: Arthur kneeling to be made a knight before a man who wants to kill him (Merlin: I've never seen THIS before!), Arthur once again riding at the front of his men, the knights on the hilltop after England has been re-united (Merlin: Think on this moment, savor it! Shades of Shakespeare's Richard III), Gawain taking up Guenivere's cause when Lancelot is late for the duel, the last meeting of Arthur and Guenivere (It is a dream, I have), Lancelot coming in at the critical moment in the last battle (It is the OLD wound, my King). So many.

What I really like is the constant use of green light in the movie. Watch closely -- it is EVERYWHERE reflected on on the armor. I think it is meant not as a reflection of the green grass and terrain, but as a symbol of the hope inherent in the legend. Man is are not perfect, but we are capable of so much that is good and great. To Arthur!

Rating:
Summary: A must see for King Arthur history fans
Review: This version does an excellent job. They do not "kill" the movie with cheesy special effects and such.

I've been waiting for this to be on DVD for a very long time and was not dissapointed.

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Summary: As great as I remember it 20 years later!
Review: I remember this film as a kid and certain scenes giving me chills because they were so stunning. 20 years later, the same scenes with the same chills. Trust me, buy the DVD now.

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic film and a great DVD rendition.
Review: I have always loved this film by John Boorman and was excited to hear of the DVD version. Having watched the DVD a few times now, I especially enjoyed Boorman's commentary and found it to be very interesting and a highlight of the DVD. This DVD will be a gemstone in my collection.

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Summary: This is no First Knight!!
Review: This is THE BEST movie ever made of King Arthur!!. Many people come to me saying how First Knight was so "beautiful"...and I ALWAYS say the same thing, "you haven't seen a good King Arthur movie until you've seen Excalibur". This movie just has it ALL. The sword from the stone, Merlin, Guenevere and her affair with Lancelot that brought the fall of Camelot and the Knights of the Round Table. Everything from the oldest novels known of the Arthurian Legend. (La Morte da Arthur). And the ARMORS!!. I've NEVER seen such beautiful and astonishing armors in a movie!!. This movie is dark and the battle scenes are gory and real. And you can see that from the very first scene when Knights gather for combat in the middle of the night in a forest. I'll never forget that first scene I saw when I was a little boy. If you're a fan of medieval movies, or of King Arthur and want to see a VERY realistic view of the legend of King Arthur, or if you just HATED First Knight (as I did) BUY this DVD!!!. You won't regreret!!. This movie is so powerfull that you won't get tired of seeing it as have I for the past 15 years.

Rating:
Summary: Excalibur revisited 20 years on by its director John Boorman
Review: The transfer to DVD is near perfect. The sound is great. It is wonderful to own this piece of film in the super sharp, super clean DVD format, but the real reason to buy this DVD is to listen to John Boorman talking us through the film upto and including the closing credits.

Boorman looks back 20 years on a project that in itself waited some 20 years before Orion came up with the backing. In the process it saw Gabriel Byrne, Patrick Stewart, Liam Neeson and others debuting to go on to better things. Not so with Nigel Terry, whose performance was greatly under-rated.

Boorman is modest, pragmatic and realistic. If the water was too cold for the actors, he would use his daughter or son. Production waited for live fish to be put into a submerged ring of stones from which Merlin would pick up one by hand, only for them to be tipped OUTSIDE the ring to swim away. Effectively, filming was done in his back garden and that of a neighbour. Local Irish stuntmen were used who would then continue fighting in the battle scenes, after "cut" was called, to settle old scores. Wilkinson Sword provided Excalibur. Green filtered lights rendered greener the countryside already made green by the incessant rain requiring many hours and days waiting for the right conditions.

As the young Arthur is taken away from his mother he tugs her hair dramatically across the film screen. Unscripted it came free. The bird pecking out the eye of a strung-up knight took many day's filming.

Very tight scheduling, ensured seasons exactly consonant with the three parts of the film - the Coming of Arthur and Camelot, The Wasteland and the Passing of Arthur. To the extent of using Oxford Films Natural History Unit to devise a small element of flowers blossoming in the foreground to demonstrate the re-awakening of the land with the renewed kingship of Arthur. Bluebell groves and the avenue of apple trees were constantly inspected before filming began - in one case this did not prevent some technician trampling down some bluebells.

Inevitably, comparisons are made between this attention to detail and getting it right on camera rather than the ever increasing postproduction work using digital effects. The lament is fair and reasonable because Boorman. although he would be too modest to claim such, is the director as auteur. He does not look at his work after filming ceases and, if he does, it is only to see the flaws. However he does look at Excalibur because the story is so good and means so much. What he does not say is that it is his presentation of Arthur through Mallory, von Eschenbach and Wagner at Bayreuth that will make us look at it again and again and again. Unlike VHS, the DVD will mean that each look wil be as good as the first. Buy it and enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: A CLASSIC!
Review: Excalibur is my No1 Film.I remember seeing it on television when i was about 12.Everything about it was magical.The Castles,Swords,Sorcery and Igraine!This film never gets the respect it deserves in the UK.In the US you seem to appreciate it far more.Does anyone like me shed a tear at the end with Arthur's death? The scene where Excalibur is caught in the lake will live with me always.A STUNNING FILM.