Excalibur (film)

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Excalibur

Theatrical release poster
Directed by John Boorman
Produced by John Boorman
Written by Thomas Malory
John Boorman
Starring Nigel Terry
Helen Mirren
Nicol Williamson
Music by Trevor Jones
Carl Orff
Cinematography Alex Thomson
Editing by John Merritt
Distributed by Orion Pictures
Warner Bros.
Release date(s) April 10, 1981
Running time Original cut
140 min.
Edited cut
119 min.
Country Flag of the United States
Flag of the United Kingdom
Language English
Gross revenue $34,967,437
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Excalibur is a 1981 fantasy film which retells the legend of King Arthur. It grossed USD$ 34,967,437 and was the 18th most successful film of that year.

Contents

[edit] Plot

 The plot summary in this article or section is too long or detailed compared to the rest of the article.
Please edit the article to focus on discussing the work rather than merely reiterating the plot.

The film opens as the forces of the powerful and headstrong knight Uther Pendragon battle the Duke of Cornwall's army. The wizard Merlin gives Uther the sword Excalibur after retrieving it from the Lady of the Lake, so Uther may unite the land. After seeing Uther wielding Excalibur, Cornwall yields to him with Uther's promise that Cornwall will retain control of his lands. Uther is proclaimed king and the men celebrate their newfound peace. Uther then encounters Cornwall's beautiful wife Igrayne and, in his lust for her, breaks the truce. He lays siege to Cornwall's castle.

Desperate to bed Igrayne, Uther begs Merlin for help. Merlin, furious at Uther's actions, nevertheless agrees to use his magic so Uther can consummate his lust for Igrayne, with the condition that Uther must relinquish to Merlin whatever results from his lust. Uther agrees. Merlin summons the dragon who lies beneath the land, and Uther, in Cornwall's guise, rides to Cornwall's castle across the sky on the dragon's breath. Once inside, Uther immediately and forcefully takes Igrayne. Meanwhile, the real Duke of Cornwall is killed attacking Uther's camp. Cornwall and Igrayne's daughter Morgana sees through Uther's disguise and senses her father's death.

Igrayne bears Uther a son, Arthur. Upon seeing the boy, Uther speaks of creating peace and staying with Igrayne, but Merlin arrives to take the boy, as promised. Uther's attempts to dissuade Merlin are unsuccessful and he ultimately relinquishes the boy to Merlin, to Igrayne's despair. Uther then pursues Merlin to retrieve Arthur but is ambushed and killed in the forest by knights still loyal to Cornwall. The ambushers attempt to seize Excalibur, but Uther thrusts it into a large stone before he dies, and Merlin exclaims that "he who draws the sword from the stone, he shall be king."

Years later, Sir Ector and his sons Kay and Arthur attend a jousting tournament to win the chance to draw Excalibur from the stone. The best knights in the land gather to compete for the chance, but none are able to draw the sword. Arthur, Kay's squire, forgets Kay's sword in a tent and returns to retrieve it, only to discover that it has been stolen. While pursuing the thief, Arthur pauses by the Sword in the Stone. On a whim, Arthur attempts to draw it and, to his astonishment, easily does so. The crowd from the tournament gathers around him, and Arthur easily draws the sword again. Merlin appears, revealing to Arthur that he is the son of Uther and Igrayne and therefore the rightful king of the land.

Not all accept Arthur's kingship, however, and a schism forms amongst the knights. As they argue, Arthur flees into the forest, terrified at what has transpired. Merlin follows and explains Arthur's destiny to him, telling the boy that he and the land are, in fact, one. As one thrives, so does the other, and vice versa. Overwhelmed, Arthur slips off into sleep. The next morning, Merlin tells him that the knights who stood against the boy king are laying siege to the castle of one of Arthur's main supporters, Leondegrance. Rallying the other knights loyal to him, Arthur leads a counter-assault and repels the attackers. The battle ends when Arthur asks his main antagonist, Sir Uriens, to take Excalibur and use it to proclaim Arthur a knight. This act, together with Arthur's courage in the battle, earns him widespread respect and fealty, and he is no longer doubted.

Much later, the now-adult Arthur encounters Lancelot, a brilliant and heretofore undefeated knight. In search of a king worthy of his sword, Lancelot will allow none to pass a bridge until he is defeated in single combat. Lancelot bests Arthur in a joust, but the enraged king refuses to accept this, and challenges Lancelot to a duel to the death. Lancelot attempts to calm Arthur but continues beating him in the fight until the king summons Excalibur's power. The indestructible blade pierces Lancelot's armor, seemingly killing him, but is broken in half. A devastated Arthur admits his wrongdoing and speaks his repentance to Merlin, who arrives upon the scene. Arthur throws what is left of the sword into a body of water but, upon his words of contrition, the Lady of the Lake rises to deliver a restored Excalibur to the king. Lancelot then awakens and, alive and well and believing that his quest is now complete, swears fealty to Arthur.

After a series of battles, Arthur unifies the land, and he creates the fellowship of the Round Table, and builds Camelot, his castle. Arthur then marries Leondegrance's daughter Guenevere. As the king's fortunes improve, the land thrives. Peace and harmony reign and Arthur himself is led to believe that evil has been vanquished. However, his half-sister, Morgana, a budding sorceress, becomes apprenticed to Merlin, hoping to learn the dark arts from him. Meanwhile, Lancelot, the greatest of the knights, is often inexplicably absent from the Round Table, seeking refuge deep in the forest in order to brood. While meditating there one day, Lancelot encounters a peasant boy named Percival, who becomes Lancelot's squire.

It is clear from their first meeting that Lancelot and Guenevere feel a powerful mutual attraction, and this is what keeps the knight away from Camelot. One evening, Sir Gawain, after being provoked by Morgana, openly accuses them at the Round Table. Arthur decrees Lancelot must fight Gawain in a duel to defend Guenevere's honor. In a nightmare duel with himself, Lancelot pierces his own side with his sword in order to purge himself of his love for Guenevere. Lancelot's wound make him late for the duel and Arthur requests that one of his other knights defend the queen. None of them step forward to do so. Percival volunteers, and he is hastily knighted by Arthur so that he can fight for Guenevere. At that moment, Lancelot arrives and Percival stands down. Lancelot manages to defeat Gawain despite his injury, and Gawain recants his accusation. Lancelot collapses, however, bleeding profusely from his self-inflicted wound and devoid any will to live. Arthur implores Merlin to bring him back, whatever the cost, and the wizard does so.

Ultimately, Lancelot and Guenevere consummate their lust, and Arthur later finds them asleep together in the forest. Meanwhile, Merlin attempts to trick Morgana and cast a spell to destroy her after she showed signs she wanted to poison Arthur's reign. Arthur is seen thrusting Excalibur toward the sleeping couple, and Merlin is momentarily impaled by the sword because of his magical link with it. Morgana takes advantage of his weakness to trap him in crystal with the Charm of Making, then tricks Arthur into making love to her, and bears a son, Mordred.

On awakening, Lancelot sees Excalibur and flees in shame and self-loathing, knowing Arthur saw him with Guenevere. Awakening alone, Guenevere realizes what has happened and surrenders herself to a nunnery.

After these horrific events, the land is stricken with famine and sickness, and a broken Arthur sends his knights on a quest for the Grail, which will heal him and the land. Years pass and many knights die on the quest, while others are bewitched by Morgana to serve her and her son.

In the end, Perceval is the only knight left to search for the Grail. Narrowly escaping death at the hands of Mordred and Morgana, he has a vision of the Grail and a mysterious figure who asks "who am I?" and "what is my secret?" After further hardship Perceval realizes that the figure is King Arthur, and his secret is that he and the land are one. Answering the riddle, he attains the Grail. Arthur drinks from it and is revitalized.

Arthur and his few remaining knights ride to war against Mordred and Morgana. The barren land blooms with life as they pass, reborn with its King. He goes to Guenevere's convent, where they are reconciled. She returns Excalibur to him, having kept it safe since the day she fled.

Most of the land's nobles have rallied to Mordred and Morgana. Arthur calls to Merlin in despair and unwittingly awakens him from his enchanted slumber when he strikes a monolith with his armored fist. Though still imprisoned in Morgana's crystal, Merlin appears to her in dream and tricks her into uttering the Charm of Making, creating a thick fog. Her magically-endowed youth dissolves and she becomes a hag. She tries to embrace Mordred, who strangles her to death in disgust.

Arthur and his small army survive by hiding in the fog, but they are soon overwhelmed. A grey-haired, bearded Lancelot joins the fray and turns the tide of the battle. Lancelot dies after reconciling with Arthur, but not from the wounds of battle, rather the old wound from fighting himself which has never healed. Still hoping to defeat Arthur and become king, Mordred runs Arthur through with his spear, but Arthur presses forward and pierces Mordred's enchanted armor with Excalibur, killing him.

At Arthur's behest, Perceval throws Excalibur in a pool of calm water, where it is caught by the Lady of the Lake. When Perceval returns, he sees Arthur's body on a ship, attended by three formally posed ladies clad in white, sailing into the setting sun toward the Isle of Avalon.

[edit] Cast

Several members of the Boorman family also appeared in the picture. Igrayne (Arthur's mother), the Lady of the Lake, Mordred as a boy, and the infant Arthur were all played by Boorman's children. Because of the number of Boormans involved with the film, it is sometimes called "The Boorman Family Project."

[edit] PG and R-rated versions

The movie was originally put into theatrical release simultaneously in both its PG and R-rated formats in the USA.[citation needed] The original R-rated cut is 140 minutes. Most home video versions are the R-rated one, but TV and movie channels show the PG version, making the movie 119 minutes. The R-rated version features about 21 more minutes of graphic sex and violence.

[edit] Production

[edit] Casting

John Boorman cast Nicol Williamson and Helen Mirren opposite each other as Merlin and Morgana, knowing that the two were at the time on less than friendly terms, due to personal issues that arose during a production of Macbeth seven years earlier. Boorman felt that the tension on set would come through in the actors' performances. This is stated by John Boorman himself in the audio commentary track of the Excalibur DVD.

[edit] Filming

Excalibur was filmed in Irish locations in Wicklow, Tipperary, and County Kerry. The early critical battle scene around a castle, in which Arthur is made a knight by Uryens, while kneeling in a moat, was filmed in Cahir Castle, in Cahir County Tipperary, Ireland . It is a genuine Norman castle, one of the best preserved anywhere and the moat is the River Suir which flows around the castle. Easily visited, you can still park your car in the car park from where the filming was done.

The original cut of the film was three hours long. Following a reduction in length, several shots were lost, among them a scene of Lancelot rescuing Guinevere from a forest bandit.

According to director John Boorman, the love scene between Lancelot and Guinevere in the forest was filmed on a very cold night, but Nicholas Clay and Cherie Lunghi did the scene in the nude anyway.

[edit] Costumes

The costumes were designed by Bob Ringwood. The armour was designed by Terry English. It is notable that the armor worn during the period before Arthur and the earlier part of his reign (the "Dark Ages") is black of varying styles, reflecting the turmoil and strife of a divided land. Soon after Lancelot arrives and during the height of Arthur's reign, the Round Table knights adopt Lancelot's style of a glittering, shiny silver armor with the same type of helmet, representing a strong, united kingdom. When the kingdom decays and strife returns with the rebellion of Mordred, knights in the varied, dark armor return, as the ones who fight for Morgana and her son against Arthur. The final battle between Arthur and Mordred's forces highlights the contrast between the silver and dark armor.

[edit] Adaptation

The screenplay was written by Rospo Pallenberg with assistance from John Boorman.

The film is primarily an adaptation of Malory's Morte d'Arthur (1485). In order to recast the Arthurian legends as an allegory of the cycle of birth, life and decay, the text was stripped of decorative or insignificant details, as well as of Malory's Christian piety. The resulting film is reminiscent of mythographic works such as Sir James Frazer's The Golden Bough and Jessie Weston's From Ritual to Romance; Arthur is presented as the "Wounded King" whose realm becomes a wasteland to be reborn thanks to the Grail, and may be compared to the Fisher (or Sinner) King, whose land also became a wasteland, and was also healed by Perceval. Notably, the Grail is not the Christian "Holy Grail"; rather, it may be inspired by magic cauldrons in Celtic pagan myths. "The film has to do with mythical truth, not historical truth," Boorman remarked to a journalist during filming.[1][2]

In keeping with this approach, the film is intentionally ahistorical.[1] For example, the opening titles state the setting to be the Dark Ages, even though the knights wear full plate armor, which was invented much later. Knights, knighthood and the code of chivalry also did not exist during the period. Furthermore, Britain is never mentioned by name, only as "the land".

In addition to Malory, the writers incorporated elements from other Arthurian stories, sometimes altering them. For example, the sword between the sleeping lovers' bodies comes from the tales of Tristan and Iseult; the knight who returns Excalibur to the water is changed from Bedivere to Perceval; and Morgause and Morgan Le Fay are merged. The sword Excalibur and the Sword in the Stone are presented as the same thing; in the legends they are separate. In the legend of Arthur, Sir Galahad, the illegitimate son of Lancelot and Elaine of Carbonek, is actually the Knight who is worthy of the Holy Grail. Boorman's version of the tale leaves Galahad out completely.

Some new elements were added, such as Uther wielding Excalibur before Arthur (repeated in Merlin), Merlin's 'Charm of Making' (written in Old Irish), and the concept of the world as "the dragon".

[edit] Soundtrack

The soundtrack is by Trevor Jones, with sound bites and samples drawn from Orff's Carmina Burana and Wagnerian motifs, of fate (Ring) and fatal attraction (Tristan und Isolde). A portion of the Siegfried Funeral March from Götterdämmerung was used as the main theme music of the film over the opening and closing credits.

[edit] Awards

Alex Thomson, the film's cinematographer, was nominated for Best Cinematography at the 1982 Academy Awards, but lost to Vittorio Storaro for Reds.

[edit] Tagline

  • Forged by a god. Foretold by a wizard. Found by a King.

[edit] Quotations

Merlin states the film's central theme, reflecting an ancient Celtic belief about kingship:

"You will be the land,
And the land will be you.
If you fail, the land will perish;
As you thrive, the land will blossom."

Later, he states the allegory of the Dragon:

MERLIN: The dragon! A beast of such power that if you were to see it whole and all complete in a single glance, it would burn you to cinders.
ARTHUR: Where is it?
MERLIN: It is everywhere; it is everything. Its scales glisten in the bark of trees, its roar is heard in the wind, and its forked tongue strikes like — like — [Lightning strikes] Whoa! Like lightning! Yes, that's it!

Later, he touches on the conflict between Christianity and polytheism:

"The One God comes to drive out the many gods. The spirits of wood and stream grow silent. But that's the way of things. It's time for men and their ways."

Pallenberg and Boorman's screenplay touches on the heroic themes with directness. As Arthur declares:

"Any man who would be a knight and follow a King, follow me!"

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b JOHN BOORMAN IN INTERVIEW. Retrieved on 2006-07-08.
  2. ^ The Quest for the Hollywood Grail John Boorman’s Excalibur, and the Mythic Development of the Arthurian Legend (sic). Retrieved on 2006-07-08.

[edit] External links