"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." Merlin.

This is one of the greatest fantasy films to date and I rank it up alongside Legend and The Fellowship Of The Ring. I had better warn you though, that Excalibur does not contain goblins and other such creatures! As you would expect from the title, this is an adaption of the King Arthur legend taken from a French novel. It's a film set in the time of knights and
chivalry, and of magicians and sorcery. This film must be the holy grail of any re-enactment person fascinated with this era. And Knightriders too, if they've got any sense!

Normally I avoid films featuring characters called Arthur, Guenevere, Lancelot and Perceval. For good reasons. However this film is something very special, because it's dark and it features great casting, wonderful photography and a rich score. It was filmed in Ireland and the locales used look pretty damn stunning.

There is a romance element in the story but this is more in key with the betrayal theme and little screen time is devoted to it. Excalibur is well over two hours long and Boorman doesn't waste any of that time from the offset. The film begins abruptly with fight scenes and it's storytelling, rather the usual tedious character introductions.

The standard of casting is excellent but Nicol Williamson certainly stands out as the charismatic Merlin. It's also pleasing to note fine actors such as Patrick Stewart and Liam Neeson amongst the strong supporting cast. Helen Mirren and Nigel Terry also deliver impressive performances but it has to be said that the young Arthur is a bit of a turnip. But he's supposed to be! Don't worry 'cause he soon grows up and he learns an amusing lesson about spacecake along
the way!

BTW As well as the impressive photography, I enjoy looking at the green tinge that's projected onto the knight's armour and swords, and onto the rocks in many scenes. A nice touch.

Yep, it's certainly not Krull. Excalibur isn't full of special effects but it doesn't need them either. There is the odd cheesy moment such as this line from Arthur:

"We shall always come together in a circle, to hear and tell of deeds good and brave. I will build a round table where this fellowship shall meet."

Aargh! It's the "I will build a round table" part and it's delivery which actually makes me cringe the most but luckily there's only a couple of moments like that. Thank God! It's reasonably violent for a film in this genre, but don't expect a gore-fest by any means. Anyone expecting A Knight's Tale will also be disappointed. Good.

I've got this big red book of Variety reviews which is interesting but sometimes their remarks can driveme up the wall. Their Variety review is extremely complimentary but:

"If Excalibur has a major fault, it's a somewhat extended sequence of the Knights Of The Round Table in search of the Grail, seemingly ill-established and overdrawn."

Aargh, the reviewer needs a slap since that's actually the best bit of the film! That's when the film becomes really dark, and those parts look like the sword and scorcery fantasy paintings that I've always loved.

As Arthur falls into decline, so does the land, and to remedy this situation, his knights have to seek out the grail. Perceval, the seemingly insignificant (bar the name recognition!) but entertaining fool turned turned knight, comes to the fore here as the most enduring or lucky of the knights. The last 40 min
utes of this film are the best. I love the darker turn that Excalibur takes during that quest or in the moments leading up to the final battle with Mordred,son of Morgana and Arthur. Also, the sequence wherePerceval has to remove his armour or drown looks fabulous.

The only time that this film shows it's age, is whenMerlin takes Morgana on a short walk through a polystyrene set. Er, no sorry, it's the place where you "enter the coils of the dragon," and where "all things are possible, and all things meet their opposites." Apparently. Other than that short moment, it all still looks great.

One of the definitive sword and sorcery fantasy films featuring great performances by many fine actors. Epic in nature and highly recommended. Alas, no goblins but it's still good.

BTW If the incest scene doesn't make you feel uneasy then seek help now. It's over quickly though, unlike Amityville II!

As for the disc, sigh! This reviewed version is the UK region 2 disc which comes with absolutely fuck all. Not even a trailer. The US version has got special features whereas my UK counterpart hasn't got any.What the bloody hell is that all about?! No wonder I'm paranoid!

As far as I'm aware, the US disc contains a trailer,production notes and most importantly, a commentaryby John Boorman. The UK disc isn't so lucky. As for the film's treatment, it features great picture quality but it also suffers from a bland 5.1 soundtrack. Find the US disc or pick this one up at the right price.

One last thought. Apparently "One day a king will come and the sword will rise again." Well I'd say thatthe UK needs it now more than ever, but somehow I don't think that Prince Charles is gonna be the one. A pity because then all of the UK's dvds might be asgood as their US equivalents!