EXCALIBUR (1981) in '80s and '90s Horror and Sci-Fi Forum

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EXCALIBUR (1981)

Author	Comment
Monsterpal	Re: EXCALIBUR (1981)	#21	[-]
Jun 1 07 2:37 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Doesn't it say in the credits that the film is based on LE MORTE DARTUR by Thomas Mallory?
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oldmanster	Re: EXCALIBUR (1981)	#22	[-]
Jun 1 07 3:18 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	*Quote:* Keep in mind, too, that there isn't any one inviolate, "canonical" Arthur story -- legends evolve over time, with embellishments and variations occurring with each re-telling. Absolutely. As a child I was thrilled with the children version of Mallory, the T.H. White epic, and even Lerner and Lowe's Camelot (not as a child but as a child-like viewer). In later years I came to prefer, in general order, Gillian Bradshaw's Arthurian trilogy, Jack Whyte's multi-volume saga that begins with Uther Pendragon as a boy during the last days of Roman occupation, Parke Godwin's wonderful duology (historically-based), and especially the trilogy by Bernard Cornwell, who tells the Mallorian story from a gritty, historically-based viewpoint. All excellent re-imagining of early medieval England. ... Reed
blackbiped	Re: EXCALIBUR (1981)	#23	[-]
Jun 1 07 3:28 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	*Quote:* Doesn't it say in the credits that the film is based on LE MORTE DARTUR by Thomas Mallory? Yes, and it's available online here if anyone would like to read it. Legend, oh legend, the third wheel legend...always in the way. My MySpace Page
BijouBob8mm	Re: EXCALIBUR (1981)	#24	[-]
Jun 1 07 4:11 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Yes, it is primarily based on the Mallory tale, which also depicts the sword in the stone and Excalibur as two different blades. While the legends have evolved down the years, that was one of the few elements to remain relatively unchanged. Again, just some minor, personal nit-picking on my part over that. (One of the most re-read books I had/have was the Howard Pyle volume on King Arthur, which I got for Christmas when I was in grade school. It was not until I was an adult I finally got hold of his Robin Hood book. I know Pyle also did a book on pirates, but I don't think I ever saw it. Is anyone here familiar with that one? With all the other pirate products out because of the Disney film, this would be the perfect time for a reprint.)
cjh5801	Re: EXCALIBUR (1981)	#25	[-]
Jun 1 07 7:15 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I was probably the only fantasy fan in my little group who was completely disappointed in this movie. Like others here, I had been a fan of Arthurian legend since I had read the Pyle book as a young boy, and this movie certainly didn't live up to my expectations for it. It looked like a cheap Star Wars knock-off to me on first viewing (with "the Dragon" standing in for "the Force"), and I've never gotten over that impression. I didn't like the acting by the guy who played Arthur (especially the early scene with Merlin where he's acting like a bug-eyed moron). And speaking of Merlin, Nicol Williamson chewed the scenery so badly that it seemed like he was under the impression that he had been hired to remake Monty Python and the Holy Grail. His delivery of Merlin's lines was nothing short of cringe-inducing. The set design was cheap and unconvincing, the deviations from the source material were pointless, the quest for the grail was dull, the chrome armor looked ridiculous, and the portrayal of Mordred was just confusing. I kinda liked the naked ladies, however. - Clark hollowaypages.com
ByronOrlok	O, Ye Naked Ladies...	#26	[-]
Jun 1 07 8:55 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	....speaking of which, it's always kinda weirded me out that Boorman cast his own daughter as the gal Uther bangs while incognito. It's one thing for DePalma and Vadim to shoot nude scenes featuring their wives (though still plenty weird), but I can't imagine how bizarre it would be to direct a such a scene with one's own daughter in it.
BijouBob8mm	Re: O, Ye Naked Ladies...	#27	[-]
Jun 4 07 8:53 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Wow, Byron, I have to show my ignorance here; for some reason I didn't realize that was his daughter...I thought it was his wife. (Then we have Dario Argento putting his daugher, Asia, through some gruesome situations in HIS films....)
Bill Warren	Re: O, Ye Naked Ladies...	#28	[-]
Jun 4 07 1:43 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Boorman talks about filming his daughter somewhere on the DVD. Apparently neither he nor she thought there was anything all that unusual about it.
ByronOrlok	Re: O, Ye Naked Ladies...	#29	[-]
Jun 4 07 2:26 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Which raises a whole series of other uncomfortable questions....
BijouBob8mm	Re: All in the family	#30	[-]
Jun 4 07 2:50 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	*Quote:* Boorman talks about filming his daughter somewhere on the DVD Either I was out of the room when that part of the commentary played, or it's been so long I'd forgotten about it. (Good excuse as any for throwing the movie on, again!)
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BijouBob8mm		#31	[-]
Mar 27 08 8:16 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	EXCALIBUR co-star Helen Mirren's new autobiography, IN THE FRAME, just came out Tuesday. Packed with photos from her life and career, fans of the actress will probably want to track this down.
Tumak		#32	[-]
Mar 27 08 3:23 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	ByronOrlok wrote: ....speaking of which, it's always kinda weirded me out that Boorman cast his own daughter as the gal Uther bangs while incognito. I love EXCALIBUR, but that is a very silly scene. She's nekkid, he's in full armor...it would be like straddling a garbage can.
Rick		#33	[-]
Mar 27 08 11:17 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	....speaking of which, it's always kinda weirded me out that Boorman cast his own daughter as the gal Uther bangs while incognito. Commonly referred to as "The Argento Syndrome."
Dr Acula		#34	[-]
Sep 21 10 8:36 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	This film is great fun, and it's about time I revisited it! It seems like every fantasy film of the 80's were either copying Excalibur or Conan the Barbarian.
Dr Acula		#35	[-]
Jun 6 11 8:32 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Finally got it on DVD, but the disclaimer at the bottom makes it sound like an altered version. Is it really the way the film was originally exhibited? Here is what it says: WIDESCREEN VERSION: Presented in a "mated" widescreen format preserving the aspect ratio of it's original theatrical exhibition enhanced for widescreen TVs. To my eye, the image looks a little stretched at the top and bottom...
BijouBob8mm		#36	[-]
Jun 7 11 5:04 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I had it on VHS for years and, like THE EXORCIST, I seem to recall having compared the tape to the DVD and found more picture information at the top and bottom of the full screen version. (Although it seems like one of those two films, if not both, had additional material at the sides.)
Kaijubait		#37	[-]
Jun 7 11 5:21 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	BijouBob8mm wrote: My one complaint about EXCALIBUR, which I rarely see anyone mention, is that the film presents the sword in the stone and Excalibur as the same weapon, which they were not. They also combine Morgause and Morgan Le Fey, both of whom were Arthur's sisters, into the singular character of Morgana. Subsequent versions have done similar things and made Mordred Morgan's son.
Godziwolf		#38	[-]
Jun 7 11 6:49 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	BijouBob8mm wrote: Wow, Byron, I have to show my ignorance here; for some reason I didn't realize that was his daughter...I thought it was his wife. (Then we have Dario Argento putting his daugher, Asia, through some gruesome situations in HIS films....) It's probably for the best that Argento didn't make a movie with Klaus Kinski...
Uchujin65		#39	[-]
Jun 8 11 12:40 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I love this movie, it's very aesthetically rich and beautifully crafted. Like the almost equally superb Conan it depicts the Middle Ages with a wonderfully gritty "Wild West" quality, the Dark Ages are an Earthy and anarchic time filled with sex, violence and debauchery which I think is much closer to the the truth than the chivalrous fantasy we seem to imagine now. It blends a grittier, darker than usual interpretation of the classic Arthur legend with just enough histrionic fantasy elements to keep it thoroughly entertaining. I'd have been interested in seeing what Boorman's Lord of the Rings would have looked like. I don't know if it was so much the rights that were the problem. Boorman's attempt to make Lord of the Rings became Bakshi's, basically. Apparently it condensed all three books into one two hour film and Bakshi was pretty appalled from reading it, but a more anarchic and lurid and sex and violence filled vision of Tolkien might have been really cool. Apparently some elements of Boorman's LotR script made it into Excalibur. Bakshi's movie was actually more faithful to Tolkien than Peter Jackson's films were but really doesn't do it for me aesthetically, Boorman's movie would have been far less faithful but would have been a much richer aesthetic experience, I'd say. jlcarrozza.com Last Edited By: Uchujin65 Jun 8 11 12:43 AM. Edited 1 times.
BijouBob8mm		#40	[-]
Jun 9 11 8:32 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	It's probably for the best that Argento didn't make a movie with Klaus Kinski... I'd have been interested in seeing what Boorman's Lord of the Rings would have looked like. Visually, I think it would have been fantastic. I don't know if it was so much the rights that were the problem. Boorman's attempt to make Lord of the Rings became Bakshi's, basically. Apparently it condensed all three books into one two hour film and Bakshi was pretty appalled from reading it I've heard from several sources that the rights were picked up before Boorman could secure them for himself. Had never heard much in the way of details about what Boorman's approach would have been, in terms of script. Bakshi's movie was actually more faithful to Tolkien than Peter Jackson's films were but really doesn't do it for me aesthetically, Boorman's movie would have been far less faithful but would have been a much richer aesthetic experience, I'd say. Bakshi is someone who has a lot of great ideas, but so many of his finished films don't seem to quite live up to their potential. His concepts frequently tend to be better than their actual execution. (IMO)
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EXCALIBUR (1981)