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Excalibur

1981

John Boorman

Nicol Williamson, Nigel Terry, Cherie Lunghi, Nicholas Clay ...

7.3

26,198

Adventure. Fantasy. Drama Forged by a god. Foretold by a wizard. Found by a King. An epic tale steeped in magic, Excalibur chronicles the life of Arthur beginning with his birth and ending with his climactic battle with his illegitimate son, the evil Mordred. At first, Necromancer Merlin (Nicol Williamson) offers the magic sword Excalibur to the warlike Uther Pendragon (Gabriel Byrne) in exchange for a promise that he'll make peace with his enemy, the duke of ... [+]

	Author	Review
United States	Vincent Canby The New York Times	"At its earnest best, 'Excalibur' is 'Star Wars' without the redeeming humor of its comic-book style and eye-popping special effects."	NEU
United States	Jim Knipfel Den of Geek	"The legend of King Arthur has never been more stylized or strange (...) [Boorman] created an otherworldly atmosphere that is both earthy and mythically luminous."	POS
United States	Variety Staff Variety	"Excalibur is exquisite, a near-perfect blend of action, romance, fantasy and philosophy"	POS
United States	Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times	"A haunting and violent version of the Dark Ages and the heroic figures who (we dream) populated them. But it's rough going for anyone determined to be sure what is happening from scene to scene (...) Rating: ★★½ (out of 4)"	NEU
United Kingdom	Mark Dinning Empire	"Shorn of much of the sentimentality of many Arthurian adaptations this emphasises the blood, guts and magic of England's greatest ever monarch (...) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"	POS
United Kingdom	Time Out	"Visually impressive but generally muddled and uneven adaptation (...) For all its audacity, a misguided folly."	NEG
United States	Richard Corliss Time	"Give Boorman credit for the loopy grandeur of his imagery and imaginings, for the sweet smell of excess, for his heroic gamble that a movie can dare to trip over its pretensions -- and still fly"	POS

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