Excalibur

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Excalibur

PG

1981

1h 59m

Adventure

Fantasy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

72%

Tomatometer

98 Reviews

80%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

The magical sword of Excalibur starts off in the hands of British lord Uther Pendragon (Gabriel Byrne) and then, years later, finds its way to his bastard son, Arthur (Nigel Terry), the knave destined to become king. Aided by the sorcerer Merlin (Nicol Williamson), Arthur fulfills his fate by bringing together the Knights of the Round Table at Camelot and unifying the country. However, this flawed monarch faces greater tests ahead in pursuit of love, the Holy Grail and his nation's survival.

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Critics Consensus

John Boorman's operatic, opulent take on the legend of King Arthur is visually remarkable, and features strong performances from an all-star lineup of British thespians.

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Pauline Kael

The New Yorker

09/18/2023

John Boorman is an intoxicated moviemaker, with a wonderful kind of zeal -- a greed to encompass more and more and more in his pictures... I don’t know-of any other director who puts such a burnish on his obsessions.

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David Denby

New York Magazine/Vulture

06/17/2022

Excalibur is full of visual fustian -- flames in the night, mist rising ominously from the ground, bits of klutzy magic. Yet, despite all the rhetoric, the movie never takes off.

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David Robinson

The Times (UK)

01/03/2022

Boorman reveals a wonderfully individual gift for embodying the mystical and the magical.

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Frank J. Avella

The Contending

2h

A-

This is Boorman’s masterwork...There is lots of armor combat (a bit too much), magical sequences and some steamy sex between Lancelot and Guenevere. Boorman takes a lot of liberties with his adaptation, and most of it pays off.

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Armond White

National Review

Feb 24

Seeing Excalibur again -- witnessing Boorman’s modernist, erotic, quasi-Christian vision -- revives ideals we’ve lost about cinema and film culture. It was the best film of 1981.

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Jeff Beck

The Blu Spot

Feb 23

2.5/5

With a little more focus, all of that production value could've been put to much better use, but as it is, it's simply far too all over the place to leave much of an impact.

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Scott M

Mar 2

One of my favorite films. Our middle school teachers showed us this on the last day of class in 1982 and it was amazing. Still remember it.

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Jose Miguel B

@Tankosko Feb 28

Great, what a peace of art… the photography… the cast… the music… a real gem of the seventh art

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Daniel G.

@d_grady Feb 22

Of course it’s a fever dream- odd choices, broken narrative, soft focus. But that’s the point- visiting the Arthurian world shouldn’t feel like you’re on this plane. Orff and Wagner never sounded so good Nicol Williamson is the definitive cinematic sorcerer. This film offers delights scarcely found elsewhere.

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C B

@ApocalypseNow Feb 21

Excalibur is an amazing film and I offer that I've probably seen it more than any other person on the planet. Hundreds of times. It's, without a doubt, my most favorite movie. The music, spectacle, imagery and a timeless story all come together on Boorman's fever dream. Epic.

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Corey J.

@coreyj182 Jan 16

WTF did I just watch?

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Daniel

@Saywhatnow Jan 13

This was a comedy.... right? It's so amateur in every way. Some of it was on the creepy side. I watched it all the way through and I was wide eyed the whole time because the timing was horrible on every moment. It just felt awkward the entire film.

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John Boorman

Director

Nicol Williamson

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Nigel Terry

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Synopsis

The magical sword of Excalibur starts off in the hands of British lord Uther Pendragon (Gabriel Byrne) and then, years later, finds its way to his bastard son, Arthur (Nigel Terry), the knave destined to become king. Aided by the sorcerer Merlin (Nicol Williamson), Arthur fulfills his fate by bringing together the Knights of the Round Table at Camelot and unifying the country. However, this flawed monarch faces greater tests ahead in pursuit of love, the Holy Grail and his nation's survival.

Director: John Boorman
Producer: John Boorman
Screenwriter: Thomas Malory, Rospo Pallenberg, John Boorman
Distributor: Orion Pictures, Warner Home Vídeo, Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Bros.
Production Co: Warner Brothers
Rating: PG
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 10, 1981, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2009
Runtime: 1h 59m

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