Rent Excalibur (1981)

3.5 of 5 from 163 ratings
2h 15min
Rent Excalibur Online DVD & Blu-ray Rental
  • General info
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Synopsis:
The legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table receives its most impressive screen treatment in Excalibur, from visionary movie maker John Boorman. All the elements of Sir Thomas Malory's classic 'Le Morte D'Arthur' are here: Arthur (Nigel Terry) removing the sword Excalibur from the stone; the Round Table's noble birth and tragic decline; the heroic attempts to recover the Holy Grail; and the shifting balance of power between wily wizard Merlin (Nicol Williamson) and evil sorceress Morgana (Helen Mirren).
Actors:
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Directors:
Producers:
John Boorman
Writers:
Thomas Malory, Rospo Pallenberg, John Boorman
Others:
Bob Ringwood, Alex Thomson
Studio:
Warner
Genres:
Action & Adventure, Classics, Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Collections:
Getting to Know..., Getting to Know: Helen Mirren
Awards:

1981 Cannes Best Artistic Contribution

BBFC:
Release Date:
15/05/2000
Run Time:
135 minutes
Languages:
English Dolby Digital 5.1, French Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono, Italian Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono
Subtitles:
Arabic, Bulgarian, Dutch, English, English Hard of Hearing, French, German, Italian, Italian Hard of Hearing, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish
DVD Regions:
Region 2
Formats:
Pal
Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen 1.85:1
Colour:
Colour
BBFC:
Release Date:
13/03/2017
Run Time:
141 minutes
Languages:
Brazilian Portuguese Dolby Digital 1.0, Castilian Spanish Dolby Digital 1.0, Czech Dolby Digital 1.0, English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, French Dolby Digital 1.0, German Dolby Digital 1.0, Italian Dolby Digital 1.0, Latin American Spanish Dolby Digital 1.0
Subtitles:
Brazilian, Castillian, Czech, Danish, English Hard of Hearing, Finnish, French, German Hard of Hearing, Greek, Hebrew, Italian Hard of Hearing, Latin American Spanish, Norwegian, Portuguese, Swedish
Formats:
Pal
Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen 1.85:1
Colour:
Colour
BLU-RAY Regions:
B
Bonus:
  • Commentary by Director John Boorman

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Reviews (1) of Excalibur

Adult Oriented Fantasy and Absolutely Brilliant - Excalibur review by GI

Spoiler Alert
28/08/2022

With ambition to make a film adaptation of The Lord of the Rings director John Boorman had to resort to the next best thing and tell the tale of the great English myth of King Arthur. The influence of Tolkien can be seen throughout this tale of illicit sex, bloody battles and dark magic and consequently a modern audience that loves Game of Thrones and the like will love this. All the old familiar legendary tales of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table are here but presented with an eye for an adult audience. So you'll find the pulling of Excalibur from the stone, Merlin the Magician, Sir Lancelot and the quest for the Holy Grail all wrapped up in a paganistic fantasy film that has great visuals, a stunning soundtrack and an epic structure. Boorman chose to use mostly unknown actors many of whom are now big stars such as Liam Neeson, Patrick Stewart and Helen Mirren. At the time only Nicol Williamson as Merlin was really well known (a fantastic actor and often sadly forgotten today). The story begins with Uther Pendragon (Gabriel Byrne) given the magical sword Excalibur by Merlin so he can win the kingdom but lust for his enemy's wife ends in his death and Excalibur set in a rock awaiting the next king. This turns out to be a young squire Arthur (Nigel Terry) who unites the kingdom after many battles, marries and all is well until his devious and evil half sister Morgana (Mirren) plots to destroy everything Arthur has achieved. This is all stirring stuff with very bloody battles, incestuous sex and disturbing scenes of death and black magic. It's a great film, shot in Ireland and capturing the mysticism of stone circles and ancient history in the verdant landscape. A magical film that is ripe for rediscovery now that fantasy cinema is at last being taken very seriously.

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