In an adventurous atmosphere, this movie, follows the struggles of King Arthur Pendragon, a courageous king, who struggles against facing the evils that seek to destroy his kingdom through making a unity with the Britons.
Exquisite, a near-perfect blend of action, romance, fantasy and philosophy, finely acted and beautifully filmed by director John Boorman and cinematographer Alex Thomson.
The result is almost always the handsomest of films to behold. Storywise it has its moments, too, although it never quite achieves the difficult blend of grandeur and madness for which it strives.
There is humor here (in the form of a vaudeville Merlin, played by Nicol Williamson) as well as a diminution of scale that seems intended to help audiences through the thornier byways of Boorman's vision.
The search for the Holy Grail and the final battle are simply stunning sequences, and, while the dizzying pace leaves scant time for proper characterisation, Nicol Williamson, Nigel Terry and Helen Mirren make their mark.
Excessive but occasionally inspired, Excalibur gives us grimy lumbering knights, gloomy castles, slithering dragons, mesmerizing magic, and (of course) the struggle between good and evil.
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.
