Review of Excalibur (1981) by Morgan O — 04 Feb 2010

I loved this film when I was a kid; I can still remember stumbling across it on telly in the early hours of the morning, when I should really have been asleep, and I was instantly mesmerised.

I think that John Boorman became a pompous arse of a filmmaker after DELIVERANCE but this movie is still a highlight of his career, in spite of it's flaws.

Over-acting abounds but EXCALIBUR never really becomes a luvvie-fest, despite it's suspiciously stellar British and Irish cast. Instead, there's a really lovely feeling of the Romantic that seeps from the screen in nearly every frame. There's some absolutely smashing photography throughout which gives the film a kind of cerebral graphic novel feel; like the cinematic equivalent of something DC Vertigo would have put out back in their hey-day, as opposed to a Conan-esque bloodfeast.

Although there are plenty blood, guts, gore, and grue splashed over the screen in EXCALIBUR...

Nigel Terry was never again as good as he is here as the passionate yokel King Arthur.