Review of Excalibur (1981) by Mathew G — 03 Aug 2008

Brilliant film from start to finish. With the exception of Jabberwocky, this was one of the first movies, I think to depict the dark ages/medieval period in the seriously dark and muddy reality that it actually was.

This film also features Nicol Williamson as Merlin, a landmark in Merlin performances, laconic and funny. Unlike later fantasy movies eg the dreadful Red Sonja and more recently The ´Legendary Adventures of Hercules´dear oh dear, everything works, the armour is real, the swords are sharp and can cut and slice.

Good old John Boorman comes up trumps again with his fine direction and choice of actors, Helen Mirren giving it her all in an early part. A stalwart performance from Patric Stewart too. I will have to watch again soon, you tend to forget how good it is when you haven´t watched it in a while.

If you´ve never seen it, then do yourself a favour and do make sure you see it.