Excalibur
Excalibur is a 1981 epic dark medieval fantasy film directed, co-written and produced by John Boorman, that retells the legend of King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table, based loosely on the 15th-century Arthurian romance Le Morte d'Arthur by Thomas Malory. It stars Nigel Terry as Arthur, Helen Mirren as Morgana, Nicholas Clay as Lancelot, Cherie Lunghi as Guenevere, Paul Geoffrey as Perceval and Nicol Williamson as Merlin. The film is named after the legendary sword of King Arthur that features prominently in Arthurian literature. The film's soundtrack features the music of Richard Wagner and Carl Orff, along with an original score by Trevor Jones.
Plot
In the Dark Ages, the sorcerer Merlin retrieves the magical sword Excalibur from the Lady of the Lake for Uther Pendragon, who is declared king. In exchange for their future child, Merlin uses his Charm of Making to help Uther seduce Igrayne, the Duke of Cornwall's wife, while the Duke dies in battle. Igrayne gives birth to Arthur, and Merlin takes the boy. Ambushed by the Duke's men, a mortally-wounded Uther thrusts Excalibur into a stone. Merlin declares that he who pulls the sword from the stone shall be king.
More details
| author | John Boorman Rospo Pallenberg |
|---|---|
| contentLocation | England |
| director | John Boorman |
| editor | Donn Cambern John Merritt |
| events | Arthurian romance incest |
| genre | adventure fantasy horror romance |
| keywords | ambush arthur attack avalon break camelot dark ages drown duke of cornwall ector excalibur follow gawain gorlois guenevere guinevere holy grail igraine igrayne joust kay kill king arthur lady of the lake lancelot leodegrance lightning merlin mordred mother murder perceval percival round table run sir ector sir kay sleep speak stonehenge the king urien uryens uther pendragon warn wed |
| musicBy | Trevor Jones |
| nomination | Academy Award for Best Cinematography |
| producer | John Boorman |
| productionCompany | Orion Pictures |
| publisher | Warner Bros. Pictures |
| theme | coming-of-age epic |