<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Gonnosuke:
And I suppose this is an awesome DVD even though the movie is cropped terribly and it results in people with "missing heads"?

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Nothing is cropped on the DVD!
1,85:1 was the original aspect ratio of the movie.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">

Although I have to admit I'm a little surprised to see how many people are defending a very average movie and a really terrible DVD
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So what is so terrible about this DVD?
The movie is 20 yeras old( so what do you expect from the image?), therefore it is pretty good I think and you get a commentary!
All that at low price.
Can´t judge the audio, but heard nothing bad about it.

Ok it's no special edition as the movie would deserve, but what is so terrible about this DVD?

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Why am I doing this while I could play DOOM?

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Nothing is cropped on the DVD! 1,85:1 was the original aspect ratio of the movie.</font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Whoah, if that's true I take back any positive comments I made about the cinematography.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Richard Malloy:
Whoah, if that's true I take back any positive comments I made about the cinematography.</font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

What kind of a weird comment is that?
They simply hadn´t the money to film it in cinemascope or any other "large" ratio .
Boorman says that on the commentary.

Since when is the cinematography dependent on the aspect ratio?

Only VERY few movies take really advantage of the 2,35:1 format ( in terms of "art", not just placing characters at the outermost parts of the image!)

I mean movies like Nodsferatu or Metropolis where shot in FULLSCREEN (4:3!), do you really want to tell me that they have a bad cinematography?!?

I don't think we're talking about aspects ratios here.

HEADS ARE MISSING! As in faulty! As in "I'm pretty sure that the director wanted us to see more than the bottom half of that actors face" faulty!

Have we all been watching the same DVD?

-Gonnosuke

Excalibur is among my favorite films and probably the best "King Arthur" film out there. (I do have a soft spot for Knights of the Round Table, but that was pretty "Hollywoodish".) Excalibur is a much more intelligent film than most of you think. Sure, there are lots of "strange" or "incorrect" things going on, but the film is allegorical in the extreme. It's not really about three dimensional characters; it's about ideals and people's shortcomings. I know plenty of people that hate this film, but that's because they're missing what Boorman was going for (and achieved IMO). What's admirable is that Excalibur was shot on a shoestring budget; parts were literally filmed in Boorman's backyard! I think the DVD looks and sounds pretty decent and the commentary is great and quite funny in parts. And Wagner's and Orff's music is an excellent compliment to the film with Trevor Jones filling in the gaps.

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"Home is where the theater is!"

It's a great film to put on early Saturday morning and watch with the family and a big bowl of popcorn. A classic story, well-told. One of the better under $10 bargains.

TJ

Ronald, had you only read the entire thread before posting your comments, you wouldn't have missed the obvious point I was making about the composition and cinematography.

Now, go forth and sin no more! http://talk.dvdtalk.com/ubb/wink.gif

I fall under the camp of those who enjoyed and appreciated this film and put it in with other "epic/historic" films along the lines of Braveheart, Patriot, Apocalypse Now and even Saving Private Ryan. It makes you think...deep.

This movie draws you in - it's not one of those movies you can turn your brain off to, like the countless scores of movies being released today. Some people don't like or want that. Fine, go watch Coyote Ugly (and yes, I happen to like CU, but I went in expecting very little and was pleasantly surprised).

Excalibur can be picked up now for well under $15, and at that price, is definately worth picking up. It's one of those movies you'll pull off the shelf every couple months or so.