DVD and/or movie, please.

I own this DVD and love the movie. It is a great classic. I highly recommend this DVD for anyones collection

This is one of those movies that bought because I loved it as a kid. Unfortunately, kids are stupid. I watched it recently and couldn't stand it. It's like watching the last Highlander movie if it was made 20 years ago. Not a pretty sight.

-Gonnosuke

OK. Odd review.

It's one of my all time favorite films. A classic that I have seen numerous tims.

The DD 5.1 remix is great, however, the 1.85:1 framing is incorrect. The top of the image has been matted improperly, cutting off way too much picture information, resulting in many shots with people talking, while their heads are cut off. Very annoying.

The widescreen laserdisc is much better, as the 1.85:1 aspect ratio is properly framed, but the soundtrack is inferior.

I wish we could have the picture from the LD and the sound from the DVD. :-(

Gonnosuke's experience sounds exactly like my own. I, too, can't believe that 20 years ago I thought this was a good movie - it certainly does not hold up. Mostly very poor acting (excepting Nicol Williamson's Merlin) and no clear motivations to the characters' actions (though if you're familiar with the legends, I s'pose you can fill in the blanks on your own). The plot lurches and lulls, picking up narrative threads and dropping them without any semblance of clarity or rhythm, losing steam and my interest at nearly every turn. It's an absolute mess.

And the image on the DVD looks incorrectly cropped. I'm not sure if this was the original composition or not, but the top of the frame seemed to be cutting off way too many heads.

[EDIT: I see the framing point was already covered in the previous post. I'm not surprised to learn this, as it does appear quite obviously misframed.]

[This message has been edited by Richard Malloy (edited January 19, 2001).]

Wow. Where are this film's defenders? I have never seen such comments before. In my opinion, the acting is superb (Liam Neeson, Gabriele Byrne, Patrick Stewart, Helen Mirren and on and on), the action incredible, the scenery wonderful, the story vibrant and passionate and the motivations perfectly clear.

One of the all time greatest films.

"One of the all time greatest films."

You're kidding right? I could understand if you said you liked it because it brought back memories of your childhood. I could understand it if you liked it because you were fascinated with Camelot. But to say that it's one of the greatest movies of all time? Come on.

-Gonnosuke

Interesting that there is so much difference of opinion for this one. IMO - very good film and at a budget price you also get boorman's commentary.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Gonnosuke:
This is one of those movies that bought because I loved it as a kid. Unfortunately, kids are stupid. I watched it recently and couldn't stand it.
-Gonnosuke</font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I feel kinda the same way. Their armor is so shiny!

A good Camelot story. The sound is a bit weak, but the photography is spectacular.

Check out Merlin too.

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Toshiba -- SD-2109
Da List -- no longer being updated

"Skin that smoke wagon and see what happens ... ... I'm getting tired of your gas, now jerk that pistol and go to work ..."

IF you like the movie, the DVD is a bargain at $10 & also includes a commentary track.

The movie was good way back when and is still good today. Best "Camelot" movie ever made. "Excalibur" demands a special edition dvd.

What can you say about a movie in which the director directs his own very lovely daughter in a nude scene! http://talk.dvdtalk.com/ubb/eek.gif I cant think of one director who ever did that! thats John Boorman for you!

Sick!

I have to get in here and defend this movie. Now, I know that many viewers are spoiled by the eyecandy nowadays by movies like Gladiator, and Braveheart but you gotta give credit where credit is due. Excalibur was legend brought to life. You can't put a "realism" bar on a movie that is based purely on folklore and myths. John Boorman did an exceptional job of bringing these stories to life. The landscapes are very nice. Bad acting?? Oh, come on now...I have seen worse in movies that are considered to be Godsends here at this forum, but I choose not to say which ones because I don't want to insult others tastes in films.

Nigel Terry(Arthur) plays the role of King Arthur flawlessly. Nicol Williamson steals the movie with his scenes and does a great job of portraying Merlin the Magician in a way that goes against the cliche of wizards and magicians. Most of the cast was good, and the movie still stands the test of time in my book. The fight scenes are short and lack the great choreography of todays epic films but they are still good. And yes, the armor is shiny....representing the blossoming of the kingdom, the land and the enlightenment of King Arthur's Knights from Sir Lancelot. Once Lancelot became Arthurs champion all the other Knights armor was changed to that of Lancelot. Lancelot was the example of all that a Knight was suppose to be. In case some of you didn't notice, the armor that the knights wore at the beginning of the film was dark, and changed after Lancelot joined the ranks of Camelot. And how can anyone knock this movie because of plotholes?? The Legends of King Arthur have so many different versions that it would be crazy to try and make them historically correct because it's all legend.

The score by Trevor Jones is one of the best I have ever heard. The Dolby 5.1 mix is ok, with the music score using most of the rear channels. Again, the score is wonderful and sets the mood.

I saw this movie twice when I was younger and the movie didnt make much sense to me then, but now that I have it on DVD I finally made more sense of the film and caught things that I never would have thought of back then. My only complaint on the DVD is the bad aspect ratio and the horrible cover art. I really wish that they would have kept the original poster art with Mordred on his horse holding a spear, attacking one of the Knights of the Round Table.

Other than that, the DVD is a solid purchase for anyone who likes fantasy/dark age movies. I tip my hat to John Boorman for bringing to life all the King Arthur legends I had heard of as a kid. For $9.99 it's worth it.

Jesse

thank you jsjesse...you beat me to it with the armor explanation......FYI after Lancelot disapears and all the nights are on the quest tthe armor goes back to dark, dingy & dirty to reflect the state of the kingdom.....

Where do I start...hmmmm...a EXCALIBUR, a bad movie????????? http://talk.dvdtalk.com/ubb/confused.gif
I see people on these lists talking about spending their hard earned $$'s on absolute rubbish.."let's see Adam Sandler's BIG DADDY or DANCES WITH WOLVES...hmmm??? Can't decide"
Should I buy COYOTE UGLY or DAS BOOT...naw too talky...I wanna see hot chicks dancing on a bar!"

Well, if you are the least bit interested in King Arthur lore this is a must for you. This is absolutly THEE best film to tackle the Legend of the Knights of the Round Table.
The commentary track from Borman is a nice treat for such an great price. All prinipal actors do a great job & there are some great cameos of folks who went on to become big stars themselves. Music is fantastic, and the film looks beautiful still after 20 some years.

NOW keep your eyes out for Bormans EMERALD FOREST with Powers Booth & Diector John Bormans son Charlie in the lead role...I can't wait to see what they do with such a lush picture on DVD

Excalibur is a great and rather unique take on the King Arthur legend. While it does have flaws (particularly in the confusing and slow moving "Quest for the Holy Grail" section), its still the best film ever about the story of Camelot and some of the scenes in it, such as the ones set to the music of Richard Wagner and Carl Orff, are so great that they can cause chills down my back.

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

The score by Trevor Jones is one of the best I have ever heard. The Dolby 5.1 mix is ok, with the music score using most of the rear channels. Again, the score is wonderful and sets the mood.

Jesse</font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Just wanted to say that there is very little music by Trevor Jones in this movie the majority of it is From Richard Wagner's music drama and some from Carl Orff Carmina Burana.

Other than that I completely agree with eveything you said. Excalibur is a wonderfull film. Very well acted and a pleasure to watch even after so many years

And I suppose this is an awesome DVD even though the movie is cropped terribly and it results in people with "missing heads"?

Come on!

-Gonnosuke

Ok, so I was wrong about Trevor Jones actually doing the music...but still, the music is good.

Jesse

Anyone else think we're about due for a moratorium on the use of Carmina Burana? http://talk.dvdtalk.com/ubb/wink.gif

I stand by everything I said regarding this ill-constructed movie, its gap-ridden plot and passionless performances. And I'd like to point out that my tastes do not run to the likes of Big Daddy or Coyote Ugly, as was insinuated by a previous poster.

I'm not sure whether it was Boorman or someone else doing the editing, but this movie contains some of the most poorly constructed ellipses in cinematic history. Do not be alarmed should you find yourself asking "have 10 years gone by or something?" or "wait a minute; what did I miss?" or "whatever happened to so-and-so?"

If you're familiar with the legends, you'll probably be able to fill in the many gaps (the film is a very poor adaptation of La Morte d'Arthur by Sir Thomas Mallory)... I'd suggest a quick primer prior to hitting the 'play' button.

Perhaps you'll recall from memory that Lancelot falls deeply, madly and irresistably in love with Guinevere - so much so that he'll risk all to have her - even though you'll never quite perceive that passion from the film. You'll also recall the special bond approaching the deepest brotherhood between Arthur and Lancelot, making L's betrayal all the more tragic - even though there's nothing in the film to suitably suggest this.

Climactic events occur abruptly - too abruptly - while loose ends are left to dangle until such time as their tying would seem to best throw off whatever rhythm Boorman had managed to establish.

(And the search for the grail was better handled by Monty Python.)

By far, the best thing about this movie is its cinematography (and I don't care about plate mail anachronisms or even boom mic reflections in the shiny armor). Unfortunately, the very poor cropping of this disc goes along way toward destroying the careful balance of the compositions (even though it's otherwise a decent enough transfer).

I know opinions differ - as they should. This one's mine, so don't say I didn't warn ya! http://talk.dvdtalk.com/ubb/smile.gif

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Richard Malloy:
[B]Anyone else think we're about due for a moratorium on the use of Carmina Burana? http://talk.dvdtalk.com/ubb/wink.gif
B]</font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Hell yes. This is one of the the most over used pieces of music. It's everywhere.

-Gonnosuke

http://www.jaxfilmjournal.com/excalibur.html



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Chuck Dowling
The Jacksonville Film Journal - http://www.jaxfilmjournal.com/

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Gonnosuke:
Hell yes. This is one of the the most over used pieces of music. It's everywhere.

-Gonnosuke

</font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

You're really going out of your way to say how much you dislike this film aren't you?

Though I agre that Orff's music, especially O Fortuna, is overly used. However it is a very powerful music so it can be used quite effectively. It just loses some value as it gets overplayed.



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Duffman says a lot of things

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Duffman:
You're really going out of your way to say how much you dislike this film aren't you? </font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

No, not at all. Someone mentioned that Carmina Burana was over used. I agreed.

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.

-Gonnosuke