Excalibur (film)

Excalibur is a 1981 film which retells the legend of King Arthur. It grossed USD$34,967,437 and was the 18th most successful film of that year. It is considered to be one of the most, if not the most, loyal film adaptation of the Arthurian legend.

Cast and crew

Excalibur was directed by John Boorman and stars Nigel Terry (King Arthur), Helen Mirren (Arthur's half-sister Morgana), Nicol Williamson (Merlin), Nicholas Clay (Lancelot) and Cherie Lunghi (Guenevere). The film features some noted actors in early screen roles. Liam Neeson plays Gawain, Patrick Stewart plays King Leodegrance, and Gabriel Byrne plays Uther Pendragon. Several members of the Boorman family also appeared in the picture. Igrayne (Arthur's mother), the Lady of the Lake, Mordred as a boy, and the infant Arthur were all played by Boorman's children. Because of the number of Boormans involved with the film, it is sometimes called "The Boorman Family Project."

Excalibur was filmed in Irish locations in Wicklow, Tipperary, and County Kerry. The costumes were designed by Bob Ringwood. The armour was designed by Terry English. The screenplay is by Rospo Pallenberg with John Boorman. The soundtrack is by Trevor Jones, with sound bytes and samples drawn from Orff's Carmina Burana and Wagnerian motifs, of fate (Ring) and fatal attraction (Tristan und Isolde). A portion of the Siegfried Funeral March from Götterdämmerung was used as the main theme music of the film over the opening and closing credits.

Plot

It is a dark age and the land is without a king. Two great knights, Uther Pendragon and the Duke of Cornwall, fight for dominance. Uther is aided by the shadowy enchanter Merlin, who gives him Excalibur, the "sword of power", which he takes from a hand rising from a lake. Merlin arranges a truce between the two rivals, where Cornwall yields to Uther, who is proclaimed king.

During a feast at Cornwall's castle (depicted as looking like Tintagel) Uther develops a mad lust for Igrayne, Cornwall's wife. This leads to the truce being broken, and fighting starts anew.

Uther begs Merlin for one night with Igrayne, and Merlin agrees - after Uther swears that "what issues" from Uther's lust would be his. That night, Cornwall is tricked into attacking Uther's camp, where he is killed. Uther, having taken Cornwall's appearance by Merlin's magic, beds Igrayne. However, her daughter Morgana sees through the deception.

After Cornwall's death, Uther takes his wife and his castle for his own. Nine moons later, their son is born. However, Merlin takes him away. Regretting his oath, Uther pursues him into a forest, but is ambushed by knights who mistrust him and want his sword. He is mortally wounded, but before he dies he thrusts Excalibur into a rock. The other knights then try to pull it out, but none of them can. "He who draws the sword from the stone, he shall be king" Merlin explains.

Some years later, Sir Ector and his sons Kay and Arthur go to a tournament in that forest, where the winner gets a shot at pulling Excalibur out of the rock. After Kay's sword is stolen, Arthur goes looking for another one, and pulls Excalibur out of the rock with ease. Ector reveals that he adopted him at Merlin's bidding. Merlin then appears and tells Arthur of his true parentage, and that he is King.

Arthur is acclaimed by the common folk as their King; however, the nobles Lot and Uryens reject him, while Leondegrance supports him. After spending the night alone with Merlin in the forest, where he learns of the mystic "dragon" and that he "is the land", Arthur goes into battle for the first time. He comes to the aid of Leondegrance, whose castle is under siege by the two lords. He wins the respect and fealty of all of them. In this way, he meets Guenevere, Leondegrance's daughter, with whom he falls in love.

Some years later, Arthur meets and fights a duel with Lancelot, "the best knight in Christendom", who is looking for a king worthy of his service. Arthur cannot defeat him. In his anger and pride, he calls upon Excalibur's power, and Lancelot is knocked senseless by his blow, but the sword breaks in two. Despairing, Arthur throws the pieces into a nearby body of water and admits he was wrong to use Excalibur to serve his own pride and vanity when he should have used it to serve his kingdom. However, the Lady of the Lake appears and gives him back Excalibur, magically repaired. When Lancelot wakes up, he swears loyalty to Arthur.

Some time later, Arthur finally unifies the land under his rule. He institutes the fellowship of the Round Table, marries Guenevere, and builds Camelot, his castle. During his wedding, his half-sister Morgana, now a sorceress, comes to Camelot. Recognizing a kindred spirit as well as his desire for her, Merlin trains her further in the magic arts.

During these years of peace and prosperity, Lancelot finds a wild, innocent youth named Perceval, and takes him to Camelot to be trained as a squire. Morgana cajoles Merlin to reveal his magical secrets to her, planning revenge on him for his deeds with Uther. Lancelot and the queen gradually develop a love for each other.

Morgana manipulates Sir Gawain to accuse the two of adultery, which they are innocent of, save in their hearts, as Lancelot puts it. Arthur decrees a trial by combat to prove Guenevere's innocence, with Lancelot championing her against Gawain. The night before the duel, Lancelot gravely wounds himself while dreaming, torn between his passion and his loyalty to his king. The next day, he is late, and Arthur calls for another champion to fight in his place. Nobody comes forward except Perceval, and he is knighted by Arthur. Just as he and Gawain are about to joust, Lancelot arrives. He defeats Gawain despite his deep wound, and Guenevere is declared innocent. However, all these events only serve to make their feelings for each other stronger.

Finally, the two make love in a forest. In his anguish, Arthur resolves to kill them. Merlin bids him farewell and ominously tells him that he will have a son, after Arthur requests this information from him. He takes Morgana to his sanctuary, a crystal cave below Camelot, ostensibly to teach her his deepest magical secret, the 'Charm of Making'. Once there, they can see through time and possible future events including a naked Lancelot and Guenevere's, there he attacks her with sorcery, knowing her plans and ambitions all along. In the forest, Arthur comes across the sleeping lovers, but spares them and drives Excalibur into the ground between their bodies. This causes a small earthquake within the crystal cave. As if struck by Excalibur himself, Merlin is weakened, and Morgana tricks him into revealing the charm. She uses the charm to entomb him in crystal. This could be perceived as having pierced the back of the dragon of which Merlin is a part of, therefore represented by Excalibur pierced through the back with the sword. Though not killing him, as mentioned above, it weakened him considerably.

Guenevere and Lancelot wake up to discover Excalibur driven between them. Mad with guilt, Lancelot runs off into the forest, while Guenevere eventually joins a convent. Later, Morgana takes on her appearance and seduces a heartbroken Arthur, and then leaves Camelot, pregnant with his child.

Nine months later, their son Mordred is born. Arthur, already weakened by the preceding events, is struck by lightning. The land falters as the king does; it undergoes famine and suffering. A broken Arthur sends his knights on a quest for the Grail, which will make him and the land whole again.

Years pass. Many knights die on the quest; others Morgana bewitches, to serve her and her son.

One day, Perceval meets the young Mordred, who takes him to his mother, ostensibly to give him the Grail. On the way, he sees several of Arthur's knights, dead and hanging on a tree, their corpses being devoured by birds. Morgana tries to dissuade him from his quest and enchant him with a potion, but Perceval resists. He is hung from the tree. Whilst on the tree, he has a vision of entering a bright, mysterious castle, where the Grail is floating in the air, filled with blood. Inside, a voice asks him for "the secret of the Grail". Terrified, he runs away - and his rope snaps, and he escapes, just as the quest has escaped him.

More years pass. The now adult Mordred comes to the weakened King and demands the throne. Arthur refuses, but offers him his love. Mordred rejects him and his love, and promises to take the throne by force.

Wandering about, Perceval finds Uryens beset by Mordred and his men, who wound him and leave him for dead. Perceval reveals to him that he found the grail, yet failed to attain it. Before he dies, Uryens urges him not to give up the quest. Later, he comes upon Lancelot, now a wild man railing against Arthur and his knights, among a procession of peasants. They attack him and he falls into a river.

Nearly drowning being weighed down by his armour, he has another vision of the castle. This time he takes heart, relinquishes his armour, rises from the water surrounding the castle and does not run away. Walking into the castle, Perceval sees the Grail hovering above him. A voice asks Perceval, "What is the secret of the Grail? Who does it serve?" Perceval responds, "You my lord." With the answer given, the Grail begins to transform into the outline of a man. The voice then speaks again. "Who am I?" the voice asks. Perceval falls to his knees and replies, "You are my lord and king. You are Arthur." The outline of the man begins to become clearer and Perceval can see that it resembles Arthur. Then, the voice speaks one final time. "Have you found the secret that I have lost?", it asks. "Yes", says Perceval, "You and the land are one." The secret of the grail is the lesson Arthur first learned from Merlin, but had forgotten. The quest is achieved; Perceval wins the Grail.

Perceval returns (or is transported) to Camelot. A dis-spirited Arthur drinks from the cup and is revitalized. "I never knew how empty was my soul, until it was filled" he exclaims. He and his remaining knights ride to war against Mordred and Morgana. As they ride, the long-barren land bursts into life; it is reborn with its King.

Arthur goes to Guenevere's convent, where they are reconciled. Guenevere then gives Arthur Excalibur, which she has kept safe all these years. Reunited with his sword of power, Arthur and his army ride towards the battlefield and the day of reckoning. They find out that almost all of the nobles of the land have rallied to Mordred and Morgana.

The evening before the day of destiny, Arthur thinks of Merlin and wishes that he could help him for one more time, or at least see him wield Excalibur once more. Arthur does not know where Merlin has been for all this time. Frustrated, Arthur strikes a blow on a structure very similar to Stonehenge and calls out to the old wizard. The crystal cave suddenly illuminates and Merlin, still physically encased in Morgana's crystal prison, silently utters Arthur's name. Arthur falls asleep in the structure. Merlin then appears to Arthur, and tells him that thanks to him, and to his love and friendship he is back in the land of dreams, where he (Arthur) is now. Arthur then asks him to confirm if he (Merlin) is in fact a dream. Merlin smiling warmly to Arthur and in a calm soothing voice, affirms that he is indeed "a dream to some" but then dramatically raises his arms in the air and shouts in a loud voice "a nightmare to others!" and disappears. Arthur awakens and excitedly runs to tell his step-brother Sir Kay who awakens, also confessing that he too dreamt with Merlin, who revealed that he would fight bravely.

Merlin enters Morgana's armed camp unseen and walks through unhindered, since he is no longer a part of the physical world. He takes a good and curious look at Mordred (whom he prophesied would be born) anxiously pacing about. He then appears to a sleeping Morgana Le Fey in her dreams and tricks her into uttering the Charm of Making. This creates a thick fog and also turns Morgana (who has been using magic to preserve her youth and beauty) into an old hag. Appalled at her haggard appearance, Mordred kills her.

The day of destiny comes. Arthur uses the fog to hide his much smaller army which is composed of riders and to spread confusion among Mordred's forces who are on foot. Arthur's Knights attack from the rear, forcing Mordred's men to have to spin around to face Arthur's mounted knights. The battle is joined as Arthur's mounted knights strike first blood slamming into Mordred's men with their lances. Though Arthur's smaller force fights hard, they are slowly becoming overpowered and the situation looks bleak. However, suddenly Lancelot appears, bearded and older, but seemingly healed of his madness, and initiates a furious attack against the enemy and helps finally to turn the tide and win the battle. By the end of the battle, everyone is killed, except for Arthur, Perceval and Mordred. Lancelot still alive, yet wounded, cries out for his king and reconciles with Arthur just before he dies, stating that it is due to the "old wounds that never heal" his guilt and his weakness. The fog lifts, and Arthur meets Mordred in mortal combat. Mordred skewers Arthur with his spear, mortally wounding him, but Arthur kills Mordred with Excalibur, with a strike in the chest.

As Arthur lays dying, he asks Perceval to throw Excalibur in a pool of calm water. He initially balks, since it is too important to be lost, but Arthur tells him that someday, another king will come, and Excalibur will rise again. As Perceval finally throws the sword, the hand clad in samite catches it and takes it under. When Perceval returns, Arthur is gone. Gazing from a distance, he sees Arthur lying in a boat attended by ladies clad in white, which soon sails out of sight.

Adaptation

The film is primarily an adaptation of Malory's Morte d'Arthur (1485). In order to recast the Arthurian legends as an allegory of the cycle of birth, life and decay, the text was stripped of decorative or insignificant details, as well as of Malory's Christian piety. The resulting film is reminiscent of mythographic works such as Sir James Frazer's The Golden Bough and Jessie Weston's From Ritual to Romance; Arthur is presented as the "Wounded King" whose realm becomes a wasteland to be reborn thanks to the Grail, and may be compared to the Fisher (or Sinner) King, whose land also became a wasteland, and was also healed by Perceval. Notably, the Grail is not the Christian "Holy Grail"; rather, it may be inspired by magic cauldrons in Celtic pagan myths. "The film has to do with mythical truth, not historical truth," Boorman remarked to a journalist during filming.^[1][2]

In keeping with this approach, the film is intentionally ahistorical.^[1] For example, the opening titles state the setting to be the Dark Ages, even though the knights wear full plate armor, which was invented much later. Saddles were used on the horses during all film sequences, and saddles were also invented much later. Knights, knighthood and the code of chivalry also did not exist during the period. Furthermore, Britain is never mentioned by name, only as "the land".

In addition to Malory, the writers incorporated elements from other Arthurian stories, sometimes altering them. For example, the sword between the sleeping lovers' bodies comes from the tales of Tristan and Iseult; the knight who returns Excalibur to the water is changed from Bedivere to Perceval; and Morgause and Morgan Le Fay are merged. The sword Excalibur and the Sword in the Stone are presented as the same thing; in the legends they are separate.

Some new elements were added, such as Uther wielding Excalibur before Arthur (repeated in Merlin), Merlin's 'Charm of Making' (written in Old Irish), and the concept of the world as "the dragon".

Quotations

Merlin states the film's central theme, reflecting an ancient Celtic belief about kingship:

"You will be the land,

And the land will be you.

If you fail, the land will perish;

As you thrive, the land will blossom."

Later, he states the allegory of the Dragon:

MERLIN: The dragon! A beast of such power that if you were to see it whole and all complete in a single glance, it would burn you to cinders.

ARTHUR: Where is it?

MERLIN: It is everywhere; it is everything. Its scales glisten in the bark of trees, its roar is heard in the wind, and its forked tongue strikes like — like — [Lightning strikes] Whoa! Like lightning! Yes, that's it!

Later, he touches on the conflict between Christianity and paganism:

"The One God comes to drive out the many gods. The spirits of wood and stream grow silent. But that's the way of things. It's time for men and their ways."

Pallenberg and Boorman's screenplay touches on the heroic themes with directness. As Arthur declares:

"Any man who would be a knight and follow a King, follow me!"

Awards

Alex Thomson, the film's cinematographer, was nominated for Best Cinematography at the 1982 Academy Awards, but lost to Vittorio Storaro for Reds.

Trivia

• At least three actors from the film, Telsche Boorman (Lady of the Lake) [1], Nicholas Clay (Lancelot) and Robert Addie (adult Mordred) have subsequently died prematurely of cancer.
• Nigel Terry (Arthur) and Cherie Lunghi (Guinevere) were reunited in the 1992 television show Covington Cross (also known as Charring Cross). Terry's character was the widowed father of a medieval family. Lunghi played his love interest. The series failed after less than half a season on the air.
• In the legend of Arthur, Sir Galahad, the illegitimate son of Lancelot and Elaine of Carbonek, is actually the Knight who is worthy of the Holy Grail. Boorman's version of the tale leaves Galahad out completely.
• A rumor states that the film studio paid Clay (Lancelot) an extra USD$10,000 to allow them to make a surgical incision in his side in order to insert the sword for the scene where he fights himself. This is just a rumour, though, as how the effect of the sword through the side was achieved can clearly be seen in the movie. Lancelot first lies on his side with the sword appearing to have run through him. Then he rolls to his back, hiding the end of the sword sticking out through the back and simply pulls out a "stiletto" sword, a sword with a retractable sword point. It looks extremely realistic but using the pause button on a DVD-player, the part of the sword sticking out of Lancelot's back is still visible after he pulls the sword out.
• Boorman apparently had no qualms about filming his own 22-year old daughter (Katrine, who played Igrayne) nude and in a sex (technically rape) scene.
• In some of Arthur's dialogue, Boorman apparently inserts nods to The Lord of the Rings, which he originally wanted to film.
• The early critical battle scene around a castle, in which Arthur is made a knight by Uryens, while kneeling in a moat, was filmed in Cahir Castle, in Cahir County Tipperary, Ireland . It is a genuine Norman castle, one of the best preserved anywhere and the moat is the River Suir which flows around the castle. Easily visited, you can still park your car in the car park from where the filming was done.
• The original cut of the film was three hours long. Among scenes that were lost was a scene of Lancelot rescuing Guinevere from a forest bandit.
• According to director John Boorman, the love scene between Lancelot and Guinevere in the forest was filmed on a very cold night, but Nicholas Clay and Cherie Lunghi did the scene anyway.
• Liam Neeson and Cherie Lunghi would later act together in the film The Mission (1986).
• Merlin's Charm of Making, Anál nathrach, orth' bhais's bethad, do chel denmha, means "Breath of serpent, spell of death and life, your song of making". The modern Irish equivalent is Anáil nathrach, ortha bháis is bheatha, do cheol déanaimh. British black metal group Anaal Nathrakh derived their name from the first two words of the charm.

See also

• Excalibur, King Arthur's sword, the central symbol of kingship for Malory and the film.
• List of films based on Arthurian legend

References

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