READ THIS FIRST: This is a 12-inch Diameter Laserdisc, which is NOT the same as DVD and cannot be played on a DVD player!
Laserdisc Title: "EXCALIBUR"
Edition: Widescreen Edition (Double-Disc Set)
Special Feature: ---Side 3 featuring the recovery of the Holy Grail and the final outcome of the struggles inside Arthur's Kingdom, is presented in the CAV Full-Feature format---
Directed By: John Boorman
Starring: Nigel Terry, Helen Mirren, Nicholas Clay, Cherie Lunghi, Paul Geoffrey, Nicol Williamson
Production / Year: 1981 Orion Pictures Company
Running Time: 141 Minutes / Color
Audio Format: Dolby Surround, Stereo, CX Encoded
Video Format: LTBX, NTSC, CLV (Extended Play)
Miscellaneous Features: Rated R
Distributed By: Warner Home Video
Catalog / Spine Number: 22030
Cosmetic Condition:
Disc (s): UNOPENED / FACTORY SEALED
Jacket: UNOPENED / FACTORY SEALED
Synopsis:
It's tough to compress the 900-some-odd pages of text that Thomas Malory used to tell his story of Le Morte d'Arthur into 140 minutes of film, but director John Boorman and screenwriter Rospo Pallenberg give it a good shot. While it sometimes leaves out important details or compresses events in the interest of time, it can never be accused of playing fast and loose with the legend. However, the film also requires a bit of work on the part of the viewer to fill in some of the details, and it's obvious Boorman expects his viewer to be at least passing familiar with the traditions of the Arthurian legend (anyone unfamiliar with Arthur's fate after his death, for example, will be baffled by the film's final shot). So brush up just a bit before you sit down to this one. With its darkened, cloud-streaked skies, lonely stone castles, eerie green lighting, and effective use of the music of Richard Wagner, you won't find a moodier, more beautifully shot film. In fact, there are some downright breathtaking cinematic moments in this film, none more so than when Perceval hurls Excalibur back into the water, and Wagner's music swells just in time for the Lady of the Lake to make a dramatic clean catch. Great stuff. It also helps that Nicol Williamson turns in a very game performance as Merlin, but it's Nigel Terry who carries the film in an underappreciated but wholly believeable interpretation of King Arthur. Terry leaves the scenery-chewing to Williamson, and anchors the film instead with a steady, understated performance. Look also for stars-in-the-making Liam Neeson as the jealous Gawain, and Patrick Stewart as Guenevere's father, Leodegrance. EXCALIBUR has all the elements one expects in a fantasy, yet, in a sense, Boorman does for the sword-and-sorcery film what Sergio Leone did for the western: whereas prior horse operas showed cowboys riding across the desert and shuffing down dirt streets without a bit of sweat, and firing pistols that never drew blood, Leone made everyone look hot and sweaty, and showed that a Smith & Wesson could rip a real hole through your gut. Boorman does the same for the knight in this film -- knights clunk around clumsily in heavy armor, get skewered on pikes, get their heads bashed in, and cough their guts out in bloody mud puddles. It all lends an air of veracity to the film that makes it all seem like It Could Really Have Happened This Way.
THIS IS A 12" LASERDISC AND WILL NOT PLAY IN A DVD PLAYER
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