Excalibur
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Short description
Excalibur retells the legend of King Arthur, from his conception to his reign. Merlin gives Uther Pendragon the enchanted sword Excalibur, but Uther's desire for Igrayne, the wife of the Duke of Cornwall, breaks the peace Merlin hoped to secure. In exchange for a night with her, Merlin claims the child born of that union, and Arthur grows up unaware of his destiny. Years later, with the throne of a divided land empty, Arthur draws the sword from the stone and is proclaimed king, gathering the Knights of the Round Table at Camelot. Love, the search for the Holy Grail and the survival of his kingdom test him further.
John Boorman directed, produced and co-wrote the film with Rospo Pallenberg. It followed Exorcist II: The Heretic in his filmography and preceded The Emerald Forest. Nigel Terry plays Arthur, with Nicol Williamson as Merlin, Helen Mirren as Morgana, Nicholas Clay as Lancelot, Paul Geoffrey as Perceval and Cherie Lunghi as Guenevere, among a credited cast of thirty. Made for about 11 million dollars and released in April 1981, it returned roughly 35 million worldwide. On IMDb it holds a 7.3 rating from about 65,800 votes, and on TMDB a 7 from around 1,198 votes; a critics' rating of 7 from 94 reviews places it in similar territory to its audiences.
What's left behind the scenes
- Helen Mirren and Nicol Williamson (1936-2011) initially refused to work with each other. They had quarreled during a previous joint project and had not spoken to each other since. Director, screenwriter, and producer John Burman decided that their mutual animosity was exactly what he needed. According to the actress, it all ended with her and Williamson becoming good friends.
- The opening battle scene was filmed three times. It was shot at night, and after the first two takes, the film turned out to be underexposed. This caused the cinematographer to have a nervous breakdown and he resigned.
- Before the final battle, the Knights of the Round Table set up camp on a hill around a structure resembling Stonehenge. At that moment, some people appeared on the hill. It turned out they were tourists from the USA who were just passing by, saw something interesting at the top of the hill, and decided to take a look, unaware that filming was taking place.
- Morgana's breastplate is kept at the home of John Burman. He bequeathed the souvenir to Helen Mirren after his death.
- According to Gabriel Byrne, the intimate scene with Catherine Burman (the director's daughter) was filmed separately.
- Initially, John Burman intended to film a movie based on 'The Lord of the Rings,' but he was unable to acquire the rights and instead filmed 'Excalibur.'
- The original version of the film lasted over 3 hours. Among the many subsequently lost scenes (some footage from which remained in the film's trailer) was a scene of Lancelot, played by Nicholas Clay (1946-2000), rescuing Guinevere, played by Sherry Longhi.
- John Burmen wanted the audience to focus on the plot, not the movie stars, so he cast relatively unknown performers. At that time, only Nicol Williamson was more or less familiar to the American public.
- All the armor shown in the film was made of aluminum, crafted by British armorer Terry English. He also played a cameo role as a blacksmith in the knightly tournament scenes. He is the one looking at Arthur, played by Nigel Terry (1945-2015), as the future king chases a thief and stops, considering whether to take a sword from the armorers' tent.
- In a significant portion of the forest scenes and when displaying the sword (Excalibur), lights with green filters were used in the background, making everything look magical.
- The flowers on the ground in the forest and the apple blossoms on the trees are natural. The forest was cordoned off during filming, and public access was prohibited.
- The armor was given its shine with reflectors, but there were constant problems with the cameras. After every rain, the armor had to be wiped dry so that it wouldn’t ‘glare’.
- The nighttime scene in the forest with Merlin and young Arthur was filmed in a pavilion, where it was easier to manage the animals involved in the scene.
- Guinevere's wedding dress was sewn by hand, and hundreds of beads were used for its decoration.
- Camelot is shown in the film from a distance; it is a model, the reflection of which was filmed with a camera in a mirror.
- The cinematographer kept the camera running for several days, waiting for an opportunity to film a shot of crows pecking out the eye of a fallen knight. Instead of a knight, the crows pecked out the eyes of a sheep.
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