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I've been
cursed with an insatiable curiosity. Legends in particular
have intrigued me. Did a UFO crash at Roswell? Is the Loch
Ness monster real? Why does our editor bear a striking resemblance
to Richard Nixon? The film industry seems somewhat taken with
legends as well. Did you know that there are almost fifty
films that involve King Arthur either directly (First Knight)
or indirectly (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade)? But was
Arthur an historical figure or was he simply a figment of
someone's imagination? Some historians write that there's
no definitive evidence that Arthur ever existed. Yet, many
agree that references in ancient texts indicate that one Arthwyr
Pendragon lived from the late 400s to the early 500s, from
the end of the Roman Empire and to the beginning of the Merovingian
period. Historical Arthur was apparently not a king, but rather,
a warrior chieftain serving Breton kings by destroying Saxon
invaders. Arthur is most likely responsible for a victory
at Mont-Badon in about 516. He's believed to have died at
the battle of Camlann after many years of successful campaigns.
Medieval
scribes embellished Arthur's story with Lancelot, Guenevere,
Merlin, Mordred, the Holy Grail, Camelot, the Knights of the
Round Table, and the sword of kings. This enduring legend
was retold and enriched for centuries. Le Morte d'Arthur by
Thomas Malory is considered to be one of the more thorough
tellings of the legend, and based on this book, screenwriter
Rospo Pallenberg and writer/director John Boorman created
(and also embellished) their definitive Arthurian film called
Excalibur.
The well
worn plot is known to you. With Merlin's (Nicol Williamson)
magical help, Uther (Gabriel Byrne in his first screen appearance)
rapes his dying rival's wife, Igrayne (Katrine Boorman). (Sex
in full body armor seems a bit strange, not to mention uncomfortable.)
Arthur is the product of that amoral lust. But before he helped
him, Merlin had Uther promise him the issue of that lust,
and Merlin claims the child soon after his birth. When Arthur
(Nigel Terry) is older, he comes to power by drawing the sword
of kings, Excalibur, from a stone. As he wins the loyalty
of the nobility, peace settles on Britain and there follows
a period of plenty. Arthur's accepted as king, Camelot is
built, he takes Guenevere (Cherie Lunghi) for his bride and
queen, and his dedicated and loyal knights find themselves
seated around a round table. As Merlin assumes the role of
court advisor, he's pursued by Morgana (Helen Mirren), Arthur's
evil half-sister, who lusts after Merlin's magical secrets.
But an even more inappropriate lust (or is it love?) intrudes.
Lancelot (Nicholas Clay) and Guenevere deny their mutual attraction
until they can no longer resist. Arthur finds them asleep
in a wooded glade, nude in each other's arms, and in his rage
plunges Excalibur into the Earth between them. Despite their
disloyalty, he cannot kill either of the people he loves.
The Earth
is wounded seriously by the magical sword. Crops fail. The
countryside is laid barren. Famine and sorrow overwhelm the
land. Only the Holy Grail can restore the kingdom. The knights
are sent on their most important quest: to find the grail.
But Arthur has a new enemy to thwart the search. Morgana has
had a son, Mordred (Robert Addie), the result of an incestuous
deception. It will be the confrontation between Arthur and
Mordred that will seal the fate of this king and Excalibur.
Boorman's
film is rather linear until Lancelot and Guenevere deceive
Arthur. He then seems to abandon clear indications of the
passage of time. That stylistic decision and the vague manner
in which the grail is portrayed make the final acts somewhat
disorienting. Linearity only returns during the last sequence
of the film. My suspicion that there may have been interconnecting
scenes that ended up on the cutting room floor was confirmed
in the commentary. The first cut was three hours long and
was pared down to 140 minutes for the theatrical release.
None of the discarded scenes are included. But Excalibur is
probably the most mature and adult-oriented Arthurian film,
with much to recommend it. Richly detailed, appropriately
melodramatic performances, and complete in its depiction of
Arthur's legendary life. For a little fun, watch for camera,
crew, and microphone booms reflected in shiny armor. And in
his first film appearance, you will find Liam Neeson as Sir
Gawain. Note that this is not a film for the kiddies.
Video: How Does The Disc Look?
The theatrical
aspect ratio of 1.85:1 is presented in anamorphic video. Unfortunately,
the transferred elements suffer from an excessive amount of
film grain. The images must have been a compressionist's nightmare.
Despite an average bitrate of over 5.5 Mb/sec, the film is
on the soft side. Black level and dynamic range are fine.
Colors are reasonably well represented. Edge enhancement halos
are virtually invisible, a situation most likely forced by
the grain. (Edge enhancement would have exaggerated the grain
even more.) But there are many wonderful scenes capturing
great natural beauty without the application of modern digital
effects. Outstanding cinematography is quite clear. And once
I became involved with the plot, the grain did not distract
me.
Audio: How Does the Disc Sound?
The mix
is Dolby Digital 5.1, restored from original elements, and
it's rather odd. The theatrical release was monaural, as is
this DVD's dialog, most of the sound effects, and some of
the music. Classical source music (Wagner and Orff) is in
stereo. The occasional sound effect is thrown to one or the
other of the surround speakers. Some of the front effects
seem panned to simulate stereo. Otherwise, the sound dominates
the front center. Despite the audio originating in 1981, the
quality could have been better. Loud dialog and sound effects
are distorted. On two occasions, I had to turn the subtitles
on to understand a line. The top end is lacking, and the bottom
end is missing except for those scenes where deep bass seems
to have been enhanced during the restoration. The classical
music sequences fair best; I suspect they may have been mixed
from more modern recordings. Acceptable audio, but not one
of Warner's best efforts.
Supplements: What Goodies Are There? The theatrical
trailer is shown in the same format as the feature. The English
track is, of course, Dolby Digital 5.1; the French track is
in Dolby Digital 1.0. Both languages are also available as
captions. There are forty-five chapter stops. John Boorman's
comprehensive commentary (in which he seems to lust after
Helen Mirren - there seems to be a lot of lusting in this
review) is in Dolby Surround. The cast and crew biography
and filmography screens only offer detail for the director.
Parting Thoughts
Given the
many choices we have in Arthurian motion pictures, for me
this is clearly the film of choice. Despite the flaws in the
transfer and some dated special effects, I recommend it, particularly
since Warner decided to price this DVD at only $19.98.
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