On Excalibur

As part of the biweekly movie/article share, I watched the 1981 film Excalibur. It was longer than I expected it to be (clocking in at 141 minutes)! I usually hesitate to watch films that long. They require a commitment to watch. But Arthuriana is a different topic altogether. It rises above that rule.

The film is old. Watching it made me appreciate the strides that fantasy films have made. The halts and the abrupt acting in this movie was a bit jarring. This made itself known to me from the beginning but it did not quite register until the third or fourth act. The film attempts to cover -quite a lot- of Arthur's story. Uthor is not a likeable character. But that is not uncommon in his depiction. The surprising bit to me was that I dd not like Merlin either. He is thrown around as either this mysterious powerful figure, or a bumbling fool. I did not like that a whole lot. But he kind of started off as a rather unlikable figure when he magicks Uthor to rape Igrayne. I think the idea is that his 'morality' is beyond ours and that he is looking at the bigger picture of bringing about the "one" king for Britons. But still. Ick. It was hard to completely redeem his character after that.

There were some moments that I appreciated a lot. In the later arcs, during the search for the Holy Grail- Perceval's encounter with Morgana was well executed. In fact, the entire sequence of him meeting Mordred and then Morgana was chilling. The tone definitely shifted there. It felt a lot like the tone from The Green Knight, my favourite entry into Arthuriana in recent memory.

I wish they explored Lancelot and Gywen more. A lot is indicated with a few lines. They deserved a bit more. The pacing in this movie is just wrong. It is slow where it could have been faster or skipped, and it is fast in other parts that desperately need more substance.

I really enjoyed the storytelling of Arthur's growth. Which, I am thankful, was the majority of the movie. His change from a clueless squire, to an egoistical king, to a humble and tempered king, and eventual fall was the slow burning log tha kept my interest in the movie. I kind of think that the movie could have been vastly improved if they just skipped Uthor. But I also understand that the movie isn't around Arthur, it is about excalibur.

Memorable moments: How cool was it when Arthur just hands his sword to Uryens to knight him? After just having fought him? In the middle of the moat? It may have been foolish (Uryens could just hack his head off) but it was so trusting and confident. Aces. The fact that everyone else just falls in order after this, was so powerful.

The fight with lancelot. Arthur goes mad. And obviously loses. But borrowing the power of excalibur and then breaking it. That was very unforseen- even to Merlin. I actualy got lost in the film during this. I did not remember what happened either. Seeing the sword get repaired and Arthur get a second chance (as he learns his lesson)- wow.

The first time we see the round table. Enough said!

The tree of the dead and Morded's scene.

Uryens and Perceval's conversation as he fades. This was sad but solidifes Perceval's character. Why is there not more books on this fellow. His encounter with lancelot is so jarring following this.

Morded v. Morgana. I knew this was coming but it still was hard to watch. Could not help but feel pity for her. Did she really deserve death at the hands of her son?

The ending sequence with Perceval throwing the sword into the water. Pure iconic energy. The lady of the lake's hand rising from the water, and the swod falling into her hand. JUST 100% Arthuriana aesthetic. Everything about that scene is just just so soulful.