Excalibur Movie Reviews

Many of you come from India and are probably not familiar with the legend of King Arthur and the Holy Grail.

King Arthur was a legendary king of England back before the turn of the first millennium; this film, like all other retellings of the Arthurian legends, is based on the story of Arthur's life as told in the Thomas Mallory book (translating title) THE DEATH OF ARTHUR.

He was born as the result of a union between Uther Pendragon and Arthur's mother, who was married to someone else (at least as far as the outside world is concerned) at the time of their mating. In the film, Uther asks Merlin the sorcerer to create a spell to make him look like this woman's husband so that he can seduce her. Nine months later, after the baby boy Arthur (the result of this then-illicit union) is born, Merlin comes back to take the child per the terms of his agreement with Uther. The mother of the child, Igrayne, doesn't like the idea very much, but is forced to accept the whole notion of having her child ripped from her.

As an adolescent, Arthur takes the sword Excalibur (after which the movie is named) out of the stone, and is thus proclaimed King of England, but not without a fight from those who doubt the legitimacy of his rulership. He then marries Guinevere, founds the Knights of the Round Table, and finds himself unable to have children with Guinevere. Later on in the movie, he is tricked into incestuous sex with his sister Morgana (whose father was Igrayne's first husband) and becomes the father of Mordred as the result of this union.

Meanwhile, Guinevere has fallen in love with Lancelot, and has an affair with this knight who champions her cause at court, at least according to this telling of the tale. Merlin is conveniently gotten out of the way by Morgana, and it is at this point at which the incest with Arthur occurs and that the quest for the Grail (legend has it that this is the cup out of which Jesus drank at the Last Supper) begins. The Grail is found, but not without a high cost; Mordred, Lancelot and Arthur all die in the end.

The performances are generally good. My favorite, though, is the performance of Nicol Williamson as Merlin, who lends humor to the role, which is often taken too seriously by those who write about and play the role. If you are a Star Trek: The Next Generation fan, you will also enjoy seeing Patrick Stewart (Capt. Picard) overacting the role of Leondegrance.

This movie is especially recommended for those who would like to learn more about Western civilization and get a good idea of one of its central legends.

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