Excalibur DVD

Advantages: Great Scenery sound and story
Disadvantages: over hammed up acting

...his energy into that instead. Excalibur was born and in turn cinemagoers the world over were in for a treat. Mixed reviews from the critics were luckily ignored by the paying public and it was a box office smash. I hope I can do it justice, it is another of my all time favourite films! The Cast/Characters/description: Nigel Terry – King Arthur (the hero) Nicol Williamson – Merlin (the sorcerer) Nicholas Clay – Lancelot (the betrayer) Cherie ...
...excepts the sword known as Excalibur and heads off to confront Cornwall. Recognising the sword of power, Cornwall yields to Uther, and agrees to except him as the one true King in exchange for land. Peace is finally established, Merlin pats himself on the back for a job well done and a large feast is held in honour of the new King. Unfortunately Cornwall has an attractive wife Igrayne, and although he yielded to Uther in battle, he can’t help but ... Read review

Advantages: An excellent if rather dark portrail of Arthurian Legends, with interesting characterisations.
Disadvantages: Rather too dark for younger children.

...Excalibur. The drawing of Excalibur is a pivotal part of the story, as this is the sign by which the future king shall be known. However, all is not plain sailing (something I value about this film) as the knights are at first rather reluctant to accept this boy of unknown parentage as their ruler. Only Arthur's innate nobility wins their favour. The second part of this film shows Arthur's meeting with and subsequent marriage to Guinevere, the rise ...
...the finally the Lancelot's and Guinevere's betrayal of Arthur, an act with precipitates Morgana's own betrayal of her mentor Merlin allowing her to trap him in the crystal cave. This twin betrayal is yet another mirror event, like that of the twin seductions. This time, however, the similarities are not so obvious. Guinevere betrays Arthur for love, Morgana betrays Merlin for power and whereas Arthur can hardly believe that Guinevere would betray ... Read review

Advantages: fantastic piece of fantasy
Disadvantages: not for the historically minded

...and look and feel right. Excalibur is the total opposite of this; for a story set in the Romano-British dark ages, it is overly glossy, the weapons and armour is all wrong, the great stone buildings are 1000 years too early... I could go on. So why in the hell do I love this film so much. I think the first thing you need to do is detach yourself from the historical angle and watch it as a pure fantasy, only then does it come into its own. It follows ...
...fashion, a big budget version of the Arthurian tales will be with us soon, but even if it does Excalibur will remain an enduring, high fantasy with just the right balance of humour and tragedy to justify its existance. Watch it as pure fun and you will not be dissappointed. ... Read review

Advantages: The best version so far. Great soundtrack.
Disadvantages: Half expected John Cleese to suddenly appear and start taunting..

There have been surpisingly few films based on the tales of King Arthur and Knights of Camelot, and this has to be the best version so far. I say so far because I feel sure the definitive version has yet to be made, possibly by the same director (John Boorman). Even so it is at times a great movie and has the right combination of gritty violence and mythical fantasy. Nicol Williamsons' performance as Merlin has been often critisised but I think it's ...
...think some of the acting seems over cooked (check out the cameo from Patrick Stewart)- there's a hell of a lot of shouting going at times. A great selection of Wagner perfectly suits the film as well. Most memorable scene - Arthur and his trusty knights riding through the cherry blossom to the strains of Carmina Burana. ... Read review

Advantages: Powerful, intense, well acted and well filmed.
Disadvantages: None really, abit slow a times.

...have an input. John Boorman (The General, Excalibur, Tailor of Panama,) brilliantly directed the film, with much passion and carefulness, making each moment count. He also produced the movie. Background to DVD The DVD I purchased, I am almost certain is the same as the one Ciao is selling. This is because, Deliverance was first published on DVD in 2000, and so far Deliverance has never had a special edition and is always packaged in the same cardboard case, having all the same contents. It has the usual interactive menu and scene access, and it does have the selection of alternate languages, French and Italian. It has the selection of ten subtitle languages too. However this is about it. Although not great on special features, the DVD does have excellent picture quality, Dolby Digital sound (can be surround... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: A different slant on the Arthur legend.
Disadvantages: Maybe not what you were expecting.

...really enjoyed it. I think it is a clever attempt to put a different slant on a story that has been so overused over the years. They do say that it is based on fact, could be it is quite plausible after seeing the film. I think that is up to the individual viewer though. It is certainly more possible than the Arthur of legend, the Arthur of Excalibur and Avalon but whether it is a good thing to change the myth of one of this countries greatest heroes, I don’t know. King Arthur is available at most DVD and video stockists, Amazon price £12.99 or £14.99 for the directors cut (to my mind the better bet.)... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Amazing movie
Disadvantages: Wanted it to go on and on and it did but not for long enough!

...the simple things like the disappearance of Louis and then reappearance by the light switch, then at the table, or Santiago's wall walking technique (I bet he gets all the ladies lol) All said for its time I think its special effects were out of this world. The DVD is somewhat devoid of any special features, or at least my one is. There is the standard scene selection entitled 'jump to a scene.' In addition to this there is a cast listing, which is exactly as it sounds, simply a digital list of the cast which you can scroll through at your leisure quite useful if you're looking for the name of an actor you cannot remember, much easier then scrolling through the end credits. The third option in the menu is film flash, the only out of the ordinary extra I’ve found on this DVD it is simply trailers to some movies that the publisher believes... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful