Excalibur: John Boorman's Overly-Ambitious Arthurian Epic Gets an Upgrade (Limited Edition 4K)

The Film:

There have been many films over the years that have delved into Arthurian legend, including the animated "The Sword in the Stone," the musical "Camelot," the dramatic romance "First Knight," and the greatest of them all, the wildly-goofy "Monty Python and the Holy Grail." However, one of the most well-known of these came in 1981, where director/co-writer John Boorman attempted to give us a gritty, realistic take on the classic material with "Excalibur."

Reviews weren't exactly kind to the grand production, with the great Roger Ebert calling it a "mess" and his long-time critical partner Gene Siskel seeing it as nothing more than another disappointing costume epic, but this hardly stopped it from being a rather massive success, grossing over three times its enormous (for the time) $11 million production budget. In the 45 years since its release, it's also gained many fans along the way, fans who've come to appreciate what Boorman & co. were trying to do with their down-to-Earth telling of the oft-told tales. For them, Arrow Films has decided to honor the film by giving it a tremendous 4K upgrade and packing it with over five hours of almost entirely new bonus material, so now it's time to revisit this somewhat divisive epic to see if critics have perhaps been a little too harsh & dismissive of it in the last few decades.

Beginning with a prologue of sorts, we find the land divided and its people at war. Merlin (Nicol Williamson), a sorcerer, receives the magical blade Excalibur from the Lady of the Lake and gives it to Uther Pendragon (Gabriel Byrne), who becomes king. However, his reign is a rather troubled one, as he soon becomes infatuated with the Duke of Cornwall's wife, Igrayne (Katrine Boorman), whom Merlin helps him seduce in return for the child they bear. The boy Arthur is born and taken by the sorcerer, but shortly after, Uther is ambushed by the Duke's men, forcing him to stab Excalibur into a stone before he dies, with Merlin declaring that the one who can remove it shall become king.

Years later, we find that Merlin has entrusted a man named Ector (Clive Swift) to raise Arthur (Nigel Terry), who is now a squire for his brother Kay (Niall O'Brien). After forgetting to bring his brother's sword for a tournament, Arthur ends up pulling Excalibur from the stone, and thus becomes king. This immediately causes a bit of upheaval between his main supporter, Leodegrance (Patrick Stewart), and those who dispute his right to rule, leading to a battle that has Arthur defeating Uryens (Keith Buckley) and falling in love with Leodegrance's daughter, Guenevere (Cherie Lunghi), ignoring Merlin's warnings about her future affair. As the years go on, Arthur assembles his team of Round Table knights, unifies the land, and builds his famed castle of Camelot. Will he finally be able to rule in peace after so much turmoil, or does fate have something more in store for him?

As mentioned, we had seen the legend of King Arthur brought to life in several different forms before Boorman's epic, including animation, musically, and through comedy (with the underrated "First Knight" coming much later), so it made sense that someone would want to tackle the material head-on from a far more serious, grittier point of view. It then became a question of what aspect of the legend to focus on. Arthur's rise to king? Arthur & his Knights of the Round Table? The quest for the Holy Grail? The affair between Lancelot & Guenevere? The threat of Morgana & Mordred? In Boorman's case, his simple answer to this question was "Yes."

From this exceedingly ambitious approach, one can start to see where the film went wrong. Boorman wants to include so much in his epic take on the material that he ends up having to give rather short shrift to many of the events along the way, leaping forward by several years at different points throughout the film in order to encompass it all. Because of this, the audience is hardly given time to absorb each event as it occurs, even at a fairly lengthy 141 minutes. In this way, you can begin to understand why Ebert would refer to the film as a "mess," because its somewhat rushed, unfocused approach turns it into a bit of one.

There is indeed a lot of material to Arthurian legend, and it's understandable as to why a filmmaker would want to attempt to include as much as possible, but there's also a reason as to why most filmmakers choose to focus their efforts on a specific part of the legend when tackling the subject. They don't want to overwhelm their audience, and would rather shine a light on a specific aspect of the material rather than try to cram it all into one film.

All that said, one certainly has to admire its incredible aesthetics, from the Oscar-nominated cinematography to the BAFTA-nominated costumes to its stunning production design. The remarkable cast also has to be mentioned, from its leading players like Nicol Williamson & Dame Helen Mirren, to the supporting cast, which featured soon-to-be stars like Sir Patrick Stewart, Liam Neeson, Ciaran Hinds, and Gabriel Byrne. Each and every one of them does an admirable job with the material, even if it does end up being a bit of a messy conglomeration of pieces when all is said and done.

Overall, there are some aspects of the production that one can admire, like its visuals, the cast, and the fact that someone took a bold stab at covering so much of the material in one film, but its this ambitious approach that ultimately holds it back far too much from being the successful telling it clearly longs to be. With a little more focus, all of that production value could've been put to much better use, but as it is, it's simply far too all over the place to leave much of an impact.

Video/Audio:

"Excalibur" comes to 4K in a 1.66:1, 2160p Ultra High Definition transfer of outstanding quality. This can be a very dark film at times, but the new 4K restoration from the original 35mm negative presents a beautifully sharp & clear picture throughout the entirety of its 141-minute duration, perfectly highlighting its impressive production design, costumes, and Oscar-nominated cinematography. Likewise, the original lossless mono & 5.1 DTS-HD MA audio options are fantastic, giving you all of the dialogue, sound effects, and music in excellent quality. Overall, Arrow Films has done a marvelous job in both areas for the film's new upgrade.

Special Features:

Disc 1 (4K):

Audio Commentary by Brian Hoyle, Author of The Cinema of John Boorman (New)

Audio Commentary by Filmmaker David Kittredge, Director of Boorman and the Devil (New)

Disc 2 (Blu-ray):

The Making of Excalibur: Myth into Movie (48 Minutes) (New): A documentary directed by Neil Jordan during the production of Excalibur.

To Be a Knight and Follow a King (28 Minutes) (New): An interview with director John Boorman and actor Charley Boorman.

When Death Was but a Dream (25 Minutes) (New): An interview with creative associate Neil Jordan.

The Charm of Making (26 Minutes) (New): An interview with production designer Anthony Pratt.

Confessions of a Professional "Pain-in-the-arse" (76 Minutes) (New): An interview with 2nd unit director Peter MacDonald.

Anam Cara (38 Minutes) (New): A featurette on the working friendship of John Boorman and co-writer Rospo Pallenberg featuring a newly filmed interview with Pallenberg.

Divided Nature (30 Minutes) (New): A featurette on John Boorman by film historians Howard S. Berger and Kevin Marr.

Disc 3 (Blu-ray):

TV Version of the Film (120 Minutes)

Excalibur: Behind the Movie (52 Minutes): A retrospective documentary in which cast and crew look back on the making of the film.

Conclusion:

There is certainly a lot to admire about John Boorman's Arthurian epic "Excalibur," including its stunning cinematography, production design, costumes, and the remarkable ensemble, but sadly its overly-ambitious approach that tries to include far too much material for one film leaves it feeling rushed & unfocused, ultimately resulting in a somewhat messy take on the classic legend. That said, fans of the film will certainly find no fault in Arrow Films' stunning new 4K upgrade, nor with its 5+ hours of incredible bonus features, so for those able to see past the film's drawbacks, there can be no doubt that there's no better edition to add to your shelf.

Score: 2.5/5

Available on Limited Edition 4K starting tomorrow.

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