Excalibur (movie)

Excalibur is a 1981 film which retells the legend of King Arthur. It grossed USD$34,967,437 and was the 18th most successful film of that year.

Reputation

Excalibur received extremely divergent responses from audiences. When it was originally released, many reviewers praised its 'magical realist' tone, which combines sorcery and mysticism with gritty and violent realism. However, others lambasted it, seeing only exaggerated acting, garish colours and clumsy dialogue. Today, many of those who love the film respect it as an unusually serious, poetic and faithful adaptation of the myth. But others enjoy the heroics as a camp classic, revelling in its absurdity.

Related Topics:
Magical realist - Camp

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Excaliburs unsentimental depiction of a 'fantasy' setting was an influence on many subsequent films and television series, most recently Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy. Indeed, Excalibur grew from Boorman's attempt to film Tolkien's novel; in the mid-1970s, Boorman and Pallenberg had collaborated with film rights holder and producer Saul Zaentz on a treatment of the Tolkien epic, but the project proved too expensive to finance at that time.

Related Topics:
Peter Jackson - Lord of the Rings - Tolkien - 1970s - Saul Zaentz

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