If you want to understand the exact moment that high fantasy on the big screen transitioned from campy fairy tales into something visceral, blood-soaked, and operatic, you have to look at John Boorman’s 1981 masterpiece, Excalibur. Long before Peter Jackson brought a literalist grit to Middle-earth, Boorman was out in the Irish countryside capturing a version of the Arthurian legend that feels less like a history lesson and more like a collective fever dream. It is a film that exists in a state of constant, shimmering intensity, where every suit of armor glows with an otherworldly chrome and every forest seems to be breathing. It is easily one of the most beautiful and deeply strange movies ever made, and it remains the definitive cinematic take on the rise and fall of Camelot.
The story follows the entire arc of the legend, starting with the brutal, rain-slicked nights of Uther Pendragon and ending with the misty departure to Avalon. What makes Boorman’s approach so unique is that he doesn't try to ground the story in historical realism. He leans entirely into the mythic and the symbolic. The armor the knights wear isn't historically accurate to any specific century; instead, it is polished to a mirror sheen, reflecting the green of the Irish woods and the gold of the sun. This gives the film a dreamlike quality, as if you are watching a medieval tapestry come to life. The characters don't just speak; they proclaim. The violence isn't just bloody; it is heavy and clanking, emphasizing the sheer weight of the metal and the cost of the ambition driving these men.
At the heart of the film is Nicol Williamson as Merlin, and his performance is nothing short of legendary. He plays the wizard not as a dignified old man in a robe, but as a witty, eccentric, and occasionally terrifying force of nature. He wears a chrome skullcap and speaks in a rhythmic, chanting cadence that makes you believe he is actually tapping into the Dragon, the film's metaphorical source of all magic. Opposite him is Nigel Terry as Arthur, who undergoes a staggering transformation from a wide-eyed squire into a weary, noble king. Watching him age and buckle under the weight of his crown is the emotional anchor of the movie, especially as he deals with the betrayal of Lancelot and Guinevere.
The cast is a who’s who of future acting royalty, including a young Liam Neeson as Sir Gawain, Patrick Stewart as Leondegrance, and Helen Mirren as a chillingly effective Morgana. Mirren is particularly fantastic here, playing the sorceress as a woman driven by a desperate need to reclaim the magic that Merlin is allowing to fade from the world. Her chemistry with Williamson is electric, likely helped by the fact that the two actors famously disliked each other in real life at the time. Boorman used that genuine friction to fuel their scenes, and it shows in every pointed exchange they share on screen.
Visually, the movie is a triumph of practical filmmaking, but it has never truly been seen correctly at home until this new Arrow 4K release. Boorman and his cinematographer, Alex Thomson, used green filters and heavy smoke to create an atmosphere that feels perpetually enchanted. In previous home video versions, this often resulted in a murky or overly soft image that didn't do justice to the cinematography. This new 4K transfer, sourced from a 16-bit scan of the original 35mm negative, changes the game entirely. For the first time on home video, the film is presented in its original 1.66:1 aspect ratio, restoring visual information on the top and bottom of the frame that was previously cropped out.
The restoration manages to preserve the intentional glow and soft focus of the film while finally providing the clarity needed to resolve the heavy film grain and see the intricate detail in that famous chrome armor. In fact, the clarity is so high that you can occasionally spot reflections of the camera crew in the polished breastplates, a technical quirk that serves as a testament to just how much detail has been reclaimed. The Dolby Vision HDR implementation is the real star here, making the glint of the swords and the deep, saturated greens of the Irish moss feel more lifelike than they ever have. It handles the difficult balance between the bright, reflective metal and the dark, moody interiors with a precision that the old Blu-rays simply couldn't match.
One of the most fascinating aspects of Excalibur is how it handles the theme of the Land and the King. The film posits that Arthur and the land of Britain are one and the same. When Arthur is healthy and just, the flowers bloom and the kingdom prospers. When he is broken by Guinevere’s infidelity, the land turns into a literal wasteland of gray skies and rotting crops. This connection gives the search for the Holy Grail a desperate, existential weight. It isn't just a golden cup; it is the only thing that can heal the King and save the world from fading into darkness. The quest sequence, particularly Perceval's journey, is haunting and surreal, stripped of the glamour of the early Camelot years and replaced with a sense of ghostly decay.
The film does not shy away from the darker elements of the myth either. The scene of Arthur’s conception, involving Uther’s magical deception of Igrayne, is filmed with a dark intensity that sets the stage for the tragedy to come. It establishes right away that the foundation of the kingdom is built on a sin, and that the Dragon demands a price for such power. This sense of cosmic karma follows every character, from the incestuous birth of Mordred to the final showdown between father and son. It is a movie that understands that myths are not just pretty stories; they are cautionary tales about the limits of human nature and the inevitable cycle of birth and death.
Arrow has also done a massive service to the film’s iconic soundtrack. By leaning heavily on Richard Wagner and Carl Orff’s "O Fortuna," Boorman created a sense of grand, tragic inevitability. The restoration includes the original theatrical lossless mono audio, which many purists will find superior to the 5.1 surround remix. The mono track feels fuller and better balanced, supporting the thundering score and the clashing metal without the hollow or overly spaced-out quality that can sometimes plague older films when they are pushed into a modern surround stage. It ensures that when the knights ride out for the final battle and the music swells, it feels like the end of the world is actually happening in your living room.
The movie ends on a note of profound melancholy. As the sun sets and the sword is cast back into the lake, there is a sense that an era of magic has truly ended, leaving behind only the memory of a dream. It is a rare film that manages to be both incredibly violent and incredibly poetic at the same time. This Arrow 4K release is a reminder of a time when directors were allowed to take massive risks to create something truly singular. There has never been another fantasy film quite like Excalibur, and thanks to this definitive transfer, it has never looked more like the masterpiece it truly is.
While the film itself is the main draw, this Arrow Limited Edition acts as a complete historical archive for Boorman’s production. The biggest surprise for long-time collectors is the inclusion of the 120-minute TV version. While fans generally prefer the uncut theatrical gore, this version is a fascinating curiosity that hasn't been available on home video before. It offers a glimpse into how the film was sanitized for broadcast, and seeing it restored in high definition provides a unique comparison to the 141-minute theatrical master.
The documentary material here is where the set really shines. You get "The Making of Excalibur: Myth into Movie," a forty-eight-minute piece directed by none other than Neil Jordan while he was on the set back in 1981. It is rare to see a "making-of" directed by a future Oscar winner, and it captures the raw, mud-caked reality of the Irish shoot. This is paired with "Excalibur: Behind the Movie," a fifty-minute retrospective that brings together the cast and crew decades later to reflect on how the film launched so many massive careers.
The new interviews add even more depth, especially "To Be a Knight and Follow a King," where John Boorman sits down with his son Charley to discuss the family legacy within the film. You also get "Anam Cara," which explores the crucial creative partnership between Boorman and co-writer Rospo Pallenberg. When you combine these with the two brand-new commentaries and the beautiful, perfect-bound booklet, you have a release that doesn't just show you the movie but explains exactly how this impossible dream was forged.
Excalibur will be available to own on 2/24! If you order from MVD you can save 35% off the retail price!!!
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