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From: JakkobKiller
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  • A completely underrated classic, It starts with the breath of the dragon and ends with the breath of the dragon... a full cinematic circle. The series of scenes inbetween are stories in their own right. The story of Uther; the sword in the stone; the seige at the castle; the fight with Lancelot at the lake; Lancelot's surrendering to Guinevere; the grail quest; the last battle. Most people remember Dir. John Boorman for "Delieverance". This and "The Emerald Forest" made him on of my Fav's.

  • Now... why dident mordred just let the spear go after he ran him through? then pick up random sword and take out Percival? I woulda done it.

  • awesome is a weak word for this movie

  • i still can't get over the moment of Arthur getting run through by the spear .... chills

  • "Come father, let us embrace at last."

  • They won't know how few we are in the fog

    We'll use the old ways, low resolution!

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  • It's kind of weird to see this now that I've read the relevant parts of the original Morte D'Arthur. Percival died a long time before this, Lancelot arrived late and didn't participate, Gawain died from an old wound that never healed, and Arthur was the one who impaled Mordred with a spear. But it's still a great movie.

  • @klw7789 Strange... I remember in thomas malory romance, Percival stand by side of Arthur and the final was the same: for three times percival lies, but at last he threw away the sword in the lake. So Percieval ther was!

  • @berngred That was Sir Bedivere the cup-bearer. Percival died in Sarras shortly after the end of the Grail Quest.

  • You bet your ass! Sgtavacado, A dream to some, a nightmare to others.

  • Best movie eva

  • -THEY WONT KNOW HOW FEW WE ARE IN THE FOG!!!

    -damn it craig *facepalm*

  • @Evan7893 We'll use the old ways- SPEED OF HORSE!!!!

  • @verfugbarkite oh oh great arthur let em all know where we are! jeeze knights of the round table...pfff

  • The theme of King Arthur is you can never have a perfect world. Just when you think you've attained it all the usually human weaknesses emerge. Envy, jealousy, greed, those are humans evil side that will always be at war with it's good side.

  • Music when Lancelot is dying is from Wagner's "Parsifal". When Mordred appears, it changes into "Siegfrieds death/funeral" music.

    Although they had to cut and paste the music at times to better fit the scenes, I can't imagine music that would serve a film like this better than Wagner's.

  • "Where are they?"

    ''Listen!'

    'My god! They've got horse mounted stereo systems!"

  • What I don't understand, why King Arthur did not prevent the lance!? He could have hit it with the sword but he decided to die and kill in the process . His son also did not let go and it seemed both accepted the death as their destiny, But why? Had they lost everything to the level that they decided it this way? To " embrace" eachother with death? That's a mystery to me.

  • what i find awesome about this part in the movie is 13 knights take on Mordreds army and win

  • Anyone hear Merlin saying "Throw the Rope" between 0:49 and 0:52?

  • @17Watman Good pick up. Would never have heard it myself. It's from the scene where Arthur fighting Uryens takes Merlin's directions in pulling down the towers with horse power. Not sure why it was put in here though. Maybe just a small hint of Merlin's presence, perhaps?

  • @17Watman Yes! I always remembered that from being a kid watching this a thousand times. That's when I became aware of 'sound editing" I guess...because I KNEW that was repeated from seige of Cameyard. Great call!

  • @LeeT44 Thank you. i was hoping someone else heard it too.

  • this is a class movie and one of my favourites no doubt about it - some class scenes and great quotes like: lauchli la mundi

  • Lancelot cam back. Thus he is redeemed. :Arthur! Arthur!!

  • What happened to Kay? He was there fighting then disappears. I assumed he died but maybe he slipped out while the getting was good

  • I used to think all the screeming, but we live in a land of steriods and audio.

    I give John Boorman EXTREEME! credit for understanding that Sound of VOICE, along with Sound of Horse was key to control, in these times, as death was but a dream!

  • "I blame the king for not stopping the BS when it started! A king does have that power yet, Arthur did not use it!"

  • @MrWINNSLAW Excuse me mate, what is the meaning of BS?

  • @Kriegerdammerung Bullshit ...I think

  • @GentlemanGhost1 I think that that is the best meaning I'd ever found.

  • I am going to show this movie to my kids and I am only 23 now and not planing on any kids lately...Imagine the face of kids in 2025 ( I guess ) with all fancy special effects in that time XD PURE EPIC CLASSIC MOVIE...o yea and great video man XD

  • hm.. great tactics... ride full speed in heaviest armor without making a sound while also being blind... no formation, no plan- but hey - good guys wear silver, bad guys wear black (except for odd Mordred who preferred golden-ish.... and Lancelot, being a slob but), so easy to tell friend and foe apart ; )

  • WATCH the VIDEO on You Tube titled...

    " Immigration and the Moral Right to Save Europe and the West! "

  • Music, actors, story and even the dialogues are quite epic (well, it is not the Iliad, the Pharsalia or the Song of the Nibelungs) but for a movie very brilliant; and one of the very few positive examples of the possibility to create art and tell tales in the modern world, which is given to tedious boredom, dull hyper-criticism and timid selfishness; so more of that and life will become normal again, as it makes a use difference between having Alexander the Great as a role model or Gandhi!

  • dear hollywood,

    if u even so much as THINK about remaking this movie, you already fucked up. its perfect the way it is

  • @oddt0psy They will be fucked up because a remake in 2012 was announced!!!

  • @Kriegerdammerung is it an exact Excalibur remake or another King Arthur story?

  • @RoninDave I heard that is the exact remake of this one, I hope -and fear- they don't screw it up.

  • @Kriegerdammerung I've long lost hope in Hollywood in that regard. Another Arthur film fine if done right but this story is an unique one that doesn't need to be remade

  • @oddt0psy According to RottenTomatoes, a remake is scheduled to be released in December 2012.

  • @oddt0psy depends on who does it. If they got like a genius level director like David Fincher (Se7en, Benjamin Button, Fight Club, Social Network, Zodiac) or Paul Thomas Anderson (There Will be Blood, Magnolia) I'd be down for their take on the material. But if they get some b-grade action director...yea that's fucked

  • whats the name of the song

  • @coycoy75basualdo Is the "Siegfried's Funeral March" made by Richard Wagner, and Siegfried died during the opera "Götterdämmerung".

  • for such strong armor they seem to go down fast xD

  • This is an excellent movie, giving me goosebumps even watching the trailer.

    Please no more "remakes" like King Arthur or First Knight, they could only entertain you (more or less).

    Only Excalibur has epic atmosphere!

  • Greatest Fucking Movie of ALL TIME. Wagner's Music, BEST Fucking Music of All TIME.

  • Best fantasy movie to date

  • at 3:45 I heard firt 'fuck you' instead of 'forgive' XD

  • "You don't undestand Merlin you're not a man. Use the magic!"

  • Tso & Lo!

  • Love the 'feel' of this movie, but the acting and some of the production work was pretty terrible.

    I think it made its mark because it was the first time an attempt was made to pander to the cliche of shining armour and the fantasy Camelot with modern techniques.

    The meadow scenes in Ireland were stunning.

  • "I was 10 yrs. old when I saw this movie when it debuted back in 1981! And it still reigns amongst the best!"

  • This is a timeless movie. I know a lot of the cast has passed on to the next world. But, I sure am glad we will always have this film until our last breath on this planet. Inspiration, reloaded ! - R

  • When I finally get a blu-ray player, this is the first movie i'm getting.

  • This film inspired my imagination, I love the music behind the film, enjoyed how the chacracters were portrayed. Love the mythical side behind the movie

  • I fucking love this movie! If you are drunk u will know where they are from the music LOL.

  • You sir, just saved my ass cause i have an essay due tomorrow and i havent seen the movie. THANK YOU, I would have lost 15 % of my final grade.

  • Only the Brits could come up with such a gutsy, magical and beautiful movie. I love it!

  • Brutal.

  • I've always wondered about this in the scene where aurther turns to face Mordrid he is ready for a fight Then when the scene comes back Aurther is standing with his arms strecthed as if there is a deleted scene where aurther makes a plee for peace with his son? does anyone else know anything about that?

  • What's great about this movie is just how dreamlike it is. The misty camerawork, the sparkling armor, the dialogue, the fog in this scene, the disjointed pacing of the story to go along with the music of Wagner. Excalibur stands apart from any other King Arthur story that I've scene, and it's one of the very best King Arthur stories.

  • No need to diss the females (yes, I am one).Make a film about 'Boudicca'.She gave those Romans a hell of a whipping-with full justification.She knew how to lead men - from the front, setting an example & not playing the "girlie ticket", unlike many of our modern "feminists", especially some of those in positions of authority eg our under-manned (no pun) Police Force which is forced to practice positive discrimination, so the girls can "jump the queue.Crap! Rant over.

  • Boorman's masterpiece

  • This EPIC hack and slash scene still stands the test of time and set the standard for other movies of the same genre in modern times.

  • I love it

    "Where are they?"

    "Listen, you can hear their theme song approaching"

    (Theme Song begins to increase)

    Great movie

  • Why, oh WHY do filmmakers keep trying to remake the King Arthur story when Excalibur is freaking PERFECT?

  • I love the hell out of this movie, so much so that my head just wouldn't even accept a remake of this version, even if it was perfect. One of my favorite movies by far.

  • These soldiers in these battle are dropping like' fly's as if they have no armor? these guys are completely covered from head to toe and one sword strike kills most men?

  • The Quest of The Holy Grail is the original text written by a monk back in the 1200s.

  • BEST KNIGHT MOVIE EVER!!! The final ride into battle after he sipped from the chalice, Merlin laying down the fog, and Sir Lancelot coming in at the end...EPIC!!!

  • EPIC!

    Long live to King Arhtur!

  • Gabriel Byrne, Liam Neeson, Nigel Terry, Patrick Stewart.... Need I say more?

    I've loved this movie since I was about 4 or 5 years old, I can't believe how timeless it is. This was from the days where they knew how to make great cinema. I'd love to get my hands on the rest of the reels, who knows what amazing stuff was left on the cutting room floor.

  • Maybe in the future, there will be another great classic like this one

  • what a anti climactic last fight...

  • great classic movies like this are simply not made anymore

  • This movie has some of the best 1 liners. Even the scene at the end w/ Arthur sailing away w/ the 3-maidens is one of the most memorable scenes. Good Acting has been replaced w/ cheesy teen heart throbs, bitchin action scenes replaced by CGI trash. Down and dirty fighting replaced by gay-ass asian martial arts. Hollywood you dont need to have a fucking love interest in every movie to get chicks to come see it.

  • @DrmrGuy1979 ...if there´s a remake of Excalibur..., yes, they probably will CGI most of it; but in order to reproduce such an intense movie, with such rich symbolism and such a wonderfull performance of such great actors (Merlin, Arthur, Lancelot, Guinieviere, Parcival, Gallahad; and the other main caracters interpreted by Patrick Stewart, Hellen Mirren, Leeam Neeson, etc) they will sure as hell need some seriously good actors/actresses considering that this is a well considered cult movie

  • @rafabarreram Dude there is a remake in production of this movie I think, I shit you not. :/ look on IMDB to confirm but I think they should leave this masterpiece alone.

  • Speed of horse! HAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!

  • Lancelot, Lancelot, Lancelot....what about Perceval, seriously he was the best of the knights, started as a common man living in the woods, didn't f*** anyone's wife and he brought back the grail after everyone else failed and what does he get in return...

  • @Hurqq well if it wasnt for galahad, percivale would have had no chance of bringing back the grail

  • @bbfreak10 Depends on what version of the grail story you're talking about. The earliest version has Percival as the one who finds the grail, Galahad was introduced in later versions of the story.

  • @Hurqq it's symbolic;Parceval, Arthur, Mordred and Lancelot are parts of the same man...

  • @Hurqq Lancelot was the best fighter of them all,... but Perceval was last man standing! not bad for a newbie :D

  • @Hurqq

    Plus he was the one that returned the sword

  • @Hurqq So agree!! And I ROFLMAO when I read the f*** part...

  • @Hurqq Only the man Brave and Pure Of Heart Could only Obtain The Grail "From Percevals Tale"

  • @Hurqq I think it was Galahad who was the most virtous

  • @Hurqq I think it was Galahad who was the most virtuous

  • @Hurqq he got the same thing all people get for doing what's expected of them: the shaft. OK, Percival prolly also got heaven and all that...

  • @Hurqq And after all that he still has the guts to ride into battle outnumbered as they were!

  • @Hurqq "you didnt catch that, "What Percival gets in return ?,Percival pure of heart, who does not give up the quest against all Odds, who discovers the secret of the Grail. As analogy he nearly drowns,sheds the last of his armor IE: "those worldly things he sacrafices in hounor of the quest and discovering the secret of the grail he gains,Enlightenment." and at the end,only he is left standing on the field of Battle. Percival becomes self realized...all the old archetypes are in this movie.

  • @Hurqq he got to out live everyone

  • @Hurqq Well, unlike almost every knights of the Round Table, he was alive in the end.

  • @Hurqq life

  • yah, I'm an idiot, I meant drinks from the grail not grain... :(

  • Where are they? Listen, the theme music draws closer.... One of the most epic scenes(and that term is overused these days) in the movie, which is totally "epic" in its own right besides the best moment when Arthur drinks from the grain and realizes what it takes to be king again and rides out with his knights.

  • YES! No GIANT shoulder pads!

  • @giantrobots1122 Those were actually repainted MAXI-pads.

  • love those fullplate armor king arthur son unique armor

  • Lancealot let him self go....

  • The cast, setting, and acting is unsurpassed. None of the King Arthur movies before or since has even come close. You may see some spectacular special effects in a remake but nothing will seem as real as Boormans masterpiece.

  • oh lancelot. first fucking the kings wife and after all coming too late to the battle. what a man !!!!!!

  • @1967tuncay ....yeah....but he kicked some serious ass when the chips were down.

  • @1967tuncay Lancelot saved them, he didn't need to fight. But he redeemed himself.

  • @whitetrashoutlaw but he fucked kings wife and he ended Arthurs kingdom. so he had to do it to save his good name

  • right at the beginning...

    DARTH VADER?

  • 01:56 . Aurthur got batted for real on the head by his mate on the right. Bet that hurt.

  • love the giant armor in this movie

  • what the hell???? the background music is louder when arthurs knights are in veiw then quieter near mordred-does king athur like have a steareo with im?:D

  • AND THERE WAS MUCH REJOICING

  • @usmctanks1

    "Yayyy..."

  • today's highend CG craps cannot even lick the trail of this superb adaptation.

    While these film show less and are somewhat limited in resources they give space for the imagination, the mind can breath freely. That's how I feel about it. Btw I was 11 when I saw this, and it really defined my vision about epic/fantasy stuff. This is an ethalon.

  • i dont know why hy hit with the wip the have all armor on ????????

  • At 154 Arthur get a real blow to the head. He touches his head with his left hand.

  • you see this guy with the wip  why the have all armor???

  • KAAMELOTT AA

  • I gotta say as good as the movie was overall it kinda bothers me that the writers had most of Arthur's army desert him and that they portray him in a more brutal manner most of the time despite him being a good king and make Guinevere and Lancelot seem more innocent. Also I think Mordred's armor is a bit TOO fantasy-like. He looks like The Lion King stageshow. Overall though it's a fantastic movie. It's certainly better than Boorman's Exorcist 2. One of the best adaptations of the story overall.

  • @balrog13571 How dare you complain about Mordred's armor? It's one of the greatest things in cinematic history.

  • @LightStijn

    No I mean it's still impressive, but I just meant to say I kind of enjoyed some of the other designs of armor alot more. It also just seems a bit too light looking considering he's evil and every other guy in his army looks more dark. Overall they did a good job though with all the costumes and armor.

  • @balrog13571 Yeah, but well... if his armor was black, it would makes us think about Monty Python, right? Besides... the whole "evil darkness"-thing is getting a bit unoriginal.

  • @balrog13571

    Yeha I guess you have a point there.

  • Lancelot is straight raping Mordred's crew!

  • it was after i first saw this movie .............. way back when ....... that i realized something simple. I could die a no one, or die a hero, or at least trying to be. which one is better.? I joined the marines of course 8-)

  • I always imagined Lancelot to look like Kain from FFIV or those lancers in FFT

  • bullshit lancelot was the greatest in men. if he was, he wouldn't have fucked arthurs wife!

  • this song piece as composed by Trevor Jones jsut screams epic battle scene...

  • @LupusDeImmortalis the song is called O Fortuna

  • When Lancelot rides in and saves the day reminds me of the Animated version of Lord of the rings when Theoden is in trouble and Gandalf saves the day. Great scene!

  • The new generation hollywood run by jews cant make movies like this. This is a classic.

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  • jesus Lancelot is like a machine with his blows.

  • Does anybody know the name of this song?!?! EPIC!

  • @LupusDeImmortalis It's called O Fortuna from Carl Orff's Carmina Burana.

  • Now if they made this scene now there would be women fighting, men fighting with asian, kung fu type moves, lame ass repeating crossbows and even gunpowder bombs as current movies have to crank up the douche-meter. This is a great, straight up hack fest with little finesse, as it should be. Everyone is slow due to armor, save Lancelot, and its mass confusion and degrades into a brawl. Perfect scene. Where are the simple battle scenes of old? This movie is excellent.

  • @CanadaMan81 I agree man, Im tired of all the douche movies out now, they go over the top, this movie was real. Hack and slash fighting, with no bullshit flipping or matrix jerking off. I wish they would bring this type of movie back, Im sick of all the transformer, avatar, matrix, even spiderman faggot movies. We need MEN back in Hollywood.

  • @CanadaMan81

    good olde fashion blood guts and stamina

  • @CanadaMan81 You are so very right. Especially the part with some Heroic woman fighting with a sword. We have to pretend history and legend needs to be updated with PC nonsense and as you say so well, that which cranks up the douche-meter.

  • @CanadaMan81 Blame it on Homer. He was the Tolkien of his time.

  • @CanadaMan81 yeah first thing i noticed was how sloppy and realistic the fight looked

  • @CanadaMan81 Man you are WISE beyond youtube with this comment. 

  • Absolutley the best Arthur Movie ever!!

  • This movie is EPIC!!!

  • "SPEED UP HORSE, AAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"

  • @ollieroks I may be wrong, but I think Arthur said "speed OF horse"

  • The ultimate in loyalty. After all that happened lancelot still calls out for his king!

  • There were only 13(counting the one old knight they meet up) going up against Mordreds army.

  • i wish Kain didnt die =( he was a loyal brother

  • @Yank5151 Well,he knew he was gonna. Remember Merlin came to him in his dream the night before and said he would fight bravely? I'm sure he knew what that implied. Still,he did follow Edwards orders and had the archers fire on their own troops against the Scot's in BRAVEHEART so I guess in a way he made up for his death?

  • @Yank5151

    Not to nitpick, but Arthur's foster brother's named Kay.

    And I wish he didn't die as well -- he was a loyal brother.

  • This film almost made an "X" rating because of all the sex, blood and violence.

  • @SamStuart07

    It was (and is) an 18 certificate and you can't get much higher than that!

  • Lancelot comes riding in swinging and missing everything. He's been away from the game for bit of time.

  • tis but a flesh wound.....come back, ye yellow bastard, i'll bite yer head off!!!

  • If anyone has the Nostalgia Critic's e-mail address, tell me please. I think he should check out this movie, it's really good

  • "They wont know how few we are in the fog!" Nice shouting there.

  • best medieval action ive ever seen hands down.

    that random castle seige early on is so awesome

  • I'm with you, bro! The most underrated film for a looooong time. I run into so many people who say they love this movie but the critiques and the box office were not kind to our Mr. Boorman when it was released. It is not conventional for a 1981 film and a lot people did not understand the lore of it all and that Boorman refused to dumb it down to a popcorn flick. Peace.

  • lol @ 0:17 "Where are they..?" "Listen!" (Music plays- stops at 0:24) He's looking around like, *Wheres the music coming from?"

  • LOL! Yeah, I noticed that too!

  • lancelot in beard awesomenes!!!

  • that's not me trying to be a smart-arse or anything, im simply making conversation..................­. i'll leave you alone now (crawls back under his rock embaressed)

  • @shadowwolf88. a well disciplined force of HEAVY infantry and i DO mean heavy, can hold off even a well disciplined force of sometimes even the heaviest cavelry. (but spearmen in deep formation is ALWAYS preferable, after all, horses arn't stupid, they're NOT going to charge headlong into a WALL OF SPIKES LOLOLOL XD) but ONLY if they brace themselves well for impact in front of them. getting horse-cocked is ALWAYS devastating when you're unprepared for it in computor games AND real life!!

  • @h9q2 merlin is a good show , but excalibur is the best adaptation of king arthur. this movie is epic

  • Well I agree, I shouldn't slam it until I really watch it. But that fight scene was terrible. The actors didn't look that good either. I guess I just have a high standard as to what I like to watch. It has to be well acted and well filmed to come even to par with me. But I won't judge it till I watch it. It is probably a classic. So I'll give this one to you.