Excalibur

Excalibur (1981)

Timing: 2:21 (141 min)

6.9/10
1135

6.92/10
2882

7.3/10
65800

All about film

Video 28

Photo 110

Actors and characters

Release date

1981-04-10

Country

United Kingdom, United States

Production

Warner Bros. Pictures, Cinema 84, Orion Pictures

Genre

Adventure, Fantasy

Budget

$11 000 000

Revenue

$35 000 000

Website

Director

John Boorman

Actors

Nigel Terry, Nicol Williamson, Helen Mirren, Nicholas Clay, Paul Geoffrey, Cherie Lunghi, Robert Addie, Gabriel Byrne, Keith Buckley, Katrine Boorman
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Producer

John Boorman, Robert A. Eisenstein, Edgar F. Gross

Operator

Alex Thomson

Composer

Trevor Jones

Artist

Audition

Mary Selway

Editing

Donn Cambern, John Merritt
All team (33)

• Helen Mirren and Nicol Williamson (1936-2011) initially refused to work with each other. They had quarreled during a previous joint project and had not spoken to each other since. Director, screenwriter, and producer John Burman decided that their mutual animosity was exactly what he needed. According to the actress, it all ended with her and Williamson becoming good friends.
• The opening battle scene was filmed three times. It was shot at night, and after the first two takes, the film turned out to be underexposed. This caused the cinematographer to have a nervous breakdown and he resigned.
• Before the final battle, the Knights of the Round Table set up camp on a hill around a structure resembling Stonehenge. At that moment, some people appeared on the hill. It turned out they were tourists from the USA who were just passing by, saw something interesting at the top of the hill, and decided to take a look, unaware that filming was taking place.
• Morgana's breastplate is kept at the home of John Burman. He bequeathed the souvenir to Helen Mirren after his death.
• According to Gabriel Byrne, the intimate scene with Catherine Burman (the director's daughter) was filmed separately.
• Initially, John Burman intended to film a movie based on 'The Lord of the Rings,' but he was unable to acquire the rights and instead filmed 'Excalibur.'
• The original version of the film lasted over 3 hours. Among the many subsequently lost scenes (some footage from which remained in the film's trailer) was a scene of Lancelot, played by Nicholas Clay (1946-2000), rescuing Guinevere, played by Sherry Longhi.
• John Burmen wanted the audience to focus on the plot, not the movie stars, so he cast relatively unknown performers. At that time, only Nicol Williamson was more or less familiar to the American public.
• All the armor shown in the film was made of aluminum, crafted by British armorer Terry English. He also played a cameo role as a blacksmith in the knightly tournament scenes. He is the one looking at Arthur, played by Nigel Terry (1945-2015), as the future king chases a thief and stops, considering whether to take a sword from the armorers' tent.
• In a significant portion of the forest scenes and when displaying the sword (Excalibur), lights with green filters were used in the background, making everything look magical.
• The flowers on the ground in the forest and the apple blossoms on the trees are natural. The forest was cordoned off during filming, and public access was prohibited.
• The armor was given its shine with reflectors, but there were constant problems with the cameras. After every rain, the armor had to be wiped dry so that it wouldn’t ‘glare’.
• The nighttime scene in the forest with Merlin and young Arthur was filmed in a pavilion, where it was easier to manage the animals involved in the scene.
• Guinevere's wedding dress was sewn by hand, and hundreds of beads were used for its decoration.
• Camelot is shown in the film from a distance; it is a model, the reflection of which was filmed with a camera in a mirror.
• The cinematographer kept the camera running for several days, waiting for an opportunity to film a shot of crows pecking out the eye of a fallen knight. Instead of a knight, the crows pecked out the eyes of a sheep.