Excalibur 4K 1981

I often hear negative reviews from some people about films that are 10, 20, and so on years old. Some of them even foam at the mouth, insisting that a particular film is rubbish, even though in most cases they haven't even seen it. This has always annoyed me and always will! You have to at least watch it before you judge it. And if you don't like it for technical reasons, say there are too few special effects in a film from 1981, for example, then you shouldn't say things like “this is the worst film I've seen on this subject.”

Time passes, cinema changes, technology changes, image quality improves, but this has no bearing on the film itself. Many blockbusters with multi-million dollar budgets fail at the box office. Therefore, ladies and gentlemen, let's be careful with our opinions and not rate a film 1 or 2 and write “what a waste of time.” Like any viewer, I don't like everything, but I try to rate a film based on how I feel and understand it.

Now, let's get closer to Excalibur, based on the novel by Thomas Malory. As I wrote in the title, this film is really worth watching. Before watching it, you need to get into a fairy-tale romantic mood. After all, this is a legend, probably one of the most famous legends of the Middle Ages. Knights, castles, beautiful ladies, magic - all these are attributes of those mythical times in Europe. And in cinema, this needs to be done in such a way that the viewer is completely immersed in that world and forgets about reality. I think the creators have done this perfectly.

The first thing I liked here was the naturalness of the scenery. I really love the views of forests and mountains just as they are. Many films of different genres benefit from this, for example, “The Lord of the Rings” and “Friday the 13th.” Thanks to this approach, the picture looks vivid and rich.

The second thing that pleased me was the script. All the events are interconnected, one flows into another, as required by the legend of the Round Table. It was nice to see all the main characters, each of whom has their own life story. The lives of Arthur, Merlin, Morgana, Lancelot, Guinevere, and Mordred are described in detail. All these characters are connected in a single stream of events. I was pleased with the acting, especially Helen Mirren, who played Morgana (after all, I like negative characters).

The third thing I liked about the film was the battle scenes, which are very, very good for 1981, especially the final battle between the Knights of the Round Table and Mordred's army. Accompanied by mesmerizing music, Arthur's loyal knights ride into battle among blossoming trees—I love this scene. And the director's decision to add fog at the end is a real highlight, making everything look naturalistic. Even if the armor and chain mail don't look very realistic, in this case it doesn't detract from the film.

The fourth thing is the atmosphere of the film itself, the essence of the legend it tells. The replacement of paganism with Christianity in the British Isles. There is plenty of magic and philosophy here. Times are changing, and with them, values and much else are changing. Here, too, the old world is passing away—it is represented by Merlin and Morgana, both of whom have died (the scenes of their deaths are very tragic and professionally shot), which speaks to the inevitability of change. and Mordred's attempt to return to the past also proved unsuccessful. The legend figuratively states that Britain with Arthur is a new country, a Christian one, but paganism took cruel revenge on the new faith - Arthur dies and his body is sent to the island of Avalon. After that, Avalon disappears forever from the life of Christian Britain, keeping the greatest of kings on its soil.

Excalibur is an excellent film, I recommend everyone to watch it!