Hacker Cinema
Excalibur
1981 · Film · 141 min
Directed by John Boorman
Arthur fulfills his fate by bringing together the Knights of the Round Table at Camelot and unifying the country. However, this flawed monarch faces greater tests ahead in pursuit of love, the Holy Grail, and his nation's survival.
3 positive6 neutralfrom 9 commenters
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9 comments on Hacker News
I do definitely watch TV and movies from time to time. Really my beef is with social media. TV and movies as media, that's a wagon I just largely fell off of at some point.
I'll still watch a good movie, for sure. Interstellar, Primer, Coherence, Run Lola Run, The Big Short, Contact, Excalibur... But The Expanse, Project Hail Mary, The Martian... I enjoyed the books more than than the movies, and the movies were good. Still haven't read Contact, shamefully.
You'll have to content yourself with those listed in HN comments.
For the nerds, I'll add the scene from the movie Excalibur when Percival, near the end, throws the Excalibur to the lady of the Lake—with the score playing loudly…
I love Carmina Burana. Do you remember how "O Fortuna" captured the public imagination when the film Excalibur (1981) used it, and then a year later, HBO began showing it nonstop?
I still remember the exact moment in 1981 when my friend Bill planted a seed, wearing a Wagner t-shirt at a party. I knew of Wagner, but as we talked, my interest grew. John Boorman's movie Excalibur came out about that time, too, and cribbed extensively from Wagner.
Later, when Hans-Jurgen Syberberg's...unconventional adaptation of Parsifal hit the local art house, with the set built around a giant copy of Wagner's death mask, I was hooked.
San Francisco Opera's production of Parsifal was my first live opera, followed by an amazing production of Strauss' Elektra, and, finally, The Ring itself.
Bill died of AIDS sometime later. I will always regret not thanking him for the difference he ultimately made in my life, by the simple act of wearing a t-shirt.
...
Please, if you can, search YouTube for "Parsifal prelude." I can't guarantee it'll change your life, but you won't be disappointed.
I always liked the Merlin from the movie Excalibur 1981, played Nicol Williamson.
He seemed both otherworldly, powerful, and yet befuddled by humanity.
For those who wonder, the great music is by Wagner (Siegried's march) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uka8ykFDw2U
This was used with great effect in the movie Excalibur by John Boorman
No, the in the movie Excalibur, Merlin recieves Excalibur from the Lady of the Lake, and he then gives it to Uther Pendragon, who on his death embeds it in the stone, leaving it for Arthur to draw it from the stone.
If I recall correctly the movie Excalibur used the one where they are different. The Sword in the Stone was Uther Pendragon's that he buried in the rock just before dying from battle wounds. Arthur received Excalibur later from the Lady in the Lake as mentioned in other comments.
Admittedly I was young and deeply in love with all things Swords and Sorcery but I really liked that movie.
Wonder what Le Morte d'Arthur has to say about it... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Morte_d%27Arthur
In the film it's referred to as "Excalibur".