Excalibur

Excalibur (1981)

67 mistakes - chronological order

(3 votes)

Visible crew/equipment: After Arthur drinks from the Grail and goes to visit Gwinevere at the convent and she gives him the sword back, he paces around her chamber- you can clearly see the film crew reflected in his armor.

Audio problem: When Uther takes the baby from Igrayne and gives it to Merlin, Igrayne's screaming and whimpering is not consistent with her mouth movements.

Other mistake: When Arthur and all his knights assemble on hilltop at night and Merlin tells them all not to forget where the Round Table started, you can see the crew's spotlights reflected on the back of some of the knights' armour.

Continuity mistake: When Arthur is dying after killing Mordred, he drops to his knees with the spear still through him. When Sir Percivle is next to him getting his last instructions, the spear is gone.

Audio problem: In the scene where Arthur meets Lancelot for the first time on the bridge, a car can be heard just after he crosses to Lancelot's side of the bridge.

Other mistake: At the siege of Leondegrance's castle, when they show the knights on top of the siege tower moving to the wall, one knight in particular puts a cigarette in his mouth through the breathing slit in his helmet before crossing onto the wall.

Revealing mistake: In the scene where Sir Percival is attacked by the peasants, the green floodlights that were used by the crew to enhance the colour of the foliage are reflected in the actor's armour and the blonde hair of a peasant girl.

Arthur: Thanks be to God you're alive.
Lancelot: I, the best Knight in the world bested! This is a great day! For my search is over, my King. Make me your champion.
Arthur: But your life and lands are far from here.
Lancelot: I gave up my castle and my lands. This is my domain. Within this metal skin. And I pledge all that I still own. Muscle, bone, blood and the heart that pumps it.
Arthur: And a great heart it is. Sir Lancelot, you will be my champion.

More quotes from Excalibur

Trivia: Producer/screenwriter/director John Boorman deliberately chose renowned stage actors Nicol Williamson and Helen Mirren to play the sorcerer Merlin and the sorceress Morgana, knowing very well that Williamson and Mirren hated each other in real life (because of a disastrous stage production of Macbeth they worked on, years earlier). Boorman anticipated real friction, tension and anger between the two actors, which was the effect he wanted onscreen. On the contrary, the experience of working together in "Excalibur" completely changed Nicol Williamson and Helen Mirren into the best of friends.

Charles Austin Miller

More trivia for Excalibur

Question: At the very end, Arthur's body is being carried away on a barge, with three women standing above him. Are those three women the fates?

Answer: They were the Goddesses of Avalon. A group of women who each have a specific magical power. They were the makers of Excalibur, healed King Arthur's wounds from his first battle and took him to his final resting place, readying him for the day he would be needed again.

Most Arthurian myths attribute elves as making "Excalibur", and also "Clarent," King Arthur's other magical sword.

raywest

Answer: Or possibly they were attendants of Arthur, who would set the ship on fire, then have the option to die with their king, or to try to swim to shore. The Vikings did stuff like that. Why not imagine that the Brits did too?

Answer: Not the fates, but enchantress fairies. The Lady of Lake, who took back Excalibur at the end, was such a fairy.

raywest

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