Excalibur

Excalibur (1981)

67 mistakes

(3 votes)

Continuity mistake: After killing Uryens, Mordred rides up on his horse and looks over in the direction of Perceval, who's hiding behind a tree. At first his right arm is bent close to his chest, then in the next shot his arm is at his side. (01:48:50)

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Continuity mistake: All the knights have a feast at the round table and Perceval brings a drink to Guinevere. Her hair is about four inches longer in the close-up, extending below the neck line of her dress. (01:08:40)

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Visible crew/equipment: Merlin gives a speech to the men saying, "I was there that night, with Arthur, the king". His staff has a flame coming out of the top and if you look closely as he walks around you can see a tube feeding gas into it from the bottom. (00:56:20)

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Continuity mistake: Cornwall rides out in pursuit of Uther and is impaled as his horse throws him off. The next time we see him a few shots later as Uther makes love to Igrayne the spears protruding from his chest are not in the same spots. (00:13:25 - 00:15:00)

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Continuity mistake: After their fight Lancelot holds the spear right up to Gawain's face as he says, "I yield to your mercy, Lancelot". In the next shot the spear is up in the air well above his body. (01:19:55)

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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.

Continuity mistake: At the entrance to Camelot Lancelot says, "Kay, would you train this lad to be my squire?" and Perceval is standing near the rear of the horse. In the next shot the boy is standing with Kay at the head of the horse. (01:06:20)

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Continuity mistake: Uther walks into Igrayne's chamber and says of Morgana, "She watches me with her father's eyes". At first the baby is holding onto Igrayne with his right hand then in the next shot his right hand is in the air. (00:16:40)

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Continuity mistake: We see Morgana for the first time as she stands in the back of the wedding and turns around to look at Merlin. The order of the guests in front of her does not change but the banners above their heads are entirely different as she approaches Merlin in the next shot. (01:00:45)

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Continuity mistake: At King Arthur and Guinevere's wedding the flowers are several feet to their right. In the close-up of the priest approaching them the flowers are moved in right next to Arthur's arm. (01:00:10)

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Continuity mistake: To his victorious knight's King Arthur proclaims, "The wars are over, one land, one King" and Merlin stands with his staff in a vertical position. In the next shot as fire shoots out of the tip the staff is extended. (00:55:25)

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Continuity mistake: Lancelot says to King Arthur, "I sought only not to harm you" before he dismounts and they fight with swords under a tree. If you look closely at the tree there are no marks on it before they start fighting, King Arthur strikes one blow and as Lancelot pushes him away there are several marks on the bark of the tree. (00:49:30)

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Audio problem: Uther takes the child from Igrayne to give to Merlin as she screams. In the next shot we still hear her screaming but her mouth is closed. (00:19:30)

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Audio problem: Merlin appears and says to Uther, "The child is mine" but his lips actually say, "Your child is mine, Uther". (00:18:10)

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Continuity mistake: At King Arthur and Guinevere's wedding there's a banner with Jesus' face on it behind the alter. When we see Morgana for the first time the right half of the banner is in the sunlight but in the next shot as she turns around the left side is in the sunlight. (01:00:50)

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Continuity mistake: At the party after she dances, Guinevere hands Arthur a cookie that, she says, "will heal you". He holds it in his hand and you can see by the top of the cookie that it rotates in his hand between shots. (00:45:00)

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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.

Arthur: Any man who would be a knight and follow a king... follow me.

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

More questions & answers from Excalibur

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