Disc Reviews
Excalibur 4k Review
And about bloody time too!
Excalibur is one gloriously brave, often nuts, but fairly faithful telling of the Arthurian legend, from before his birth to after his death, Arthur had one heck of a journey, navigating evil, love, friends, betrayal, building a kingdom, marrying his beloved and losing it all in the name of letting slip by the ones set out to wrong him, and simply by not paying attention to where his heart belonged. It’s tragic, but also majestic.
John Boorman brought the legend to life in what is arguably still the best King Arthur story on the big or small screen. The film has style, but it’s the playful kookiness that gives it its own flavour. The film replaced most of the sound in post-production, which makes certain scenes pop harder with the hammer of metal upon metal. The line readings can be a bit hokey at times, but it’s very much part of the charm. The cast features some very popular names like Helen Mirren, Liam Neeson, Patrick Stewart and Gabriel Byrne. But our main leads came in the faces of Nigel Terry, Nicholas Clay, Cherie Lunghi, and a very game Nicol Williamson as Merlin.
It’s ultimately sad to admit that the Arthurian legend has not been done as well as this since. There have been occasional look-ins at parts of the legend that have worked well (David Lowery’s The Green Knight), but to cover the legend as a whole would require a shared cinematic universe. The idea that Guy Ritchie’s King Arthur would perhaps be the one to do this, but it ultimately failed for veering too far from the text into absurdity. Excalibur then remains the true king of Arthur.
The third act does hit the pedal a bit, bringing the film in at a respectable 2 hours and 20 minutes. If this film inspires filmmakers or a studio like HBO to make a respectably in-depth, lengthy version for television, then surely that time would be now, when Fantasy TV and Cinema still have some appeal.
The film is presented on 1.66:1, which is about as close to Pan and Scan as you would dare to want, but Boorman clearly did not want a wide picture; he wanted it tall. The 4K mastering is decent. The film grain is very evident, but the surfaces and the depth of light on sets and in the outdoors look very colourful indeed.
Tons of extras await. Consider this one the absolute jackpot of extras! Arrow Video haven’t really sponged extras from other releases, aside from the marketing materials and the Director’s commentary. Pretty much everything else on here was put together by Arrow, and they have really done themselves proud on this one. A three-disc set, all laden with very meaty and valuable information on the film and the filmmakers.
Disc one comes with three commentary tracks, two of them by John Boorman scholars (which are both in-depth and interesting), and one archive commentary from director Boorman himself, who is very engaging on every aspect of the making of the film.
Disc Two (Blu-ray) is where most of the interview material is: Neil Jordan shows up for an interview, which is enlightening for his fans, for where he got some of his start in the business, but there is also a 48-minute behind-the-scenes work he filmed at the time on set, which is very fascinating and well shot. You see the beginnings of sets, armour, sculptures and the prep for scenes before they are shot.
There are then newly filmed interviews with the production designer (again! A must for a film like this), the second unit director Peter MacDonald (Which lasts for well over an hour, and rightly so MacDonald is one of the best second unit directors known to the craft), the co-writer also gets interviewed as they had a lengthy working relationship on multiple projects, historians and even the director and his son as well.
On Disc Three (Blu-ray): there is a TV cut of the film available along with a 50-minute retrospective, which is where you will find most of the primary cast show up for more of a modern retrospective interview (including Neeson, Stewart, Mirren and Byrne, who all started their careers in cinema back in this era). It’s a very good and informative reflection on the making of the film.
It may only be February, but this is easily the best set Arrow has delivered this year so far and a high standard to match going forward.
Steven Hurst
3-DISC 4K ULTRA HD LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
• Brand new 4K restoration from the original 35mm negative by Arrow Films, presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.66:1 for the first time on home video
• Contains both the 141-minute Theatrical Cut and the 120-minute TV Version of the film
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Reversible sleeve featuring two original artwork options
• Collectors’ perfect-bound booklet containing writing by Charlie Brigden, K.A. Laity, Kimberly Lindbergs, Josh Nelson, Philip Kemp, John Reppion, Icy Sedgwick and Jez Winship
• Double-sided fold-out poster featuring two original artwork options
• Six postcard-sized reproduction art cards
DISC 1 – FEATURE (4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY)
• 4K (2160p) Ultra HD Blu-ray presentation of the 141min Theatrical Cut of the film in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
• Restored original lossless mono and DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio options
• Brand new audio commentary by Brian Hoyle, author of The Cinema of John Boorman
• Brand new audio commentary by filmmaker David Kittredge, director of Boorman and the Devil
• Archive audio commentary by director John Boorman
DISC 2 – EXTRAS (BLU-RAY)
• The Making of Excalibur: Myth into Movie, a never-before-released 48-minute documentary directed by Neil Jordan during the production of Excalibur
• To Be a Knight and Follow a King, a newly filmed interview with director John Boorman and actor Charley Boorman
• When Death Was but a Dream, a newly filmed interview with creative associate Neil Jordan
• The Charm of Making, a newly filmed interview with production designer Anthony Pratt
• Confessions of a Professional “Pain-in-the-ass”, a newly filmed interview with 2nd unit director Peter MacDonald
• Anam Cara, a new featurette on the working friendship of John Boorman and co-writer Rospo Pallenberg, featuring a newly filmed interview with Pallenberg
• Divided Nature, a brand new featurette by film historians Howard S. Berger and Kevin Marr
• Trailers
• Image galleries
DISC 3 – BONUS (LIMITED EDITION EXCLUSIVE BLU-RAY)
• High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation of the 120-minute TV Version of the film, previously unavailable on home video
• Original lossless mono audio
• Excalibur: Behind the Movie, a 50-minute retrospective documentary in which cast and crew look back on the making of the film
Excalibur is out on 4K Blu-Ray February 23rd