Excalibur (1981) Limited Edition 4K UHD Review

4 star restoration of an eighties epic saga.

Once again Arrow Video have provided us with a fantastic 4K UHD restoration of a classic film. This time, they have turned their sights to the 1981 epic tale of Arthurian legend, Excalibur.

Written and directed by John Boorman (The General, Hope and Glory), this star studded tale of sword and sorcery is available to own now Limited Edition 4K UHD, courtesy of Arrow Video.

“The Dark Ages. The land was divided and without a King. Out of those lost centuries rose a legend…”

On a battlefield, the wizard Merlin (Nicol Williamson – Spawn, Return to Oz) meddles once more in the affairs of men. He hands Excalibur, The Sword of Power, to the strongest man there, Uther Pendragon (Gabriel Byrne – The Usual Suspects, Stigmata) so that he might declare himself King. The others agree until Uther falls in love with Igrayne (Katrine Boorman – Hope and Glory), wife of the Duke of Cornwall (Corin Redgrave – A Man for All Seasons). This reignites the fighting and in return for their first child, Merlin agrees to help him lie with Igrayne by tricking her. Merlin claims the child and as Uther is dying following an ambush by the Duke’s men, he drives Excalibur into a stone, declaring that only the chosen one who can remove it shall be King.

The stone is quite an attraction, as knights come from all around come to joust for the right to attempt to pull out the sword. Kay (Niall O’Brien – The Legend of 1900) and his squire Arthur (Nigel Terry – The Lion in Winter, Troy) arrive and discover they have no sword. Arthur grabs the nearest one, even though it is embedded in a rock and to everyone’s surprise, his most of all, a new King is declared. Their father Ector (Clive Swift – Keeping Up Appearances (TV Series)) reveals that Arthur was left in his care by Merlin and that his father is Uther.

Now the real trials begin, as we see Arthur fall for the beautiful Guenevere (Cherie Lunghi – The Mission, Frankenstein) and set up the round table, where we meet Gawain (Liam Neeson – Honest Thief, The Ice Road) and the soon to be traitorous Lancelot (Nicholas Clay – Evil Under the Sun, Zulu Dawn). He also has to contend with his sorcerous half sister Morgana (Helen Mirren – The Long Good Friday, Woman in Gold) and eventually her murderous offspring Mordred.

“Rise, father, please. I was your son before I became King. If I am King…”

Excalibur is a fantastic and gloriously enthusiastic telling of one of our most beloved myths, and is an epic in the true sense of the word. Coming in at 141 minutes, it covers the whole myth from start to finish, including the search for the holy grail, through to Arthur’s departure for Avalon.

With an amazing cast, this is every bit as good as you would expect, even with Merlin bringing a delightful school play energy to the whole thing every time he steps on set. This is an excellent conversion, it looks great in 4K and all the action is extra crispy. The sound track is also pretty good.

It is great to see these films restored and preserved for future generations to enjoy. With a fabulous presentation and lots and lots of special features, this one is well worth adding to your collection.

“I saw what I saw. The boy drew the sword. If a boy has been chosen, a boy shall be King.”

Excalibur is available to own now on Limited Edition 4K UHD.

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 141-minute Theatrical Cut
• 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