"
Forged by a god. Foretold by a wizard.
Found by a king."
The myth of
King Arthur brought once again to the screen.
Uthur Pendragon is given the mystical sword
Excalibur by the wizard
Merlin. At his death Uthur buries the sword into a stone, and the next man that can pull it out will be
King of England.
Years later
Arthur, Uthur's bastard son draws Excalibur and becomes king. Guided by Merlin, Arthur marries Guenivere and gathers the
Knights of the Round Table. Arthur's evil half-sister Morgana sires a son with him, who may prove his downfall.
Starring Nigel Terry,
Nicol Williamson,
Helen Mirren,
Nicholas Clay,
Cherie Lunghi,
Paul Geoffery,
Robert Addie,
Gabriel Bryne,
Patrick Stewart, and
Liam Neeson.
Directed by
John Boorman.
Trivia
The initial fight scene in the movie had to be filmed three times. It was filmed at night and the first two times, all the film came out underexposed due to a fault in the exposure meter. The cameraman had a nervous breakdown over the issue and quit.
Max von Sydow was originally cast as Merlin.
John Boorman was originally aiming at making a movie based on "
The Lord of the Rings". However, he did not acquire the rights, and decided to make this movie instead.
The love scene between
Guinevere and
Lancelot was full of mosquitoes, causing even more discomfort.
When Morgana gives birth, Helen Mirren's head is up through a
hole in the table while a real pregnant woman lies on the table with her head covered.
The cameraman waited with a camera running for days for the shot of a crow eating an eye. They had to wait for the crow to really eat the sheep's eye.
The red sun at the end was created with reflective disc with a lamp shining on it through a mirror. It was then superimposed.
The
Camelot sets were usually bigger than the stage itself.
Walls had to be cut out to accommodate it.
Morgana's breastplate is in director John Boorman's home. In his will it will be given to Helen Mirren.
The corridors of Camelot were extended by the use of a matte painting.
The black smoke in Arthur's first siege on a castle was created by burning tires. It left black flakes on a nearby town.
Reflectors were used to give the armor its glow, and they kept having a problem with camera reflections. Every time it rained the armor had to be rubbed down so it wouldn't leave a residue.
Guenevere's wedding dress was hand made from hundreds of beads.
Young brides requested the dress to no avail.
Baby Arthur grabbing a hold of Igrayne's hair was a coincidence.
Before the final battle, Arthur's knights are camped around a "
Stonehenge" like formation on a hill. The rocks were fake and part of the set.
According to John Boorman, some
American tourists were driving by down below and saw the formation.
Thinking they were real, the tourists hiked up the hill, and Boorman had to explain to them that they were not real but part of a movie set.
Helen Mirren and Nicol Williamson were initially reluctant to work with each other, as they had both been in a disastrous production of "
Macbeth" and were not on speaking terms.
The
Irish extras fighting each other did not want to stop after director John Boorman yelled cut-"to settle old scores," says Boorman.
It rained every single day of the shoot, causing most of the movie to be shot in dull light. The constant rain also added to the lushness of the foliage.
United Artists told John Boorman that he could cast anyone as Merlin except Nicol Williamson.
Some of the crew agreed that
Gabriel Byrne's
Irish accent made "One night with Igrayne" sound like "One night with your granny".
The trial by combat set in the woods was originally to be the set for the Rivendel counsel chamber in John Boorman's version of "
Lord of the Rings", which failed to get made.
The hand that holds Excalibur belongs to director John Boorman's daughter
Telsche Boorman, lying under water.
Igrayne,
The Lady of the Lake, and young Mordred were all played by director John Boorman's real-life children:
Katrine Boorman, Telsche Boorman and
Charley Boorman.
- published: 02 Apr 2013
- views: 2364