Hollywood Avalon, ep. 20 - Excalibur (1981)

Mary Versus the Movies

Here it is, John Boorman's epic retelling of King Arthur's conception, Camelot, the Holy Grail, and his final betrayal by his own son. It's mostly Thomas Malory's 15th century romance Le Morte Darthur, mashed up with bits of Jessie Weston's 1920 book, the Grail study "From Ritual to Romance" and with a heavy dollop of 1960s Neopaganism. It has plenty of sex, violence, swords, and sorcery to grab the attention of any young teen watching HBO in the 1980s, and enough Before They Were Stars for the rest of us.

Starring Nigel Terry, Helen Mirren, Nichol Williamson, Nicholas Clay, Cherie Lunghi, Gabriel Byrne, Patrick Stewart, Paul Geoffrey, Robert Addie, and Liam Neeson. Written and directed by John Boorman.

This is a preview of the latest episode of our series Hollywood Avalon. To hear the entire episode, join the Mary Versus the Movies patreon for $3/month to hear this and the entire series Hollywood Avalon: https://www.patreon.com/maryvsmovies.