Excalibur - fantasy movie log II

I watched this movie sometime last week. last week just kind of blurred together lol. 

rating: ✮✮✮✮½☆

Spoilers ahead!!

This was a SOLID movie. A surrealistic, comprehensive, mystical retelling of one of the oldest stories. It was long, possibly a little slow at some points, but there was mostly always action and something interesting happening. I enjoyed this movie the entire way through. a very classic story of man's hubris, greed, and selfishness. Merlin is such a great character in this. he is basically an asexual genderless being who is constantly confused by the lust of man. he keeps giving all these kings and queens and knights great wealth and power and love and they find a way to destroy it somehow- just over their own emotions! 

Arthur is a deeply flawed but lovable character. he came from simple beginnings, and despite his many mistakes, he ends up being an incredibly forgiving and gracious king and person by the end of the movie. I loved that we got to watch the entirety of his life. 

this movie had some crazy visuals. the "dragons" are sort of symbolic and you never really see them. Sir Perceval stumbles through a mind-melting labyrinth of suffocating trees and golden castles and utter despair. Merlin takes Morgana to a visual representation of clairvoyance and omnipresence. 

there were some really fantastic specific scenes. when Arthur finds his wife Guinevere and best friend Sir Lancelot lying naked together in the woods, and you think he is going to slay them, but instead he impales his sword between them, giving up his most powerful and prized possession in his despair, not condemning them or punishing them but rather giving up on himself, as though he sees the infidelity as his own failing. or when Arthur breaks the sword Excalibur and feels so guilty that The Lady of The Lake fixes it for him. these scenes showed how Arthur never blamed anyone else, he always carried the weight of the world on his shoulders and was incredibly noble. 

the scene at the very end of the movie when Perceval throws Excalibur in the ocean as Arthur's last dying wish, and The Lady of The Lake holds it up above the water triumphantly, as if she initially fixed the sword because she knew exactly this would happen, and she is proud of how the sword has been used. I thought that was a very visually powerful scene. 

this movie is also visually stunning! the woods and castles and surreal labyrinths are absolutely beautiful. there are many scenes with a sparkling or foggy affect that really helps to create a fantastical fairy-tale atmosphere. 

I don't really have any critiques for this movie. everything about it was solid and it did everything it sought out to do. many say that this is the pinnacle dark fantasy movie and I would have to agree. kings, knights, swords, wizards, magic, fighting, romance, drama, tragedy, comedy- it really has everything.