any fans of Excalibur?

[burythehatchet]

What a great soundtrack. And Liam Neeson's film debut

[The Great Escape]

1. I Still Remember The Incantation To Summon The Dragons Breath!

I've often wondered if I did that at a Holiness Church if they would think I was speaking in tongues!

[rbnyc]

17. Ah, the Charm of Making.

I can say it, but I sure can't spell it.

;-)

[Kool Kitty]

2. I love this film.

[stopbush]

3. The soundtrack is all Wagner and a bit of Orff's Carmina burana.

It's amazing that someone else got a credit for "composing" a soundtrack for that thing.

[Supply Side Jesus]

4. Borman kicks ass...

Best Arthurian film ever made. Make me want to read Le Morte de Arthur....or whatever that book is called.

Favorite character: Percival. Loyalty at its best.

[KT2000]

5. Zardoz?

Liked that one too!

[jdonaldball]

6. "What is the best quality in a Knight?"

Merlin answered: "Truth! Yes, it must be truth! When a man lies, he murders some part of the world."
"Excalibur" was worthy of Wolfrom von Eschenbach's "Parzifal"

[Lorien]

7. That movie totally lost me

when Uther fathers a child while wearing full plate armour. Geez-have you ever worn a full suit of authentically made plate armor? I wore one as Joan of Arc once. Could barely sit down in the stuff-and it weighed nearly as much as I did! (plus, there was chain mail underneath. Ugh.)

I think I even liked the made for TV "Merlin" film with Sam Neil better. I heard that the Jerry Bruckheimmer version is dreadful, though (one reviewer said "it's authentic in a theme park, dinner theater kind of way") so I haven't seen it. I can't imagine that it's worse than the one with Sean Connery, though!

Did Neeson play Arthur in Excalibur? I didn't know that was him (haven't seen the film since it came out).

[regnaD kciN]

11. I was disappointed, too...

...it got the production design right, in sort of a "Heavy Metal" fantasy way, but it was otherwise just a mishmash of various Arthurian legends squeezed into the running time that would have sufficed for one or two, and with almost nothing below the surface. Monty Python and the Holy Grail had more depth, for heaven's sake! (BTW, have you heard that Eric Idle is turning MPatHG into a Broadway musical? Tentative title: Spamalot. ;-) )

[Lorien]

31. "Spamalot" LOL!

"Let's not visit Spamalot-it's a silly place". :P

[LeighAnn]

8. I've got a dirty Excalibur joke...

Can we post dirty jokes on this board?

[burythehatchet]

12. only if you can offend a significant number of people

otherwise its not funny.

:)

[LeighAnn]

30. I doubt it, but here goes

When King Arthur went off to battle, he strategically put razor blades inside Guinivere's twat so that if anyone tried to take her like that, they'd get their thing cut off.

So when he got back, he summoned the Knights of the Round Table and told them all to drop their draws.

He immediately looked over to Lancelot, and, relieved to see that Sir Lancelot remained intact, put his arm around him and said, "I knew I could trust you!"

To which Sir Lancelot said, "GRRRRMMMMRRMMNNNLLLLLLMMMRRRRRRLLLLMMMMMNNN!"

[burythehatchet]

34. SHAME on you.

that's funny.

:)

[Union Thug]

9. One of my faves.. BUT who did Neeson play???

Nigel Terry played Arthur.

Nicol Williamson was the best merlin EVER!

"So, you need me now that my truce is wrecked! Years to build and moments to ruin..."

[The Great Escape]

10. Neeson Played Gawain

[supernova]

13. Didn't know that was Neeson

when I watched it way back when. I remember loving it in a very brutal sort of way.

Hmmm. I'm going to have to watch Excalibur again.

[burythehatchet]

18. Its an easy movie to watch again. I just love Carmina Burana

Seen the opera three times.

[Blue-Jay]

23. Its not an opera.

Rather, it's a collection of poems, songs, and short plays found in Benediktbeuern, a Benedictine abbey about 100 km south of Munich, in 1803.

Some of the pieces are rather bawdy, considering the time it was written.

Partial translation from Primo Vere:

Lying in Flora's lap
Phoebus once more
smiles, now covered
in many-coloured flowers,
Zephyr breathes nectar-scented breezes.
Let us rush to compete for love's prize. Ah!

[Blue-Jay]

26. More:

Shopkeeper, give me colour
to make my cheeks red,
so that I can make the young men
love me, against their will.
Look at me, young men!
Let me please you!

Good men, love women worthy of love!
Love ennobles your spirit and gives you honour.
Look at me, young men!
Let me please you!


Hot stuff!

EDIT: Even HOTTER! From Si puer cum puellula

If a boy with a girl
tarries in a little room,
happy is their coupling.
Love rises up,
and between them
prudery is driven away,
an ineffable game begins
in their limbs, arms and lips.


Yes, I'm officially threadjacking.

[supernova]

27. You're making me hot!

:D

[burythehatchet]

28. its just a semi-jack

because the music from the film is what gives it its haunting quality....that and horses riding on clouds...so the more we learn about it the better.

:toast:

[Lorien]

32. I thought Orff

wrote it as a series of exercises for music students. At least that's what I seem to recall a music director telling the audience last time I saw it performed. :shrug:

[EstimatedProphet]

14. YES!!!

One of my favorite movies of all times!
What a cast! Liam Neesom, Gabriel Byrne, Patrick Stewart, Nicol Williamson, Helen Mirren ALL IN SUPPORTING ROLES!

[Blue-Jay]

15. Best use of Carmina Burana EVER! - n/t

[rbnyc]

16. LOVE it!

One of my top 10 favorite movies of all time. I used to have it memorized. I've seen it almost 100 times.

[burythehatchet]

19. Annul Nathrak .....something something....heh heh

[rbnyc]

20. Forgive the spelling...

...Ahnal Nothrok Uth Vas Bethud Nohiell Dienvey.

;-)

EDIT: I managed to get in a typo in a post where I know every word is spelled wrong.

:shrug:

[burythehatchet]

21. Merlin rules!

I would love to get a script with just his lines.

[rbnyc]

22. Googled it:

In Old Irish
Anál nathrach, orth' bháis's bethad, do chél dénmha

In Modern Irish:
Anáil nathrach, ortha bháis is beatha, do chéal déanaimh

In English:
Serpent's breath, charm of death and life, thy omen of making.

anál nathrach = breath of serpent
orth' bháis 's bethad = spell of death and of life
do chél dénmha = thy omen of making

anál fem. -á stem 'breath, breathing'
nathair fem. -k stem 'snake, serpent' g. sg. nathrach
ortha fem. -n stem 'prayer; incantation, spell', from Latin oratio
bás mas. -o stem 'death' g. sg. báis
ocus conj. 'and' here shortened to 's
betha mas. -t stem 'life' g.sg. bethad
do prn. 'thy' Usually unstressed
cél mas. -u stem 'omen, augury, portent'
dénumh mas. -m stem 'making, doing.' g.sg. dénmha

[burythehatchet]

24. cool.

If the entire bush administation mysteriously turns into pig shit tonight, you'll know what I was doing.

[rbnyc]

29. LMAO!

I'll help!

[Blue-Jay]

25. That's very cool googling, rbnyc!

I always wondered if it was just mumbo-jumbo. I guess not.

[Snoggera]

33. I love that movie

and haven't yet read the responses, though I will, but had to say:

That was one of the best movies ever made.

yep.

[Ramsey]

35. Big Arthurian fan here!

Excalibur is by far the best movie version of the Arthurian legend. Excellent cast, very mystical in its cinematography and costuming, it really captured the legend of Arthur. Brilliant use of Wagner for the soundtrack.

I've read innumerable book versions of the story, and am actually intrigued by the tellings that focus on Arthur as a military commander rather than legendary king, such as Bernard Cornwell's trilogy. I understand the current movie version takes this tack.