"You picked the wrong sword, bub!"
Bryan Singer developing a remake of Excalibur
- Thread starter Out Of My Vulcan Mind
- Start date
"You picked the wrong sword, bub!"
There are certain films that just shouldn't be remade because the original is well done and able to stand the test of time; and Excalibur is one of them. No one can top Nicol Williamson's performance as Merlin (imo).
I hope this remake dies on the vine.
^Patrick Stewart can be Merlin, he had a small role in the original.
Followed by a solo movie for Arthur
Arthur Knights of the Round table : Origins
Followed by a solo movie for Arthur
Arthur Knights of the Round table : Origins
Yeah, but Carmina Burina is used so effectively with that one scene, The grail is found, the land is regaining it's vitality, and a restored Arthur is leading his Knights into battle once more.
Sheer movie magic, I tell ya.
unfortunately O' Fortuna (the piece from Carmina Burana) has now become one of the most abused pieces of music going around.
In all things astronautical, I think Richard Strauss's Also Sprach Zarathustra must drive people like Neil Armstrong absolutely potty.
The Merlin trilogy is the best treatment of the King Arthur story that I have ever read. I would love for someone to try and adapt that material.
It gave the characters such depth and development. The villians had purpose. There was not a one-dimensional mustache twirler in the lot.
I thought Excalibur was an abomination. Of course, I blind bought it back in the day. I got halfway through and ripped it out of the machine. I ended up giving my copy away to a friend that loved its visual aspects.
It gave the characters such depth and development. The villians had purpose. There was not a one-dimensional mustache twirler in the lot.
I thought Excalibur was an abomination. Of course, I blind bought it back in the day. I got halfway through and ripped it out of the machine. I ended up giving my copy away to a friend that loved its visual aspects.
I'm not a fan of remakes, but I really need to see a properly done Ringsified Arthur or Camelot style picture. I don't mean using all the fantasy gimmicks ala Potter, LOTR, and whatnot like the dreadful in the Name of the King, but just a complete Arthurian tale on the scale and complete stature of Rings. I'm mean, look at the dream cast you could come up with for the Knights of the Round table! The tread seems to be towards television. I like Merlin, but it is playing for the youth and magic audience. There's Legends of the Seeker, too, and them HBO's mature pilot for Game of Thrones. Instead of bad redone fantasy, it has to be something unique that stands out.
The problem of a less fantasy-gimmick approach is that it is hard or impossible to separate the Arturian legends from their fantastical elements.
There really was no Arthur as we imagine him. No round table. No Camelot. No knights. And if Arthur was inspired by a real king, he and his world would have been so much more different than the myths and stories surrounding the Arthur persona.
There really was no Arthur as we imagine him. No round table. No Camelot. No knights. And if Arthur was inspired by a real king, he and his world would have been so much more different than the myths and stories surrounding the Arthur persona.
I replied to a post of yours in the Merlin thread, before I read this post.
I've always loved the Mary Stewart books about Merlin, and I can't understand why no one's ever adapted them for movies or miniseries. Merlin is a fascinating character, in many ways much more intriguing than Arthur. Plus, I love the historical "twilight of Roman Britain" setting of the Stewart books. The medieval cliches filmmakers usually drag out for their Arthur stories are just too yawn inducing.
My favorite parts of Excalibur were mostly centered around Nicole Williamson's and Helen Mirren's dueling spells - my, but their Latin incantations sounded marvelous to the ear.
My wife the dollhouse-maker loved Excalibur so much she whipped up a couple of Morgana and Merlin dolls and made them their own shadow-box rooms:
http://www.inpayne.com/dollhouse/room018.html
http://www.inpayne.com/dollhouse/room019.html
http://www.inpayne.com/dollhouse/room018.html
http://www.inpayne.com/dollhouse/room019.html
70s and 80s actually
Famous for her Merlin saying about making fire (presumably by magic) "so easy a woman could do it". That's mighty fine writin' there.
I had not read those books until last year. A friend kept raving about how glorious they were and I took the plunge. They are beautifully written. Haunting would be a good descriptive. The best treatment of the Arthurian Legend that I have read.
When Disney went hog-wild for direct-to-video sequels to a bunch of their animated films, I wondered why they didn't do sequels to Sword in the Stone. There's four more books already written. Or, they could have gone off on their own tangents.
But then I thought about it. Could you really imagine Guinevere as one of the Disney Princesses? No, I can't, either.
I don't even remember that quote. Is that where Geico got its inspiration?
Here's an idea: take the Chivalry theme of the Camelot legend seriously and to hell with whether modern audiences can "relate." The one thing that sets my teeth on edge is when modern sensibilities worm their way into Arthurian adaptations, mainly because it seems so lazy. I'd like to see the opposite approach, emphasizing how non-modern they are.
Maybe that's why I'm opposed to the fantasy aspect of Arthurian legend. It's too geared to modern tastes.
What I liked about them was the restraint. No stupid dragons, no magic, really, depending on how you want to interpret things. Everything that happens in them could be entirely within the confines of the real world.
If you want real, again I suggest Cornwell.
I don't even remember that quote. Is that where Geico got its inspiration?
Here's an idea: take the Chivalry theme of the Camelot legend seriously and to hell with whether modern audiences can "relate." The one thing that sets my teeth on edge is when modern sensibilities worm their way into Arthurian adaptations, mainly because it seems so lazy. I'd like to see the opposite approach, emphasizing how non-modern they are.
Maybe that's why I'm opposed to the fantasy aspect of Arthurian legend. It's too geared to modern tastes.
What I liked about them was the restraint. No stupid dragons, no magic, really, depending on how you want to interpret things. Everything that happens in them could be entirely within the confines of the real world.
Bump! Sorry for the thread necrophilia, but just thought I'd revive this to point out that this movie ain't gonna happen
http://www.chud.com/70770/singer-rides-out-of-camelot-frees-up-time-to-board-battlestar-galactica/
http://www.chud.com/70770/singer-rides-out-of-camelot-frees-up-time-to-board-battlestar-galactica/
I thought he was taking on too many projects at one time. There are already a couple of King Arthur projects in development right now anyway.
