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Questions for Discussions: 1. What is the most interesting aspect of Boorman's adaptation(differences from the original story of Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur)? Wiki enumerates its differences from the original as converging Malory and Chretian de Troyes. -Arthur is presented as the "Wounded King" whose realm becomes wasteland to be reborn thanks to the Grail, and may be compared to the Fisher(or Sinner) King, whose land also became a wasteland, and was also healed by Perceval. -The sword between the sleeping lovers' bodies comes from the tales of Tristan and Iseult -the knight who returns Excalibur to the water is Perceval not Bedivere -Morgause and Morgan Le Fay are merged into one character Morgana. -the knight who recovers the Holy Grail is Perceval, not Galahad, the illegitimate son of Lancelot and Elaine of Carbonek. -the idea of Uther using Excalibur before Arthur, Merlin's 'Charm of Making', the concept of 'the dragon' are newly introduced. 2. How would you make sense of it as a consistent story? Roger Ebert, for example, says, "The people in this film seem doomed to their behavior. They have no choice. Arthur is courageous as a youth, but then presides over the disintegration of the Round Table, for no apparent reason. The brave and pure Lancelot, accused of being Guenevere's lover, engages in a deadly joust to defend her honor. Not much later, however, they make love. Merlin is a great and powerful magician, but allows Morgana to outwit him; he seems to decide from moment to moment whether to possess vast powers or none." (from "Excalibur" retrieved on 17 July 2014 Chicago Sun-Times) 3. What is the morality of the story? Vincent Canby, for example, says,"There is also a lot of talk about pride and sin, and especially about truth, but when Perceval finds truth, truth is, as he tells Arthur, that ''you and the land are one.'' When I hear statements like this, my ears clog up and my eyes glaze over."(from "Boorman's 'Excalibur'" 10 April 1981, The New York Times)
Another commentator, on the other hand, says, that "Excalibur is a cautionary tale, rather than a simplistic retelling of an age “of old when Knights were bold” etc. The characters are all struggling to find their place in the world, to maintain harmony with nature. Merlin says poignantly of Excalibur to Arthur, ” It was forged when the world was young, and bird and beast and flower were one with man, and death was but a dream.” The film is a longing for a golden age, and the struggle to balance the warring natures of honour and goodness with human greed and jealousy." (Cinetropolis, http://cinetropolis.net/excalibur-john-boormans-once-and-future-movie-myth/) 4. What would you see the film from a feminist point of view? Alfred Collins claims that "In the depiction of this matriarchal attitude, Boorman's preference for the masculine and the patriarchal is apparent. For many contemporary viewers, this attitude can only appear sexist, and the fine defense of masculine feeling that is offered here may not be appreciated...But for those who can accept the validity of such a masculine attempt to achieve consciousness, the story of Arthur's struggle to make his kingship prevail is exceptionally moving." (from pp.58-59 The San Francisco Jung Institute Library Journal, vol.2, No, 3[Spring 1981]) 5. To what extent is this story inspired by a Christian Faith? Boorman remarked to a journalist during filming. The Christian symbolism revolves around the Grail, perhaps most strongly in the baptismal imagery of Perceval finally achieving the Grail quest. "That's what my story is about: the coming of Christian man and the disappearance of the old religions which are represented by Merlin."
 
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