is great she doesn't hold anything back. Lovely woman.

And, LOL! reminds me of my mom, only my mom wasn't lucky enough to be an actress. But was that forward!

Probably the least-compromised major figure in movies and theatre.

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Yep, and she doesn't hold back. Reminds me of what mom said about Katherine Hepburn!

in high definition with my daughter for the first time two days ago.

Yes she is lovely.

By the way anybody looking to satisfy their Game of Thrones habit, check Excalibur out. The story races like a rocket with little framing, but it is still great after all these years. Not a CGI image to be had.

I need to get me some Ray Harryhausen this weekend. My daughter is still stoked from binge watching Game of Thrones.

but will try and find Excalibur (will have to get DVD if it's out, no cable here). Haven't seen it yet. THANKS! LOL, now I'll be hounding spousal unit to find it!

goes high order about poorly executed women's roles (Guinevere in this case), but it was all good for her because of Mirren's Morgana. I told her to check out Mists of Avalon sometime for a different perspective.

Thank a higher power for DVD's & CD's!

Magical story telling via great script, sets, acting an costuming, instead of relying on CGI. I'm not a fan of that technology because it inevitably takes away from the acting, and I think it's more of a cover up than an enhancement.

Love Nicol Williamson's Merlin as well. He and Mirren supposedly hated each other, which was why Boorman cast them in those roles. The antipathy they had for each other on-screen is palpable.

She was amazing in her role. It was the first time I saw her in anything.

The acting is a little wooden. But absolutely everything else is astounding. The feel is awfully Gothic for a film supposedly set in the British Isles. But it works. The whole thing works. Including and especially the use of Wagner's music. The sword motif used for Excalibur; the Tristan Und Isolde music for Launcelot and Guinevere.

The entrancing green glow when something supernatural is happening.

The iridescent red sunset at the end set to "Siegfried's Funeral March" suggesting the end of Arthur as well.

The breathtakingly, overwhelmingly green Irish locations.

The heartwarming relationship between Arthur and Merlin. Most previous renditions of the Arthur legend point up the mentor-student relationship. Excalibur shows how much love existed between them, as well. Merlin even states that it was Arthur's love that awoke Merlin from his trance state to help the knights fight Mordred and Morgana.

Okay, now I have to dig out my DVD and watch it again.

And Dame Helen...

John Boorman's Excalibur



She was nominated for Best Supporting Actress, deservably.

It's a great flick, BTW.

We don't get out much........... because we're way out up here. On my list for when I can get to town!

Boorman delivers an iconic Arthurian story. It's a bit twisted plot, but closer to the Malory original than the utterly lame Camelot.

Early performances by many other British and Irish actors including Patrick Stewart and Liam Neeson among others. Nigel Terry as a low key Authur. Nicole Williamson thoroughly chews the scenery as Merlin. Likewise Mirren as Morgan Le Fay (Morgana), Authur's half sister.

The music is incredible, taken from Wagner and Orff.

It is a beautiful, lush, yet gritty film.

Make sure that you get the 140 minute version.

I'll probably go nuts and play it 72 times in a row!

Funny thing yesterday we watched Kong Skull Island from Redbox. I could have sworn a preview was for The Great Wall movie. No, it was for King Arthur - the recent box office flop. It is bad if the trailer is so generic that you can't tell the difference (I wasn't really playing close attention). I could tell that the movie had no heart.

Contrast with Excalibur. Really the only thing to rival it is The Lord of the Rings trilogy since the 1981 releae of Excalibur.

For those who like Game of Thrones you can see precursors of that story in the movie. The action scenes are far more gritty than what came before (knights actually wrestling and looking for the seam in the armor to drive the sword through).

Unlike Game of Thrones you actually have to take your armor off if you go into a body of water or you drown.

And I was immediately hooked.

Two other films of his that are great. One you've likely seen, one likely not.

Deliverance -- Burt Reynolds, Jon Voight, Ronny Cox and Ned Beatty. A true classic! Banjo battle, and down the river they go. A tremendously dark film.

Hope and Glory -- an autobiographical narrative of Boorman's youth during the Blitz in England. One cannot help but smile. Title is a reference to Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance, often sung as "Land of Hope and Glory". Stars Sarah Miles! Nominated for five Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director. A gem of a film.

Apparently Boorman did a sequel to Hope and Glory in 2014 entitled Queen and Country. I have not seen that one.

One of the most beautifully set films, ever.

And Hope and Glory is very high on my list of favorite movies. A BRILLIANT film. I haven't seen Queen and Country, either. I'll have to see if I can find it.

Thanks!

And regarding Hope and Glory, don't forget the "Googly".

It isn't even available, even if I could afford it.

I live in the Manistee National Forest. There is no Cable TV, Internet, city water, natural gas, sewers, or anything like that here. In the winter I heat by fuel oil, delivered by truck, about the same price as diesel fuel, without the road tax, over 500 gallons per winter. My Internet connection is via the cellular network, only recently reliably available here. That access is severely limited by download limits.

But NetFlix gives me access to classic films, for very little money.

She's a great actress. I saw her play Lady Macbeth when I was a child. She was 21 then I think. So beautiful.