Excalibur 4K (1981)

 

“Impressive, Definitive, Essential”

John Boorman’s unique, stunning retelling of the story of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table is getting a 4K restoration release as part of a three disc set from Arrow Films.

There’s nothing quite like EXCALIBUR, a film that took a markedly different approach to the King Arthur movies that both preceded and followed it, emphasising the mythic aspects and deliberately setting it ‘out of time’ (to use Boorman’s words) rather than giving it a traditional medieval setting. The film boasts a glorious, otherworldly look (thanks to both Boorman and DP Alex Thomson) and has a cast that does the subject matter justice, playing up the dramatic while never descending into pulp parody. 

It’s by no means a perfect film. At 140 minutes it’s a bit too long and it does have a tendency to be a bit overly pompous at times (two things that spoiled its chances at the box office in 1981), but considering this is essentially the unique vision of one man, John Boorman can be forgiven for not getting it exactly right, and for not catering to the mainstream too much.

So what’s on Arrow’s set? Disc One has the film in 4K and in the correct aspect ratio of 1.66:1. Of course, being clearer means you can see the grain a lot more so some may wish to hang onto their Blu-ray copies for nostalgia’s sake. We get the previously released archival commentary from the director, plus two new ones. The first is from Brian Hoyle, author of The Cinema of John Boorman, and he very sensibly does his best not to repeat what the director says on his own commentary. Second is film-maker David Kittredge who at the time of recording was completing his documentary Boorman and the Devil and who talks more about how the film fits into Boorman’s oeuvre as a whole. 

Disc Two is a veritable treasure trove of excellent extras, starting with Neil Jordan’s 48 minute 1981 Making Of which has only been rarely seen previously. Boorman himself takes us through the film-making process and there are interviews with stars Nicol Williamson, Cherie Lunghi, Nicholas Clay, Paul Geoffrey and Helen Mirren, as well as DP Alex Thomson, choreographer Anthony Van Laast and armorer Terry English.

New extras include interviews with John Boorman and his son Charley (28 minutes), Neil Jordan (25 minutes), and art director Anthony Pratt (26 minutes). Howard S Berger provides us with a massive, career-encompassing interview with second unit director Peter MacDonald (75 minutes) and returns with his Flying Maciste brother Kevin Marr for a 30 minute looks at ‘The Death and Life of Cinematic Illusion’ in Boorman’s cinema. There’s also an excellent visual essay / interview about Boorman’s writing collaborators including Alexander Jacobs and Bill Stair but concentrating mainly on Rospo Pallenberg who gets to talk at length (38 minutes). Finally for disc two you get trailers and a still gallery, which includes the original screenplay by Pallenberg and Boorman. 

Disc Three opens with the ‘TV Version’, which will be something of a curio for UK viewers who got to experience EXCALIBUR in all its uncut glory when it premiered on Channel 4 back in the day. Apparently this is the version shown on US TV (aha!) and is twenty minutes shorter to remove ‘controversial content’. It was also the version shown in US schools (aha again!) whereas UK school-kids, made of sterner stuff, got to debate how Uther Pendragon could possibly have sex with Ygraine while wearing all that armour. Also on Disc Three is the 2016 documentary “Excalibur: Behind the Movie” which includes interviews with Liam Neeson, Helen Mirren, Patrick Stewart, Gabriel Byrne, Nigel Terry, Paul Geoffrey, Cherie Lunghi, Clive Swift and all the Boormans.  Arrow’s set also comes with a perfect-bound book with new writing on  the film, a double-sided poster, a reversible sleeve and six art cards.

John Boorman’s landmark EXCALIBUR is out from Arrow in a limited edition three disc set (one UHD and two Blu-rays) on Monday 23rd February 2026

 

Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977)

"Excellent Presentation of a Unique Sequel"

Fans of John Boorman's sequel to William Friedkin's original THE EXORCIST have a treat in store as Arrow releases a two disc Blu-ray set of both the original 118 minute US version and the shorter, re-edited 103 minute international cut.

It's four years since Regan MacNeil's possession by the demon Pazuzu and her subsequent exorcism by Father Merrin (Max Von Sydow), who died in the process. Now the Catholic church, represented by Paul Henreid's Cardinal, have decided to recruit Father Lamont (Richard Burton) to investigate the case and find out if some of Merrin's wilder claims were true.

Meanwhile Regan (Linda Blair) is undergoing hypnotherapy by Dr Gene Tuskin (Louise Fletcher) and her flashing light box. These therapies are conducted in the least confidential clinic room ever, where all the walls are made of glass and the many children that are presumably also Dr Tuskin's patients can see in when they're not being distracting by pushing large plush toys around or wheeling what looks like a huge soft sponge hexagon nut. 

Father Lamont straps on one of Dr Tuskin's leather headbands and joins in because Dr Tuskin doesn't seem to be too worried about medical ethics either. Soon he's seeing visions of locusts, Africa, and James Earl Jones. It seems Pazuzu is still 'deep within' Regan and that's because she is one of a number of people who have been born as 'forces for good'. This is explained in more detail using locusts as an analogy. Yes it is. Eventually Lamont and Regan end up back at the house from the first EXORCIST where we are treated to a climax of locusts as the building falls apart and it takes the surrounding neighbourhood ages to notice.

I can imagine back in 1977 Twentieth Century Fox arranging a screening of EXORCIST II for Mike Hodges, Stanley Mann, and other personnel and saying 'This is not how we want OMEN II to turn out - understand?' In fact it's a bit of a mystery why Warners thought they were onto a winner with this one (it received a massive release in the US) as, rather than John Boorman's proposed meditation on the power of good, EXORCIST II is a mess of incoherence, stultifying dullness, and laugh out loud Bad Film moments. Richard Burton looks understandably bewildered throughout, while Ennio Morricone's main theme is beautiful but doesn't fit with anything it's used to underscore. In fact Quentin Tarantino put it to better use in his 2015 THE HATEFUL EIGHT. What you do get is something fascinating to film students but perplexing and ultimately unsatisfying to the mainstream audience it was intended for.

Arrow's Blu-ray set brings us the full 118 minute version on disc one, with no fewer than four (!) commentary tracks. One is archival from John Boorman and the other three are academic - an archival one from Scott Michael Bosco and two new ones from Paul Kittredge and the late Lee Gambin, and Kelly Goodner and Jim Hemphill. The Boorman is best if you want explanations about why he made it, while the others all touch on different aspects of the film, with Kittredge and Gambin to be congratulated on their effusive enthusiasm while the Goodner and Hemphill is just as good if rather more restrained. Other extras include two archival interviews from 2018's Shout Factory release with Linda Blair (20 minute) and editor Tom Priestley (7 minutes).

Disc two has the international cut and a commentary track from Mike White who very helpfully points out the differences, although no-one will need any help spotting the cobbled together opening. Add in trailers and image galleries and it's quite the exhaustive (and exhausting) package.

John Boorman's EXORCIST II: THE HERETIC is out in a two disc Blu-ray set from Arrow on Monday 7th October 2024