ARTHURIAN

EXCALIBUR (1981)

Forged by a god.
Foretold by a wizard.
Found by a king.

To secure peace, wizard Merlin (Nicol Williamson) gives the mystical sword Excalibur to Uther Pendragon (Gabriel Byrne). At his death Uther buries the sword into a stone: the next man to pull it out will be King of England. Years later, Uther's bastard son, Arthur (Nigel Terry) frees the famed sword and thus is destined to be crowned king. Guided by Merlin, Arthur marries Guenevere (Cherie Lunghi), establishes the great court of Camelot and gathers the Knights of the Round Table. But Merlin's designs on power, the destructive Holy Grail Quest, an illegitimate son together with his half-sister, the sorceress Morgana (Helen Mirren), and Guenevere's love affair with Athur's best knight, Sir Lancelot (Nicholas Clay), threaten Arthur's reign. ♥

Ladies, hold your breaths for THREE STARS:

* Nigel Terry (b. 1945, "Troy") as King Arthur

* Gabriel Byrne (b. 1960, "Lionheart", "The Man in the Iron Mask") as Uther Pendragon

* Nicholas Clay (b. 1946, "Lady Chatterley's Lover", "The Last Days of Pompeii", "Lionheart", "The Odyssey") as Sir Lancelot

* Young Liam Neeson (b. 1952, "The Bounty", "Rob Roy", "Les Misérables", "Kingdom of Heaven", Arthur the King") as Gawain the one who betrays Guenevere and Lancelot

* Young Robert Addie (b. 1960, "Robin of Sherwood") as Mordred the bastard son of Arthur and Morgana