Scene Anatomy 101: Excalibur
Posted by George H. Sirois on 08.22.2007
Heroification can hide quite a bit about someone…
Heroification is nothing new; we see it all the time in films, literature, sports, politics, everywhere. It's basically taking someone and putting them on a pedestal, while ignoring every single one of their flaws and believing that particular person ever did any wrong. Another practice that has become common in our storytelling is the de-heroification of those very heroes, looking deep into their past and finding their flaws that made them less heroic and more human.
One of the more fascinating heroes of folklore that has ever been dissected is King Arthur. The most basic element that people know about him is that as a young boy, he pulled the sword Excalibur from a stone and was crowned King of England. But what a lot of people didn't know was how Arthur came about in the first place. Sure, Sir Thomas Malory wrote about Arthur's birth in "Le Morte d'Arthur," but the details of how he was conceived were not revealed in films or television. In the Disney animated film The Sword in the Stone, we first see Arthur when he's 12 years old and under the care of Sir Ector and his son Kay.
But then, along came a film directed and co-written by John Boorman that told the most detailed tale of King Arthur that had ever been seen on the big screen. It was a tale of sword and sorcery, but also of betrayal, adultery, incest and lust, hardly the Walt Disney fare of old. In fact, it was an R-rated movie. And every bit of it was an epic artwork. I'm speaking of the 1981 John Boorman classic…
Unlike other films that tell the tale of King Arthur, this one doesn't begin with Arthur as a 10-year old boy with the nickname of "Wart." Instead, this one starts with a war in progress over the land between Uther Pendragon and the Duke of Cornwall. Uther has found a mentor in Merlin the magician, a powerful wizard that has given Uther the means to rule the land by allowing him possession of the sword of power, Excalibur.
Uther gives Cornwall a truce. Uther shall be King, while a large portion of the land would belong to Cornwall, as long as he enforces the king's will. Now that there is peace and the land has a king, the two armies feast together at Cornwall's castle. To add to the celebration, Cornwall has his wife Igrayne dance for the armies. What Cornwall didn't count on was King Uther immediately lusting after Igrayne and wanting her for himself. This immediately dissolves the new alliance that the two armies share, and in a short amount of time, Uther's army begins an attack on Cornwall's castle to dominate him and steal Igrayne away for their king.
Cornwall defiantly yells to Uther that the castle will never be battered down and Igrayne will never be his. But his taunting falls on deaf ears as Uther is looking for Merlin, his true advantage in this conflict.
UTHER: Merlin! Where are you?!
Uther comes up to one of his fellow knights.
UTHER: Have you found him?
KNIGHT: I haven't!
The knight goes back to work, trying to get into Cornwall's castle.
UTHER: He's here, all right! He won't show himself.
As the knights struggle to get inside, Merlin makes his entrance, quickly weaving his way through Uther's army. Uther spots him and walks towards him.
UTHER: Where have you been?
Merlin's answer is a cryptic one, but it also shows that he holds no true allegiance to Uther. He is angry at how the partnership has dissolved, and especially why it has dissolved.
MERLIN: I have walked my way since the beginning of time! Sometimes I give, sometimes I take! It is mine to know which and when!
UTHER: You must help me, Merlin!
Merlin snaps at Uther, still walking away from him.
MERLIN: Must I?!
UTHER: I am your king!
That causes Merlin to stop in his tracks. He looks Uther in the eye with an accusing glare. This is all Uther's doing, and Merlin's going to make sure "his king" understands that.
MERLIN: So, you need me again now that my truce is wrecked! Years to build, and moments to ruin! And all for lust!
But Uther doesn't look at it that way. Lust is not a strong enough word to describe what Uther is feeling about the young woman in that castle.
UTHER: For Igrayne! One night with her.
Uther looks longingly at the castle for a moment, then looks at his comrade that did help him get this far.
UTHER: You don't understand; you're not a man! Use the magic. Do it!
Merlin looks up at Cornwall's castle, and an idea comes to him. When he assisted Uther with ending the war, he did it for the sake of the land. Now that this has happened, he understands that there is little hope for the land because of this generation of men. Uther's blown his chance to help calm the situation, but Merlin knows that despite his folly, his royal blood is valuable.
MERLIN: Igrayne.
Merlin looks away from the castle and into Uther's eyes.
MERLIN: You will swear by your true kingship to grant me what I wish… and you shall have it.
Anything to have Igrayne, Uther decrees. He drops to one knee and swears his allegiance.
UTHER: By Excalibur, I swear it!
MERLIN: What issues from your lust… shall be mine. Swear it again.
UTHER: I swear it!
And just like that, a pact has been formed between man and magician. Merlin will see to it that Cornwall and his men will chase after Uther's army. In the meantime, Merlin will transform Uther into a semblance of the Duke. That way, Igrayne will think her husband has returned to her.
This plan turns out to be successful. Uther's trickery results in Igrayne conceiving a son named Arthur, and since the Duke is killed during his attack on Uther's army, there is nobody standing in the King's way.
Nobody, except Merlin. By holding Uther to his word, he takes Arthur away from Uther and Igrayne, away from the possibility that the young child may be corrupted by his stature in the same fashion that Uther was. By handing Arthur off to Sir Ector and his son Kay, Merlin guarantees that he will be taught modesty, humility and honesty. And when the time comes for Arthur to answer his true calling and be the King of all the land, he will be the King that Merlin always hoped Uther would be after giving him Excalibur.
It is in this movie where we truly see where Arthur came from, and the circumstances that surrounded his conception. Something like this would never be seen in a Disney film, but by showing the story of King Arthur from the very beginning, we are shown a more detailed and epic telling that adds a level of humanity that's needed for our heroes to become truly legendary.
Next week, we'll take a look at a scene involving an unexpected mentor and a fighter that is simply known as "The Spaniard." You might have heard of the film; it won a few Oscars recently.
