L'épée du sorcier

I saw this movie years ago on the late show - was switching channels and came across Dyan Cannon in Stonehenge... that piqued my interest... and then there was Malcolm McDowell and Liam Neeson... and Edward Woodward as the great wizard Merlin... this movie is Grade Z, but the cast is fantastic... this is one to invite friends over, crack the six-pack and heckle. I'd love to get a copy for this reason alone. I'm surprise MS3K hasn't picked on it yet!

Yes, I've watched it again in 2004 and it did not age well. I was mostly looking for the Gawain/Lady Ragnell story line which I 'remembered' as being wonderful. It's probably the only redeeming part of this movie aside from Edward Woodward's performance. The basic plot has an American tourist (Dyan Cannon) visiting Stonehedge, falling into a hole and suddenly being in the presence of Merlin (Woodward) and Ninnian.

As Merlin and Ninnian explain how they come to be trapped under Stonehenge we see flashbacks of Arthur (Malcom McDowell) and Guinevere along with Lancelot (Rupert Everett looking VERY young). Candice Bergen is there as Morgan Lefaye in a wig that is NOT to be believed. Mostly it's an abysmal job. The fight scenes between the knights are poorly edited. Seeing Liam Neeson as 'Grak' is almost worth the cost of microwave popcorn tho.

Patrick Ryecart's story line subplot at Gawain was edited with a hacksaw in this movie. I do not remember it being so back in 1985 when I originally watched it on television. What butchery! If you want a laugh at nonexistent special effects then this is your movie. I bought it for 99cents on ebay and while it satisfied my curiosity...boy is it a stinker!

i personally loved this movie, i especially loved Edward Woodward aka The Equalizer, as Merlin and i thought Candice did an interesting job as Morgan, she portrayed Morgan as having a really bad day with a hell of a chip on her shoulder but decent none the less. even though i don't typically like ones that put her in a bad light. i liked this since i was a child and i still think it is a charming movie, true it was done low budget and is nowhere near the blockbuster Excalibur was but still worth seeing. is is great if your interested in the story of Gawain and Lady Ragnell's relationship sice most films don't even mention the two of them. and it of course includes the romance between lance and gwen. i liked the spunk they gave to gwen in this, a girl that has some fight in her who yells no when her captors wanted to have their way with her and they back off. so all in all i would definitely recommend this film, especially if you are like me and like edward woodward. great brit actor.

The actors tried, they really did, but it was badly cast, the writing was so-so. The one redeeming virtue in this film is the only dramatization of Sir Gawain and the Loathly Lady that I've ever seen. This is a wonderful story, and should be made into its own movie. Go read it, and learn something very important -- what is it that women truly want?

Unbelievable. This movie is without a doubt one of the poorest excuses for wasting celluloid I have ever seen. I like the whole King Arthur/Knights of the Round Table genre, so I was prepared to give it a little latitude when I started watching it and saw in what direction it was going (downhill), but this movie's stupefying ineptness is mind-boggling. Candace Bergen in a red Bozo the Clown wig, cackling maniacally as she spouts gibberish that is supposed to be magic spells, Liam Neeson playing a Pictish barbarian talking like an Indian in a 1930s western ("Me have many babies with this woman! Me go now!"), poorly staged "battles" that looked more like a crowd of drunks lurching into each other, cheesy special effects, and some of the most brainless dialogue this side of "Plan 9 from Outer Space" combine to make this movie a laugh riot. The "acting" is at a junior-high school level, the photography is washed out, it appears to have been edited with a chainsaw--and they are just its =good= qualities. All in all, an experience to remember--if you can stay awake (I couldn't; I missed the last 20 minutes because this thing put me to sleep...).