Film
Excalfbur
Starring Nigel Terry,
Nicol Williamson, Nicholas Clay
Directed by John Boorman
Mayflower Theatre
Let’s face it kids, swords and sor
cery will never fail to excite us. The
King Arthur legend is full of the basic
stuff like love and honor, war and
peace, hate and passion, life and
death, spirit and flesh. We know the
story, it’s only a matter of how well it’s
rehashed.
Brace yourself for Excalibur. Direc
tor John Boorman’s version throws all
the themes, all the story elements
together with such shameless ear
nesty that you can almost hear them
come smashing into the fray, like the
clash of armor.
Excalibur has lots of style, but only a
certain amount of class. At times this
film is hokey: the men dripping with
machismo (they often speak in
shouts), the women radiating with
glowing glances (they seldom speak
at all). One is tempted to laugh, but
Boorman is so sincere, you have to
take him seriously: he wouldn't kid
you about something like gallantry
and honor.
Yet Excalibur should not be judged
too harshly; its purity of purpose gives
it great appeal — even if the path to
that purpose is sometimes muddled.
Boorman rides a balancing beam
between fantasy and reality. His por
trayal of the times illustrates well all
the political scientist Thomas Hobbes’
notions of life being poor, brutish and
short.
The jousts and battle scenes (of
which there are many) are jumbles of
mayhem and blood — like you would
expect to see when people are hack
ing and goring each other.
But, there is such a thing as subtle
savagery. While the battles are fur
ious, they are also under Boorman’s
firm control. The screen is filled with
such elaborate, and yet casual detail
that you forget it was purposeful.
The imagery captured by cinema
tographer Alex Thomson is dazzling
enough alone to be worth the cost of
admission. Despite its graphic reali
ties, a mystical air is maintained by
carefully contrived lighting and use of
color.
The vestiges of Arthur's reign in this
brutal world gleam like the sword
Excalibur itself. Silver-plated knights
sit radiantly around a reflective gold
Round Table. Camelot itself seems to
shine from afar.
At times Boorman seems to rely on
his glittering visuals to sustain the
film. Excalibur gradually manages to
drift off course, getting too wrapped
up in mysticism and mumbo-jumbo.
The knights go off in search of the
Holy Grail which will redeem the lost
honor of Camelot.
The Grail may restore Arthur’s
kingdom but it doesn't restore in the
audience a good sense of what’s go
ing on. The problem is that Boorman
tries packing his film with too much;
sometimes leaving it so schizophren
ically subplotted that we re not sure
what the main plot is. and the
characters get lost along the way.
Nevertheless, Excalibur is an out
standing achievement, and a worthy
addition to the lineage of Arthurian
tales.
— Richard Laliberte
More coming events
• University of Oregon Music
School free events April 17-23
include:
On Friday Kenneth Finch pre
sents his senior cello recital 8
p.m. in Beall Concert Hall.
Kathleen Lacey sings works
by Bach, Milhaud, Schumann,
Sondheim, and Strouse Satur
day at 8.p.m. in Beall Concert
Hall. Also on Saturday, Beth
Emmons will perform pieces by
Damase, Bach, Jolivet,
Stravinsky and Castlenuovo
Tedsco on flute at 8 p.m. in
Room 198.
On Sunday organist Annagret
Grabenhorst presents her mas
ter’s degree recital at 4 p.m. in
Beall Concert Hall. She will per
form works by Pierre Du Mage,
Bergamo and Widor. Also on
Sunday, composer Robert
Thompson will present his reci
tal at 8 p.m. in Beall Concert
Hall.
The University Brass Quintet
performs at 8 p.m. in Beall Con
cert Hall.
On Tuesday faculty musician
Guy Bovet will play organ and
harpsichord at 8 p.m. in Beall
Concert Hall. Compositions in
clude those by Strozzi, Fres
cobaldi, Gabrieli, Banchieri,
Vivaldi and others.
Margery Fitts’ senior harp
recital will begin at 8 p.m. in
Beall Concert Hall. Works to be
performed include Handel,
Faure, Tedesco, Taillefaire and
Debussy.
Next Thursday (April 23) A
“Musical Smorgasbord” will be
performed at 12:30 p.m. in
Room 198. Also on Thursday,
Randy Heyd will perform his
senior trumpet recital at 8 p.m.
in Beall Hall. Works include
those by G.P. Telemann, Halsey
Stevens, Paul Hindemith and
others at 8 p.m. in Beall Concert
Hall.
• Betrayal continues Wednes
day through Saturday Betrayal
is a drama that begins in the
present and ends in the past.
Bonne Harris (as Emma), An
drew Roy Ivy (as Jerry), and
James Lundstrom (as Robert),
play members of a love triangle
caught up in a game of decep
tion, betrayal and emotional ex
pression. (See page 7B for
review).
Curtain is 8 p.m. in the Arena
Theater on the first floor of Vil
lard Hall on campus. Tickets are
$4.50 for the general public,
$2.75 for university students
and senior citizens, and $3.50
for other students.
• Lane Community College
Main Theatre opens Saturday
with Twelfth Night, by William
Shakespeare. Director Tom
Laswell promises a play in the
Elizabethan style, designed to
make the audience laugh. The
play will be presented on the
Lane Community College main
stage at 8 p.m. Each perfor
mance will be preceded by
singing and dancing “on the
green” at 7:45 p.m. in front of
the theater. Reserved seating is
available for all performances at
$4. Remaining tickets will be
sold at the door. Reservations
may be made by telephone
(726-2202), or in person at the
LCC box office, Monday
through Friday from 10a.m. to 4
p.m. The play runs April 18, 19
and 22-25.
• A History of the Beatles part
two, will be shown in Geology
150 on Friday night. The film
consists of two hours of amaz
ing rare concert performances,
studio rehearsals, interviews,
TV shows and more. Showtimes
are 7:00, 9:00, and 11:30 p.m.
and admission is $2.50. For
more information call 686-3761
• A meeting of the Western
Oregon Filmmakers, first Mon
day of every month at 7 p.m. in
South Harris Hall, 125 East
Eight Avenue. The meetings are
casual showings and critiques
of each filmmakers’ latest work
and are open to anyone who
dabbles in film. For more infor
mation call Dan Starner at
937-3056.
• April 24 is opening night for
Buried Child, a Sam Shepard
play which won the 1979
Pulitzer prize for drama. A
gothic comedy, the show
centers on a family driven to
extremes of eccentricity by
guilt.
The play will be staged at 8
p.m. in the Robinson Theater at
Villard Hall, on April 24, 25,
29-30 and May 1-2. Reserved
seat tickets are $2.75 for un
iversity students and senior ci
tizens, $3.50 for other students
and $4.50 for the general public.
To order tickets, please call the
box office at 686-4191 from
noon to 4 p.m Monday through
Saturday.
• The Eugene Ballet presents
Jon Sutton's Pinocchio and
Pugni’s Pas de Quatre April 24
at 8 p.m and April 25 at 2 and 8
p.m. at the South Eugene High
School Auditorium. Tickets
range from $1.50 to $7.50. For
further information call
686-9342.
k ■■ -^11
n
I
jaatjaaatf^EBtbaaa
%
ooooocoooo
oaaoocmaaoi
SHUTS Mandarin
aaoaaaaoaaaaaaaaaaoaaaaaaa
tisrji/jyurr
The one & only real
Northern and Canton
Chinese cuisine in
Eugene.
LUNCH & DINNER
Orders to go
Private banquet room
Monday-Friday 11-10
Sat. & Sun. 11:30-10
1280 Hilyard • Eugene
343-6234
r
3E
HE
HE
IT
EAST COAST
FLIGHTS
$298.00
EUGENE TRAVEL
contact
687-2825
831 E. 13th Ave.
Open Now Sat. 10-2 and Weekdays to 6 p.m.
The Eighth
Northwest Film
Festival Tour
the cream of this years
independent Northwest films
Thursday, April 16
8 pm
150 Geology
$1.25
The Northwest Film Festival
Tour is an annual event
sponsored by the Northwest
Film Study Center