The Book Was Better: Excalibur Review (5th Year Anniversary Special!) 

10:59 Woman: you got me pregnant Uther: how is that my fault woman: you said you were wearing protection Uther: I was wearing my armor

Merlin: "He was strong. He was brave. He was a great knight!" Rogue: "He LITERALLY went to war just to get laid." Merlin:*A GREAT KNIGHT*

“Well we’ve been at peace for about 12 hours, might as well go to war” Welcome to Britain

Omg!!! Patrick Stewart has hair in this movie, I thought that was only a myth.

Actually, Bedivere was one of Arthur's most loyal's knights. Both him and Lancelot were the most loyalest knights, except that Lancelot screwed that up and Bedivere didn't.

I love that the censor is Guts dancing. That had me laughing out loud.

"So the War for Uther's Erection begins." Ok, that line just made my day, lol. Also to add on to the ridiculously talented cast, Gabriel Byrne plays Uther and Ciaran Hinds also appears in the film as well.

The Book Was Better: Excalibur Review, or How Many Monty Python Jokes Can I Make in an Hour

“You and the land are one”. That concept could have been lifted from the “bury my head facing the sea” sequence from Branwen ferch Llyr. The dying Bendigeidfran’s head was placed as a protection on the Isle, and then in a later story Arthur dug it up. Some see this as an act of hubris, but it could also be Arthur taking up the mantle as protector of the land.

You’re a fan of Overly Sarcastic Productions? As if you weren’t awesome enough!

And then decades later Sir Dennis Quaid is inspired by these events, befriends a dragon played by Sean Connery, and goes on a quest to save a damsel from proto-Joffrey. Anybody remember that movie?

When your favorite RU-vid channel references your other favorite RU-vid channel!

I’m in college class right now but I’m 100% looking forward to coming home, getting some coffee, and celebrating with you! A huge congrats on this milestone!!!!!!!!!! You earned every subscriber man

Funny thing about armored combat, you would think super stiff movement would be realistic but if you're trained in it you can actually do some pretty crazy maneuvering.

"I loved you as king, sometimes as husband." Wow that is hectic. That hurts.🙃

About Lancelot blaming Percival for what happened to the land; if you look closely, you'll see how far gone his mind is. He's so consumed with shame, sadness and regret that any previous virtue he once had faded away. As for all the heel-turns the story took, let's not forget that the story of Arthur and his knights is centuries old. Many people have made different spins on Mallory and Chrétien de Troyes takes on the legend for years. As such, there's no ONE way to depict it. That being said, I still believe Excalibur is one of the few movies to tell the legend in the right ways

Great choice having Gustav Holst's Jupiter as background music 😀 fits perfectly for this movie!

"I have to push the pram a lot."

Happy 5 years of The Book Was Better! And many more assuming that RU-vid doesn't implode in on itself.

Thanks to Linkara I have found your channel and I love your channel.

Also, if you look closely,.whenever there's magic in play a green light is visible somewhere, usually in a reflective surface.

If you haven't seen it. I recommend the documentary of Adam Savage meeting Terry English. Just so he can replicate the silver Arthur armor set.

Merlin wasn't walking into a trap, he set one up for Morgana and was about to dispose of her when Arthur rams the sword into the dragon which somehow shocks Merlin allowing Morgana to take advantage of him.

I don't think Arthur is saying that he lost the Grail but that it can restore "what was lost". At that point I don't think he even knows that that is.

I don't remember how I came upon your videos but who cares! I'm SO happy I did! I love your videos and the way you are both rational, passionate, critical, and open-minded about what you review! You have made me laugh and you've given me insight into some movies that I never would have considered watching and books that I might actually get around to some day. Congratulations on 5 years on RU-vid and here's hoping for AT LEAST 5 more!! I'd drink a toast for every moment of your show that has entertained me, but I don't want to die of alcohol poisoning.

I didn't even notice that this was an hour long

For me, this movie is the DEFINITIVE way to depict King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table on film. The recent Legend of the Sword movie did so much wrong with Arthur's legend, compared to Excalibur

Fun fact young mordred is played by Charlie boorman, John boorman’s son.

How strange last time I checked out this channel I saw around 25 thousand subs....and that was like three or four months ago...Congrates!

Galahad, Percival, God's favorite Gary Stues, meet Beowulf, God's other favorite Gary Stu.

Me: *waiting patiently for any mention of the BBC Merlin* 46:52: Hello

Sir Galahad: God's Favorite Gary Stu is officially canon now.

Happy 5th anniversary Krim. This is one of the best videos you've made, and I'm looking forward to the next video. Also fun fact, when John Boorman was working on The Lord of the Rings (prior to Ralph Bakshi making his animated version) the script he wrote was said to be around 800 pages and combined all 3 books into a single movie.

Hmm, Zack Snyder loves Excalibur so much as to have that be the movie Bruce Wayne saw instead of the Mark of Zorro. Anyone else notice that the death of Superman in that movie seems to be in reference to the death of Arthur in this movie. Give ya something to think about.

Mordrid's helmet looks silly.

Knowing what Merlin’s spell means in English makes the use of that spell in Ready Player One all the more disturbing.

Happy anaversery Krimson!!! It makes me endlessly happy to see you're still around, and I still enjoy all your videos! Keep up the good work!

Did you know that Merlin is a HALF-DEMON? Anyway, what's next on the chopping block? Is it Boss Baby? Shrek? (Those are based off of books that no one doesn't know about?) I Am Number 4? ...PFFT. xD ...Or is it...something more evil?

Happy 5 years of the series! Love the channel!

There's a lot of armor porn in this review.

Love this channel. Happy anniversary.

Congratulations on 5 years krimson, here's to another 5 years.

Happy Anniversary!!! It's nice to see you review a book AND and Adaptation that you like! Keep up the good work!!

>i've been watching this channel for five years well, doesn't that just make me feel old with a quickness. i still remember discovering your Eragon review on this channel back in my freshman year of high school, and becoming a fan through that. has been five years, and you're still my favorite book review channel. am just saying this as i watch the review, cause it just suddenly struck me, so can't comment on the quality just yet. but, thanks for the years of quality content. i don't regret following this channel so long for an instant lol

This is my comfort video, I’ve watched it nearly 10 times over

Happy 5 year anniversary. Love the quality of the videos you turn out.

Guess what i know about Merlin? He's a slytherin. Look it up.

I love the Hunter x Hunter music. And it makes me happy that you’ve seen the show (hopefully) it’s so amazing.

Merlin is awesome in this film. Great lines, great delivery, just so great!

Congratulations on five years and a review of my all-time favorite movies and legends dude this is a good day

Excellent review, I really enjoyed it, and I love your tangents :) Congrats on five years!

Excellent production! Well done, thanks. This film and that book are favourites that withstand re-viewing and re-reading.

Good use of Holst's Jupiter AKA "I Vow to Thee My Country".

Congrats Krimson on your 5th Year, you earned it

Picard: *ready for his weekly Excalibur pulling grabs it, pulls, and strains a tendon* AAAH! Worf and Georgi: *watching from the monitors and laughing*

9:45 you ever get so turned on, you're willing to ride off a cliff on the word of a half-crazed magician?

Congrats on 5 years. Let's up for another 5 years. Hail Krimson!!!

Congratulations on your 5 year anniversary, Krimson!

I remember watching this movie with my dad, well I remember parts like Merlin's silly metal cap and other scenes. Had no idea it was an Arthurian adaptation. Congrats on the five year anniversary!

I love the armor and costumes in this movie

I just found your channel and I’m hooked. I love these reviews! Keep up the awesome work!

This is my father's favorite movie! He loves all the different takes on Arthurian legends, especially The Crystal Cave and The Once and Future King. When I turned ten he figured I was old enough, and we watched it together! I have loved it ever since.

Now I want Zack Snyder to make a King Arthur Movie.

Congrats on 5 years, Krimson! :D Also, how dare you cliffhanger us!

Congratulations on five years!

This was one of my favorite reviews of yours. I kinda wish you’d do more of these classic TBWB reviews. 😁😁🙏🙏

I like that "I vow to thee my country" plays in the background. Nice touch

Just gonna the eragon reveiw showing up in my feed, wow 5 years! Great job

Almost to 20,000 krimson!! Keep it up!!

Man, one of the most underated channels of all time. Keep it up man😉

Even though I don’t remember how I found your channel, I’m glad I did🙂 these reviews are fun to watch😎

Congratulations On Five Years

44:07 hai forces! Love this series.

i love how the actor for arthur has the most british teeth i've ever seen. as in, none of them are in line with another

KRIMSON PLEASE WRITE YOUR KING ARTHUR STORY!

Congratulations! Thank you for your content.

Hello, Krimson. I’m watcing this episode of your show perticularly because I am depressed and struggling to find reasons to go in my life. I am especially looking for a paragon of virure in my life. -from Finland with love🇫🇮❤️

I've been missing a good review of Excalibur since Nash doesn't seem too keen on re-uploading his Here There Be Dragon videos. This was informative, well-written and hilarious. Congrats on 5 Years Krimson!!

You forgot that one time that there was an anime that King Arthur was a queen who had a love for lions.

44:02 to 44:55 Rest in Peace Kentaro Miura

Happy 5 yaer anniversary, thank you for a funny and hy quietly channel

Happy anniversary Krimson!

I’m pretty sure young Bruce Wayne and his parents _weren’t_ seeing Excalibur in BvS because the marquis says it “starts Wed.” while The Mark of Zorro (a movie usually in the canon of what they were going to see) says is NOW SHOWING.

God dang cliffhanger?!?!? SERIOUSLY?!?!?!?!? 😡🤬👿💀☠️💣🔪🌋 Btw, happy 5 year anniversary. Here’s to 5 more. 🍺

Can you do Van Helsing? I know its not exactly an adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula, but I feel like it's a symptom of an almost universal misunderstanding in Pop Culture about who Abraham van Helsing was, since he's depicted as an action hero more often than the science hero he was in the book. Fun thing is that there is literally no reason to call the movie Van Helsing. The character is clearly not meant to be the same, since he's named Gabriel, whereas the original was named Abraham, they have a wildly different backstory, and, oh yeah, he's so different that they could've called him Steve and nothing would change. If they really wanted him to be an expy, why not call him Arthur Godalming, Jonathan Harker, or even Quincey Morris. I think the movie could've been awesome if Gabriel was the son of Van Helsing, thus giving us a mentor figure and an interesting dynamic between the scholar father and fighter son.

53:56 I'm having Kylo Ren flashbacks.

Ya know I learnt that Merlin was turned into a tree, so hearing that he was sealed in a cave in the original source is interesting

The movies production budget is low and it's not polished, but it's still wholesome and it's an amazing movie, very archetypal and done well Watch survive the jives esoteric analysis of Excalibur

YES!!!!This is exactly what I needed right know.

Happy Anniversary Krimson.

This video is 1hr long Best anniversary ever

You should have discussed the The Ring of the Nibelung opera or use of Wagner's Gotterdammerung, Tristan Und Isolde, Parsifal score I think, and Orff's Carmina Burana's "O Fortuna" and some Trevor Jones composer use.

I'm a bit late to the game but this, for all its flaws is one of my favourite movies and introduced me to a life long obsession with Authurian mythology. Great analysis!

Congrats on the 5th anniversary! And I just have to say there is only one Mordred and that's Saber of Red.

Oh, my gosh! Another hour+ review on something I know about!

Wow! Congrats!

Happy fifth year!!! Bottles of champaign everywhere!!!

I love this movie as a young kid, and I still do. (I'm 23). It's the reason I love the King Arthur story and ancient folklore from that region.

5 years, nice. Here's hoping for many more. =D

Topic Commentary for *The Book Was Better: Excalibur Review (5th Year Anniversary Special!)* Before watching the video: Ooh! An hour long episode of 'The Book Was Better'!? This oughta be something. 0:13 Congrats on 5 years, Krim; as well as GC, Slade, Ashton, and everyone else involved on The Book Was Better! 😄💖 4:33 I don't think I've ever see Patrick Stewart with a *_mustache,_* let alone a beard before this clip. 0_0 Also, I'm surprised that I [almost] didn't recognize Liam Neeson. If I heard his voice, I might be able to catch on, but based on looks alone, not sure how easily I'd recognize Neeson during the early 80's. To be fair, my earliest experience with him was as Qui-Gon Jinn in The Phantom Menace. (And I'm proud of it.) So my "research" tells me that there was about a 20 year difference between the films. Yeesh. 4:54 Kinda wasn't expecting the Blockbuster Bastardization label. This is gonna be fun. 5:24 Why am I able to look at Disney's version of Merlin and see him as a smart goof-ball, and yet this Merlin comes off as someone who just got lucky up to this point? 6:12 Soft-core stripping AND potential STD's via blood exchange!? Sign me UP! 6:44 _This can only end well!_ 😒 7:10 Why does that sound _too_ accurate? 7:26 - 8:12 What's _with_ ALL the _enun-ci-A-tion, Mer-LIN?_ Really wish that the voice here at 7:40 was the standard for him, and not the exception. 9:37 - 10:05 Let's see...walking on water by Faith...or kept afloat by Lust? _Why do I feel the majority of modern people would go for the latter?_ [facepalm] -I'm joking around here, but I still stand by the comment to some extent.- Wait...if that's how Uther stays above the fog and ocean, how is the horse walking across...ahhh, nevermind! I don't wanna know! 10:30 - 12:17 Putting the context jokes aside....Nope! NOPE! Nope that SO HARD! 13:29 - 14:14 Even with the knowledge that many of the Arthurian figures were only "so noble", I had a feeling this scene was an alternate take. But hey, I'm all for creative liberties, mostly if they are meant to be interesting "alternative-storylines". That's why I appreciate what the CGI-Beowulf did with the stolen cup in comparison to the original, despite my bias keeping me from enjoying the film more. 16:27 Wait...That's Ector and Kay!? Fooled me. In the Disney version, Ector never came across as a foster father for Wart/Arthur. He did care for Arthur, but it seemed more like a stern master-and-apprentice relationship. As for Kay, do I really need to go on about much he was a d!ck to Arthur, if he's supposed to be his older [foster] brother? 16:32 - 17:20 Okay, I personally would have had Arthur say, "Your sword was stolen Kay, but would this work for you?", as it'd be more natural, yet still funny. However, that's just me being a stickler. I'll give you your point Krim, about the film's original line being lovably stupid. 18:19 - 18:45 No pressure, my boy. 18:55 Took the words out of my mouth, Krimson. _Nice going omitting that factoid, in all your wisdom, Merlin._ 20:11 Dancing. Another thing I never thought I'd see Patrick Stewart have/take part in, in a movie anyway. And no, not because he's Prof. Xavier. Sheesh. 21:53 - 23:54 I may be reading too much into an already impressive scene, but I also appreciate how Excalibur itself, used its power only to _win the fight, and _*_nothing more._* Yes, Arthur still broke it and knocked out Lancelot, but it can be interpreted as a visual reminder that Excalibur's true power is to help rule as a just and righteous king, not to slay one's enemies for the sake of killing. P.S. Love the quip about how not enough people in the world having the integrity to admitting when they are wrong. Even less people who are willing to make up for their fault(s) and do something about it. 25:46 Not that I'd want it to, but if that really is a mandrake in a fantasy setting, then how is it not screaming right now? 0_0 28:23 It *_may_* be due to the dialect for the roles, but at least with this scene with Sir Gawain, I'm not so sure anymore if I'd easily recognize Liam Neeson just through his voice. Here, I recognize his face easy enough, but with his spoken dialogue, it'd be hard for me to tell for sure if it was him. I'm not sure it's because of the role's dialect - as I mentioned, or if this is similar to how Sean Connery didn't always have such a thick Scottish accent. 31:48 I know I can relate. >~< 35:19 Maybe I need to read more of the Arthurian legends to get a better grasp of the authentic Merlin's character, but for the life of me, I can't see this version of Merlin as "Merlin". Don't get me wrong, Nicol Williamson is putting on a good performance, and really gets into character. I can see him fitting in perfectly in Shakespearean stories. But as for the character overall: the hammy sporadic behavior, his opportunistic tendencies, and occasional pessimism, it just doesn't give me the impression of "Merlin" [in this universe]. I see a wizardly figure, that can be considered wise; but to me, it's like apples and oranges. Too different to compare properly. But I realize that could be my own ignorance making itself known. 36:08 - 49:15 I really wish I could add some input to the deeper topics shown, such as: the religious allegories, the quest for the grail, the hardships for the Percival and his fellow Knights but even if Krimson wasn't describing these scenes as much justice as he was, the film is already speaking for itself. And besides that, I'm overdoing my "Commentary" as it is. Just keep trucking, and stick to "highlights". 39:14 Mordred...Mordred...wait. THAT'S Morgan[ana] Le Fay's son!? DC-Animated's [Justice League] version of Mordred sounded more butch than this guy. At least he sounded like a boy, and didn't need his armor to be as tacky as he is dastardly. I'm sure there's a point but, still! 43:09 - 44:59 Great analysis about the armor, transitions, and what they represented. And nice trivia and shout out to Berserk. This tangent can be easily forgiven. 44:59 - 45:56 If Percival wasn't as tired as he was, he'd had every right to backhand Lancelot here. Even if Lancelot changed his name by this point of the story, there should be no way that *_his part_* in the land's decline wouldn't be common knowledge. So he could do us all a favor, and shut his trap. 51:32 Oh, now Mordred sounds like a male. _Did puberty finally kick in, or did unfairly killing your "mummy of a Mummy" somehow cause your huevos to drop?_ Either way, you're a sick puppy. XD 51:47 Knight: They won't know how few we are in the fog! Me: They *_will_* if you keep announcing it for all to hear! 51:52 Man, that must have been scary to film, even with prop weapons. 0_0' 52:07 - 52:34 Umm, if Lancelot was going to return in the film, wouldn't it have made more sense to have him "appear out of nowhere", rather than having the earlier scene of Percival witnessing him playing the blame-game? Sure, it would have been a MacGuffin either way, but at least the alternative doesn't clash with any previous scenes. Lancelot was already in hiding for some time, right? So maybe it'd make sense for him to come out of nowhere, if there was a bit of foreshadowing, possibly a cloaked figure witnessing the land restoring itself, and realizing that Arthur has reclaimed his throne and power. Maybe, it could be a misdirect that has the audience guess that it was Merlin, who had somehow escaped. Soon after, the figure hears of an upcoming battle between Arthur and Mordred, and hearing this news was finally enough for the figure to reveal himself as Lancelot to come out of hiding, and aid his fellow Knights one last time. 52:50 - 53:10 Oh great, more praise by omission. Thanks for passing on *_that concept,_* Merlin. 58:16 - 59:30 Man, even with the cut material, whether due to it being too loose to connect to the main story, or due to the 2 1/2 hour limit, I can't imagine how long it took to film this in the first place. The locations, the costumes, armor, other props. The behind-the-scenes people really deserve an applause. Well, that concludes another Topic Commentary. Whoo. This was a labor, and I don't expect too many people to read (Thank God for the time-code function in the comments section,) but I wouldn't be doing it if I didn't enjoy it. :) Great job, to everyone at 'The Book Was Better'. Great job. 👏👏👏