The Woman in Ponds Candidate: Excalibur (1981)

"Anál nathrach, orth' bháis's bethad, do chél dénmha." — The Charm of Making

I was eight years old in 1981 when Excalibur came out. Back then, there was no simultaneous worldwide release, and from what I’ve read online, mainstream movies took anywhere from one to three months to be released where I live in Puerto Rico. I know I watched it opening week at the movie theaters in Plaza Las Américas, the largest mall on the island. My mother was traveling for business, and her significant other took me to see it.

By then, I knew about Arthurian legends. I had the World’s Greatest Super Knights toys by Mego (see the picture below), and my grandfather had told me about the Knights of the Round Table (and a dirty limerick about King Arthur! I won’t share that one). I also recall seeing Disney’s The Sword in the Stone by then. When I look at the re-release dates for that movie online, they don’t match my memory, but maybe they showed it locally. I don’t know. Memory is a funny thing. But I knew about King Arthur when I saw Excalibur.

What did I think about it? Well, I was blown away! Fascinated. I know I did not grasp everything the movie was saying on that first viewing, but I was amazed by the fantasy film I had just seen. I would rewatch it many times. I remember walking out of the theater and saying, “I wish there were Excalibur toys,” before immediately and sadly adding, “unlikely, since the movie is rated R.”

That R means “Parental discretion advised; no one under 17 can see it without an adult,” according to the Motion Picture Association (MPA) in the USA. And forgive this aside, but I am surprised I was allowed to see that movie at eight years old! I’m glad I did, though. I saw Excalibur, Friday the 13th, The Shining, and more in cinemas. Meanwhile, I didn’t take my son to see the Michael Jackson biopic (which I had NO interest in seeing, but he wanted to) because it was PG-13. Different times, and different parenting styles, I guess. But I digress!

Excalibur is an amazing fantasy film, weaving a majestic fictional story from Arthur’s conception to his death. The cinematography, effects, armor, battles—everything felt grand and magical. It shaped how I thought of and conceived Arthurian legend for the rest of my life. From my games to my graduate studies in British Literature, I filtered it all through the lens of Excalibur. This was especially true in D&D and other TTRPGs.

If Conan was grim, gritty, pulpy fantasy, then Excalibur was high fantasy. Which is funny because the movie can be grim and dark at times, but the themes, the aspirations... it was something else.

The movie can be a lot to take in. It covers such a huge swath of time that, as a kid, I was not exactly sure how much time had passed, especially in the middle of the film. But that was unimportant. I was inspired by the movie as a TTRPG gamer and Game Master five years later when I picked up the dice. The movie featured wizards with incantations, knights, magical swords, battles, noble characters failing because of love, and the clash between good and evil. This is also the first time I can remember hearing "O Fortuna".

When I started playing D&D with the Mentzer Red Box, I was a little disappointed there was no Knight class in the rules. Granted, the Cavalier was already published in the original AD&D 1e Unearthed Arcana. When I got the D&D Companion Set, Fighters could become Knights at name level, but with the Red Box and soon after the blue Expert Set, I wanted a Knight, so I created one.

I wish I had the details, but those notes are long gone. I scribbled a few notes on a loose-leaf sheet. They attacked like the Fighter, had saves like the Cleric, and in my mind, Knights had horses and armor, so their benefits revolved around that. My memory of the details is sketchy, but my “classes” back then were more about the feel than exact rules. Those are part of the Cavalier undoubtedly, so I was getting the same points of reference as the game creators. I did try to make a Barbarian class, another addition to AD&D 1e in Unearthed Arcana, but that was nothing like the class in that book. It was all Conan. Muscle-bound, taciturn, and armored in a loincloth.

I moved from D&D to AD&D in about a year, a year and a half, and imagine my excitement when I discovered that the Deities & Demigods I got for $10 at a garage sale (the print with the Cthulhu and Melnibonéan mythos) had the statistics for Arthurian Heroes. This was the game for me.

One last anecdote. In one early adventure or another, I had the character run into two guys on the road, trying to pull a sword from a stone. A sword that would make whoever pulled it the king of the land. The characters wanted to try, but the two “knights” guarded it and refused, not knowing if it was worth it. After a quick bribe, the protectors were camping down the road, and the characters pulled at the sword to no avail. They examined the “sword in the stone” and realized it was a very well-placed sculpture, one solid piece they had no hope of separating. The sculptor had even signed his work, Elmore! Silly hijinks and teenage humor. We laughed and moved on; as I said before, they were different times.

I know Excalibur is King Arthur’s story, but I have always been a fan of Lancelot. The doomed love of Lancelot and Guinevere has been a constant inspiration for me as a GM. Just as much as Camelot and the Round Table. So much so that as an adult Guinevere has become perhaps my favorite character, especially after reading William Morris’ The Defence of Guenevere. I think Excalibur influenced my decision to pursue postgraduate studies in British literature as much as Space 1889. But that’s a story for another day!

I cannot recommend this movie enough. Most gamers my age have probably watched it. But if you have not, I encourage you to see it.

One last thing: According to this site, the meaning of the Charm of Making I quoted at the beginning of this piece is, “Serpent's breath, charm of death and life, thy omen of making.” Try using it for your next Wizard!