Opera! No seriously. This is Boorman’s Wagnerian fever dream of English myth, literally set to the score of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde, The Ring, and Parsifal. The soundstages and set pieces look ripped straight from Bayreuth!
Obviously none of this mattered to me the zillions of times I watched this film on HBO growing up. And it’s still one of the great 1980s fantasies. The cast is packed with Gabriel Byrne, Patrick Stewart, Liam Neeson all showing up as hardcore knights. And Helen Mirren would be iconic as Morgana - if she wasn’t subsequently iconic in tons of films for 40 more years and counting.
It’s got magic. It’s got bloody sword fights. It’s got Meeeeerrlin! It looks amazing! And if you grab the Arrow 4K - it’s never ever been higher quality.
Such fun!