Excalibur

Continuity mistake: After speaking to Arthur, Mordred catches up to and kills Uryens by the lake with his spear. The close-up of the spear in Uryens' back shows beads dangling about one foot from the tip. In the long shot of his body we see a different spear with no beads at all, just a short dangling piece of rope. (01:48:45)

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Continuity mistake: Lancelot prays, "God, save me from myself, purge me of this love so that I can defend her" as he stares straight ahead. In the next shot he's looking up. (01:13:50)

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Continuity mistake: As Arthur thrusts Excalibur through Mordred we see a red and white standard to their left stuck in the ground that wasn't there in the previous shot. (02:12:50)

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Continuity mistake: King Arthur extends Excalibur out to Lancelot who grabs it with both hands. At first Lancelot's right hand is at the tip of Excalibur but in the next shot his hand touches the sword about four inches away from the tip. (00:54:35)

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Continuity mistake: Uther thrusts Excalibur into the side of the stone. In the next shot many years later, Excalibur is stuck into the top part of the stone. (00:23:15)

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Continuity mistake: The horse that Perceval rides off on has straps tied around its hind quarters. In the next shot as he arrives at the lake the straps are gone and the color of the saddle is different. (02:14:15)

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Continuity mistake: Several knights joust and the winner has the right to try to pull Excalibur out of the stone. The winner tries but cannot do it and sets the sword rocking back and forth in the stone. The shot lasts until Excalibur stops moving, then in the next shot it's wobbling back and fourth again. (00:26:00)

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Continuity mistake: At the beginning of the movie Merlin says, "Show the sword" and we see Excalibur for the first time in a human hand. Uther at first holds the sword with his thumb wrapped around the handle, then in the close-up his thumb is pointing upward then in the next shot his thumb is wrapped around the handle again. (00:03:55)

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Continuity mistake: After killing Uryens, Mordred rides up on his horse and looks over in the direction of Perceval, who's hiding behind a tree. At first his right arm is bent close to his chest, then in the next shot his arm is at his side. (01:48:50)

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Continuity mistake: All the knights have a feast at the round table and Perceval brings a drink to Guinevere. Her hair is about four inches longer in the close-up, extending below the neck line of her dress. (01:08:40)

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Continuity mistake: Cornwall rides out in pursuit of Uther and is impaled as his horse throws him off. The next time we see him a few shots later as Uther makes love to Igrayne the spears protruding from his chest are not in the same spots. (00:13:25 - 00:15:00)

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Continuity mistake: After their fight Lancelot holds the spear right up to Gawain's face as he says, "I yield to your mercy, Lancelot". In the next shot the spear is up in the air well above his body. (01:19:55)

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Continuity mistake: At the entrance to Camelot Lancelot says, "Kay, would you train this lad to be my squire?" and Perceval is standing near the rear of the horse. In the next shot the boy is standing with Kay at the head of the horse. (01:06:20)

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Continuity mistake: Uther walks into Igrayne's chamber and says of Morgana, "She watches me with her father's eyes". At first the baby is holding onto Igrayne with his right hand then in the next shot his right hand is in the air. (00:16:40)

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Continuity mistake: We see Morgana for the first time as she stands in the back of the wedding and turns around to look at Merlin. The order of the guests in front of her does not change but the banners above their heads are entirely different as she approaches Merlin in the next shot. (01:00:45)

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Continuity mistake: At King Arthur and Guinevere's wedding the flowers are several feet to their right. In the close-up of the priest approaching them the flowers are moved in right next to Arthur's arm. (01:00:10)

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Continuity mistake: To his victorious knight's King Arthur proclaims, "The wars are over, one land, one King" and Merlin stands with his staff in a vertical position. In the next shot as fire shoots out of the tip the staff is extended. (00:55:25)

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Continuity mistake: Lancelot says to King Arthur, "I sought only not to harm you" before he dismounts and they fight with swords under a tree. If you look closely at the tree there are no marks on it before they start fighting, King Arthur strikes one blow and as Lancelot pushes him away there are several marks on the bark of the tree. (00:49:30)

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Audio problem: When Uther takes the baby from Igrayne and gives it to Merlin, Igrayne's screaming and whimpering is not consistent with her mouth movements.

More mistakes in Excalibur

Arthur: I was not born to live a man's life, but to be the stuff of future memory.

More quotes from Excalibur
More trivia for Excalibur

Question: At the very end, Arthur's body is being carried away on a barge, with three women standing above him. Are those three women the fates?

Answer: They were the Goddesses of Avalon. A group of women who each have a specific magical power. They were the makers of Excalibur, healed King Arthur's wounds from his first battle and took him to his final resting place, readying him for the day he would be needed again.

Most Arthurian myths attribute elves as making "Excalibur", and also "Clarent," King Arthur's other magical sword.

raywest

Answer: Or possibly they were attendants of Arthur, who would set the ship on fire, then have the option to die with their king, or to try to swim to shore. The Vikings did stuff like that. Why not imagine that the Brits did too?

Answer: Not the fates, but enchantress fairies. The Lady of Lake, who took back Excalibur at the end, was such a fairy.

raywest

More questions & answers from Excalibur

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