Plot summary

As the title would suggest, it follows the travels of the legendary sword Excalibur through Arthurian myth, from the violent, powerful hands of Uther Pendragon (Gabriel Byrne), to a long-years' rest in the stone to being redrawn by Uther's son Arthur (Nigel Terry), who uses it to defeat the evil invaders and establish the great court of Camelot and the great Knights of the Round Table. It is there in Arthur's glory years and in his decline, brought on by the love affair between his wife Guenevere (Cherie Lunghi) and best friend and best knight Sir Lancelot (Nicholas Clay), the Holy Grail quest which produces many casualties amongst the knights, and the arrival of Mordred (Robert Addie), the son Arthur had by his evil half-sister, the sorceress Morgana (Dame Helen Mirren). Through it all, the magician Merlin watches over everything, always ready to throw in a Charm of Making when it's called for.—Tommy Peter