Excalibur

Beat Sheet by: Bryan Ierardi

Act 1

Opening Image: Uther Pendragon is in battle and summons Merlin the Wizard. "I need the sword to be king!" The next morning, Merlin summons the sword Excalibur from the Lady of the Lake. A truce The film begins with Uther Pendragon, in battle against the Duke of Cornwall, reminding Merlin of his promise of the "Sword of Power", Excalibur to denote his kingship. Merlin retrieves the sword from the Lady of the Lake and gives it to Uther with the intention of uniting the land as one. After Uther yields portions of "lands from here to the sea" Cornwall yields to Uther and promises to enforce the king's will. Cornwall invites Uther to celebrate at his castle, where Uther meets and is enchanted by Cornwall's wife Igrayne. Cornwall is enraged and the truce is broken. The lustful Uther later lays siege to the Duke's castle. (Source: Wikipedia)

Theme Stated:

Setup: "Merlin, furious at Uther's recklessness, nevertheless agrees to use his magic to help Uther seduce Igrayne, on the condition that Uther relinquishes to Merlin whatever results from his lust. Merlin summons the dragon who lies beneath the land and transforms Uther into the image of Cornwall, who rides into the castle across the sky on the dragon's breath just as Cornwall leaves to attack Uther's camp. Meanwhile, the Duke of Cornwall is killed during his assult and sensing her father's death, awakes Igrayne's young daughter, Morgana. Believing her husband to return home, Igrayne makes love to an aggressive Uther while a devastated Morgana sees past Uther's diguise." (Source: Wikipedia)

Catalyst: "Years later, Sir Ector and his sons Kay and Arthur attend a jousting tournament to win a chance to draw Excalibur from the stone. The best knights in the land gather to compete and Leondegrance is the victor but fails to pull the sword from its stone prison. Arthur, now Kay's squire, forgets Kay's sword in a tent and returns only to discover that it has been stolen. While pursuing the thief, Arthur stumbles by the stone in which the Excalibur is embedded. By sheer fate and destiny, the sword calls to him and Arthur draws it from the stone. Once news arrive of the sword's release, the tournament crowd gather around him. Sir Ector commands Arthur to put it back and after a failed attempt by a skeptical Uyrens, Arthur easily draws the sword from the stone once more. Merlin then appears, revealing to Arthur that he is the son of Uther and Igrayne, hence by birthright, he is the rightful king of the land." (Source: Wikipedia)

Debate and Decision: Arthur questions Merlin. "What does it mean to be king?"

Act 2-A

Break Into Two: The next morning...

Start B-Story:

Fun And Games:

MidPoint:

Act 2-B

Bad Guys Close In:

Losing Hope:

The Darkest Moment:

Act 3

Break Into Three:

The Final Battle:

Final Image: