Video: Excalibur is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen, and it looks very good. While most of the visuals look solid, the beginning tends to show more nicks and flecks than the rest of the film. The colors are very natural in tone, bright without being overly so. Black levels are solid, although some scenes wander into a darker, muddied appearance. The disc shows some blocking early on, but that quickly vanishes as the disc progresses. It's not perfect, but it's a vast improvement over any previous version.

Audio: The disc uses a 5.1 track for audio, and it does not show the advantage of such a track. There is little surround use, with even the fullest sounds occuring in the front channels. The audio is reserved to the front speakers, as I said, so the sound is not as full as it could be. But it sounds good, just not to the extent it would with a more active mix. Dialogue is good, with clear vocals and fine separation.

Extras: This disc is a low priced (MSRP- 19.99) disc, but it contains a nice selection of bonus features. The disc includes production notes and the original theatrical trailer, which is very cool, as well as a running commentary with director John Boorman. Boorman gives a good mixture of personal notes and technical issues, which makes for a fun and informative listen.