Original Terry English armour from Excalibur on display...

The 1981 fantasy movie Excalibur set in the British Dark Ages, tells the legend of King Arthur and his knights of the Round Table.

Original Terry English designed armour from Excalibur

To mark its 30th anniversary, the film was released on Bluray in March 2011 and fortunately whilst visiting the U.K. on January 25 this year, I photographed this fantastic exhibit of original armour and props from Excalibur on display at the London Film Museum.

Original King Arthur black suit of armour and

Merlin costume from Excalibur

John Boorman's movie was filled to the rafters with notable British and Irish thespians of stage and screen, the likes of Patrick Stewart, Liam Neeson, Gabriel Byrne and Helen Mirren to name but a few.

Nigel Terry played the legendary 'King Arthur' and wore this black suit of armour, whilst Nicol Williamson wore the robes, cloak and helmet of the mythical 'Merlin'.

Actual helmet worn by Merlin in Excalibur

In addition to Terry English's armour designs, Bob Ringwood was credited with Costume Design on the Medieval fantasy.

Excalibur movie poster

Patrick Stewart stars as 'Leondegrance', father of 'Guenevere' and prominent supporter of a young Arthur.

Silver suit of armour worn by Patrick Stewart

as Sir Leondegrance in Excalibur

Two suits of armour worn by the future Star Trek Enterprise captain were on display, a silver and black version, plus Nicholas Clay's 'Lancelot' armour.

Black Leondegrance suit of armour and Sir Lancelot armour

worn by Nicholas Clay in Excalibur

Also included in the costume exhibit was the golden adult and child armour of the evil 'Mordred'.

Adult Mordred armour worn by Robert Addie and

Duke of Cornwall costume from Excalibur

Robert Addie played the adult Mordred, whilst Corin Redgrave wore the 'Duke of Cornwall' armour.

Boy Mordred armour worn by Charley Boorman in Excalibur

Helen Mirren stars as the scheming 'Morgana' and this is her battle armour worn in the movie.

Masks and Morgana battle armour on display

In addition to these wonderful pieces of armour, Terry English's spectacular work can also be seen in films like Aliens, Jabberwocky, Highlander II, Gladiator, Batman & Robin and King Arthur.

Excalibur movie poster

Buy the movie: Excalibur [Blu-ray]

Excalibur [HD DVD]

Original Terry English armour from Excalibur on display...

The 1981 fantasy movie Excalibur set in the British Dark Ages, tells the legend of King Arthur and his knights of the Round Table.

Original Terry English designed armour from Excalibur

To mark its 30th anniversary, the film was released on Bluray in March 2011 and fortunately whilst visiting the U.K. on January 25 this year, I photographed this fantastic exhibit of original armour and props from Excalibur on display at the London Film Museum.

Original King Arthur black suit of armour and

Merlin costume from Excalibur

John Boorman's movie was filled to the rafters with notable British and Irish thespians of stage and screen, the likes of Patrick Stewart, Liam Neeson, Gabriel Byrne and Helen Mirren to name but a few.

Nigel Terry played the legendary 'King Arthur' and wore this black suit of armour, whilst Nicol Williamson wore the robes, cloak and helmet of the mythical 'Merlin'.

Actual helmet worn by Merlin in Excalibur

In addition to Terry English's armour designs, Bob Ringwood was credited with Costume Design on the Medieval fantasy.

Excalibur movie poster

Patrick Stewart stars as 'Leondegrance', father of 'Guenevere' and prominent supporter of a young Arthur.

Silver suit of armour worn by Patrick Stewart

as Sir Leondegrance in Excalibur

Two suits of armour worn by the future Star Trek Enterprise captain were on display, a silver and black version, plus Nicholas Clay's 'Lancelot' armour.

Black Leondegrance suit of armour and Sir Lancelot armour

worn by Nicholas Clay in Excalibur

Also included in the costume exhibit was the golden adult and child armour of the evil 'Mordred'.

Adult Mordred armour worn by Robert Addie and

Duke of Cornwall costume from Excalibur

Robert Addie played the adult Mordred, whilst Corin Redgrave wore the 'Duke of Cornwall' armour.

Boy Mordred armour worn by Charley Boorman in Excalibur

Helen Mirren stars as the scheming 'Morgana' and this is her battle armour worn in the movie.

Masks and Morgana battle armour on display

In addition to these wonderful pieces of armour, Terry English's spectacular work can also be seen in films like Aliens, Jabberwocky, Highlander II, Gladiator, Batman & Robin and King Arthur.

Excalibur movie poster

Buy the movie: Excalibur [Blu-ray]

Excalibur [HD DVD]

Discovering the delights of the London Film Museum...

Imagine my delight on a recent trip back to the U.K. when I discovered the cinematic treasure trove that is the London Film Museum.

Whether you're a tourist or a local, if you're a movie fan and enjoy seeing original costumes, props and vehicles on display you'll love this amazing place in County Hall, near Westminster Bridge and the London Eye.

Not only do they have some fantastic permanent displays, but they also have some temporary visiting exhibitions, like original costumes from Batman Begins and Superman Returns on loan from Warner Bros. Studios.

Brandon Routh's Superman Returns costume

Plus when I visited on January 25, 2011 they had a wonderful Myths & Legends exhibit featuring the work of stop-motion animation legend Ray Harryhausen, from films such as The 7th Voyage of Sinbad and Jason and the Argonauts.

Christian Bale's Bat-Suit from Batman Begins

Apparently I recently missed an Aliens movie exhibition, but they still have amazing first edition replicas of the original alien and the Alien Queen from the sequel on display for you to see up close.

Alien Queen from James Cameron's Aliens

They really do have movie memorabilia from all genres, from horror to sci-fi, espionage to family films, plus other infamous items like this gong featured before all the movies of the British entertainment company, Rank Organisation.

Rank Gong on display at the London Film Museum

In fact there's something inherently

British a

bout the museum, with lots of items from

British

produced movies (like

Zulu, 007, Mr. Bean, Excalibur and Dr. Who & The Daleks

to name but a few), as well as those originating in

Hollywoodland

.

Original costume armour from Excalibur

designed by Terry English

Dinosaur prop from Night at the Museum 2

In addition to props and costumes there are also some impressive movie vehicles like the autogyro used in Sean Connery's 'James Bond' movie, You Only Live Twice, plus a TARDIS and a Thunderbird 4 sub

mersible from the 2004 live-action Thunderbirds movie.

007's Little Nellie autogyro from You Only Live Twice

The London Film Museum really is a great way to spend a few hours and is open seven days a week. It's also expanding to open another venue in the Covent Garden area, so keep you eyes peeled for details of that in 2011.

In the meantime, if you do get a chance to pop along to this museum you won't be disappointed, as it's always fun to see authentic movie costumes and props in person up close.