This movie was a loose adaptation of Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur according to the credits, but no doubt screenwriters John Boorman and Rospo Pallenberg also drew from sources such as Tennyson's Idylls Of The King and the Wagnerian opera Tristan und Isolde to fashion their own interpretation of the ages old legend. In so doing, the movie is open to explore themes such as the true source of leadership and what courage actually is.
One of the most critical segments of the story comes when Arthur, fighting to defend his claim to the kingship of Britain, has led his army of knights to the castle of King Leodegrance of Camelard, one of the few warlords who swore alliance to the boy king. Leodegrance is under siege by Uriens and his allies. Uriens is unwilling to recognize Arthur's legitimacy, being a mere squire who has not yet even attained the rank of knighthood and of questionable parentage. To a man like Uriens, Arthur is in no way, shape or form worthy to hold any claim to the throne of Britain.
Arthur certainly proves his mettle in combat. He leads his men effectively in breaking through Uriens' siege lines and cuts his way through several knights, taking a sword wound in the fight. He finally gains the upper hand on Uriens by leaping down on him from the castle battlements. Having him in the moat and swordpoint, Arthur demands his submission.
"Swear faith to me, and you shall have mercy. I need battle-lords such as you."
However, even at swordpoint, Uriens will not surrender, and neither will his men. "A noble knight, swear faith to a squire?!"
Arthur's first impulse is to simply kill the rebel knight. But he then looks around the battlefield and reconsiders the situation. And he realizes that he needs something more than mere strength of arms to win this battle, and has an insight that was beyond his father, the brutal warlord Uther Pendragon. "You're right, I'm not yet a knight. You, Uriens, will knight me. Then as knight to knight, I can offer you mercy," says Arthur, handing Excalibur — the very symbol of kingship — over to his enemy and kneels in the water to either receive the accolade of knighthood or the death blow.
The sudden turn of events shocks Uriens. Arthur's recognition of the justice of his claim, and his willingness to place his own fate into the hands of an enemy, are things Uriens never expected of the "bastard" boy who would be king. Uriens struggles with his conflicting impulses to simply kill Arthur and take the throne of Britain for himself, or to treat his enemy with mercy and justice. The fate of the land suddenly rests in his hands alone.
Then Uriens makes his decision, the only one a noble knight such as himself could make:
"In the name of God, St. Michael and St. George, I give you the right to bear arms and mete out justice." To which Arthur humbly replies, "A duty I shall solemnly obey, as knight and King." Uriens then hands back Excalibur and kneels to his lord.
"Rise, King Arthur. I am your humble knight. And I swear allegiance to the courage in your veins. So strong it is, that its source must be Uther Pendragon. I doubt you no more."
In that instant, Arthur won over his enemies. The true test of his courage and his right to claim Excalibur and the kingship was not in pulling the sword from the stone but in his willingness to be subject to the same law he would impose upon others. Arthur's simple faith that Uriens, a just man, would do the right thing by both himself and the land won him a deeper victory than that which could be brought about by force alone. That in and of itself is one of the most powerful messages of this movie and indeed of any movie. The true source of power is not force but justice, and the true source of courage is not brutality but humility and the willingness to place oneself in danger for a greater object than one's own self.
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