Legend (1985)

A young man must stop the Lord of Darkness from both destroying daylight and marrying the woman he loves.

Director:

Ridley Scott

Writer:

William Hjortsberg

Stars:

Tom Cruise, Mia Sara, Tim Curry

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tom Cruise	...	Jack
Mia Sara	...	Lili
Tim Curry	...	Darkness
David Bennent	...	Gump
Alice Playten	...	Blix
Billy Barty	...	Screwball
Cork Hubbert	...	Brown Tom
Peter O'Farrell	...	Pox
Kiran Shah	...	Blunder
Annabelle Lanyon	...	Oona
Robert Picardo	...	Meg Mucklebones
Tina Martin	...	Nell
Ian Longmur	...	Demon Cook (as Ian Longmuir)
Mike Crane	...	Demon Cook
Liz Gilbert	...	Dancing Black Dress

Storyline

A demon who seeks to create eternal night by destroying the last of the unicorns and marrying a fairy princess is opposed by the forest boy Jack and his elven allies in this magical fantasy. Two different versions of this picture feature soundtracks by either Tangerine Dream or Jerry Goldsmith.

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Plot Keywords:

unicorn | princess | demon | love | monster | 

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Taglines:

A world full of magic, wonder and desire. (US VHS)

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Genres:

Fantasy | Adventure | Romance

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

William Hjortsberg

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

18 April 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

Legenda

Filming Locations:

Agnes Scott College - 141 E. College Avenue, Decatur, Georgia, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$15,502,112 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Embassy International Pictures, Legend Production Company, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min 114 min (director's cut)

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ridley Scott was inspired to cast Tim Curry as Darkness after seeing The Rocky Horror Picture Show. He had also considered casting Richard O'Brien as Meg Mucklebones.

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Goofs

In the credits, Lily's name is spelled Lili, as well as on the Jerry Goldsmith soundtrack. In the U.S. version, in the blurb at the beginning, her name is spelled Lily, as well as in the Scene Selection on the DVD.

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Quotes

Princess Lily: This place holds more magic for me than any palace in the world.

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Connections

Referenced in Black Rain: The Script, the Cast (2006)

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Soundtracks

"Forgive Me"
Composed by Jerry Goldsmith
Performed by 'The National Philharmonic Orchestra' & 'The National Philharmonic Chorus
Courtesy of Silva America

User Reviews

LEGEND: Gothic, Grim, Beautiful, Enchanting, Magical, Dreamy, Fantastic, and ultimately Constant.

Ridley Scotts' fallen masterpiece "Legend" has, in it's own rite, become one of the most infamous, if not fascinating, legacies in Hollywood. In 1984, Ridley Scott, director of the famed sci-fi "Alien", set out to tell a defining fairy tale. Once he was joined by writer William Hjortsberg, the duo started off on a creative journey to conjure what would become the beloved film "Legend". The film was further more given the appropriate elements for the general fairy tale. The Princess, the Hero, the Villain, the Goblins, the Fairies, and the other magical characters and creatures such as the Unicorns and Honeythorn Gump. Seeing as the film is intended to be a definitive fairy tale, this would also mean tracing the modern genre back to its' roots, Grim style. Indeed, the completed product was pure in it's woven fables. Just as it is tender, and bright, is it also dark, surreal, nightmarish, and ultimately entrancing. More of the film deals with the overshadow of darkness in the magical land. A proper way to show the sudden switch from light and happy, to dark and fearsome indeed.

In the story, we have the world, happy, beautiful, completely compelling in its' own nature. The dark truth lies within its' own reality. Darkness once ruled the world, but has since retreated into the lower levels of the earth, to groan and complain of times in a better existence. The world is happy, because the Unicorn, a very dear, and sacred animal, rules the land. These gorgeous creatures know only love and laughter, and thusly, protect the world from evil. They are attracted to one element in man kind, innocence. Princes Lily is pure at heart, as well as mind and spirit. Her soul friend, Jack, leads her to the creatures, as a gesture of love and affection. Quite unfortunately, however, the Lord Darkness has sent his own army after the creatures too. Once both sides are at the right place, and the wrong time, the Unicorns are harmed, and the earth, in danger. Thus begins a journey full of action, adventure, and suspense.

Tom Cruise has only performed well in this one film, for me anyway. He is actually quite affective, and believable as the hero Jack. He shows both strength and bravery, to contrast with confusion and fear of the unknown. Very plausible indeed. Mia Sara is so gorgeous, naive, and pure as the Princess. Her characteristics consist of a blind ambition, love stricken playfulness, and of course, Innocence. Never, has this genre seen such a perfect portrayal. Now, Tim Curry turns in one hell of a performance. Thanks to modern film-making, Curry is a frightening, disgusting, and yet sexual portrayal of ultimate Darkness. The three stars are all mixed together in a real Fairy Tale, with a message at the end. (note, this message is only seen in the 2002 restored Directors Cut).

I do not feel the need to bring up the controversy that ensued the principal photography, as it is well known by fans and film buffs of all kind. What I can say, is that Ridley Scott was certainly determined to give us the product of his imagination. That said, he gave us a real fantasy. he has given us a real story of magic,, love, hate,adventure, and all kinds of elements that create what a film like this should be. One thing to truly be mentioned, however, is the late Jerry Goldsmith. This master at film composition of the musical persuasion, gave us his ultimate best, and that was being generous and forgetting about getting stabbed in the back during the processing of "Alien". Again, the great musician was tricked, and his beautiful score was thrown out the window from US versions, leaving the film to sugary and sappy. Even worse, important scenes were cut, leaving much of the film uneven and seemingly rushed. Sad enough, this kind of treatment happened a year earlier with 1984's "Supergirl". Fortunately, however, we were given the true version of the film in mid 2002, and rightly so. The film has since then, been seen, and loved by fans as myself, who loved it way back when....as well as now.

The best I can say, is that this movie has a full blown mastermind to it, and the producers and creators etc finally gave the film justice. Same happened with "Supergirl" in 2000. Bottom line, this film is brilliant, and touching, and an ever- glorious masterpiece!