Masters of the Universe (1987)

A life-action feature film based on the popular cartoon kids show about a prince turned warrior named He-Man.

Director:

Gary Goddard

Writer:

David Odell

Stars:

Dolph Lundgren, Frank Langella, Meg Foster

2 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dolph Lundgren	...	He-Man
Frank Langella	...	Skeletor
Meg Foster	...	Evil-Lyn
Billy Barty	...	Gwildor
Courteney Cox	...	Julie Winston
Robert Duncan McNeill	...	Kevin Corrigan
Jon Cypher	...	Duncan (Man-at-Arms)
Chelsea Field	...	Teela
James Tolkan	...	Detective Lubic
Christina Pickles	...	Sorceress of Castle Grayskull
Tony Carroll	...	Beastman
Pons Maar	...	Saurod
Anthony De Longis	...	Blade
Robert Towers	...	Karg
Barry Livingston	...	Charlie

Storyline

The world of Eternia in the aftermath of Skeletor's war on Castle Grayskull, which he has won after seizing Grayskull and the surrounding city using a cosmic key developed by the Thenorian locksmith Gwildor. The Sorceress is now Skeletor's prisoner and he begins to drain her life-force as he waits for the moon of Eternia to align with the Great Eye of the Universe that will bestow god-like power upon him.

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Plot Keywords:

key | castle | planet | sorceress | warrior | 

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Taglines:

A Battle Fought In The Stars. Now... Comes To Earth.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Warner Bros [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 August 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

Masters of the Universe: The Motion Picture

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$22,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$17,336,370 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Golan-Globus Productions, Edward R. Pressman Film, Cannon Group

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Skeletor's line "I'm not in the giving mood this day" comes from Shakespeare's Richard III.

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Goofs

When He-Man is flying through the air chasing after the Air Centurions you can see through the left side of his body to the street in front of him.

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Quotes

Teela: What are you doing here?
Duncan: An old soldier learns to follow his nose.
Teela: Father, you're always hungry.
Duncan: I'm not always hungry! During the Siege of Crim, I went for thirty days...!
Teela, Duncan: Without rations.

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Crazy Credits

After the closing credits have ended, Skeletor's head, sans cowl, pops up from the waters of the pit he was thrown in, and says "I'll be back!".

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Connections

Featured in The Rotten Tomatoes Show: The A-Team/The Karate Kid/Winter's Bone (2010)

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Soundtracks

"Living In A Box"
Written by Marcus Vere (as M. Verv) and Steve Pigott (as S. Piggot)
Performed by Living In A Box
Courtesy of Chrysalis Records

User Reviews

Great fun!

"I Have the Power!"

For those of us who grew up in the 80's, that phrase is all too familiar. Especially for those who would rush home after school to watch our favorite strongman face off against the forces of evil that threaten the safety and security of his homeworld. For my money, it was never better than when He-Man faced off against Skeletor for the struggle for Eternia.

I also remember the fantasies that I and my friends would have of traveling away to that world of magic and fantasy, to fight alongside He-Man as he defends Grayskull. It truly was a series that was out of this world.

And now it's on Earth.

When I first heard about a live action movie, (mind you, I was twelve at the time), I was overly excited about it. But I didn't get to see it until my late teens. And I must say that it was very well done, especially in its presentation. In fact it brought back those far away childhood memories of those late afternoons in front of the tv, or outside with the toys a make-shift Eternia setting with my friends.

I'll grant a few things that were wrong with the movie though. There were times that I think the script was either badly edited, or just too rushed at certain points. I'm also not thrilled about them being on earth, but understanding budget constraints and the idea to make these characters more real than fantasy help feed into that decision, so I let that one go. I would have also liked to see more of the characters from the toys in the movie, but have no complaints that they made up a few cool characters, like Blade.

The casting choices, I felt, were really good. Dolph Lundgren worked as He-Man, even though he can't act. He looked the part, and even pulled off the role. I could tell that he wasn't walking through the part, as many actor will do with character roles (right Mr. Clooney?). And Frank Langella the PERFECT choice for Skeletor. Langella managed to bring that character to life in a way that gave me chills. Skeletor is perhaps one of the greatest villains ever imagined, but the cartoon made him a cackling villain, who was more a buffoon than anything, therefore he didn't seem threatening. But seeing Langella make Skeletor more dark and evil put my faith back into the conviction as a great villain.

You don't have to be a die hard fan of the series to enjoy the movie. It's great fun, imaginative, and it captures a moment in time. Don't scrutinize the movie because it's different from the cartoon. Look at it for what it is, and don't focus on its faults. It had the power to recapture my imagination, so its not all that bad.