Masters of the Universe (1987)

The heroic warrior He-Man battles against the evil lord Skeletor and his armies of darkness for control of Castle Grayskull.

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 (as Anthony DeLongis)
Robert Towers	...	Karg
Barry Livingston	...	Charlie

Storyline

On the planet Eternia, Skeletor and his dark army overthrow the Sorceress of Castle Grayskull expecting to acquire her power. He-Man, his old friend Duncan "Man-at-Arms" and his daughter Teela are attacked by Skeletor's soldiers and they defeat them. They also rescue their prisoner, the inventor and locksmith Gwildor. He explains that he was lured by Evil-Lyn that used his invention the Cosmic Key to open the gates and seize the Castle Grayskull. He-Man and his friends retrieve the prototype of the Cosmic Key trying to release the Sorcereress but they are defeated by Skeletor and his army and Gwildor uses his key to open and portal for them to flee. They come to Earth but lose the key. Meanwhile, Julie Winston, who grieves the loss of her parents in a plane crash, and her boyfriend Kevin Corrigan find and activate the key, believing it is a foreign musical instrument. On Eternia, Evil-Lyn locates the Cosmic Key and Skeletor sends her with a group of mercenaries and soldiers to ...

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Plot Keywords:

magical sword | good versus evil | villain | superhero | key | 

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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 [United States]

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)

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,883,168, 9 August 1987, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$17,336,370

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$100,000,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

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

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min 139 min (workprint)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Mattel did not want He-Man and the other heroes killing people, since they never did so in the cartoon, but Gary Goddard felt that a "no killing rule" would not work on film, especially when compared to the action fare of the day. The compromise was to use robot storm troopers, so that they could be killed off in place of the flesh and blood villains.

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Goofs

Billy Barty's real mouth (in black makeup) is visible through Gwildor's mouth. It is most obvious during the scene when they're trying to re-power the key in the street park.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: At the center of the universe, at the border between the light and the dark stands Castle Greyskull. For countless ages, the Sorceress of Greyskull has kept this universe in harmony. But the armies of darkness do not rest, and the capture of Greyskull is ever most in their minds. For with those that control Greyskull, will come the Power... The power to be supreme... the power to be almighty... the power to be... Masters of the Universe!

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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 Honest Trailers: Die Hard (2015)

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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 (as Living In A Box)
Courtesy of Chrysalis Records

User Reviews

One of the best films of the 80's

Masters Of The Universe is a brilliant movie. It may not be exactly the same as the animated TV series, but that does not matter. The storyline was quite good too. I think that right now would be the perfect time to make a sequel. If they did, they would obviously get people who saw The Phantom Menace earlier this year going to see it. They could even have a computer generated Orko and Battle Cat. I give this film a 10/10.