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:

The live-action motion picture

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

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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

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

The look of Skeletor's robot warriors was modeled after the samurai.

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Goofs

When He-Man hangs upside down while pursued by Skeletor's Air Centurion, his hair does not hang down. However, since he's "hanging from" an anti-gravity platform, on which he's standing, from his point of view he's standing the right side up. If his hair would fall down (the real down), then his entire body would follow, but that does not happen. Apparently, that's how those anti-gravity platforms work.

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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

Referenced in Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (1986)

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Soundtracks

Dear Mr. Fantasy
Written by Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi and Chris Wood
Performed by Traffic
Courtesy of Island Records

User Reviews

Silly but Entertaining

On the planet Eternia, Skeletor (Frank Langella) and his dark army overthrow the Sorceress of Castle Grayskull (Christina Pickles) expecting to acquire her power. He-Man (Dolph Lundgren), his old friend Duncan "Man-at-Arms" (Jon Cypher) and his daughter Teela (Chelsea Field) are attacked by Skeletor's soldiers and they defeat them. They also rescue their prisoner, the inventor and locksmith Gwildor (Billy Barty). He explains that he was lured by Evil-Lyn (Meg Foster) that used his invention 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 (Courteney Cox), who grieves the loss of her parents in a plane crash, and her boyfriend Kevin Corrigan (Robert Duncan McNeill) 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 vanquish He-man and his friends and bring the key back. Will they succeed?

"Masters of the Universe" is a silly but entertaining fantasy adventure film. The movie is a ripoff Star Wars, with the introductory credits rolling on the screen, the score and Skeletor's army, and Conan, with the strong Dolph Lundgren. The plot has silly moments, like Julie delivering the Key to her deceased mother or the comic attitudes of Detective Lubic. But "Masters of the Universe" is cult and entertaining for the fans. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "Mestres do Universo – O Filme" ("Masters of the Universe – The Movie")