Legend (film)
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| Legend | |
|---|---|
 Original theatrical poster for the US release |
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| Directed by | Ridley Scott |
| Produced by | Tim Hampton Arnon Milchan |
| Written by | William Hjortsberg |
| Starring | Tom Cruise Mia Sara Tim Curry David Bennent Alice Playten Billy Barty Cork Hubbert |
| Music by | Jerry Goldsmith |
| Cinematography | Alex Thomson |
| Editing by | Terry Rawlings |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox Universal Studios |
| Release date(s) | April 18, 1986 |
| Running time | 94 minutes |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $30,000,000 |
| Gross revenue | $15,502,112 (in US) |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Legend is a 1986 fantasy film released by 20th Century Fox (in Europe) and Universal Pictures (in the U.S. and Canada), directed by Ridley Scott and starring Tom Cruise, Mia Sara, Tim Curry, Alice Playten, and Billy Barty. Though not a very notable success when first released, it has since gained a cult following.
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[edit] Plot
The following synopsis is based on an early 113-minute version later released on DVD as the "director's cut".
The story is set "once, long ago" in a world of unicorns, fairies, goblins and demons.
Hidden in a dark lair, the antagonist, the Lord of Darkness (Tim Curry) instructs his goblin servant Blix (Alice Playten) to locate the two unicorns that roam in the nearby forest and remove their horns. If the unicorns die and their horns are removed, the Lord of Darkness can ensure that dawn never again breaks, and sunshine (his "destroyer") never returns.
In the forest, Jack (Tom Cruise), a young hermit,[1] meets with his love, Princess Lily (Mia Sara). As one of few forest dwellers allowed to locate the unicorns, Jack takes Lily to see the creatures, while followed by Blix and his two cohorts Pox and Blunder. The unicorns appear, and Lily ignores Jack's pleas to not touch them. As Lily approaches the unicorns, the goblins attack.
Jack chastises Lily for ignoring his warnings. Despite this, Lily sets a challenge for Jack by throwing her ring into a nearby pond and claims that whomever recovers the ring shall be her suitor. The unicorns are hunted until the unharmed one is captured and the injured one has its horn removed by Blix. The unicorn's death causes a fierce snowstorm, the pond freezes and Jack is unable to locate the ring. During the storm, Lily hides in a cottage owned by Nell, a woodland dweller, but finds that Nell and her family have frozen as part of the curse brought on by the taking of the unicorn's horn. Lily hides in time to avoid arriving goblins, and overhears clues that explains the cause of the disaster. As the goblins ride off, Lily swears to undo her mistake.
Meanwhile, Jack meets Oona, Honeythorn Gump, Brown Tom, and Screwball (a fairy, an elf, and two dwarves). In order to obtain the fairies' help, Jack correctly answers a riddle posed upon him by Gump. The group then sets off on their quest and finds the sleeping Unicorn without its alicorn. Gump and Jack conclude that the alicorn must be found at all costs, and only then will the world return to normal. Jack and the fairies leave Brown Tom with the female unicorn to find weapons for Jack. Lily arrives at Brown Tom and tries to help him, but they are discovered by the goblins. After a skirmish, Lily and the surviving unicorn are taken to the Lord of Darkness. Jack, who has been fitted with armor and a sword is happy to learn that Lily is still alive. The comrades overcome many obstacles to reach the Lord of Darkness' lair, where they witness the evil Lord trying to seduce Lily with his charm and power. Lily seems to be able to resist the seductions and grows frustrated, but when Lily suddenly asks for the privilege of killing the surviving unicorn, the Lord of Darkness laughs because the irony of her request is a triumph for him.
Jack and his friends discover that sunlight will destroy the Lord and gather large metal dishes to use as reflective shields, positioned around the castle in an effort to channel sunlight into the lair. The Lord brings Lily to the unicorn, and Jack's friends encourage Jack to shoot Lily with an arrow to prevent the animal's death. Jack ignores their pleas, trusting his love. Lily cuts the unicorn free instead and is knocked out by the angered Lord of Darkness. Jack appears and confronts the Lord, but he is undersized and outmatched. As defeat looms, the last shield is set in place and sunlight strikes the Lord, causing his destruction.
Jack tries to revive Lily, but Gump says she is under a spell. At this point in the story (as we will learn moments later from Lily), the entire film, at least in its "director's cut", has been all but a nightmare. The story then picks up as Jack dives into the pond and recovers the ring. As Jack slips the ring onto Lily's finger, the Princess awakens and realizes she has had a nightmare, and in the process, learns about herself as a person. Lily takes the ring off and returns it to Jack as a memento of his encounter with the Princess. Jack is invited to return to Lily the next day, then she returns home. As Jack runs off into the sunset, Gump, Oona, the two unicorns, and the rest of the group wave goodbye to Jack, his quest now concluded.
[edit] Production
The film was written by William Hjortsberg and produced by Arnon Milchan, but the behind-the-scenes story of the making of the film is in itself a legend. The film was shot at Pinewood Studios using the 007 Stage, named after, and used for many James Bond films. Part-way through the filming the stage burned completely to the ground forcing the producers to finish the movie on hastily completed sets. The film then failed in test screenings: test audiences complained about Jerry Goldsmith's score and of how teenage audiences might accept the film.
The film was first released in Europe, cut down to 94 minutes.
Both Universal and Scott decided to cut the film drastically for domestic release, from nearly two hours in length to 89 minutes. They also replaced Goldsmith's score with music by Tangerine Dream, Yes leader Jon Anderson, and Bryan Ferry. Scott allowed Goldsmith's score, regarded by some music critics as Goldsmith's greatest film work, to remain on European prints.
[edit] Cast
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To meet Wikipedia's quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup because it is in a list format that may be better presented using prose. You can help by converting this section to prose, if appropriate. Editing help is available. (February 2008) |
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Tom Cruise | Jack |
| Mia Sara | Princess Lily |
| Tim Curry | The Lord of Darkness |
| David Bennent | Honeythorn Gump |
| Robert Picardo | Meg Mucklebones |
[edit] Media
[edit] DVD
In 2002, Universal released a 113-minute "director's cut" on DVD restoring previously cut scenes, and the original Goldsmith Score. In creating the director's cut edition, producer Charles de Lauzirika turned to Legend fan and unofficial historian Sean Murphy, who runs the Legend FAQ and Terry Rawlings, the editor of Legend, for help in finding the footage for the Ultimate DVD creation.[2]
[edit] Soundtrack
Due to the changes in the film from its European and American releases, Legend has two different soundtracks. The first, produced and composed by Jerry Goldsmith, was used for its initial European release and restored in the director's cut edition of the Region 1 DVD release. The second soundtrack features music by German electronic artists Tangerine Dream and was used for the initial theatrical and home video releases in the United States. Both soundtracks are available on CD though the Tangerine Dream soundtrack has become harder to find.
[edit] Other Media
The Lord of Darkness (referred to as the Big Horn Guy) appears in the Family Guy episode "Whistle While Your Wife Works" voiced by Seth MacFarlane. Peter Griffin mentions that he, Cleveland Brown, Glenn Quagmire, and Joe Swanson partied out with him once. One of his horns accidentally puts Quagmire and Cleveland's eye out.
[edit] References
- ^ What were the contents of the LEGEND press kit in America? (online version of original press kit). Ridley Scott's LEGEND FAQ (2005-01-01). Retrieved on 2008-01-15.
- ^ Hunt, Bill (12 2000). "Inside DVD: Fact Or Rumor". Widescreen Review 9 (44): 106-111. “The Director's Cut was a nightmare to track down. In doing research on this, I had been in contact with a certifiable Legend fanatic named Sean Murphy, who runs the Legend FAQ along with Geoff Wright, and based in part on his info, and a lot of background from Legend editor, Terry Rawlings, I realized that we were looking for one of three cuts. ...Credit really needs to be given to Garth Thomas for breaking the case. And I should also thank Sean Murphy, Geoff Wright, and Paul MacLean for all of their support.”
[edit] External links
- Legend at the Internet Movie Database
- Legend at Allmovie
- Legend at Rotten Tomatoes
- Ridley Scott's LEGEND FAQ
| Preceded by The Money Pit |
Box office number-one films of 1986 (USA) April 20, 1986 – May 4, 1986 |
Succeeded by Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling |
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