Legend (1985)
“As long as unicorns rule the earth, evil can never come to the pure of heart.”
[Note: The following review is of a non-Peary title; click here to read more.]
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Review: This film, however, is all about the magical universe it presents — and to that end, it’s hard not to be impressed. Twenty years before the emergence of Peter Jackson’s (clearly superior) Lord of the Rings trilogy, Scott and his team crafted a remarkably haunting mystical landscape which Richard Scheib of the Moria review site refers to as “sumptuously textural” and “achingly beautiful”; filled with eerily “realistic” creatures, including elves and fairies and Tim Curry’s horrifically gruesome Lord of Darkness (those horns!). Scheib, a clear fan of the film, calls the movie (which was lambasted by most mainstream critics) an “extraordinary synthesis of production design, cinematography, editing and effects” — and it’s actually hard to disagree with this specific assessment, given that he doesn’t try to make any claims about the narrative. Regarding the performances, Cruise isn’t all that memorable, but Sara is lovely and fine in her screen debut (she’s perhaps best known for playing Ferris Bueller’s girlfriend the following year), and Curry’s performance is a stand-out. Note: In 2002, Legend was released on DVD in two different versions: the original, shorter, American theatrical release (with a synthesized score by Tangerine Dream), and the longer director’s cut (with a score by Jerry Goldsmith). I watched the original — trying to remain faithful to the version Peary might/would have seen around the time he was writing GFTFF — and loved the score, but took a brief look at the other version and liked Goldsmith’s score just as well, in a different way. In my opinion, the “score” (ha) is ultimately even between the two. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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3 thoughts on “Legend (1985)”
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
My rating applies to the 113 minute director’s cut only as it makes the most sense and is the best piece of storytelling. A sumptuous, exquisitely crafted fairytale with good performances and the Jerry Goldsmith score was his favourite of all those he did (apparently).
The original US version (90 minutes) has a score by Tangerine Dream and although it is a great score it suits the material less in my view.
The European edit (94 minutes) was the one I first saw back in 1986-87 upon it’s UK VHS release. This has the Goldsmith score.
These theatrical edits have problems but both would rate ⭐️⭐️⭐️.
Have you managed to see the 113 minute director’s cut yet Sylvia? Truly worth your time and it makes the narrative much clearer. The two shorter edits feel jumbled by comparrison.
Not yet – but I was actually thinking about watching it soon with my kids, now that they’re a little older and really into sci-fi/fantasy!