“What is light without dark?”
Ridley Scott has directed some of the biggest feature films of all time including Alien, Gladiator, The Martian, Blade Runner, and Thelma & Louise. Most of his films have been financially successful, including those that failed to impress critics. One of the few films that Scott directed (and developed the story for) that failed to win over critics and audiences was 1985’s Legend. It starred a young Tom Cruise who was just beginning to catch fire in Hollywood after starring in All The Right Moves and Risky Business. It was also the film debut of Mia Sara who would appear in the wildly popular Ferris Bueller’s Day Off one year later. Rounding out the film’s major cast members is Tim Curry as the Lord of Darkness. Curry was handpicked by Ridley Scott due to his experience on the live stage. Scott believed that Curry could add something to the role based on his performance in The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Supporting cast included Billy Barty, David Bennent, Alice Playten, Cork Hubbert, and Annabelle Lanyon.
In the film, the Lord of Darkness sends one of this favorite goblins, Blix (Playten), out to kill the last two unicorns in the world in order to wipe out the light and allow darkness to rule forever. Blix happens upon Princess Lili (Sara) about to touch one of the unicorns while Jack (Cruise) watches from a distance and warns her not to put her hand on the unicorn. Blix poisons the unicorn with a blow dart when Lili is about to touch the animal. This makes Jack believe that her touch has cast the world into darkness. The unicorn is later found by Blix and he cuts off the animal’s horn. This casts the world into an eternal winter that freezes nearly everything. Heartbroken and confused, Jack meets up with a small group of headed up by the dwarf Honeythorn Gump (Bennent). Together they find the wounded unicorn and are told that the only way to bring the light back is to defeat Darkness and return the unicorn’s horn. Lili is captured by the goblins and brought back to Darkness’ stronghold to become his bride. Jack and his comrades battle a swamp witch and end up imprisoning themselves in Darkness’ castle. Managing to break free, they pursue Darkness while Lili makes plans of her own to save the unicorn. Who wins? Will light be restored? You’ll have to watch Legend to find out!
The film’s visuals are brilliant. Robin Bottin handled the makeup effects for all of the creatures in the film and was nominated for an Academy Award as a result. His work on Tim Curry’s Lord of Darkness is still considered to be some of the most amazing makeup effects ever done. Curry was completely unrecognizable in the role. The film was shot on six soundstages at Pinewood Studios. Assheton Gorton was the film’s production designer, developing the film’s look and creating the sets. Music was handled by Jerry Goldsmith in the film’s UK release and by Tangerine Dream in the United States. This was done due to the fact that parts of the film were edited differently in the two releases. As a result, the film has three different endings, all of which are available in numerous formats.
As far as the cast is concerned, Tim Curry gives a solid performance as Darkness despite being covered in makeup. David Bennent gives a creepy performance as Honeythorn (voice dubbed by Alice Playten). Annabelle Lanyon is captivating as the fairy named Oona. Alice Playten is sinister as Blix. Tom Cruise is serviceable as Jack but is probably the weakest actor in the bunch. Mia Sara turns in a great performance as Lili, who uses her sex appeal to play tricks on Darkness. She dances with perfection between being a sweetly innocent maiden and a wicked seductress. It’s also worth noting that Robert Picardo, best known by genre fans as the Doctor in Star Trek: Voyager, portrays the swamp hag named Meg Mucklebones.
While I wouldn’t necessarily recommend Legend to everyone, it’s definitely worth a look for fans of 1980’s fantasy. It has the same look and feel of better fantasy films of that time like Ladyhawke and Willow, but suffers from a rather thin storyline. I also recommend that fans of makeup effects check out this flick for no other reason than to see the amazing work of Robin Bottin.
Thanks for revisiting this oft-forgotten fantasy flick with me. I appreciate you taking time to read my post. See you again real soon!
Ken's Alternate Universe! 