LEGEND
Beautiful, stunning, amazing evocation of a fantasy world, but lacking the life and drama of "Lord of the Rings."
By Steve Biodrowski
Ridley Scott's first three feature films (THE DUELISTS, ALIEN, and BLADE RUNNER) earned praise from fans who thought he was a brilliant visual stylist and criticism from those who thought his work was all empty visual flash, with no substance. With LEGEND, he offered up a piece of evidence that seemed to support his critic's contention: the film is a visually beautiful evocation of a fantasy world (with amazing costumes, sets, and creature makeup), but it is dramatically lifeless, without the sense of wonder that distinguishes masterpieces as diverse as THE WIZARD OF OZ and LORD OF THE RINGS.
Tom Cruise, a rising star at the time, seems out of place in the fantasy surroundings. The supporting cast is played by some competent character actors, but they seldom get a chance to shine. The only true highlight of the film is Tim Curry's turn as Darkness: a magnificent, Satanic figure (in a fantastic Rob Bottin makeup), Curry's dark lord captures the larger-than-life mythic tone better than anything else in the movie, emerging as a memorable portrait of evil.
Because of the strong visuals (and Curry's performance, which is mostly limited to the final twenty minutes), the film is worth seeing. But it is not the film it should have been, and what's wonderful about it only makes the failings more painful.
TRIVIA
Those who have read the original William Hjortsberg script say the film should have been much better -- and would have been if the director had had more respect for the written word instead of focusing all his efforts on the production design. Hjortsberg was apparently aiming for a more adult form of fantasy, making explicit the dark sexual undertones of Darkness's attempted seduction of Princess Lily; this of course was tone down to make the film feel more like a family-oriented fairy tale.
After its initial preview, the film was drastically recut for its European release, from 150 minutes to 94 minutes. The American release was held up a year while the film was recut again, this time to 89 minutes.
The European version was scored by Jerry Goldsmith (who previously worked with Scott on ALIEN); the American version abandons the Goldsmith music in favor of a new score by the German group Tangerine Dream (who also provided music for the Tom Cruise film RISKY BUSINESS). The results were detrimental, to say the least. The Goldsmith music provide something otherwise lacking in the movie: a lively sense of adventure and romance; the Tangerine Dream soundtrack emphasized what was already there: the weirdness of this exotic fantasy world.
On DVD, the film now exists in a "director's cut" that contains elements of both the European and U.S. theatrical versions. Running at 113 minutes, this version also contains the original music by Jerry Goldsmith.
