Krull is a 1983 heroic fantasy film directed by Peter Yates and produced by Ron Silverman. Released by Columbia Pictures, it stars Ken Marshall as Prince Colwyn and Lysette Anthony as Princess Lyssa.
One of the film's most distinguished features is a robust score by James Horner. The film is also notable for its early screen roles for the now-famous Irish actor Liam Neeson and Scottish actor Robbie Coltrane and for its surrealistic set design within the Black Fortress.
Plot
The world of Krull is invaded by an evil alien entity known as The Beast and his army of Slayers, mindless cyborgs, who travel the galaxy in the mountain-like spaceship, the Black Fortress. Prince Colwyn and Princess Lyssa decide to marry and form an alliance between their rival kingdoms in the hope that together their combined forces will be strong enough to defeat the Beast and his armies. It was foretold that Lyssa, who has an ancient name, would bear a child destined to rule the galaxy. The Beast, intent on ensuring it came true to his satisfaction, has his Slayers attack on the wedding day. The castle of Lyssa's father, King Eirig (Bernard Archard), is destroyed, the Kings are murdered, the human armies protecting the castle are devastated, and the princess is kidnapped and taken to the Black Fortress.
Colwyn, the only survivor of the attack, sets out to rescue his bride under the guidance of Ynyr the Old One (Freddie Jones). His first task is to find the Glaive, an ancient and magical star shaped weapon (not to be confused with the polearm of the same name) that he must retrieve from a lava cave high in the mountain peaks. Next, he must learn the location of the Black Fortress, which teleports to a new location on the planet at sunrise every day. On his journey he is joined by a cowardly shapeshifting magician, Ergo "the Magnificent" (David Battley), the cyclops Rell (Bernard Bresslaw), and Torquil (Alun Armstrong), the leader of a band of ten escaped convicts that includes Kegan (Liam Neeson), Rhun (Robbie Coltrane) and Oswyn (Todd Carty in his feature film debut). Colwyn enlists the convicts' aid, as his armies have already been slaughtered by the Slayers. He offers them their freedom as reward for their service.
They are also aided by the blind prophet, the Emerald Seer (John Welsh), with his young apprentice Titch (Graham McGrath) in the attempt to find the Black Fortress. However, the Beast manages to have the Emerald Seer disposed of before he can reveal his location, forcing Ynyr to see the Widow of the Web (Francesca Annis) for aid at the cost of his life. The Widow of the Web is an enchantress who loved Ynyr long ago and whose terrible crime exiled her to live within the lair of a giant spider. With the information given by a dying Ynyr, Colwyn and his group have only until the next sunrise to find the Black Fortress, defeat the Slayers, vanquish The Beast, rescue Lyssa, and save their world.
Colwyn and his followers reach the palace, using the Fire Mares (the only transport fast enough to reach the teleporting fortress in the same day), but are held back by Slayers, who kill Rhun. Rell arrives and due to his great strength withstands Slayer blasts and forces an entry into the Fortress by holding huge rock doors long enough for the others to enter, but dies as the entrance closes and crushes him. Kegan dies shortly after at the hands of a Slayer and Colwyn is separated from the others. Ergo transforms into a tiger to fight the Slayers and protect Titch. Torquil and Oswyn are trapped in a cave that threatens to kill them by impaling them on spikes coming through the walls.
Colwyn injures The Beast non-fatally with the Glaive and finds Lyssa. He is, however, unable to retrieve the Glaive from the Beast's body. She realises that the flame she passed him at the marriage ceremony can finish the beast. He uses it to slay The Beast and they make their way out of the Fortress, finding Torquil and Oswyn and retrieving Ergo and Titch. Colwyn uses the fire to blast his way out of the Fortress, which collapses and disappears up and out of Krull. Colwyn names Torquil as Lord Marshall, which Torquil accepts. As the heroes depart across a field, the narrator confirms that they will rule the world and their child shall rule the galaxy.
Production
Tie-ins
In 1983, several games were developed with the Krull license:
- A Parker Brothers board game and card game
- An arcade game by D. Gottlieb & Co., who also designed a Krull pinball game that was never put into production.
- A console game originally planned for the Atari 5200, but changed to the Atari 2600 because of poor sales of the former system.
Music
Some pieces of the music were reused for the area atmosphere nearby Space Mountain: From the Earth to the Moon (1995-2005) — now Space Mountain: Mission 2 — at Disneyland Paris.[citation needed]
Adaptations
A novelization was written by Alan Dean Foster. A comic book adaptation was published by Marvel Comics, both as a Marvel Super Special with behind-the-scenes material from the film, and as a two-issue limited series.
References
External links
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