Legend is a 1985 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 and Mia Sara. Though not a very notable success when first released, it received an Academy Award nomination and has since gained a cult following.
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 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 Lili to see the creatures, while followed by Blix and her two cohorts Pox and Blunder. The unicorns appear, and Lily ignores Jack's pleas not to touch them. As Lili approaches the unicorns, the goblins attack with a poisoned blowpipe dart, hitting the stallion. The unicorns bolt, but neither Lili nor Jack notice the 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 she will marry. Overcome by the venom, the stallion 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 put to him by Gump. The group then sets off on their quest and finds the lifeless stallion 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 runs back to tell Brown Tom that the goblins are coming for the female, 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 Dark Lord trying to seduce Lily with his charm and power. Lily seems able to resist the seductions, but then she asks for the privilege of killing the surviving unicorn.
Jack and his friends overhear the Dark Lord tell Lily that sunlight will destroy him. Consequently they gather large metal dishes to use as reflective shields, which they position around the castle in order to channel sunlight into the lair. The Dark Lord brings Lili 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. Indeed, Lily cuts the unicorn free instead and is knocked out by the angered Lord of Darkness. Jack appears and confronts the Dark Lord, but he is undersized and outmatched. As defeat looms, Jack plunges the stallion's horn into the Lord of Darkness' chest just as the last shield is set in place and sunlight strikes the Dark Lord, causing his destruction.
Jack tries to revive Lily, but she remains asleep under a spell. Jack dives into the pond and recovers the ring. As Jack slips the ring onto Lily's finger, the Princess awakens. Lily takes the ring off and returns it to Jack. Jack is invited to return to Lily the next day, then she returns home. As Jack runs off into the sunset, Gump, Oona, and the rest of the group, including both unicorns, wave goodbye to Jack, his quest now concluded.
The movie (as seen in the U.S.) ends with the Lord of Darkness laughing one last time.
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, which he thought was "good", to remain on European prints.[2]
Also, an alternate ending (as eventually used in the 1986 U.S. version) was made in which Gump puts the horn back on the dead unicorn and it came back to life and finally, Jack and Lily run off into the sunset together, with Gump, the Unicorns, and the others waving at them. The final scene shows the Dark Lord laughing in his new domain and he will come again when darkness covers the world.
Cast
- Gump's voice was dubbed by Alice Playten because an executive thought that David Bennent's voice sounded too German.[3]
Music
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. This soundtrack also includes songs by Jon Anderson of Yes and Bryan Ferry of Roxy Music. Both soundtracks are available on CD, though the Tangerine Dream soundtrack has become harder to find.
A promotional music video (presumably for the U.S. market, where the Tangerine Dream soundtrack was used) was created for the Bryan Ferry song "Is Your Love Strong Enough". The video, which incorporates Ferry and guitarist David Gilmour into footage from the film, is included as a bonus on disc 2 of the 2002 "Ultimate Edition" DVD release.
Release
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.[4]
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. http://www.figmentfly.com/legend/background3.html. Retrieved 2008-01-15.
- ^ "Creating A Myth: The Making of 'Legend' "--"Legend: Ultimate Edition", Disc 2, Universal Studios Home Video, 2002
- ^ Ridley Scott DVD Commentary for "Legend: Ultimate Edition", Disc 1, Universal Studios Home Video, 2002.
- ^ 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.".
External links
