Legend *** (1985, Tom Cruise, Mia Sara, Tim Curry) – Classic Movie Review 1516

Director Ridley Scott’s quite enchanting, glorious looking, magical 1985 fantasy adventure stars the hot young 23-year-old star Tom Cruise as a woodland creature, the forest boy called Jack O’ the Green, who is trying to save a unicorn and a pretty fairy princess called Lili (Mia Sara, only 15 when filming began) from a devilish demon. 

There are two very different versions of this movie, featuring very different soundtracks by either Jerry Goldsmith or Tangerine Dream. No disrespect to the distinguished Goldsmith score, but the Tangerine Dream version of the film is far superior.

The Lord of Darkness wants to create eternal night by destroying daylight and the last of the unicorns, as well as seeking to marry the woman Jack loves. So Jack’s quest is to rally his elven allies and stop Darkness. As the Lord of Darkness, Tim Curry has the best part, even if he’s submerged under Rob Bottin’s amazing special make-up effects, and he makes a lip-smacking banquet of it. Cruise looks cute nipping around the woods in his little nappy.

Though admittedly the story and characters are fairly flimsy, Legend is extremely pleasing as a visual experience. Incredibly pretty though it is, this sweet film does occasionally resemble an 80s shampoo advertisement, slightly damaging its magic and credibility.

Surprisingly, alas, it turned out to be one of Cruise’s very few flops, despite his hot status at the time. When the film flopped, Scott re-worked the original 95-minute movie very successfully for the much improved American version, cannily re-edited and faster paced at only 89 minutes with a score by Tangerine Dream replacing Jerry Goldsmith’s original. 

Curry’s Lord of Darkness is brought much more to the fore, and appears from the start, instead of only at the film’s climax. Happily, British TV shows this American version, though the original film usually circulates on DVD. There is also a 114-minute director’s cut, with a different ending. The first cut of the film ran 150 minutes. With a troubled production as the Pinewood Studio 007 sound stage burned to the ground, it was costly for the day, at $30million, and took back only half that in America,

Rob Bottin and Peter Robb-King were Oscar-nominated for the impressive special make-up effects.

Though a sweet fairy tale, the film’s last part is scary for younger children.

© Derek Winnert 2014 Classic Movie Review 1516

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