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20 crazy details behind the making of legend.

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Ridley Scott may have been known for his cult hits back in the '80s, but  Legend   is one film that never reached the heights of  Blade Runner  or  Alien . Despite having its own share of "Director's Cuts" and "Ultimate Editions" like Scott's previous work, the film's fan group was even smaller in number. Much of this came from the movie's undeniable problems and the struggles - from its first draft to its fifteenth.

An ambitious new story taken from Celtic mythology,  Legend  involved a familiar fairy tale story with a young hero, played by Tom Cruise, going to save a princess from the Lord of Darkness, played by the legendary Tim Curry. While the production design and creativity were awe-inspiring, the characters and story felt underdeveloped. The intent may have been there, but it seemed to lack the depth necessary for it to last long after its time.

With that said, it's a small miracle the film actually got made. Plagued by innumerable production problems and creative changes, the final product couldn't help but illustrate that. However, it's an undoubtedly interesting project to investigate.

So many production ideas and instances of studio interference took it away from the original vision. Yet, many of these concepts will never be seen by fans. A mix of test screening reactions and executive decision-making took the project in a different direction that many behind the camera weren’t prepared for. Perhaps they could learn a thing or two from our list.

Here are  20 Crazy Details Behind The Making Of Legend.

Bad test screenings chopped the movie up

Test screenings can be the defining moment for big movies. It'll determine whether a studio has a surefire hit on their hands or if there's something to worry about. As revealed on Legend 's DVD special features, in the case of  Legend 's initial preview screening, things really didn't go as everyone hoped.

Viewers were divided on the film, to say the least.

This test screening ended up being  Legend 's defining moment as the film went through dramatic changes following it. Most prominent among them were the cuts to the runtime, eventually reduced to 89 minutes.

Credited for this decision were a couple of audience members supposedly smelling of illegal substances that expressed their displeasure during the screening. While most may not have minded, Ridley Scott seemed to see their comments as constructive.

There are four different versions of the movie

As previously noted, Legend went through a massive series of edits that resulted in a sharp difference from the project's original form. This led to multiple different versions being created that varied across multiple platforms. In total, there ended up being up to four different versions.

There is the original 94-minute European release, 89-minute theatrical release in America, a 94-minute release on network television, and an eventual Director's Cut that ended up with a 113-minute runtime.

The American version was ultimately the most edited-down. Network TV incorporated an opening title crawl narration and some scenes from the European version.

Besides the Director's Cut (which didn't come out until 2002), the European cut got the most authentic version.

It went through 15 rewrites

Writing a ready-for-filming screenplay is no easy task. Add in a large budget and dueling creative preferences with the studio, and you've got an idea of screenwriter William Hjortsberg's struggle.

Whether it was the lacking amount of source material provided to him or the constant retooling of the film's plot and design, his adaptability was essential.

There were constant reworkings necessary for the script. Decisions made to fix tonal issues, mass marketability, and figuring out how to remove 60 minutes from the runtime without breaking the film were just a few of his tasks.

It was no walk in the park for the writer, but it's clear that he remained hopeful and interested throughout.

Many elements may have been changed, but in his eyes,  Legend 's foundation remained.

Dark deleted scene between Lord of the Darkness and the Princess

A film like  Legend  proved to be somewhat difficult to market, but it could've been much more of a challenge had they stuck with certain creative choices.

When writing the first screenplay draft, there was a scene in which the Lord of Darkness torments the Princess until she loves him. The scene wouldn't have ended there either, as the two would've supposedly had violent relations immediately after.

Although Hjortsberg undoubtedly had reasoning behind this idea, the concept was one of the first things scrapped in the editing bay. He voiced his heavy amount of disappointment, but remained agreeable when some rewrites were requested.

It was originally way darker, and inappropriate for kids

If that entry discussing the initial film's extended torment scene didn't make it clear,  Legend  was planned as a very dark fairy tale. From its chosen screenwriter to the mythology that served as points of inspiration, this did not start as a standard fantasy.

However, 1985 was not the most forgiving time for ambitious creators who needed big budgets to bring their projects to life. You needed some sort of guarantee for the studio that your movie was marketable, and Scott had to make compromises.

He ended up making the compromises because he knew it'd be impossible to make the film without them (especially with the $30 million budget). This meant that grittier tone got toned down rather significantly.

A fourth goblin, Tic, was deleted from all versions

Some may feel that fantasy worlds can never have too many characters. Unfortunately, if a screenwriter can't find a place to put someone, the character ends up either removed or forgotten. This is the treatment that the character of Tic received.

Initially the fourth goblin, Tic was present in the film's script throughout much of production. Yet, when it came time to prep the film for theaters, Tic found himself cut from the movie.

The script had nothing for him to do, leading to this choice.

However, once the Director's Cut was released, Tic got some time in the spotlight. He can be spotted in the alternate opening footage on the  Legend  DVD, chumming it up with his fellow goblins.

All of Gump's lines were dubbed

When watching any of Gump's scenes, there's always something off -- just enough of a delay between his lips moving and his dialogue to keep you distracted. Was he dubbed? Yes, yes he was.

As confirmed by screenwriter William Hjortsberg, David Brennent -- who played Jack's sidekick Honeythorn Gump -- had his lines completely dubbed over by Alice Payten-- the actress who played the evil goblin, Blix.

The studio thought that Bennent's accent was too heavy for English-speaking audiences to understand.

Bennent went on to a long career, performing primarily in his native language in Germany.

They didnt want little people to play the goblins

While a staple of fantasy films, it's no easy task casting appropriate actors for roles like goblins and dwarves. It's hard enough finding suitable actors for any big movie, but once you narrow down the search to characters of certain shapes and sizes, difficulties increase.

This problem led VFX legend Richard Edlund to consider filming on 70mm film to get out of the requirement of casting little people for size-appropriate roles.

Shooting that way would allow for easier framing so editors could make cast members simply "look" like they're dwarf-sized. Edlund's previous work with other "miniature" characters ( Star Wars ’ Ewoks) likely served as motivation behind this ditched idea.

Blade Runner's Unicorn connection

A great excerpt from the book  Legend Making  was Hjortsberg's discussion on how the film was pitched to him by Ridley Scott.

Scott was still busy with  Blade Runner , so he still had unicorns on the mind.

Scott told the writer that he wanted to tell a story involving unicorns, "the fastest steed on Earth," in some way.

This led to Hjortsberg describing a story involving a princess in love with a commoner. The princess would sneak out of the castle so the two could meet up and interact with some unicorns, leading to the inciting incident. He described it almost exactly the same as the film version. Scott loved what he was hearing, which then led to Hjortsberg being sent home to write the script.

The writer's only reference for the script was Faeries

When drawing up a somewhat original fantasy story, it's important to have a strong foundation to draw from. And while Ridley Scott definitely had a vision, William Hjortsberg was largely on his own when drafting up a script. Before he was to begin writing, Scott pointed to a picture book called  Faeries  by Brian Froud and Alan Lee.

This is where Hjortsberg developed the foundation of the script as he got a mentality on the world he was to help develop, along with some minor character ideas.

As Hjortsberg explained to Figment Fly , the paintings and art of the Celtic mythical creatures known as faeries influenced the world of Legend.

Ridley Scott "Disney-fied" the movie

Creative compromises with production studios are a necessary evil of filmmaking. After all, the studio wants to ensure that whatever project they're supporting can make money, and the filmmaker sometimes must make tough choices to ensure success.

Since this was nowhere near a typical fantasy film, the studio had a simple idea: make it more like Disney.

Disney had been a powerhouse for years upon years, so it was difficult not to agree with the choice to draw closer to their framework. As revealed to Cinefantastique , this led to a lighter tone, more simplified story, and story reworkings that made everything feel much more familiar. Creatively, it hurt the film in the long run.

Yet, when you think about Scott's position, was there anything else he could've done?

The electronic youth score

The story of Jerry Goldsmith's time working on  Legend  is so dense that it requires two entries, starting with what led to his replacement. Goldsmith was the original composer for the film, providing a suitably fantastical and romance-inspired score. For those who listen to it, it's another strong product from the prolific composer.

According to Universal executive Sidney Sheinberg in Jack Mathew’s book The Battle of Brazil , initial reactions from the preview audience were negative, with some singling out Goldsmith's score.

Many changes were made to the overall product because of this, like bringing in electronic band Tangerine Dream to help the movie be more youth-friendly. Goldsmith was then left in the dust, along with his original score.

There are two different soundtracks for the movie

Thankfully, even though Goldsmith did get unceremoniously replaced, that doesn't mean all of his work was for nothing.

Sure, American audiences had Tangerine Dream's synth-heavy underscore for the theatrical cut of  Legend , but European audiences got to experience Goldsmith's score with theater speakers.

Yes, the European cut of the movie came with the original score attached, allowing the movie to play out similarly to its original test version. It's not quite the same, but at least something closer to what Ridley Scott originally envisioned. It's up to audiences to determine which score is better suited, but at least Goldsmith's hard work was still able to be appreciated.

Ridley Scott approved of all the major changes from the studio

Moviegoers today are often extremely worried whenever they feel a director's vision has been diluted by executives. Viewers want to ensure that they're getting the definitive edition of whatever film they're watching.

Legend  seems like a great example of this, as the film was influenced heavily by its studio.

None of the film’s major additions/removals were implemented without director Ridley Scott's approval.

Each new idea went through Scott and he approved them.

As Scott has made clear in the past, he sees his relationship with production studios as a partnership rather than an obligation. In addition, his confidence in the product was shaken following the poor test screenings, so he was game to change, so long as they could potentially lead to success.

Style over substance

Considering the somewhat "light" source material given to Hjortsberg, it makes sense that there wasn't really much for him to work with. He had to create a lot from very little as he looked at a picture book for potential lore. Without the substance to back up the material's visuals, it stands to reason that you work with what you've got.

This approach spilled into bits of the film, as certain elements feel chosen based on aesthetic rather than depth. Visuals can be as stunning as you'd like, but there's only so much to them when there's nothing below the surface.

Storyboards for the film totaled 411 pages

Any fantasy project surely has an endless amount of concept art and storyboards used throughout the creative process. Thoroughly-designed worlds and inhabitants that help the world itself feel authentic.

Legend may have suffered from shallow source material, but its creative team did not lack ideas.

According to production designer Assheton Gorton, the number of storyboards maxed out at 411.

It's an unsurprising number, given how much of this movie felt dedicated to ensuring there were no moments of "fakeness" on screen, but still notable. It shows that for those who feel the movie lacked depth, it doesn't mean it lacked effort.

One writer did all the rewrites

Inconsistent vision across numerous creatives can be a rather frustrating thing to experience. Whenever it feels like a different person wrote a specific section following the last, it can really hurt a film's immersion.

Even though Legend suffered from many production problems, they always had their trusty screenwriter around.

William Hjortsberg maintained his position as head of writing duties throughout production. This includes every rewrite, addition, and restructuring. It also includes the opening title scroll, which was a creative choice he voiced his displeasure for.

The only time Hjortsberg had his job done for him was when Ridley Scott and then-President of Universal Studios, Sidney Sheinberg, made final preparations for the movie to be theater-ready (according to The Ridley Scott Encyclopedia).

20th Century Fox's one specific fix to Legend's first draft

Regarding the deleted torment scene -- it's difficult to think of it ever being approved in any fantasy project decades before  Game of Thrones . If you think execs had strong reactions to it, you're absolutely right.

When pitching the film, Fox executive Marcia Nassiter specifically voiced one fix: "You can't have the villain [get with] the princess."

Discussed in William Hjortsberg's book  Legend Making , that component of the film was always a hard sell. Following this response, the film went through years of continuous rewrites with Hjortsberg and Scott working together extensively to get the project right.

The Psycho II Cue

Jerry Goldsmith's time working on  Legend  was a bundle of misfortune.   He gets replaced late in the creative process, almost gets the only copy of his score misplaced/ruined because of studio negligence, and ruins his working relationship with Ridley Scott.

Then there's the fact that American audiences never got to experience his score in theaters. Yet, that statement isn't entirely true. American audiences did get to experience Goldsmith's work in  Legend , it just was for a different movie.

Temp music from Psycho II is used in Legend. 

For American audiences, it's the only time they get to hear Goldsmith's work during the theatrical cut. It's sad, but at least his work could finally be appreciated once the Director's Cut was released.

Ridley Scott still maintains his pride in the film

You'd think that following all the divisive reactions and the chaotic production process, Ridley Scott would feel some bitterness or negativity towards  Legend .

It represented another box office flop for him during a not-so-successful time in his career and likely caused much more than a couple headaches. However, if his commentary on the Director's Cut is anything to go by, he's still proud of it.

Listening to him speak fondly of the film and its specific components confirms the admiration he has for this project. It's likely not his proudest achievement, by a long shot, but it certainly wasn't a project he regretted taking on.

Do you have any trivia to share about Legend ? Let us know in the comments!

Recent movies have created sort of a generic fantasy universe of Muppets and swamps, strange beasts and evil tyrants, damsels and heroic lads, and ancient prophecies and mythical legends. It’s a world inspired by ingredients from “Lord of the Rings,” the “Star Wars” movies, Dungeons and Dragons gamesmanship, tales of King Arthur and the latest gimmicks from the special-effects people.

In a movie that works, these ingredients can be exciting and delightful. “Legend” does not work.

The movie is a British big-budget, special-effects extravaganza by Ridley Scott , the director of “ Alien .” It tells of a time long, long ago, when unicorns roam the Earth and the powers of light and darkness are at war. An evil prince named Darkness lives in caverns far beneath the Earth, scheming to blot the sun out of the lives of all the planet’s creatures and to rule the gloom forever.

Earth itself is a sylvan place, filled with flowers and little glades and grassy clearings – but also with dread swamps and moldy fens. Young lovers can kiss for an afternoon in a bath of sunshine, but fearsome storms come up suddenly and lash the land with their fury. A race of evil little druids lives in the woods, and they spread mischief wherever they venture. Their favorite pastime is frightening the unicorns.

Into this setting come our heroes, Jack and Lili. Jack ( Tom Cruise ) is a hero whose mission in life is to vanquish Darkness and allow the sun to prevail. Lili ( Mia Sara ) is the young woman he meets and falls in love with, but she is lured into the underworld and seduced by an exotic priestess into seemingly becoming evil. Will Jack save Lili and defeat Darkness? Or will the movie end unhappily? Can we vote more than once? Let it be said that “Legend” is an impressive technical achievement. Scott is a perfectionist who takes infinite pains to make things look right.

The problem is, the world of “Legend” is itself wrong for this material. To some degree, this is a fairy tale, and it needs a certain lightness of tone, a plucky cheerfulness, to work. Like many recent sword and sorcery movies, it is so effective in rendering evil, so good at depicting the dire, bleak fates facing the heroes, that it’s too dreary and gloomy for its own good.

Performances tend to get lost in productions like this. I particularly noticed how easily Cruise got buried in the role of Jack.

Here is the talented young actor from “ Risky Business ,” where he came across as a genuine individual, and this time he’s so overwhelmed by sets and special effects that his character could be played by anybody.

Tim Curry , from “ The Rocky Horror Picture Show ,” makes an effective Darkness; I liked his style. But, once again, the makeup people have done such a good job with his blazing eyes and gigantic horns that, in a way, almost any actor could be lurking inside there (only Curry’s sensuous lips give him away).

Despite all its sound and fury, “Legend” is a movie I didn’t care very much about. All of the special effects in the world, and all of the great makeup, and all of the great Muppet creatures can’t save a movie that has no clear idea of its own mission and no joy in its own accomplishment.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

• Tim Curry as Darkness
• Billy Barty as Screwball
• Alice Playten as Blix
• Mia Sara as Lili
• Tom Cruise as Jack
• David Bennent as Gump

Photographed by

• Alex Thomson

Produced by

• Arnon Milchan

Directed by

• Ridley Scott
• Tangerine Dream
• Terry Rawlings

Screenplay by

• William Hjortsberg

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RETRO REVIEW: Legend Is a Cult Classic Movie for Tom Cruise Fans

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The 1985 fantasy-adventure film Legend had everything going for it. Ridley Scott had made his mark with The Duellists , then turned to science fiction with the Academy Award-winning Alien and the multiple versions of Blade Runner , before aiming at fantasy filmmaking. Tom Cruise had just finished football drama All the Right Moves and was a year away from mega-star status thanks to Top Gun . With tremendous talent in front of and behind the camera, Legend felt like a sure thing.. until it wasn't.

With special effects wizard Rob Bottin ( Robocop ) burying actors beneath prosthetics and Oscar-nominated production designer Assheton Gorton ( The French Lieutenant’s Woman ) creating this world from the ground up, Legend certainly looks amazing. Cinematographer Alex Thomson is also no stranger to fantasy, having been Oscar-nominated for his work on Excalibur . All that creativity, plus an immense amount of money and time, amounts to something -- even if it's not commercial success. Rather, Legend became a cult hit and it deserves all of the appreciation that's been lobbed on it since.

Tim Curry is the True Star of Legend

Curry's Performance as Darkness Stands Out

10 Best Fantasy Movies That Aren't Based on Fairy Tales

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Tim Curry is the centerpiece around which Legend revolves. A preening, elegant and animalistic creation, his eight-foot-tall villain Darkness is an example of great 1980's practical movie effects . Curry -- encased in a full-body prosthetic -- creates an oppressive presence that dominates Legend from the shadows. Cloven hoofs, manicured talons, and a rich baritone distinguish this denizen of the underworld from the innocence above, while the actor towers over his co-stars. Even though Darkness only appears in the later part of Legend , Curry's performance is the most memorable. He elevates overly elaborate pantomime villainy to legendary status.

When Legend was released in 1985, Curry was best known as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in Frankenstein -inspired The Rocky Horror Picture Show , both on stage and on screen. There is no denying the theatrical element that comes through in his portrayal of Darkness, yet there is nothing camp or melodramatic about it. In fact, considering Legend is in a genre that has traditionally aimed at children, he certainly scares audiences by giving them something grotesque. This shocking difference is hammered home in the film's final act, when animal sacrifice and devil worship throw Legend into freefall. But Curry overshadows Cruise, both literally and figuratively.

Tom Cruise Makes an Early Impression - By Not Making One

Legend undersells cruise's hero character jack, 10 best tom cruise movies (that aren’t mission: impossible films).

Mission: Impossible is a juggernaut franchise in Hollywood, but Tom Cruise has starred in many other fantastic movies.

The true test of any actor is their ability to make an impression. Legend pushes that idea to breaking point with Tom Cruise, who does less than zero throughout the film. Scott captures him amid pollen with glitter glistening on his skin opposite an equally perfect Mia Sara, and the heightened lovefest between their characters Jack and Lili lasts throughout the movie. Nothing more is asked of Cruise acting-wise, apart from the occasional action sequence; Legend is far from the best Tom Cruise performance .

However, there still are glimpses of the movie star he would become. Cruise has an on-screen presence that is impossible to mimic. He may not make a wonderful impression like other fantasy movie heroes, but he walks away from Legend almost unscathed. That's impressive, since at one point he faces off against a towering Tim Curry wrapped in bright red skin and brandishing a broadsword. Less than a year after Legend , Cruise was winning over film audiences as Lt. Pete "Maverick" Mitchell in Top Gun -- proving how much bigger he was than any one movie.

Legend's Uneven Story Kept It From Being a Box Office Hit

The film has a number of production flaws, ridley scott's 10 best movies according to rotten tomatoes.

Ridley Scott’s latest movie, The Last Duel, has reminded audiences of how consistent Scott’s work has been over the years.

There is no denying that Legend lacks a story of any substance . There is so little for audiences to hang onto dramatically that the movie soon becomes an exercise in artistic appreciation. Scenes either feel stretched out too long or lack meaningful dialogue, and writer William Hjortsberg ( Angel Heart ) turns every fairy exchange into rhyming couplets that soon become distracting. But that's not the only way in which the movie wanders off in its own direction -- feeling more like an arthouse film than anything else.

Between the endless shots of Lili running in slow motion, or Jack breaking through sheet ice as the world is plunged into darkness, Legend loses its way. Moments of visual genius are overshadowed by artistic overindulgence, meaning that scenes simply do not work. Whether the fact that the movie's primary set burned down affected the finished product is up for debate, but Legend suffers from tonal inconsistency throughout. Thankfully, Bottin and his team of visual effects boffins manage to turn this turgid trifle into a cult classic, thanks to some groundbreaking techniques.

How Did Legend Become a Cult Classic?

The movie's makeup and effects save the day, 11 most underrated fantasy movies.

Not all movies manage to revolutionize a genre, but underrated fantasy films like Excalibur have some qualities that make them entertaining watches.

From another cult hit in John Carpenter's The Thing to winning an Oscar for Total Recall , Rob Bottin has elevated every movie he touches. In the case of Legend , he designed, implemented, and engineered some of the most intricate practical effects ever seen on film. He was rewarded for his efforts with another Academy Award nomination in the Best Makeup category. Beyond the creation of Darkness, Bottin also brought to life another creature ripped from the pages of a fairy tale nightmare called Meg Mucklebones, played by future Star Trek fan-favorite Robert Picardo.

Encountered by Jack on his way to the underworld, Meg is a marvel of prosthetic make-up and hydraulic invention. Buried beneath this terrifying disguise, Picardo embraces his inner swamp monster. Gnarled, nasty and after a tasty morsel, Meg Mucklebones is the perfect combination of visual effects and acting prowess. Her leering over her intended victim surrounded by a putrid bog is one of the most powerful moments in this disjointed movie.

There is no doubting the ambition behind Legend , which oddly falls between Blade Runner and Someone to Watch Over Me in Scott's filmography . Legend has some of the most impressive visuals Ridley Scott has ever shaped -- including towering trees, woodland glades and awe-inspiring set designs. Those who helped create its world -- including Bottin, Thomson, Gorton and composer Jerry Goldsmith -- made something truly dazzling. Legend might be flawed, but there are elements that shine through the visual distractions, wafer-thin plotline and overly engineered acting. Hiding therein are moments of sheer filmmaking genius. With numerous cuts to choose from and an endless array of interpretations to draw from them, Legend is the cult classic that keeps giving.

Set in a timeless mythical forest inhabited by fairies, goblins, unicorns and mortals, this fantastic story follows a mystical forest dweller, chosen by fate, to undertake a heroic quest. He must save the beautiful Princess Lili and defeat the demonic Lord of Darkness, or the world will be plunged into a never-ending ice age.

• Tim Curry's performance carries the film.
• Excellent makeup and visual effects throughout.
• Stunning production design and superior score.
• A less impressive performance by Tom Cruise.
• Thinly-drawn story and uneven pacing.

Flickering Myth

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Blu-ray Review – Legend (1985)

September 28, 2021 by admin

Legend , 1985.

Directed by Ridley Scott. Starring Tom Cruise, Mia Sara, Tim Curry, David Bennent, Alice Playten, Billy Barty, and Cork Hubbert.

Fans of Ridley Scott’s Legend will want to get their hands on Arrow Video’s handsome new Blu-ray release as soon as they can. In addition to including the U.S. theatrical and director’s cuts, along with new bonus content added to the extras that were ported over, Arrow threw in a nice square-bound book, a poster, and some image cards. Highly recommended.

Ridley Scott’s Legend is one of those films, like so many in the science-fiction and fantasy genres during the 1980s, that underperformed at the box office but later found an audience on home video. Starring Tom Cruise as Jack O’ the Green and Mia Sara as Princess Lili, Legend is Scott’s vision of a traditional fairy tale: Jack must stop the Lord of Darkness from killing two unicorns that live in the forest near his castle and plunging the world into a frigid eternal darkness.

The story opens with an almost Disney-esque feel, as Jack and Lili frolic in the woods and Lili sings to the creatures around them, including the unicorns. However, the film takes a dark turn as Darkness obtains one unicorn horn and strives to get his hands on the other one, kidnapping Lili in the process. Jack sets out to free her with help from some local elves, making his way through a deadly swamp and then entering Darkness’s forbidding castle.

In the 36 years since its release, Legend has become a cult favorite, not just among Ridley Scott fans but also with those who also love Labyrinth , The Dark Crystal , Willow , and other 80s fantasy movies. When I look at the director’s filmography, I’ve always found Legend to be a bit of an oddball entry, given his penchant for more uniformly dark material like Blade Runner and Alien , but it’s still a solid movie that holds up decades later.

Given the film’s cult status, Arrow Video has brought it to us in a new two-disc Blu-ray edition that also includes physical content, which is a nice touch. Arrow and Criterion are the only companies these days adding physical materials to their releases on a consistent basis, and it’s much appreciated by those of us who like to stock our literal shelves with movies, not just our digital ones. (Unfortunately, neither company has the licensing for digital codes, like the major studios do these days.)

The physical goodies include a square-bound book, a poster, and some image cards. The book features a mix of current and archival essays that give a nice overview of thoughts about the film today and when it was released. There’s also an interview with Charles de Lauzirika, who supervised the creation of the Director’s Cut of the film for its initial 2002 release on DVD.

The Director’s Cut of the movie is included here, but it’s the version that was approved by Ridley Scott for the 2011 Blu-ray release of the movie. The booklet also includes text introductions for the Director’s Cut and the U.S. theatrical version (included here too) that were written by the director in 2011. The theatrical version was restored by Arrow for this release – both versions of the film looked beautiful on my setup, complete with an adequate amount of grain, so I imagine fans of the film will be very happy with this edition.

Moving on to the new bonus material, the big one is a commentary track for the U.S. theatrical version by author Paul M. Sammon, who has written, among other books, Ridley Scott: The Making of His Movies . If you’ve heard any of his commentary tracks on other films, you know that he comes prepared to talk about all of a movie’s nooks and crannies, digging deep into everything from making-of information to its place in history.

Each version of the film occupies its own disc, with a batch of extras, and the U.S. theatrical version platter has a new 30-minute documentary called Remembering a Legend , which has interviews with grip David Cadwallader, production supervisor Hugh Harlow, costume designer Charles Knode, actress Annabelle Lanyon (Oona), camera operator Peter MacDonald, set decorator Ann Mollo, and draftsman John Ralph. Those are job titles you don’t normally see in bonus features, so it’s nice to hear from people who put in long hours on movies and aren’t usually asked to sit down in front of a camera to share their experiences. I hope more home video releases take that approach with some of their bonus content.

Arrow also commissioned a new 20-minute visual essay, Incarnations of a Legend , that’s narrated by critic Travis Crawford. It’s a good primer on the different versions of the movie, which actually also include a European cut that was slightly different from the U.S. one and isn’t included here.

The rest of the extras on the U.S. theatrical version disc were ported over from past releases and include:

• The Music of Legend (28 minutes): A two-part featurette that looks at the movie’s competing scores by Jerry Goldsmith (the Director’s Cut) and Tangerine Dream (the U.S. theatrical version), which is probably the most well-known example of a film that has two very different scores to choose from.
• The Creatures of Legend (27 minutes): Another two-parter that looks at the movie’s make-up effects, which predated the CGI era and thus had to be done physically.
• The Directors: Ridley Scott (58 minutes): A 2003 documentary that focused on the director’s career up to then, with comments from Harrison Ford, Andy Garcia, Brad Pitt, Scott himself, and others.

When Legend aired on TV, a voice-over narration was added to the theatrical cut that reads the opening scroll, and that’s included here as a bonus feature too, along with Bryan Ferry’s “Is Your Love Strong Enough?” music video. Remember when MTV was primarily a music video station? Good times.

Moving on to the Director’s Cut disc, nothing new was created for it among its bonus content. The main extra is a commentary track by Scott, who clearly came prepared to discuss the making of the film as it unspools before him. Great stuff. The other extras on this platter include:

• Creating a Myth: Memories of Legend (51 minutes): This is a comprehensive making-of documentary that charts the movie from Ridley Scott’s earliest ideas to its underwhelming release and its later resurgence on home video.
• Archival featurette (9.75 minutes): This is one of those old school featurettes that film studios created way back when to pitch their movies to theater chains and the media. Arrow sourced this from a VHS copy, complete with all the flaws inherent in such a process, but it’s worth watching to step into the Wayback Machine and pretend it’s 1985 again.

Two lost scenes, alternate versions of footage, the first draft of the screenplay and the shooting script (available as text on the screen), trailers and TV spots, and image galleries round out the platter.

Overall, this is a must-have for fans of the film. There’s been some chatter online about the lack of a 4K release for this one, but Arrow has explained that there are technical and bureaucratic reasons why it’s not possible to issue Legend on 4K right now.

Flickering Myth Rating  – Film: ★★★ / Movie: ★★★

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• Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert Like many recent sword and sorcery movies, it is so effective in rendering evil, so good at depicting the dire, bleak fates facing the heroes, that it's too dreary and gloomy for its own good.
• Chicago Tribune Gene Siskel I don't want to remember any more about Legend than to make sure I include it in my ''worst films of 1986'' list and never rent it when it comes out as a video cassette.
• TV Guide TV Guide Staff Sumptuous, grandly-scaled, and often ludicrous.
• Slant Magazine Ed Gonzalez Legend is a Gothic fairy tale brought to life.
• Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas Legend is not without whimsical touches, but it surely could have used more humor and invention.
• Orlando Sentinel Jay Boyar You are caught up in a morality play... the deepest significance of which the makers of this PG movie are apparently betting the adolescents of America will instinctively comprehend.
• Washington Post Tom Shales Legend may turn out to be legendary, but not in the way the filmmakers intended.
• Variety Variety Staff Legend is a fairytale produced on a grand scale... At the same time, the basic premise is alarmingly thin, a compendium of any number of ancient fairytales.
• New York Times Vincent Canby Ridley Scott has done better.
• Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt If a movie can have so much money and talent poured into it, and still come out this stale and tedious, something larger may be happening than the failure of one misbegotten project.
• Gannett News Service William Wolf Its production design, special effects, and overall look can't be faulted. But its hackneyed story about good versus evil is so insipid and dull that no matter how much one might applaud the visual achievement, the movie is still a gigantic bore.
• Common Sense Media Barbara Shulgasser Dark and often scary '80s fantasy hasn't aged well.
• Cinema Crazed Felix Vasquez Jr. A remarkable and bleak fantasy thriller for folks that like their fantasy based on thick characterization and less humongous battles.
• Eye for Film Jennie Kermode Ultimately Legend is a bit of a wet squib, appealing in small doses but struggling to maintain audience interest for the full running time.
• FilmsInReview.com Victoria Alexander Ridley's misstep.
• Combustible Celluloid Jeffrey M. Anderson Ridiculously self-important and serious.

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Let’s Talk About Legend , One of the Best Terrible Fantasy Movies of All Time

There were a lot of great, weird fantasy movies in the ’80s. From the creepy, thoughtful animation of Rankin Bass’s The Last Unicorn , to the magic (dance) of Labyrinth , to the weirdness of Krull . But I don’t think any movie better represents the successes and failures of ’80s fantasy better than Ridley Scott’s 1985 mega-flop Legend .

Legend was supposed to be big. It starred Tom Cruise, hot off his star-making turn in Risky Business, and was the follow up to Ridley Scott’s hugely influential Blade Runner (which came after another iconic work, Alien ). Legend was conceived as a post-modern fairy tale , but endless studio tinkering changed Scott’s vision for the film and turned it into something else.

Filming was a nightmare and the studio burned to the ground in the middle of it. The final film would end up savaged by critics and rejected by audiences, making just $15 million on a $25 million budget. It was generally seen as the film that ended giant fantasy movies until the Lord of the Rings in 2001.

Legend is an incredibly weird movie. It’s so earnest in a lot of ways, telling a story of fairies, goblins, unicorns, and a pants-less Tom Cruise without a hint of the irony or self-awareness that we’re used to nowadays. It’s like a picture book from a time when you couldn’t read. It’s a movie of visual impressions and wafer-thin characters that look amazing but make little sense, but for this movie to be fun, they don’t really have to. But it’s not clear is “fun” is what this movie was going for.

It’s generous to say the plot of Legend is thin. A Princess (Mia Sara) named Lilly is dating (I think) Jack (Tom Cruise), who is a forest child. No, we never find out why he’s living in the forest or how he met the princess. On the day that the unicorns are visiting the forest, Jack takes Lilly to see them and she touches one … allowing the Goblin minions of the Lord of Darkness (Tim Curry) to attack the Unicorns and the world turns to winter. One Unicorn is killed or maimed (again, unclear), but the other needs to be killed too.

Jack and Lilly have to, separately, fix this mess. Jack has help from a bunch of fairies (who are kinda assholes) and Lilly ends up kidnapped along with a Unicorn mare, by Darkness, and given an extreme makeover. She doesn’t entirely succumb though and helps Jack free the unicorn and to defeat Darkness. Kinda. I think?

The original draft of Legend was much darker (if that’s possible). Lilly was supposed to transform into a monster of some kind and literally have sex with Darkness, but a studio exec (wisely) told Scott and screenwriter  William Hjortsberg, “You can’t have the villain fuck the princess.” In the version that made it to theaters, Lilly just gets goth and sexy and kind of seduced by Darkness.

But can you blame her? Tim Curry as Darkness is the flat-out highlight of the film. Of course, Tim Curry is usually the highlight of every film he’s in, but this performance is the epitome of Curry’s signature mixture of camp and menace, all the more impressive due to the fact he’s acting under pounds of makeup and prosthetics.

Everything about Darkness, the character, is a microcosm of Legend . He’s a triumph of visuals and execution, but when you think about who he is or why he’s doing anything, it doesn’t really make sense. Is he the devil? Or is he the devil’s son? Or something else? And if you think more deeply, the character was clearly meant to be something much darker and more disturbing.

This was supposed to be a movie about how actual legends often express something much darker and primal in human nature. The movie that made it to release, however, only hints at those ideas, mainly in Lilly’s confusing storyline where she’s both selfish and sexualized, seduced and a savior. Lilly ends up being every hollow trope about female evil and weakness, without much to redeem her beside one act of defiance.

The same flimsiness applies to Jack. Just like he wears armor with NO PANTS, he’s the idea of a character or archetype on top with nothing underneath it.

And yet, somehow, Legend is still so much fun to watch. It’s a visual feast, a truly grim fairy tale. It’s not about character or story or any of that, it’s about dreams and fantasy and the attraction of the mere idea of magic and legends itself. I know I’m not alone in loving this movie when I was young. And I still dig it.

For one, there wasn’t much else available in terms of fantasy films available and this one, in particular, felt like it was always on cable. It was pretty and silly and fuel for my imagination. I didn’t need it to be more—it was enough that it was cool-looking and magical. It’s fascinating to re-watch now, and still enjoyable. Along with Willow and Labyrinth , it’s one of the defining fantasy films of my young life and I think it still will continue to be that for generations more.

Legend is a disaster in a lot of ways, but it’s an attractive one that’s a lot more fun than many other serious movies. It’s the kind of disaster that doesn’t get made anymore, and that makes it, well … legendary.

(images: Universal)

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This 1980s Tom Cruise Fantasy Film Should've Used One of Its Alternate Endings

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• Many fans of Tom Cruise are unaware of his early film Legend , which had a couple of alternate endings.
• The movie failed to resonate with audiences, possibly due to the fantasy genre not yet finding its way.
• Alternate endings for Legend were considered, including one where it was all revealed to be a dream and another where the lovebirds run off into the sunset.

No matter how big a star gets in Hollywood, fact is, they all had to start somewhere. And for many of the household names that grace the screen today and even for the last few decades, there are plenty of early films that many fans don't actually know ever happened. And that's probably okay for the successful performers who continue to be on the tips of everyone's tongues today. Take Tom Cruise , for example. The guy who seems to have been an elite movie star since many of us can remember had a few misses in addition to his hits in his early career, some of which only true fans know of. One of those films was the 1985 fantasy movie Legend . And what's even more surprising about this obscure film, especially to those who know it well, is that the ending was almost completely different from what ended up in the final cut.

Even though Legend might seem like an unimportant blip on Cruise's impressive credit list, many moviegoers agree that the movie is worth a watch. That's not too surprising when you look at some of the names behind it, including Ridley Scott , one of the many directors to work with Cruise . The Mission Impossible star was just at the budding stage of his massive career at this point, and playing a lead role in a fantasy love story probably seemed like a no-brainer. However, the movie failed to resonate with audiences, possibly because the fantasy genre hadn't yet found its way. That, in combination with a lukewarm reception from film critics, caused the movie to fade out of the minds of most fans. But for those who know of the movie and remember it, they might be surprised to find out the way it was originally intended to conclude.

RELATED: 10 Movies With Alternate Endings in Different Countries

Legend follows Cruise's character, Jack, as he treks through a fantasy world of magical creatures such as goblins, fairies, and the ever-important unicorns. Jack is known for his bravery, and Princess Lili ( Mia Sara ) can't help but fall for him. The film begins with the bliss these two are experiencing, ignorant of the darkness that grows in the distance. Beyond the enchanted forest, the Lord of Darkness, brilliantly portrayed by Tim Curry , has sinister plans to forever change this land of light and goodness to a frozen wasteland. This may have been one of Curry's most obscure roles, and surely one of his toughest .

In this magical land of Legend , Princess Lili cannot help but touch a living unicorn, which is a no-no when it comes to keeping the balance of nature intact. This act allows the Lord of Darkness to be able to capture the unicorn's horn, which is the tool he needs to bring forever darkness to the world. This sets Jack on his journey to not only save his love but take back the unicorn's horn and destroy Mr. Demon. The film carries on with Jack's adventures on his quest before eventually getting to his final destination. And here is where most fans of the film don't know what might have been.

What Was 'Legend's Original Ending?

This all leads to the film's climax when Jack confronts the Lord of Darkness with his love Princess Lili, along with the rest of the world on the edge of peril. And this epic battle may pale in comparison to the fantasy stories we are used to today ( thanks a lot, Peter Jackson ), but it is still captivating enough to keep viewers' attention. Set in the backdrop of a beautifully designed evil lair flowing with lava and fire, it's not only Jack who must overcome an incredible obstacle. Princess Lili herself is battling her own inner demons as the dark world is highly tempting, powerful, and manipulative. If Jack doesn't save her in time, she can very well be Mrs. Lord of Darkness pretty soon.

When it was all said and done, thanks to courage and a bit of perfect timing, Jack is able to defeat the forces of evil by casting the Lord of Darkness into an eternal void, take back the unicorn's horn, and snap his beloved Princess Lili out of her hypnotized state. As the unicorn's horn is restored to the animal, darkness disappears from the land, the frozen landscape melts, and the world comes full circle, back to light and good. Although plenty of the lessons and conclusions may seem a bit predictable, Scott's direction presents the story in a way that makes it feel fresh and enjoyable. And this was not his only film that could have had a different ending .

How Could 'Legend's Ending Have Been Different?

For plenty of Cruise fans who saw Legend in theaters, that was the end of that. The film slipped away out of Hollywood's mind, and Cruise continued upwards along his ever-successful career. But as the trend has been recently, there have been plenty of look-backs at older films by many different people involved. Most commonly, directors re-release older films with a new edit, allowing fans to enjoy their "director's cut." But something a little bit more "in the know" feeling is information about previous productions; facts that were previously unknown. In the case of Legend , it has been revealed through interviews and social media spreading that the ending had alternate possibilities than what was ultimately chosen, and many may think the other choices could've been better.

In the released production of Legend , good simply defeats evil. Sure, there are some speed bumps and difficulties for Jack to get there, but it is fairly straightforward. The first alternate ending was seen in Ridley's director's cut of the film, which has Lili waking up to Jack, and the whole mess being one horrible dream. Even though they truly love each other, they realize that they come from two different sides of the fence, and Lili isn't too keen on leaving her royalty status. Jack promises Lili to visit one day again, and that's how it ends. It's also been revealed that another considered ending was Jack and Lili winding up together and running off into the forest, which is now back to being warm and beautiful. However, the Lord of Darkness shows that he cannot truly be expelled, as he laughs from the void watching them frolic. There is also one more ending, which was shown in European theaters, which is just simply the two lovebirds running off into the sunset, happily ever after.

There's no doubt that during the creation process, movies have endings that can change throughout the course of the production. It's possible that alternate endings are shot nowadays just to have a director's cut available later down the line to make a few extra bucks. But surely none of that was on the radar back when Legend was made and just hearing different tidbits and stories of how an obscure film such as that could've been different is much more interesting. The movie, as it was and is now, is worth a watch just to see a young Tom Cruise take on a type of role we usually never see him in, which is also one of his most underrated performances . Ridley Scott's directing is spot on as it always is, and the different magical characters in the film only enhance the story. And of course, Legend will always be worth a watch just for that giant red devil, Tim Curry.

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