Anastos Blogspot: The Legend (1985): Review

Figure 1: Film Poster

The Legend 1985 directed by Ridley Scott is a fantasy film. The story is set in a world of unicorns, fairies, goblins, and demons. The film received a single Academy Award nomination for Best Makeup. The concept art of the film is really weird. You have the feeling that you are in a fake world all the time. “The look of Legend, as Scott himself has admitted, derives from late-Victorian, early twentieth-century book illustration.” (Parrill, 2011). The film starts with the Lord of Darkness obeying his goblins to go and find in the nearby forest the two unicorns. He wants to kill them and remove their horns. If they die and their horns will be removed the evil will dominate and the darkness will be forever. The sunshine will never return. The film contains as I mentioned earlier great creature designs.

Figure 2: The amazing creature designs

In the forest, Jack o' the Green (Tom Cruise) meets his love Princess Lily. (Mia Sara). He shows her the unicorns but she warns her not to touch them. She ignores him , she touches them , then the goblins attack the unicorns and kill the one of them. Then Jack blames Lily without knowing anyone of them about the attack of the goblins. The weather changes and everything freezes, a curse caused by the death of the unicorn. The film seems so fake. Every shot seems fake without any sense of reality. It could be characterized as a “kitschy” film.

Figure 3: The imaginary sets

Although the concept art of the film is so good and so impressively magic the film lacks of reality and real sense of the world. “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.” (Biodrowski, 2009). After the death of the unicorn Lily throws her ring in a pond and tells whoever will find it she will marry him. As Jack jumps Lily is kidnapped by the goblins and is being hold underground by the Lord of Darkness. Jack meets Oona a fairy and groups with two other dwarfs. After they blame him for the kidnap of the unicorns he answers successfully to a difficult riddle and he takes them with his side. They all go to find the unicorns and the princess in order to brake the curse. The unicorn must be found at all costs, and only then will the world return to normal. The thematic battle between good and evil is masterfully matched to the attempts by the Dark Lord to reign in the film. Furthermore the film from every aspect defines a perfect concept art (colors, use of light). They have created a film with so imaginary and fake scenes but still they amaze you. “He's created a series of fancy, plastic sets that keep the eye busier than the mind or the heart.” (Canby, 1986). Lord of Darkness tries to seduce Lily but she doesn't gives in. The Lord of Darkness gets angry and curses her causing her to fall asleep. Jack goes with his little team to find and take Lily and the unicorn. In the end they succeed and while they get the unicorns they sun rises again.

Figure 4: The Lord Of Darkness

The film ends with Jack diving in the pond and finding her ring. The spells are removed and the princess is awake. Although the story and the lack of reality were not good I enjoyed the film. It kind of reminds me of some fantasy films really old that I used to watch as a kid with no reality at all. Although it wasn't as well-received as the filmmakers would have liked, Legend deserves to be appreciated for its artistry.