Despite the phenomenal production design and trademark Ridley Scott visuals, the film always left me a little cold. The Tangerine Dream score seemed a tad out of place for a fantasy film such as this.

The Director's Cut is a much more satisfying experience. It offers the chance to finally hear the Jerry (Star Trek the Movie) Goldmith's original music, which seems better suited to the film. The scene when Lilly first encounters the unicorn, now feels a bit more like Eve in the Garden of Eden instead of a spoiled girl misbehaving and causing a movie's worth of trouble. In short, motivations in several scenes seem clearer. Tom Cruise's "Jack of the Green" character feels largely the same. In addition, the restoration and transfer is phenomenal. The layered clear packaging is also very clever and a welcome change from the black boxes and universally hated snapper cases. No wonder Ridley Scott signed his name on the case :)


my absolute favorite movie   February 25, 2000
 25 out of 26 found this review helpful

AS usual, the professional movie reviewers have no idea what to think of a fantasy film. It is beautifully filmed, that they agree on, but the point of the movie is lost on them. Not so myself. The play of light between the good characters is perfect: Jack and Lily, Lily and the unicorn, Jack and the elves, especially Gump. They are loving folk with playful hearts, and the courage to face what might destroy their happiness. Lily is probably the bravest film princess I've ever seen. These displays of good are built alongside and contrasting to the fabulous evil of Tim Curry's Darkness and his despicable servants. I would pay a lot to see the European release; there are clues all over the American release of what was cut from the storyline. What is that globe the Gump holds? Why does the bucket-headed elf have a goat or pig's hoof instead of a hand? Anyway, this is a marvelous film, and just because the story doesn't drill its way into your head like a crusader's mace doesn't mean it's a bad film.


The DVD "Legend" Fans Have Been Waiting For   June 5, 2002
 25 out of 27 found this review helpful

At last, a version of "Legend" that makes sense! The director's cut of Ridley Scott's fairy tale adventure was long overdue for release. Once fans see it, they'll never go back to the original U.S. theatrical release; I certainly won't.

Originally released in 1986, "Legend" was a box office bomb that definitely had the potential of being a success. It has an excellent storyline and icorporates the classic good vs. evil genre that fairy tales are known for. But the film suffered from really bad editing. Nearly thirty minutes of "Legend" was deleted for the U.S. version, leaving many scenes that would normally make sense seem chaotic, stupid, and unnecessary. Plus, Ridley Scott made the very unwise decision of replacing Jerry Goldsmith's original score with that of the pop group Tangerine Dream. When you compare an Academy Award winning film composer to an eighties rock group that no one remembers, I think it's obvious why it was an unwise decision.

The director's cut changes all that. Along with Jerry Goldsmith's original soundtrack being restored, many scenes cut from the U.S. version are restored as well, giving a once chaotic and lacking film clarity and wholeness. The crisp picture quality and sound lets us see and hear Ridley Scott's original vision of a world lived in long ago where light and dark co-exist, and the threat of never seeing another dawn looms dangerously over everything.

For those of you who remain devoted to the U.S. edit of "Legend" with the Tangrine Dream score, you'll be happy to hear that that version is also included in this package (but as I said before, once you see the director's cut, you'll never go back). On top of that, it includes a lot of extra things that will have fans cheering, such as the film's alternate opening, a reconstruction of a scene whose original print was lost, a "making of" documentary, and trailers (very good trailers, I might add), among other things.

Thanks to the technology of DVDs, people can finally see "Legend" as it was meant to be seen. I highly recomend it, especially to those who love fairy tales.


Thank god for DVDs...   August 4, 2003
 25 out of 25 found this review helpful

... because without them we probably wouldn't have the Director's Cut of such an amazing, and vastly underrated film. If you've watched the US release, you cannot understand the true Otherworldly essence this movie contains, not only due to the music score, but also the different scene cuts. However, it was very interesting to watch both versions, as the US and the Director's Cut are both on this "Ultimate Edition" DVD set.

Tangerine Dream's score is interesting - electronica, ELO style (if you've seen "Xanadu", you will probably know what I mean), but lacking real depth. Jerry Goldsmith's score truly captures every magical moment throughout the film, and really brings to life not only the scenery, but also the emotions of the characters (and viewers).

The US cut also destroys much of the basic premise of the story - the idea that pure innocence can destroy pure evil. The US cut implies Jack and Lili (made only a Lady in this version, not the Princess of the European release) are already having a sexual relationship at the begining of the film. How can she be considered 'pure' (in traditional fairytale style) if she is having sex (implied or not)? This is but one of the many jarring edits made to this film, which have been rectified in the Director's Cut.

I deifinitely urge anyone to watch this edition - there are not enough true fairytales captured on the big screen for children anymore, and the depth of ideas also makes it enjoyable for adults. Besides, it has Tim Curry as Darkness, the devil - how can you say no to that?

Watch it. Adore it. Feel the magic, and believe.


A "LEGEND" Of A Different Kind...   May 29, 2003
 21 out of 21 found this review helpful

Well, I have never found the movie LEGEND to be one of the more satisfying movie experiences in my years of watching films. Though sporting a beautiful visual style and striking cinematography, I found the story to be very thin and uninteresting. Regardless of Tim Curry's incredible performance as Darkness, I was never really drawn into the plot in any way what-so-ever! The electronic score by the pop group Tangerine Dream didn't help matters. The added songs, which were VERY out of place for a fantasy film of this nature, literally sent me running away never wanting to return. Such was my experience with director Ridley Scott's fourth screen adventure.

After reading numerous stories about the film being tinkered with by studio executives, I was always a bit curious as to what it would have been like in its original form. I felt that it was very unfortunate that Jerry Goldsmith, a composer of many beloved movie scores including ALIEN, POLTERGEIST, and several STAR TREK films, would have his score unceremoniously ripped away from the film and replaced with a pop score in an effort to appeal more to the masses. What would the film be like with his original score intact again? These were wishful daydreams that I never expected to see happen. I was wrong.

LEGEND Ultimate Edition DVD is a wonderful release that is well worth the money. Finally, Ridley Scott has been afforded the chance to go back and fix his movie, restoring it to his original vision, along with the original music. The changes have done wonders for my overall enjoyment of this film. Firstly, the Goldsmith score immediately helps to draw you into this fantasy world and never lets you go. The conclusion of the film being set to actual music instead of pop-singing is awesome to say the least! Twenty-four minutes have been added to the movie, allowing the story to proceed at a more natural pace. The quick edits designed to get us to the action were painfully obvious in the American cut of the movie, but here we are allowed to actually get to know the characters and to care for them. So much more is revealed about the relationship between Jack and Lily instead of simply "telling" us that they are in love like the previous release did.

The extended version gives us plenty of additional details, so the opening scroll of the previous edition is wisely avoided this time around. The audience is smart enough to figure out what is going on in the movie without having to read several paragraphs at the beginning. This change now lets you feel that you are actually "viewing" the complete story instead of picking up in the middle of it. Now there is no need to be caught up on what exactly is going on before you even get started!

Some of the dialogue has been altered too, as well as some of the actual scenes themselves. Changes have been made to the voice of Darkness' Father when he instructs his son on how to "win" Lily. The dialogue has been altered to some degree also, and all for the better I might add. The mood in Darkness' halls is now even more creepy, and the actual seduction of Lily has a more haunting element than before. Now we actually see several shots of the dark phantom -like face of Darkness, with his glowing green eyes, secretly watching Lily - shots that was pretty much absent from the American cut of the film. Very eerie! Also, a wise choice was made to remove the scenes that actually show Darkness at the beginning of the film. This sequence is now carried out using different camera angles during his conversation with Blix, being careful never to show Darkness himself. We do not lay eyes on the true face of Darkness until Lily does, and it is so much more effective that way! Also, the opening dialogue with Darkness at the beginning of the film has been altered.

Other scenes have been extended too, including Jack's encounter with the horrific Meg Mucklebones in the swamp. This sequence was a waste of time in the American version, but here it is very entertaining, with Jack being forced to attempt to sweet talk this ugly monstrosity to save his own skin. Very entertaining to say the least. Also included is a scene where Jack must solve a riddle presented by Gump in punishment for the "sin" of revealing the Unicorns to a mortal. These added sequences make the film more believable in my opinion, as opposed to the all-too-quick pacing of the edited version!

Note that there are a couple of scenes that are included in the American Edit that are not in the Director's Cut. Firstly, there is a lot more kissing between Jack and Lily at the beginning of the film. This is a good exclusion to make seeing that this works against the image of Lily being the "pure and innocent" victim in the story. Secondly, there is a scene in which Jack and Gump are attacked by some sort of long clawed dwarf monsters while in the dungeon halls of Darkness' lair. The scene is only a few seconds long, but did not really serve the story in any way. Thirdly, the scene in which Gump places the broken horn of the Unicorn back onto its forehead is nowhere to be found. I find this omission to be very puzzling, seeing that this is a very important element in the conclusion of the story. The movie does show the two Unicorns together, but the scene of it being restored should have been kept for the Director's Edition of the film.

I recommend this DVD to anyone who was ever even remotely interested in this film before. If you did not like it, give the alternate version presented here a chance. I don't think you will be disappointed!