This DVD collection gives you two versions of LEGEND -- the original director's cut with over twenty minutes of added footage and the original Goldsmith score; and in addition, you get the original US release. In essence you get two different movies! The moods vary, the characters seem a little different, with whole new speeches and images to enjoy. If you are a fan of the movie or Ridley Scott it's a MUST-HAVE! This is what DVD dreams are made of. While many bemoan the fact BLADE RUNNER does not come with its 2 versions -- the fact is other than the narration and the happy ending, there is not MUCH different. But here we have a case where you can see what happens to a movie as it goes through development HELL. Fascinating stuff, and it comes LOADED with extras.

The only downside is the director's cut gets the royal treatment of a 5.1 sound mix while the other version gets a 2 channel Dolby mix, and even the video quality seems different with again the director's cut looking better than the theatrical release. But at last we can see a widescreen version of either cut, and we get a lot of extras that explain some of why the movie is the way it ended up. Beautiful images, two good soundtracks (I like both though the mood changes), and basically strong performances. LEGEND is a waking dream!


Legend -   September 27, 2000
 61 out of 69 found this review helpful

LEGEND has got to be one of the most underrated films I have ever known. Unfortunately, American audiences simply do not appreciate fantasy films when they don't contain singing munchkins or Disneyfied cartoons; they shy away from European style dark-toned fairy tales. There are very few films in all of cinematic history that are as visually sumptuous as this incredible Ridley Scott film. It possesses some of the most incredible art design, for both costumes and sets, that are so complete, detailed and timeless, that you completely believe that this is a seperate and real world. Plus, the makeup effects for Darkness have got to be the closest personification to Evil/Devil you will ever witness; not to mention the fine acting (and voice) of the superb Tim Curry which brings it to horrifying life. The score by Tangerine Dream is nothing short of sublime, similar to Enigma, but without the techno-like percussion. Although Scott does a fine job of fashioning a classic storyline about the battle between good and evil, albeit a bit cliched, you never feel like you know enough about the characters to care for them. They just plop right in from nowhere and we are to take for granted that the 2 leads are desperately in love; there simply is no backstory, and the acting by Cruise is a tad weak. The attempts at comic relief by the goblins/elves is over the top and clashes badly with the more predominant, and better working, dark tone of the film. And the bad pop song that ends the film makes you want to cringe as it is so completely anachronistic and saccharine. The film leaves an opening for a sequel, which I would love to see, given the advances in Visual FX, but only if Scott returned, with a stronger, character driven script, the same art director, and Tim Curry(a must!). However, Cruise's outrageous salary would, no doubt, prohibit it from production. This special edition disc allows one to view the European version, which is longer (and therefore explains the plot holes and visual gaps left by the battered American release), and replaces the original score of the film, while also removing the horrid, horrid pop song everything-is-nice-again-in-paradise- upbeat-hollywood ending. The behind the scenes stuff and commentary is also very enlightening and joyful to any fan of this movie. I highly, highly recommend this film to those who enjoy fantasy, beautiful art direction/cinematography, and dark fairy tales. I'd give it 10 stars if I could, and the pristine DVD conversion with DTS sound is nothing short of absolutely phenomenal. A definite MUST HAVE in any DVD collection.


There is no good without evil; no light without darkness   October 9, 2004
 57 out of 62 found this review helpful

As long as unicorns roam the earth evil can never harm the pure of heart, and that is why the prince of Darkness has sent his most foulest goblins out into the very daylight he seeks to destroy forever to cut off the horns of the last two remaining. But when Jack (the forest boy, played by a very young Tom Cruise) takes Lily (a royal princess, played by the beautiful Mia Sara) to see them, she does the forbidden and touches these ancient creatures. Lily soon discovers it was she who unintentionally lured the unicorns into the goblin's trap; enabling them to shoot the poison stinger into one of the "beasts", as they call them, with a clear view. She vows to make things right again as the land becomes shrouded in a blanket of snow and tries to protect the last unicorn standing but is too frail to defend even herself. She then is captured, along with the unicorn, and taken back to the great tree where the wicked come to sacrifice. There the prince of Darkness yearns for a companion and tries to make Lily one of them by tempting her with jewels and power while Jack and his new friends Gump, a jealous sprite and some other nymphs, device a plan to save Lily, the unicorn, and the world before it's covered in eternal shadow.

Legend wasn't too well received in theaters and was not a favorite among most critics but it has quickly become a cult classic with fantasy lovers like me. Considering the low budget director Ridley Scott was given in order to make this film in the mid-80s, I thought they did a wonderful job in bringing William Hjortsberg's dark fairytale to life, which was written specifically for the screen. I also felt the entire cast put on remarkable performances - especially Tim Curry who went through hell (pun intended) to look as devilish as he does here...

Within this two-disc set is two versions of the film. One is the director's cut, as it was intended to be seen, and the other is the U.S. theatrical version, which I personally prefer, as do many others apparently. There are many extended scenes in the director's cut that were taken out of the U.S. release to trim down the overall running time but I felt the U.S. version simply flowed better. It also features a more dramatic score by Jerry Goldsmith instead of the more emotional score by Tangerine Dream and doesn't include the closing credits song "Is Your Love Strong Enough?" by Brian Ferry, ending the movie on a more magical note. But still, it was nice to see both versions and to compare the two. There's also a lot of bonus materials in the limited edition of Legend that many fans will be very grateful for.


finally!   October 4, 2000
 50 out of 52 found this review helpful

jerry goldsmith is widely considered to be one of the best creators of movie music alive. he once gave an interview where he said that the score for 'Legend' was his favorite thing he'd ever written. when this movie was released, however, the people at the studio decided that "the kids" just wouldn't get it, so they replaced it with a pop-y bit from tangerine dream. furthermore, scenes were cut, and the action was speeded up so that the movie could be marketed to a younger crowd. problem solved: this is a 2 disc set so you can compare and contrast the two versions: one with jerry goldsmith's score restored and finally bringing the "international" cut to the u.s., the other being the u.s. theatrical cut. this movie is incredible, but certainly not for everyone. the early tom cruise is fun to watch, tim curry is his usual over-the-top self, and mia sara is quite attractive as the princess(?) lilly. at its heart, this is a good vs. evil quest film, with the usual fantasy trappings of that sort used to wonderful effect. the movie is visually stunning, but it relies on more archtypical characters rather than character development. just because it has unicorns, fairies, goblins, swords, magic, etc., does not make this a children's film. i heartily recommend this one to any fan of sheer eye candy, fantasy, or fairy tales.


Phooey to the critics!   September 25, 2000
 40 out of 45 found this review helpful

This delightful film is universally lambasted by critics--heaven forbid people enjoy a movie about sweetness and good triumphing over evil! Especially one that has a plot that I can follow on the first viewing! Well, phooey to them! This movie is a creative masterpiece.

In the fairy-tale land of Not-Named, Mia Sara plays the innocent princess Lily, who spends her time romping in the woods with the forest boy Jack, played by Tom Cruise. Meanwhile, in the pits of a hellish dark castle, Tim Curry plays the demonic devil Darkness, who seeks to shroud the world in eternal night and rule over it. But he is prevented from doing so because of a pair of unicorns keep the world stable.

So he has his goblins (yecch, they're disgusting!) follow Lily and Jack to where the unicorns are playing, and then manages to hack off the horn of one of them. Lily has been captured, and Jack is left in a hellish winter wasteland, feeling guilty. He teams up with a bunch of elven creatures and fairies to rescue Lily and--of course--save the world. The end scenes are simply stunning.

Okay, so the dialogue is as cheesy as bad parmesan. So Tom Cruise doesn't wear pants in a blizzard. So Tim Curry is wearing fake muscles and giant horns. So what? All of the elaborately delightful sets, the dialogue, the showers of petals/snow/other--it's all wonderful! All of it fits with the misty plotline and love of beauty that the director CLEARLY had.

You can only enjoy this movie if you don't expect an intellectual experience, sort of like watching "Princess Bride" or "Star Wars."

There's minimal violence and no sex or nudity (except a REALLY plunging neckline that Lily wears at one point), but some scary things are so well-done that they might well scare your kids silly: Tim Curry, despite his suave evilness that kicks all Disney villains around, might scare them with his booming voice and devil-physique; the hideous swamp-hag; the zombie-things; the writhing half-dead human; and the endless parade of hideous goblins.

However, if your kids can handle the ickier parts, this is a better-than-average movie for them to watch--good triumphing over evil may sound trite, but this movie makes it beautiful.