One cannot watch Legend without the word "painting" popping into their head at least once. For Cruise, it was a pejorative; for most, however, it must surely be one of the film's enduring qualities. With its mix of Pinewood sets and Alex Thomson's rich cinematography, one can rarely take one's eyes off it. It feels like it's a pure European fairytale. In this universe, we are told that "nothing is more magical than unicorns." Sure, if they say so, but nothing feels more magical than the land the filmmakers created.
It's a pity, because audiences only got about ninety minutes of this world with little (if any) world building. It wouldn't be until 2002 when Scott released his director's cut featuring an additional twenty minutes and Jerry Goldsmith's restored score (which, with all due respect to the German electronic group Tangerine Dream—whose score was featured in the U.S. version but ironically not the European release—is superior and more timeless).
As mentioned already, the sets are irresistible, but other elements also work well. The costume design is mostly superb, and the makeup design more than earned its nomination; one could argue that if Legend had been as well-received a film as The Fly, which won the award, the former could have gone home with the prize. Regrettably, its overly simplistic dialogue, written by the American novelist William Hjortsberg, seems to copy just about every hackneyed trope of the genre and leaves a lot to be desired. We're told that the unicorns' only language is love and laughter, for example, and it doesn't get much better from there.
This is especially true in its opening, in which the Lord of Darkness (played by the incomparable Tim Curry) laments that light exists to torment him. He then tasks his slimy goblin lieutenant Blix (Alice Playten, who also provides the voice of a character called Gump) with seeking out the unicorns, destroying them, and bringing him their horns (for a purpose not entirely explained), thereby bringing darkness (and presumably Darkness) to every corner of the land. Both Curry and Playten (along with co-stars Robert Picardo as a hungry goblin named Meg and Billy Barty in one of his many fantasy roles) are covered in Oscar-nominated makeup by Rob Bottin and Peter Robb-King that took hours to apply and hours to remove. In Curry's remarkable memoirs last year, he devotes a good chunk to his experience making the film, including the torment he had with the makeup and how he grew impatient and claustrophobic with getting it off to the point that he ripped it off himself, damaging his skin in the process. (He was relieved years later, he wrote, when the makeup required for another iconic villain—Pennywise in the 1990 miniseries It—required far less pain and and far fewer hours.)
In Legend, Cruise plays Jack, a Link-like boy of the forest who is madly in love with a princess named Lily, played by Mia Sara in her debut. They are on a bit of a date when Sara touches one of the unicorns (a forbidden act) at the very same moment that Blix shoots a poisonous dart at one of them, causing Jack to falsely believe that this taboo moment was the reason for all the chaos and misery since. Shortly after, Lily disappears (taken prisoner by Darkness), while Jack teams up with an elf named Gump (played by Swiss actor David Bennent) and a ragtag group to rescue her, retrieve the horn, and defeat Darkness. The limited plot unfortunately feels like a stripped-down version of the Hero's Journey.
Despite the film's main sets being destroyed in a fire, the harshest burns came from the criticism towards the film. Gene Siskel wrote that writing a review for it was akin to "recalling a bad dream." His colleague and friend Roger Ebert wasn't too thrilled either, complaining that the film "has no clear idea of its own mission and no joy in its own accomplishment."
Legend was Ridley Scott's fourth film. The ones before it were The Duellists, Alien, and Blade Runner. Despite Legend being a critical and commercial flop (though it's a cult film now, especially after it was recut by Scott as he often does), he rebounded and went on to be nominated for four Oscars, and he will receive an Honorary Academy Award later this year. For Cruise, he had already appeared in films like Taps and The Outsiders but was best known for his star-turning performance in Risky Business. His regret at appearing in Legend forced him to take more ownership of his projects, which is why in large part he is so instrumental behind the scenes, especially the Mission: Impossible films, which he produces. As mentioned, he never discusses Legend and is unlikely to any time soon. Sara had direct upward trajectory after her appearance in Legend; the very next year, she appeared in her most memorable role in Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Before Legend, Bennent had appeared in the highly acclaimed but controversial 1979 German film The Tin Drum, which won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and Best Foreign Language Film at the 1980 Academy Awards. It's not clear why, but he took a hiatus from movies until 2004 in the Spike Lee-directed She Hate Me.
Curry's visage with the gigantic horns, devilish grin, and cat-like eyes became one of the most recognizable images of him, not quite as omnipresent as his most iconic role (Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show), but still a very common one, especially after he died earlier this week at the age of 80. In his memoir, Vagabond, he described Cruise as nice but not someone he fully understood; the tone of those remarks suggests he found Cruise to be likeable but maybe was not so sure he understood him as an artist. Nevertheless, they share only one scene together.
Painting or not, box-office failure or not, Tom Cruise penitence or not, Tim Curry is the reason why people remember this movie and keep coming back to it. As the seductive, dominant devil who grins like crazy but doesn't like hearing the word no as an answer, Curry must have relished every syllable he got to deliver, making the agonizing hours in the makeup chair feel finally worth it. His most famous line from the film is when he tells Lily that "we are all animals, my lady," but that's not even his best moment. For me, it's when he purrs "dreams are my specialty" before instantly looking back at her as if he is ready to pounce and devour her. I'm sure many have revisited Rocky Horror, Clue, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, Muppet Treasure Island and many more in the days since his death, but if they haven't seen Legend yet, they really ought to. It's a fine illustration of his immense talent. He will be sorely missed. Rest in peace, legend.
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