Rating: Summary: Theatrical version is still better than the director's cut Review: Let me start off by saying what a great movie this is. I was so excited to see the ultimate edition released with Ridley Scott's original director's cut and the Jerry Goldsmith score. My girlfriend and I raced home from the store and enthusiastically popped the director's cut disc into the dvd player. What we found that was different than what we remembered was about 15 minutes of Mia Sara singing and some seriously sappy lovey-dovey banter between Jack and Lily. This is character development that we didn't need. The great part about Legend originally was the simplicity of the characters creating a representation of true essences, i.e. innocence, darkness, magic, love. These are things that don't require dialog to explain. The Goldsmith score was great, truly enjoyable music, but overall served only to disturb the original mood of the theatrical release that we already knew and loved. After viewing the D.C., our feelings about the flick suddenly became lukewarm. Then we popped in the other disc that contained the standard version. The film immediately came back to life for us with the mystery and splendor of the tangerine dream score and some fine tuning of the editors. As a Ridley Scott officianado, its nice to have the director's cut, but after watching both back to back, the theatrical release is clearly the more polished, coherent and mystical of the two. You make up your own mind about it. If you love Legend, you'll love the ultimate edition. With cool clear packaging, two versions of the film, and at such a great price, you can't go wrong! It is an excellent edition to my dvd library. :)
Rating: Summary: Makes the giant leap for greatness but misses by 1/4 inch. Review: I thought the movie was well done. The artistry in the set, costumes, makeup was excellent. It seemed like the target audience were 13 year old girls. For small children - too much viloence. For older adults - puerile and childish. I shouldn't slam this movie too much. The scenes between the devil and the girl were excellent. Probably the best I've seen in any movie. After having read some of the other reviews about the international release and the domestic US release much is explained. I watched the domestic realease. It seemed chopped. Scenes did not flow together well. I plan to see the international release.
Rating: Summary: Legend Review: Although beautifully photographed and well directed, this film has Tom Cruise's (and alot of other great actors) talent going to waste. Legend does have the ability to enchant the eyes, but the screenplay and the majority of the acting is painful on the ears. I had to increase my star rating because of the beautiful photography here. If it wasn't so beautiful to look at, this film would have received a big, juicy, single star!
Rating: Summary: Legend as it was meant to be... Review: If you watched the original American release of Legend and hated it (as I did) for all the plot holes and espescially the awful Tangerine Dream soundtrack, you owe it to yourself to give it another chance with the Ultimate Edition. This is Legend as Ridley Scott intended it to be. For starters, the original orchestral score has been restored... and it gives the movie a completely different tone. No longer does it seem cheesy and "Willowish". Legend is transformed into a dark fantasy which will keep you on the edge of your seat. Better yet, many scenes which were cut from the original American release are now back in all their glory. We get alot more background on Jack and the Princess for example. Overall this movie ranks as a must have for any collection of fantasy films.
Rating: Summary: No to the American Version, Yes to International Review: I absolutley loved this film when it was first released here in america. But I never knew that it was cut and torn apart so badly for the north american audience. Although confused by the american version's story, I stilled loved the movie for its possiblites and its visuals. But after I watched the international version on this DVD set, I have come to the conclusion this is one of the best classics of all time, in its original form. Anyone who disagree's obviously has no taste for fairy tales. And has no open imagination. Ridley Scott should have never ever touched this movie and tore it apart as badly as he did for the american market. Its sad that it was done that way, the american audience missed one of the greatest fairy tales to come to film. If you havent seen it, then watch the international version, and never watch the american version. And also to add, the acting is absolutley fantastic. Especially Tim Curry. Kudos to him. As for visuals, stunning, and one of the best devils or satan to come to film. Costumes are fantastic, sets are incredible. Truly a classic. As for the story, a great fairy tale of good and evil. Very well written.
Rating: Summary: Attention Deficit Disorder generation need not apply Review: **DISCLAIMER** This movie might not appeal to half-wits or those with an attention span the width of a breath. I happen to be a "man" who really likes this movie (yes, a reference to another viewer saying it was only for housewives. Hmm..and haven't we evolved enough to get past macho BS?). No, it doesn't have the depth of Lord of the Rings (then again, it wasn't based off a BOOK which was a culmination of a lifetime of work by a genius who probably had no social life). This movie has a great feel to it. It's not full of explosions and ridiculous one-liners, so that's going to be a turn off for the aforementioned viewers. However, the story line is captivating, and the characters are as developed as any would be in a movie that has no foundation based off a book. Suspense is built through the story, not with big booms and non-realistic fight scenes that are so prevelant in modern movies. It doesn't need that to make up for a lack of premise. It's not made for would-be moths only attracted to all glitter and no substance.
Rating: Summary: "Legend" ......if only the movie were as good as the title!! Review: "Legend" well it has some....NO THE BEST SPECIAL EFFECTS I'VE SEEN FOR AND OLD 80'S FANATSY FILM!!!...But if a movie's only Redeeming Quality is Good "Special Effects and make up" Than it is truly NO MOVIE AT ALL.And From What I've Seen "The World Of Legend" isn't much of a world at all.The Whole Movie seems Quite "Compact." Their is only two places I've seen: a Forest(Where Jack Spends time with Lily.)And Those Deep underground caves where Darkness Dwells.Anyway,Deep Down In My Opinion This Is Like Watching Grass Grow, Compared To "The Lord Of The Rings."(My Favorite Film of All time.)I mean There was Two Parts In "The Fellowship Of The Ring",That almost made me Cry!!!!(The Part Where Gandalf Dies,and Where Sam Shows That he is indeed a true Friend.)As For as Legend goes There's Not Any Part where I almost CRIED,Because I don't Even Care For The Characters!!!!Nor For The Movie Itself.This Movie (Like Rogert Ebert Said)Is Just Too Dark and Gloomy For Its Own Good.
Rating: Summary: Legendary Review: This film has too often been overlooked as being a legitimate part of the top-shelf films of the fantasy genre. Granted, there aren't all that many fantasy films to begin with, and even fewer that are worth anything. Nonetheless, this is one of the good ones & should be considered as such.The movie is basically a fairy-tale that has a whole lot of motifs from mythology mixed in. The typical hero's (Tom Cruise) journey to the underworld is well represented. Tim Curry does a great job of playing the demonic ruler of the underworld. A young Mia Sara plays the fairy-talesque naive young woman of innocence. Her abduction to the underworld and the attempts of the dark lord to seduce her reminded me a great deal of the tale of Persephone's abduction by Hades in Greek mythology. In this editon, you get 2 different versions of the film. One is the Director's Cut and the other is the theatrical release. The Director's Cut is about 24 minutes longer, but the most drastic difference are the soundtracks. The Director's Cut uses a soundtrack written by Jerry Goldsmith, while the theatrical release offers the familiar TANGERINE DREAM rendition. While some aspects of the film may seem incomplete, this is a terrific movie for an escape into an imaginary world. That it's done by one of the greatest directors in the world doesn't hurt, either. Regardless of the version you favor, LEGEND is the kind of delightful & refreshing movie that makes us believe we'll never grow old.
Rating: Summary: BOTH THE BEST AND WORST FANTASY FILM EVER Review: I believe this film both fails and succeeds to the extreme. It may in fact be the most visually stunning movie I've ever seen! And Tim Curry's character ("Darkness") is the most incredible looking villian EVER! (I'd say Darth Vader ties, but I guess the differences between them is robotic versus organic.) Also, the soundtrack by Tangerine Dream is pretty darn cool. On the downside however, the film moves surprisingly slow and the storyline struggles to keep your attention, even with all the eye candy that's there to help it. I give this DVD one huge star for the lavish visuals, another huge star for Curry's "Darkness" character, and another big one for the cool soundtrack by Tangerine Dream. Without these three elements however, there's nothing else the movie has to offer.
Rating: Summary: Featuring the original, er--"forest" Gump... Review: To paraphrase Bilbo Baggins, half of the reviewers who say they really love this film probably only love it half as much as they claim, and the other half who say they hate it probably hate it twice as much as it really deserves. Ridley Scott's mid-80's fantasy adventure is almost unanimously loathed by "professional" critics, but appears to retain a loyal cult following. In reality, the "only" thing wrong with "Legend" is an appallingly bad screenplay seemingly dreamed up by a 13 year old girl from Marin County with posters of Tom Cruise and unicorns all over her wall and parents who love Yanni. Unfortunately, in the context of cinematic art, that's a pretty big "only" (and begs for an "MST3K" treatment some day...). The production design and visuals, however, are so sumptious and intoxicating (more so than ever on DVD) that it really does take you to another time and place, although you still wish the inhabitants were given some more intelligent dialogue to chew on. With the exception of an obviously miscast and embarrassed Tom Cruise (watch him actually flinch when the Gump offers up a toast and pronounces him: "Fairy Friend!"), most of the cast do as well as they can with the material. Tim Curry's Creature of Darkness, which is a wonder to behold (in prosthetics and in performance) remains one of the most truly terrifying "demon" characters in filmdom (even surpassing the "Balrog" in the more recent "Lord Of The Rings"). The inclusion of the original 114-minute "European" version in the 2-disc DVD edition, along with the more familiar US print, is a nice nod to film buffs and collectors.
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