Legend (Ultimate Edition) Reviews

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!

Rating: 5 - REDISCOVER A MASTERPIECE
Ridley Scott's much maligned fantasy adventure finally makes it to DVD in a beautifully packaged, lavish two disc set that features a glorious director's cut that's almost 25 minutes longer than the original U.S. theatrical release of 17 years ago. The fleshing out of character and story in this classic beauty and the beast, good and evil, light and darkness fable certainly fills in the gaps and makes this wondrous tale a substantially nuanced and more emotionally satisfying experience.

Tom Cruise is Jack, a mythical forest dweller whom fate has chosen to battle a demonic lord of darkness (Tim Curry) to save a princess (Mia Sara). Director Scott claims this restored version -- including Jerry Goldsmith's mystical score -- is the film he originally wanted to make.

In his richly detailed and entertaining commentary, he covers a myriad of production concerns and makes note that all the amazing sets and effects were essentially filmed as we see them in real time and not the result of computer graphics or optical tricks. Hard to believe the huge forest sets were built to order inside a gigantic sound stage. They are even more surreal and dreamlike in this perfect widescreen transfer.

There's a wealth of extras including the original version, isolated original release score by Tangerine Dream, lost scenes, storyboards, recreation (with photos and drawings and music) of discarded scenes, Brian Ferry's music video "Is Your Love Strong Enough" and much, much more. This striking film deserves rediscovery and Universal has spared no expense in creating a terrific digital edition of what is now clearly a masterpiece of epic fantasy that was only hinted at in its original release. Special note should be made of the remarkably visual original screenplay by William Hjortsberg who also wrote the novel "Fallen Angel" that became the underrated film "Angel Heart." Another story about confronting Satan.

Rating: 5 - Be Wary Of The Dark Lord
The long awaited DVD release of Director Ridley Scott's infamous fantasy-adventure, LEGEND, is worth it. Tom Cruise is a forrest dweller, chosen to undertake a mythical quest, to save a beautiful Princess (Mia Sara). She is being held captive by the demon-like Lord Of Darkness, (Tim Curry), who with his great powers, wants to plunge the world into an eternal ice age. When first released in 1986, the director made some drastic cuts to the movie, after a poor test screening. The end result was a 90 minute film that felt rushed and incomplete. When it came time to release LEGEND overseas, Scott reinserted some 24 minutes back into the movie. Now, fully restored, both fans and non-fans can finally see the film, the way the director intended. The story is a bit darker than most fairy tales and that is to the film's advantage. Curry is just great as the antogonist. The make-up and creature effects from Rob Bottin rival anything I have seen lately, using CGI.

Here is how the 2 disc "Ultimate Edition" DVD breaks down:

Disc One-contains the 114 minute cut of the film; along with Composer Jerry Goldsmith's original score for the film. The Goldsmith score was replaced in an attempt to broaden the film's appeal. It is great to finally be able to hear in the film. There is also an ejoyable and informative commentary from Scott that is well done.

Disc 2-contains the 90 minute U.S. theatrical cut of the movie with the Tangerine Dream music. The rest of the special features are on the 2nd disc as well. Among the notable bonus material-a making of documentary, "lost scenes", storyboards, a music video, and photo gallery/publicity. There is also script to scene comparison in the form of DVD-ROM.

I have always been a fan of this film and to finally have both versions in one place is cool. I must say that this film has its detractors but I think that is in large part due to the initial edit. Fans should like the release. If you like the work of Ridley Scott, give this one a look, you will enjoy it. I recommend this DVD as rental. first, for those who have never seen LEGEND. For all others, I Highly Recommend this DVD

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Legend (Ultimate Edition)