Streetlight Records

Reviews:

Running time: 114 minutes (original version: 90 minutes) Rated PG. DVD Release Date: May 21, 2002
Special Features: Commentary by Ridley Scott; Director's cut, restored version with Jerry Goldsmith's score; Original U.S. theatrical version with Tangerine Dream score; Creating a Myth: The Making of Legend; Storyboards; The Fairy Dance, music and storyboards depicting the lost scene; Original screenplay; Isolated music score by Tangerine Dream; Music video - "Is Your Love Strong Enough" by Bryan Ferry; Widescreen anamorphic format

Once upon a time, Ridley Scott made good movies. After completing "Alien" and "Blade Runner"-massively influential films that are more cultural monoliths than touchstones-he decided to tackle the fairy tale genre. Armed with some serious sets, an almost unfilmable script and a young actor named Tom Cruise, he set out to create "Legend." The results were less than legendary.

A cautionary tale about endangered species preservation, the story is filled with goblins, demons, elves, pixies and Tim Curry as Darkness, a heavy-horned (and just plain horny) evil deity. He's hot for unicorn blood and the good Princess Lily, and-maybe because of a bad sunburn-he'd like it if the sun never rose again. Enter Jack (Tom Cruise), a nature boy who leads a band of mini-merry men on the inevitable rescue mission. Whimsy ensues.

After test screenings, the film was recut into at least three different versions for both American and European audiences, with everything from different soundtracks (one orchestral, one rock) to completely different dialogue. (It should be noted that Scott's previous film, "Blade Runner," also suffered massive recuts and a superfluous voiceover after testing poorly.) Though Scott himself takes the blame for the dueling versions in a documentary included on this lavish double-disc, I'm inclined to believe it was studio tinkering that damaged his initial vision, and studio greed-looking to grab some of the fantasy cash being thrown at "Lord of the Rings" pre-orders, no doubt-that has finally allowed him to deliver a director's cut. After all, he's now a three-time Oscar loser.

This "Ultimate Edition" is more compelling throughout the first two acts, but the denouement still feels like it's missing something-probably action footage never filmed. That said, "Legend"'s devout cult following will certainly be more than pleased-it's an A/V marvel, digitally gussied up and amped with the original score in Dolby 5.1 sound. Extras are mostly engaging and the original American version, complete with Tangerine Dream score and Bryan Ferry songs (yuck) is included for true believers.