What's new on the LEGEND FAQ?
November 14th, 2021
A new 2-CD Legend Expanded Original Motion Picture soundtrack of Jerry Goldsmith's score is now available and you can read about it in What versions of the LEGEND score are available on CD, Record, or Cassette?
Find out What are the contents of the audio cassette interview with Ridley Scott from the European Press kit? thanks to Kristin Hiers.
Added two reviews to What reviews are there for the Arrow Films' Legend Blu-ray?
September 18th, 2021
June 17th, 2021
Description
“After changing the face of science fiction cinema forever
with Alien and Blade Runner, director Ridley Scott turned
his visionary eye to the fantasy genre, teaming with writer
William Hjortsberg (Angel Heart) to create a breathtaking
cinematic fairytale with one of the screen’s most
astonishingly rendered depictions of Evil.
In an idyllic, sun-dappled forest, the pure-hearted Jack
(Tom Cruise) takes his true love Princess Lili (Mia Sara) to
see a pair of unicorns frolicking at the forest’s edge.
Little do they know that the Lord of Darkness (Tim Curry, in
a remarkable make-up designed by The Thing’s Rob Bottin) has
dispatched his minions to capture the unicorns and sever
their horns so that he may plunge the world into everlasting
night. After Lili and the unicorns are taken prisoner, Jack
must team with a group of forest creatures and descend into
Darkness’ subterranean lair to face off against the devilish
creature before it is too late.
Despite a troubled production in which the elaborate
full-size forest set was accidentally incinerated and a
lengthy post-production that resulted in multiple versions
of the film (with competing music scores by Jerry Goldsmith
and Tangerine Dream), Legend has since been restored to
Scott’s original cut and embraced by generations of film
fans eager to see a master director’s unique vision of a
world beyond our imagination.
LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
– High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentations of the U.S.
Theatrical Cut and the Director’s Cut
– DTS-HD MA 5.1 and 2.0 stereo audio on both cuts
– Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of
hearing on both cuts
– Illustrated perfect-bound book with new writing by
Nicholas Clement and Kat Ellinger and archive materials
including production notes and a 2002 interview with Charles
de Lauzirika about the restoration of the Director’s Cut
– Large double-sided poster with newly commissioned artwork
by Neil Davies and original theatrical artwork by John Alvin
– Glossy full-color portraits of the cast photographed by
Annie Leibovitz
– Six double-sided postcard-sized lobby card reproductions
– Reversible sleeve featuring newly commissioned artwork by
Neil Davies and original theatrical artwork by John Alvin
DISC 1: US THEATRICAL CUT
– Brand new 2K restoration of the U.S. Theatrical Cut from
original materials, including a 4K scan of the original
camera negative
– Brand new audio commentary by Paul M. Sammon, author of Ridley
Scott: The Making of His Movies
– Reconstructed isolated score by Tangerine Dream from 2002
– Isolated music and effects track
– Remembering a Legend, a brand new featurette
interviewing grip David Cadwalladr, production supervisor
Hugh Harlow, costume designer Charles Knode, co-star
Annabelle Lanyon, camera operator Peter MacDonald, set
decorator Ann Mollo, and draftsman John Ralph
– The Music of Legend, a two-part featurette
focusing on the scores for both versions, with film music
experts Jeff Bond and Daniel Schweiger, and Austin Garrick
& Bronwyn Griffin from the band Electric Youth
– The Creatures of Legend, a two-part featurette
looking at Rob Bottin's make-up effects, with illustrator
Martin A. Kline and make-up effects artist Nick Dudman
– Incarnations of a Legend, a comparison featurette
written and narrated by critic Travis Crawford discussing
the differences between the various versions of the film
– The Directors: Ridley Scott, a 2003 documentary in
which the director discusses his career up to that point,
including Legend
– Opening narration from the edited-for-television version
– Music video for “Is Your Love Strong Enough?” by Bryan
Ferry
DISC 2: DIRECTOR’S CUT
– Audio commentary by Ridley Scott
– Creating A Myth: Memories of Legend, a archive
documentary from 2002 featuring interviews with Ridley
Scott, William Hjortsberg, Mia Sara, Tim Curry, Rob Bottin
and several other cast and crew members
– Original promotional featurette
– Two deleted scenes, the alternate ‘Four Goblins’ opening
and ‘The Fairie Dance’ deleted scene
– Extensive storyboard galleries
– Two drafts of William Hjortsberg’s screenplay
– Alternate footage from the overseas release plus textless
footage
– Three theatrical trailers and four TV spots
– Image galleries (Production Stills, Continuity Polaroids,
Poster & Video art)
When the Limited Edition Legend release from Arrow Video
was announced on June 25th, 2021, some folks noted that
there was no 4K UHD version. James Flower, a producer at
Arrow Video, addressed this on twitter the same day. The
thread starts here: James
Flower. You can read the whole thread in one place at
threadreader.
The twitter thread is reproduced below.
Obviously we wanted to, and it’s not Universal stopping us
(they have no plans either AFAIK). It’s a visually stunning
film and I understand people’s dismay when Alien and Blade
Runner are both on UHD and they want Legend to sit alongside
those. Believe me, I get it. But...
It’s important to understand Legend’s post-production and
release history and the materials issues relating to it,
which is much more complex and fraught than Alien or even
Blade Runner, both of which have enjoyed multi-million
dollar restoration projects by Fox and Warner.
Reputation is an important factor too. Alien and Blade
Runner are undisputed classics, one an instant
franchise-spawning hit and the other a hard-earned unlikely
triumph. Legend has still never quite enjoyed that level of
respect, as much as we may love it.
There are three versions of the film (not counting TV
edits): the 113-min Director’s Cut, restored by Universal in
2002 (SD) and 2011 (HD); the 93-min International cut,
released outside the US by Fox; and the 90-min cut with
Tangerine Dream score released in the US by Universal.
The Director’s Cut was restored from one of only two
surviving 35mm answer prints, with additional
post-production by Universal. There is no better quality
source for this version, certainly not a negative. So why
not scan the answer print in 4K? I mean, go big or go home
right?
These are Scott’s notes from the 2011 Blu-ray explaining the
inherent quality issues on the Director’s Cut master. He
sums it up well; even though an answer print is often struck
direct from the negative, there is significant generational
quality loss that cannot be reversed.
In addition, the answer prints do not wholly represent what
is in the Director’s Cut HD master; they contain unfinished
effects and other issues that would need to be corrected all
over again in 4K.
Universal spent a lot of money in 2011 getting the
Director’s Cut to look as good as it does in HD, but make no
mistake: its imperfections would be utterly naked in 4K, and
the diminished dynamic range would make HDR a moot point.
Some wise aleck might be piping up with one of the rare
examples to prove me wrong. “What about the Cannes cut of
Dawn of the Dead, restored in 4K HDR from a CRI!” True, but
the Cannes cut is a curio, not Romero’s preferred cut that
most people would reach for before any other.
The negative of Legend is conformed to the 93-min
International Cut... and here’s where things get tricky. The
negative is owned by Universal, there’s even a Universal
copyright at the end... but Fox/Disney own distribution
rights to that particular version of the film.
We went ahead and did a 4K scan of the negative anyway,
knowing we could still put it to some use and hoping that we
might be able to pull off a miracle and clear a US/UK
edition with all three cuts, which might make UHD a little
more feasible logistically and financially.
We tried very, very hard to make headway with Fox on
clearance to include the International Cut as an extra, but
no dice. Ever notice that the International Cut’s never been
released in the US, nor the US cut in the UK? You need both
to sign it off and we couldn’t make it happen.
You may ask, “Why not use the negative to make the
Director’s Cut look even better? It’s only 20 mins shorter,
right?” In fact, there are so many tiny cuts and minute
differences throughout that less than an hour of negative
material could be used in a Director’s Cut restoration.
So even if we used our 4K negative scans to upgrade portions
of the Director’s and US cuts, what does that leave us on
UHD? Two compromised, Frankenstein masters that would
inevitably fall short of people’s high expectations, no
matter what we did.
Make no mistake, if Arrow does a new 4K master, whether it’s
Tremors or King of New York or Donnie Darko, and spend as
much as we do on restoration, UHD authoring etc, we want it
to be a massive improvement. Legend in this form would not
qualify.
So here’s the deal: the Arrow Blu-Ray, in addition to
awesome new extras, has both Director’s and US cuts in the
best quality they’ve ever been seen in. It’s still a
stonking upgrade, thanks in no small part to those neg scans
of the one cut that’s unfortunately missing.
(Side note: if you desperately want this cut of the film, it
is still available on Blu-ray from Fox in the UK and
elsewhere – for now! Just a shame you haven’t seen our
master of it which looks even better…)
If Disney ever play ball and the opportunity ever comes to
do a UHD with three cuts, we can re-assess what to do with
the Director’s Cut, whether it’s a rescan or AI upscaling
with fake grain and fake HDR (as I know one non-US label has
done without you lot noticing)...
Because at least then there’ll be one cut of the film that
looks amazing, 100% restored from negative, which would make
the visual flaws in the other two cuts a little more
forgivable. I sincerely hope it happens one day... but
knowing what we know, don’t hold your breath.
Once again for those at the back: there is no surviving
negative of the longer cut, and any 4K improvement on what’s
been released before would have been nominal and not
currently worth the substantial hassle and expense. One day,
that may change... but not today.
Until then, the story of Legend remains, such as it ever
was, one of messy compromise. We’ve done the best we could
with what we have in the meantime – so, enjoy! (FIN)"
--------------------------
Neil Davies posted this full wraparound image of the LEGEND Limited Edition cover art on twitter: "This is the full Legend wraparound bluray cover art for @ArrowFilmsVideo. A total joy to work on!"
November 27th, 2015
Added information about the vinyl release of the Jerry Goldsmith LEGEND score to What versions of the LEGEND score are available on CD, Record, or Cassette?.
February 18th, 2014
Added information about pre-ordering "The Art of John Alvin" book to the question What information is there about John Alvin, the illustrator of the Legend poster?February 9th, 2014
Added the question What information is there about John Alvin, the illustrator of the Legend poster?
May 1st, 2013
Added the cover and information from the Legend UK Blu-ray to What versions of LEGEND are available on Blu-ray, DVD, Video, and Laserdisc?
Added the Tangerine Dream soundtrack re-recoreded album information to What versions of the LEGEND score are available on CD, Record, or Cassette?
August 18th, 2012
Added the cover from the second Japanese laserdisc and the German DVD cover to What versions of LEGEND are available on Blu-ray, DVD, Video, and Laserdisc?
November 22nd, 2011
Check out this awesome article called Restoring LEGEND - A Tribute to Ridley Scott's Resurrected Fantasy (Plus: An Interview with Charles de Lauzirika) by Andre Dursin at http://www.andyfilm.com/6-21-11.html.
This information has also been added to What are some of the reviews of the LEGEND Ultimate Edition DVD?
April 17th, 2011
The LEGEND Blu-ray has been anounced for release on May 31st, 2011. More information can be found here: http://www.nbcuniversalstore.com/detail.php?p=295974
Here's the relevant information from the site:
Legend, from director Ridley Scott (Blade Runner, Gladiator), is a visually stunning fantasy-adventure in which pure good and evil battle to the death amidst spectacular surroundings. Set in a timeless mythical forest inhabited by fairies, goblins, unicorns and mortals, this fantastic story stars Tom Cruise as a mystical forest dweller, chosen by fate, to undertake a heroic quest. He must save the beautiful Princess Lily (Mia Sara) and defeat the demonic Lord of Darkness (Tim Curry), or the world will be plunged into a never-ending ice age.
Starring: Tom Cruise, Mia Sara, Tim Curry, David Bennent,
Alice Playten, Billy Barty, Robert Picardo
Directed by: Ridley Scott
Disc 1: Director's Cut: Theatrical Version
Run Time: 1 Hours and 54 Minutes
MPAA Rating: Not Rated (N/A)
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (English)
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Picture: Widescreen (2.35:1)
Color
Bonus:
Feature Commentary With Ridley Scott
Lost Scenes
Creating A Myth: The Making Of Legend
Byan Ferry "Is Your Love Strong Enough"
Theatrical Trailers
TV Spots
Photo Gallery
My Scenes
D-Box
BD-Live
Pocket BLU App
Run Time: 1 Hours and 30 Minutes
MPAA Rating: PG (N/A)
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (English)
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Picture: Widescreen (2.35:1)
Color
Bonus:
Isolated Music Score by Tangerine Dream
Added this information to What versions of LEGEND are available on Blu-ray, DVD, Video, and Laserdisc?
May 28th, 2008
Added a new article called Legend Making by William Hjortsberg (Introduction from LEGEND script book)
Added a new article called The Importance of the Four Goblins Opening scene by Bill Hiers
Added the three LEGEND scripts available to the FAQ :
Added two new LEGEND videotape cover scans to What versions of LEGEND are available on DVD, Video, and Laserdisc?
November 24th, 2007
Added a new question What information is there about longer, fan made restorations of LEGEND?
May 28th, 2006
Added a newly revised The Music of LEGEND article by Paul Andrew MacLean
Added the LEGEND page at Tom Cruise Online - (http://www.tomcruiseonline.com/Movies/1985-Legend/Legend-Main.htm) to What are some fan created LEGEND Web Sites?
July 21st, 2005
Added the new single DVD release of the Director's Cut of LEGEND (on 5/31/05) to What versions of LEGEND are available on DVD, Video, and Laserdisc?.
Added a new Tangerine Dream LEGEND Soundtrack bootleg to What versions of the LEGEND score are available on CD, Record, or Cassette?.
April 30th, 2005
Added new comments on the desire for a LEGEND sequel to Is a sequel to LEGEND something fans of the film would like to see?
January 13th, 2005
Added Cillistas' Legend Costuming Resource - (http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~aslider/) to Where can I find more information on Lili's Dresses and What are some fan created LEGEND Web Sites?
January 1st, 2005
The entire FAQ has been reorganized and every question updated to turn this document into a more user friendly information resource on the film LEGEND. We hope you like the upgrade.
New questions that you may be interested in include :
This page was last updated on November 14th, 2021.
Contact the FAQ webmaster at figment@figmentfly.com