Legend FAQ ver. 3.1 -- part 1

[Glenn Saunders]

>studio-imposed cuts hurt the film, but even in its truncated state
LEGEND
>still an impressive and unique fantasy, its shimmeringly enchanted atmosph
>so exquisitely brought to life by Ridley Scott's obvious knowledge and lov
>for such lore.

Scott doesn't know shit about what makes a successful fantasy besides how
it should look. George Lucas is the only one who actually got it right
(although not with Willow, with Star Wars).

[Geoffrey M Wright]

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( ____(-' _( )_(-'_/ )_(_/ / __/ |__(_ <
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LEGEND Frequently Asked Questions
Version 3.1

Compiled By

Tony Anderson
(dem...@eskimo.com)

Sean Murphy
(Figme...@aol.com)

Geoff Wright
(Ge...@halcyon.com)

INTRODUCTION
------------

This FAQ contains information both factual and sometimes speculative. As
often as possible, references are listed from direct sources. If you have
anything factual or substantial to add to this document, please E-Mail Geoff
at Ge...@halcyon.com and we will work to incorporate it within.

This FAQ was last updated on June 25th, 1995. We will try to post it about
once a month to the following newsgroups :

Alt.cult-movies
Alt.video.laserdisc
Rec.arts.movies
Rec.arts.sf.movies
Rec.music.movies

*Request for FTP sites*

Does anyone out there have a site where we could archive this FAQ so that
anyone could get a copy by anonymous FTP? If so, please contact Geoff at
Ge...@halcyon.com.

*Request for other versions and the "Making of" Documentary*

We are looking for ANY version of LEGEND longer than the 94 minute
European version as well as any copies of the 20 minute Making of Documentary
on LEGEND. The "Making of" featurette on LEGEND was produced by Nickelodeon
and was part of the series called "Standby : Lights, Camera, Action" hosted
by Leonard Nimoy.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

List of additions to the LEGEND FAQ in version 3.1 :

Section 14 now consists of a filmography of the cast and crew
and section 15 is now the section containing information concerning
who to write to in order to request a director's cut.

WARNING: This FAQ does contain spoilers!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

QUESTIONS
---------
1. What is Legend?
2. How many versions of the film are there?
3. What are the differences between the three confirmed versions?
4. Why are there so many versions?
5. What versions are available on Video and Laser?
6. How many versions of the score are there?
7. What are the differences between the two versions of the score?
8. What versions of the score are available on CD or cassette?
9. What are the liner notes found in the Goldsmith CD?
10. Is there a "Making of..." documentary?
11. Can I get a script of the film?
12. What's wrong with this picture?
13. Miscellaneous information.
14. Who do we write to get a Director's Cut of LEGEND?

THE ANSWERS
-----------------------

*******************************************************************

1. What is LEGEND?

The following information is taken directly from the CD booklet that
accompanies the SILVA SCREEN release of the Jerry Goldsmith score on CD (See
Question #8 for more information). This text was written by Paul Andrew
MacLean (c) 1992 and he has graciously allowed us to reprint Pages 10 - 12
here. (Pages 2 - 9, and 13 - 18 can be found in Question #9).

THE PRODUCTION

"It is not a film of the future, or the past. It is not even a story of now.
The conflict between darkness and light has been with us since the
creation...and will remain with us throughout eternity." Ridley Scott

Reflecting upon the grim, dark atmosphere and gruesome carnage which pervaded
his previous two films, ALIEN and BLADE RUNNER, Ridley Scott felt his next
project should be a more uplifting, family-orientated film, and of a very
different nature. In spite of his unparalleled skill at depicting
technologically-saturated environments, fancy gadgets and technology have
never really interested Scott, who describes himself as "anti-mechanismo" at
heart. When directing his first film, THE DUELLISTS, Scott determined that he
very much wanted to make a film in the genre of mythology or faerie story,
inspired by his childhood fantasies.

Scott originally sought to adapt the tragedy of "Tristan and Isolde" (the
story of one of King Arthur's Knights, Sir Tristan, and his forbidden love
for Isolde, the sister of a slain enemy - made famous by Richard Wagner's
opera), but abandoned this idea, concerned that the classical nature of the
story was perhaps too esoteric to interest most audiences. Instead, Scott
opted for an original faerie-tale type of story, not based on any specific
tale, although stylistically rooted in folklore of Britain and northern
Europe, with the classic conflict between the powers of light and darkness at
its core.

LEGEND OF DARKNESS, as it was initially titled, was written by Montana based
writer William Hjortsberg, who himself is no stranger to stories concerning
good and evil, as his novel FALLING ANGEL was later made into the film
ANGEL HEART. Working with Scott, Hjortsberg forged a story which evoked the
feeling of tales such as "Sleeping Beauty" and those of the Brothers Grimm,
although the overall plot concerning the Lord of Darkness rising to possess
the world has probably has more in common with the Biblical Book of
Revelations than any mythological source. Also, Christian concepts such as
temptation, sin, forgiveness and redemption are all explored in LEGEND, as
are most importantly powers of light and darkness.

Hjortsberg's first draft of LEGEND was disturbingly dark and nightmarish, and
actually contained a *sex scene* between Lili and the Dark Lord. Scott's
desire to make a family orientated film was steadfast however, and Lili's
temptation by Darkness was to find it's portrayal in more subtle ways.

Scott also described LEGEND as a celebration of nature, which abundantly
comes across in the film's enchanted, storybook images; the cottonwood fluff
and forest mist drifting about the creaking branches of ancient oaks, the
black bear scooping honey from a bees' nest in a moonlit forest, the rain of
pink petals in a stormy wind. Scott's imagery captures that profound
reverence for nature and dream-like enchantment which lies at the heart of
faerie tales, where nature is intrinsically spiritual, and trees and flowers
are the abode of elves, gnomes and wood nymphs, while dark caverns and swamps
hold nasty terrors like goblins, hags and trolls.

The symbol of ultimate purity in LEGEND is also a nature symbol: the unicorn.
However, the unicorn can also be found in many allegorical Medieval writings
as a symbol of Jesus Christ, which would indicate further Christian symbolism
in LEGEND. Likewise, the symbol of ultimate evil, the Lord of Darkness, is
the most frightening Christian evocation of a fallen angel a towering,
blood-red demon with massive black horns, and cloven hooves, who,
significantly, also resembles a *pagan* symbol of lust and animal passion:
the satyr.

Scott scouted locations for the numerous forest scenes among the Giant
Sequoia trees of northern California, but sound stages eventually won out,
being ultimately cheaper and logistically easier. A huge forest set was
constructed on the "007 Stage" at Pinewood Studios in England. While nothing
can equal the true enchantment and visual impact of the Sequoia forests,
Production Designer Assheton Gorton's forest set was certainly a noble effort
to do so, and was one of the most convincing "outdoor" interiors ever
created.

In addition to Gorton, others in the group of talented artists that
contributed to LEGEND included cinematographer Alex Thomson, BSC (EXCALIBUR),
costume designer Charles Knode (BLADE RUNNER), and make-up artist Rob Bottin
(a long-time Joe Dante collaborator). The film was produced by Arnon
Milchan, and was a co-production of 20th Century Fox and Universal Studios,
who distributed the film in Europe and North America, respectively.

As Jack, Scott cast popular young actor Tom Cruise, whose youthful vigor and
handsome, yet somewhat feral looks, greatly contributed to his portrayal of
the naive woodland boy who must become a hero. Newcomer Mia Sara's storybook
beauty and perfect blend of mischief and seriousness made for a convincing
Princess Lili, while Alice Playten's mime-like mannerisms brought out the
wickedness of Blix, the slimy androgynous goblin. David Bennent, who had
given a brilliant performance as the impish Oskar in Volker Schlondorff's THE
TIN DRUM, conveyed a true enchantment in the part of Honeythorn Gump. But
versatile British character actor Tim Curry was most memorable as the Lord of
Darkness, and was ironically helped rather than hindered by the heavy
make-up, through which he conveyed a diabolical intensity and visceral
sensuality that John Milton would have admired.

Once underway however, LEGEND was to have it's share of difficulties. There
were several script alterations, and many elements which initially made the
script so captivating were dropped along the way. Another major blow came
when the 007 stage completely burned to the ground before shooting had
completed, forcing the remaining scenes to be shot on hastily constructed
sets. [Editor note : See Question # 13 for more information on the fire]
Principal photography was ultimately completed, and delivered into the hands
of editor Terry Rawlings (who had also cut ALIEN and BLADE RUNNER for Scott).

Scott and Rawlings arrived at an initial cut of 125 minutes, but then further
reduced the film to 113 minutes. Scott was happiest with this version, but
preview audiences in Southern California were not so the distributor insisted
another 20 minutes be cut. LEGEND was ultimately released in Great Britain
in December of 1985 with a running time of roughly 95 minutes. The
studio-imposed cuts hurt the film, but even in its truncated state LEGEND is
still an impressive and unique fantasy, its shimmeringly enchanted atmosphere
so exquisitely brought to life by Ridley Scott's obvious knowledge and love
for such lore.

[Editors note : Before LEGEND was to be released in the US, significant
changes were made to the film to try and sell it to an "MTV audience". When
it was released in the US in 1986, it proved a box-office disaster. See
question #9 for the rest of the liner notes from the Goldsmith CD.]

Film Credits :

Jack Tom Cruise
Lili Mia Sara
The Lord of Darkness Tim Curry
Honeythorn Gump David Bennent
Blix Alice Playten
Screwball Billy Barty
Brown Tom Cork Hubbert
Oona Annabelle Lanyon
Pox Peter O'Farrell
Blunder Kiran Shah
Nell Tina Martin
Meg Mucklebones Robert Picardo

Directed by Ridley Scott
Written by William Hjortsberg
Produced by Arnon Milchan
Music by Jerry Goldsmith/Tangerine Dream
Director of Photography Alex Thomson, BSC
Production Designer Assheton Gorton
Make-up effects by Rob Bottin
Edited by Terry Rawlings
Special Effects Supervisor Nick Allder
Costume Designer Charles Knode
Lyrics by John Bettis
Choreography Arlene Phillips

*******************************************************************

2. How many versions of the film are there?

The Confirmed Versions (as in versions we have actually seen and/or owned)
are accompanied with a (G) for the Goldsmith Score and a (T) for the
Tangerine Dream score :

[1] American (T), 89 minutes.

[2] European (G), 94 Minutes.

[3] Television version (T & G in two spots), 94 minutes as taped off PBS.

The Unconfirmed Versions (which have not found by us yet but have been
reported in various magazines) :

[1] (G) 140 Minutes. The length of the film that Goldsmith
claims he originally scored. (Larson, Randall D. and Benair,
Jonathan. "The Musics for LEGEND." Cinemascore.
Volume 15, Summer 1987: P. 38.)

[2] (G) 125 Minutes. Ridley Scott's first cut of the film (Jones,
Alan. "LEGEND." Cinefantastique. Volume 15, Number 5,
January 1986: P.27.).

[3] (G) 113 Minutes. Scott's second cut of the film (Jones,
Alan. "LEGEND." Cinefantastique. Volume 15, Number 5,
January 1986: P.27.).

[4] (G) 98 Minutes. This is Scott's third cut of the film (Jones,
Alan. "LEGEND." Cinefantastique. Volume 15, Number 5,
January 1986: P.27.).

*******************************************************************

3. What are the differences between the three
confirmed versions?

[1] The American version vs. the European version:

- Early in the American version we see someone being tortured by demons
before an open view of the star filled Void. Darkness is shown in
blue with yellow glowing fingernails and he delivers a different
opening soliloquy. In the European version we do not get the torture
scene nor to we see more than the arm of Darkness.

- When Lili enters Nell's cabin there is a shot of Nell's sleeping husband
in the European version.

- Lili is a princess in the European version, but called merely a Lady
in the American version.

- In the American version, Lili has a vision of the future when she
sees the revolving figures of the clock (death chasing a maiden) become
encased in ice for a moment--no ice in the European version of this
shot.

- The cutting of the scenes with Jack, Lily, and the stalking goblins
is arranged differently between the two version.

- Lili asks Jack to teach her rabbit in the European version, whereas
she asks him to "tell me our future" in the American version.

- Lightening strikes a tree just before the unicorn falls in the
American version. We also see the cutting of the alicorn in this
version.

- In the American version we see Jack struggling through the dark
forest snow calling Lily before he succumbs. We also see an extra
shot of the goblins riding in the snow. In the European we cut from
Lili in the cottage to the shot of Jack sleeping in the snow.

- When Gump queries Jack in the American version, Jack immediately
admits that he took Lily to see the unicorns. In the European
version, Jack first denies that he did anything and then admits his
transgression. Gump becomes bug-eyed and threatening in the European
version and makes Jack solve a riddle before all will be forgiven.
The American version does not contain the riddle and is much shorter
and simpler.

- The scene of Blix and the goblins intoxicated with the power of
the alicorn is split into two segments in the European version
separated by the scene with Jack and Oona in the cave. In the
American version, the cave scene is followed by the goblin scene
in its entirety.

- The scene with Meg is very short in the American version, whereas
in the longer sequence from the European version, Jack uses flattery to
distract her before killing her.

- When we see Lili in the dungeon for the first time, there is a shot of
Darkness that appears to be taken from the goblins fire sequence in the
European version. In the American version, the camera explores the walls
of the dungeon where we see to "eyes" light up.

- After Lili enters Darkness's hall, the American version cuts to a
scene not in the European version of an attack on Gump and Jack by
what the script refers to as Pygmies.

- The Dress Waltz scene is shorter in the American version and contains
a flash cut to Lili suddenly wearing the dress--no flash in the European
version.

- The American version contains some added footage showing wine filling
up a cup magically and is missing a scene where Darkness attempts
to get Lili to sit on his throne (he does this twice in the
European version vs. once in the American.

- There are some added lines to the American version just before Darkness
falls into the abyss having been defeated by Jack: "You think you have won.
What is light without dark? I am a part of you all. You can never defeat
me. We are brothers eternal."

- When Darkness falls into the abyss it causes three shooting stars to be
generated in the American version.

- The scene of Jack diving into the pond for Lili's ring is inter-cut with
the unicorn's horn being restored and his subsequent revival in the American
version. These shots are missing in the European version.

- One last shot of Darkness laughing can be seen in the American version.

- The American version does not contain any of the songs sung by Lili in
the European version, or the Goldsmith score. It contains a score by
Tangerine Dream whose score was also altered (against the wishes of TD) to
include a song by Jon Anderson of Yes and an ending song by Brian Ferry.

[2] Television Version (T,G) - Same print as the American version except for
three differences: The opening crawl is read by an unidentified voice over;
Jack's first meeting with Gump is almost the same as in the European version
with small differences that are outlined in the section called "What's wrong
with this picture" below; and Jack's encounter with Meg Mucklebones is the
longest of the three versions. The extra footage of Meg and the Faeries was
most likely taken from a test print and contains the Goldsmith score.

*******************************************************************

4. Why are there so many versions?

To begin with, LEGEND went through 15 rewrites before a final script was
settled on. According to Cinefantastique (Vol. 15, # 5), Ridley Scott's
first cut of the film ran a total of 125 minutes. He considered this a work
print and edited it down to a more manageable cut of 113 minutes. The 113
minute cut was shown to a preview audience and the results were
unsatisfactory. The film was again cut, to 98 minutes and then 94 minutes.

LEGEND was slated to be released in U.S. theaters in June, 1985, but
MCA/Universal then canceled and rescheduled the date for November 8, 1985.
At this time, the film was released in the UK and other parts of the world
with the Jerry Goldsmith score and a running time of 94 minutes.

In the Summer of 1985, the film's trailer with the Goldsmith score ran in
U.S. theaters. This trailer/teaser was very short and consisted solely of the
unicorns and the title presented in glass lettering on a black background.

When November, 1985, rolled around, Ridley Scott and producer Timothy
Hampton's only response to the film's continuing delay was, "Universal will
be releasing the film." The film was then cut to 89 min. and the Goldsmith
score was replaced by the more Pop/Synth orientated sound of Tangerine Dream.

The studio decided that the film's new release date would be in the Spring of
1986 and yet in May 1986 MCA/Universal makes plans to cancel the film's
release yet again, this time citing that audiences would not accept Tom
Cruise with long hair. They feared the film would be laughed at, so they
considered an August release. Instead, the Spring release went ahead as
planned and the film opened and remained in theaters for a short while.
Critics found the film empty, characterless and possessing a simple and weak
storyline.

In March, 1989, MCA/Universal prepared the film for syndicated television on
it's "Universal Debut Network", the same that ran the extended version of
"DUNE". This slightly extended version of the film was shown on March 1st,
1989. This version contains the Tangerine Dream score except for the extra
scenes which contain the Jerry Goldsmith score.

In March, 1990, the film is released in Japan on laser videodisc with the
Goldsmith score and a running time of 91 min.

*******************************************************************

5. What versions are available on Video or Laser?

[1] LEGEND (U.S.) MCA/Universal Home Video #80193,
Videocassette 1986, 89 minutes

[2] LEGEND (UK-pal) Warner Home Video # PES 38054
Videocassette 1988, 91 minutes (this version is letterboxed for
the French audience--also dubbed)

[3] LEGEND (U.S.) MCA HOME VIDEO # 40193, Laserdisc 1986,
89 minutes

[4] LEGEND (Japan) Warner Home Video # NJL-38528,
Laserdisc 1990, 91 minutes

*******************************************************************

6. How many versions of the score are there?

There are two versions of the LEGEND score : The original score composed by
Jerry Goldsmith, which is found on the European cut, and the replacement
score composed by Tangerine Dream for the American cut. The Goldsmith score
was replaced with the Tangerine Dream score after studio pressure in the hope

that the popular group would help the film's appeal with the teenaged
audience.

*******************************************************************

7. What are the differences between the two versions of the score?

The following information is taken directly from an article by Paul Andrew
MacLean that was originally published in Cinemascore, Vol. 15, Summer 1987.
This article is copyrighted by Paul Andrew MacLean and he has graciously
allowed us to reprint it here.

FROM A LEGEND TO A DREAM
A comparative Critique of the two LEGEND Scores
by Paul MacLean

Ridley Scott's LEGEND is a very traditional fable and faerie tale, both in
its subject matter and its imagery. It's clear Scott has a deep
understanding of this genre, since everything in LEGEND looks so right.

True to form, Scott takes enormous pains to create the correct atmosphere,
and it pays off magnificently. The forest air is filled with down to
simulate little insects and tree fluff floating around, and smoke is used to
simulate mist. Likewise, glitter sparkles and bubbles float through the air
to suggest the presence of faerie magic, just as red dust and gold glitter
accompany Darkness' emergence from the mirror amplifying his imposing
presence. The sets designed by Assheton Gorton are also a triumph. The
forest set is the most convincing I've ever seen - it is difficult to tell
which scenes were shot on the set and which are actually shot outside. The
diabolically grotesque halls and caverns of Darkness' tree-castle are by
themselves frightening to behold.

The characters too, are all the classic faerie tale types. Jack and Lili are
the perfect storybook lovers - the beautiful princess, and the naive boy
hurled into taking up a sword and becoming a hero. Blix and Pox, the slimy
goblin and his pig-troll sidekick are the epitome of villainous faerie-tale
henchmen, viciously ill-mannered and vile. The Faerie folk - Gump, Oona,
Screwball and Brown Tom - are likewise the classic faeries; mischievous, yet
filled with goodness. But the most imposing image of LEGEND, however, must
be the Dark Lord himself. Huge, with sweaty, blood-red skin, gigantic curvy
black horns and that deep malevolent voice, he is the classic medieval image
of the devil, looking as if he just stepped out of "The Divine Comedy" or
"Paradise Lost". the photography by Alex Thompson (EXCALIBUR) is
breathtaking and all of the other elements of LEGEND are equally superb
(costumes, sound design, editing, the latter of which still comes off
seamlessly, despite the removal of 30 minutes).

All of these elements must, in order to flourish into their fullest
potential, be supported by the correct musical backdrop if LEGEND is to work
at all. Mythology, legends and faerie tales have long inspired classical
composers - Mozart's "The Magical Flute", Wagner's "Ring Cycle", "Lohengrin"
and "Parsifal", Humperdinck's "Hansel and Gretel", Debussey's "Afternoon of a
Faun", the list could go on. Clearly, these types of stories have had their
strongest musical expression in the concert hall, by classical composers, and
this type of music is what best captures the essence of these tales.

Since LEGEND is a traditional faerie tale in every conceivable way, there is
absolutely no way it could be well-served by a modern, pop-tinted synthesizer
score. Pop and rock music, by the very fact that they are totally a product
of the late 20th century are completely inappropriate to a film such as
LEGEND. This is not to say that rock does not have its place in serious
films - it clearly does, but if used in the wrong ones, in most cases it will
severely reduce the film's impact, if not destroy it utterly (remember
LADYHAWK?).

Jerry Goldsmith's score for the European version of LEGEND is dynamic,
broadly orchestrated with symphonics and choir, superbly matching every
delicate nuance of the film and its characters. Tangerine Dream's score, on
the other hand, is, for the most part, too laid back. It is often not nearly
assertive enough in scenes of dramatic intensity, and is also too often, cool
and detached, providing inadequate support for the characters. It isn't
completely their fault that their LEGEND score is wrong, since they do not
seem to have a sense of what is correct for this genre. It is possible that
Universal instructed them to compose their score in this way, but whatever
the reason, it remains a dramatically weak score that severely hurts the film
and lessens its ultimate impact.

Jerry Goldsmith knew what was correct for LEGEND. His use of orchestra and
chorus was effective and certainly traditional, along the lines of Maurice
Ravel's "Daphnis et Chloe" in its evocation of the fantasy world and its
magical elements (particularly in the forest scenes). Goldsmith's LEGEND is
a clever amalgamation of different styles. Much of it is a blend of Romantic
and Impressionistic music - the harmonies are reminiscent of Romantic music,
but the orchestration and often fluid texture of the score is more in the
vein of the Impressionists. There is also a trace of European folk music in
his score, the most obvious example being the plainsong "Sing the Wee". The
music for Screwball and Brown Tom and sometimes Jack, has a definite folk
song flavor.

Though partly influenced by other styles, Goldsmith's score has a healthy
dose of its own innovation, the most notable example being his ingenious use
of synthesizers which, when coupled with the orchestra and chorus create an
enchanted musical landscape, the type of which has not been heard before.
His synthesizers sparkle, bubble and sing, seamlessly woven right into the
orchestral/choral texture.

One might say, "Wait a moment, here you praise Goldsmith for using
synthesizers, yet a moment ago, you criticized Tangerine Dream for doing the
same thing". I criticize Dream because they use only synthesizers, which
lack the broadness of tonal color required for a film such as this. a score
for only woodwinds or only strings would as much lack the necessary tonal
color. Goldsmith's use of synthesizers is ingenious because of how he
integrates them with the orchestra and choir.

While I of course mourn the fact that Jerry Goldsmith's score was removed
from LEGEND, out of this whole unsavory situation did come a truly unique
opportunity - the chance to compare two different scores for the same film -
a superb example of how a score can literally make or break a film. So lets
compare the two in detail.

The opening of Universal's American release of LEGEND starts with a prologue
of scroll titles that tell what happened with the Lord of Darkness long ago,
and a vague description of what is to happen in the film. It is unnecessary
and badly written, with silly lines like "A beautiful girl named Lili loved
Jack with all her heart". This is of course underscored by Dream, and their
music here is actually rather well-written. However, it is not very magical
sounding, thus not offering the support to these lines that they're very
badly in need of. This cue is rather reminiscent of Goldsmith's synthesizer
work for UNDER FIRE, except that the synthesizer here has a tendency to sound
rather like a slide whistle.

The title sequence, which introduces us to the forest and the animals that
inhabit it, as well as Blix making his way to Darkness' tree-castle, is
handled beautifully by Goldsmith. He opens with long, sustained, ethereal
chords for strings, synthesizer and female voices, against which are played
woodsy, bird-like synthesizer sounds. Goldsmith emphasizes nature and the
forest, as well as the enchanted aura surrounding the world in LEGEND. The
blurby, wickedly mischievous "Goblin" motif comes in when we first see Blix
sneaking through the woods. goldsmith perfectly captures the slimy and
utterly loathsome character of the Goblins with this motif. This is what is
so wonderful about Goldsmith's score, its emphasis on character. This is
something all composers working on films should do well.

Dream's music for the title sequence is, by contrast, much more dissonant.
It sounds vaguely mysterious, but it does not convey any specific feelings
toward what we are watching. The cue continues in this manner until we meet
Blix, at which point it takes on an evil sound, remaining so for the rest of
this cue, which ceases during the conversation between Blix and Darkness.
Goldsmith is silent for the duration of the castle scenes in the beginning,
but Dream has low, whiny "evil" music running the whole course of their
conversation (ceasing only for about 30 seconds).

When we first meet Lili, in the European version, she is singing Goldsmith's
song "My True Love's Eyes". Jerry Goldsmith conforms to the specific needs
of this scene. The sinister Goblin motif underscores Blix, Pox and Blunder
as they stalk Lili, but aside from that his music here is delicate and sweet,
becoming staccato and innocently mischievous as Lili unties Nell's laundry
line.

In contrast, Dream underscores this scene with quasi-nature music that has a
slight hint of foreboding and tragic dread to it. The tone and temper of
this cue remains the same throughout, never accenting things that should be
accented. The music is the same for Lili walking through the woods as it is
for the Goblins stalking her, and for when she unties the laundry line. when
Lili enters Nell's cottage, Dream's music suddenly becomes low and sinister.
Why? Is there something to be feared in there? There doesn't seem to be.
Lili looks around, eating a biscuit and this sinister music is playing.
This cue is pointlessly misleading. Goldsmith, for this scene, has the
chorus and synthesizers playing the "True Love's Eyes" melody, and it works
wonderfully, portraying Lili's innocence and purity. Again, Goldsmith is
emphasizing character.

The meeting between Lili and Jack, and their subsequent long kiss (not used
in the European edition; most likely Universal's attempt to appeal to
American teenagers' impatient sex-drive), is blandly handled by Dream,
employing the "slide whistle" music (which seems to serve as love theme) this
time accompanied by Guitar-like synthesizer.

The Unicorn scene is a Goldsmith masterpiece, surely one of the best cues
he's ever written. With the Unicorns' appearance the orchestra and chorus
swell in magical splendor, to be broken by the arrival of Blix and Company.
As Lili goes out to get a closer look at the Unicorns, Goldsmith's music
becomes suddenly frightening and filled with tragic dread, signifying that
what Lili is doing is something not be done and could bring about untold
disaster. Lili sings to the Unicorn, and the music is invested with a
momentary and fleeting beauty. This is abruptly broken by the Goblin motif
as Blix aims the poison stinger, and the orchestra builds in a frightening
variant of Lili's theme. Blix fires the stinger and the orchestra violently
explodes into the Goblin theme, led by French horns and Trumpets.

Dream, on the other hand, opens the unicorn scene with a little three note
motif for synthesized pan flute (they use this quite a lot throughout the
film). This crescendos into turgid grandeur -- synthesizers and twangy
electric guitar, sounding like something out of a pubescent brat-pack movie.
When the Unicorn comes into Blix's line of fire, the music becomes dissonant
and ethereal, but does not express the urgency of this moment with nearly
enough strength. As Blix fires and the Unicorns flee, a pulsing, almost
rock-ish beat comes in -- boring, commonplace and thoroughly grounded in
jaded reality.

In the sequence where the Unicorn dies and winter comes in the American
version, the music is dubbed at such a low level it is difficult to make a
concrete judgment regarding Dream's music, although what one can hear of
their music is not very powerful in its support of what is happening. In the
European version, for some inexplicable reason, Ridley Scott decided to use
only bits of the cue that Goldsmith scored for this scene (the full cue is on
the album, however, entitled "Bumps and Hollows"), alternating with music
written for the film's climax. Even in the Goldsmith version, though, it is
dubbed at a ludicrously low level.

The scene where Jack first meets Gump is played by Goldsmith with a sustained
chord on strings and synthesizer when the faeries swarm around Jack and he
glances about to see what is happening. As Gump jumps down in front of him,
Goldsmith uses a quick, staccato excerpt led by oboe, from the "Sing the Wee"
theme. As Gump stands and bows, exclaiming "Honeythorn Gump, at your
service", Goldsmith continues the staccato music, now led by woodwinds,
xylophone and synthesizers. In this scene we are also introduced to Oona,
who is portrayed musically by a three note motif played by a high-pitched,
whistly synthesizer.

When the faeries swarm around Jack in the American version, Dream has noisy,
metallic percussion going, evoking more the feeling of MAD MAX's
"Bartertown", than faeries in a wintry forest. When Gump jumps down in front
of Jack, he is accompanied by a bamboo flutelike sound.

In the European version, Gump goes on to perform a frolicsome dance. This
entire dance sequence was cut from the American version. When Jack passes
the wine around, Goldsmith's music is based on "Sing the Wee" and led by
woodwind and strings, expressing the goodness and folksiness of the faeries.
Dream's music for this same scene is a weak, slightly jazz-tinted theme,
played on synthesized bamboo flute and pan flute.

In the cave scene, where Jack learns Oona's true identity, Goldsmith uses
Oona's theme on synthesizer as she leads Jack through. When she reveals
herself to be human in appearance the theme is played by high strings -
amorous and siren-like. When Jack goes to remove the sword from its resting
place, Goldsmith comes in with a heroic melody played on French horns and
trombones which conveys Jack's heroism and purity. Goldsmith's music here is
extremely important because, again, it expresses the characters. Dream's
music for this scene starts out as rhythmic, then becomes sparkly, dissonant
music that offers no insight into Oona's character at all. When Jack reaches
for the sword, they use their Jack theme (the melody that opens "Loved by the
Sun" on the album). It doesn't work, however. It uses Rock-style harmonies,
and is thus too "hip" and cocky. It sort of conveys Jack's heroism, but not
his humility. In the film, Jack is seen as unsure of himself until well into
the movie. And even then he certainly is not anything remotely resembling
cocky. But this brief music here strongly conveys cool self assuredness;
indeed, even arrogance. Thus, it is contradictory to what the character is
shown to be.

One very powerful moment in Goldsmith's score is one which he achieves
through rather limited means. In the scene where Jack and Co. follow the
goblin's tracks to Darkness' tree-castle, Goldsmith has the bass drums and
synthesizers playing a deep, pulsing rhythm, while another synthesizer sounds
a shivery, whooshing motif. It perfectly captures the immense size of the
castle, its great age, and the unimaginably perilous evil that lies within.
Dream's music for this scene is rhythmic and not nearly as effective as
Goldsmith's, but it does create an aptly creepy atmosphere. Goldsmith ceases
when they go down to the swamp, but Dream continues with murky sounding music
that actually suits the visual rather well.

Jack's confrontation with Meg Mucklebones, by the old tree in the swamp, was
not scored by Goldsmith. Dream's music for this scene is absolutely horrid.
As Meg hovers over Jack, Tangerine Dream employs a rock-ish five-note motif
over and over, counterpointed by old-fashioned, cliched 'scary' electric
organ music. This cue is really obnoxious and gets in the way of what's
happening. The "organ" (actually synthesizer) motif continues as Meg departs
and the camera tilts up toward the tree castle - an image crying out to be
perceived as frightening and formidable, but Dream's music fails to provide
the necessary support, instead providing old-style "haunted house" music
making the castle appear at best, quaint.

Goldsmith, for the castle shot, employs Darkness' theme (the first time we
hear it). Brooding, black-hearted, yet legato and impressionistic, it
features mainly woodwinds and male voices, and really brings out the
oppressive horror and dread of this image.

When Jack and his group have been captured, and Oona promises to help them
escape from the cage if Jack will kiss her, Goldsmith's music is spritely
and innocently sensuous, providing great insight into Oona's character. When
she impersonates Lili in order to seduce him, Goldsmith employs the Jack and
Lili love theme on flute, while counterpointing it with whistly synthesizer,
reminding us that here is indeed faerie magic at work here. When Jack
refuses to yield to her, the high, staccato woodwinds and synthesizer
perfectly convey her feelings of insult and rejection as she gets up and
flees in anger.

Tangerine Dream on the other hand, employs low dissonant walls counterpointed
with "slide-whistle" when Oona asks Jack to kiss her. This music sounds
appropriately strange and mysterious, but offers absolutely no insight into
the characters and how they are react. This music is too detached. When
Oona impersonates Lili, that slide whistle and guitar love theme comes back
and shatters the magic of the scene.

Nowhere is Goldsmith so sorely missed in LEGEND as in the "Dress Waltz"
scene. As I understand it, this is one of the pieces Goldsmith composed in
preproduction, to which the dance was choreographed. Ravel-like, his waltz
is dizzying and seductive, perfectly underscoring Lili's seduction by the
figure in black, yet at the same time acting as a very foreground element.
The orchestra and chorus swell in magical fury, finally reaching an
explosive climax as Lili is transformed into the dark figure herself. With
Goldsmith, the scene is hypnotic and of such an indescribable intensity that
one is exhausted after having experienced it.

Dream's substitute waltz for this scene is devoid of riveting power of
Goldsmith's waltz. It sounds like calliope music! It does not build or grow
in intensity, it simply goes along, sounding silly and marring the scene's
impact. The black apparition, whose appearance is so diabolical when
accompanied by Goldsmith, is stripped of its formidable presence. The
apparition and Lili look quite ridiculous dancing to this "carnival" music.

In the scene where the Dark Lord emerges from the mirror, Goldsmith uses the
"Darkness" theme, with male voices and woodwinds creating a chilling air of
black-hearted evil, superbly defining the towering wickedness of this
character. Dream's music here employs sampled voices (which sound overly
phony in transition from one note to another), counterpointed by synthesized
sitar playing Eastern-flavored pentatonic melody, which is absurd. Indian
music in LEGEND? This cue is used non-stop with little variation, in
virtually every moment of Darkness' screen time.

For the scene in the kitchen, Dream starts out with peppery synthesizer
accompanying the characters sneaking through the kitchen, which at first
works pretty well, but as the fight ensues the music degenerates into a
percussive rock cue with noisy electric guitar. This music, coupled with
Jack's fight with the chef expresses not his heroic character, but rather the
cocky Tom Cruise we all know from TOP GUN and RISKY BUSINESS. Until seeing
the Goldsmith version, I thought this scene was very confusingly shot and
edited. Not so, Dream's raucous music only made it seem so.

However, even in the Goldsmith version, this scene is flawed, as none of the
music here was even written for LEGEND. When Jack and Co. sneak through the
kitchen, the music is a suspense cue from Goldsmith's PSYCHO II! As for the
ensuing fight scene, though I don't recognize the music. It too sounds like
something written for another film, a straightforward action cue apparently
unrelated to the rest of the score. Another moment of recycled music occurs
after the fight, when the faeries cheer Jack. Ridley Scott tracks it with
the title music from PSYCHO II. While a little too soft for this moment, it
does at least serve to reinforce the innocence and goodness of these
characters, and certainly works better in this scene than Dream's music with
their haughtily heroic Jack theme (last heard in the cave).

When Darkness attempts to turn Lili to his wickedness, Dream just has their
"India" music smearing over the whole scene. Goldsmith, though, waits until
just the right moment to bring in his music. That moment occurs when
Darkness says "It is enough that we are alone together (he takes a step
toward her)... just the two of us". Right here Goldsmith comes in with a
low, eerie bell-like boom on synthesizer, beginning the sinister, yet legato
music for Darkness which continues as he speaks. The music crescendos as the
camera moves in closer to Darkness, and a sustained chord is held by male
voices and lower-register instruments.

We then cut to a shot of the setting sun nearing the horizon - the sustained
chord continues, countered by two "booms" on synthesizer doubled with piano.
The music here is immensely powerful, conveying the dread of what will
happen if the sun sets before Jack can put his plan into effect. The sunset
shot is invested with immense power, because Goldsmith's expresses the
horrifying connotations of what it represents. Dream, however, simply
inserts their "India" Darkness music; when we cut to the sun, the Darkness
music abruptly ceases, and they play their emotionally neutral "pan flute"
Unicorn motif, which does little to make us feel the urgency of this moment.
The setting sun is cause for alarm, but one does not become alarmed, because
Dream's music is not assertive enough to punctuate this sense of danger.

The climatic dungeon scene is handled fairly well by Tangerine Dream until
Lili frees the Unicorn by severing its chains with the sword. Here Dream
comes in with thoroughly unimaginative, generic suspense/action music,
accompanied by a thumping beat (in 2/4 time) that underscores the rest of the
scene with little variation.

On the other hand, Goldsmith begins the dungeon scene with a suspenseful four
note motif for high strings and woodwinds, moving into a suspenseful
variation of the love theme as Jack is faced with having to kill Lili since
she has apparently turned to evil. As Lili cuts the Unicorn's chain, proving
Jack's suspicious wrong, Darkness strikes her down and Jack, in desperate
rage swings down on a rope to do battle with him. As he swings down,
Goldsmith accompanies him with a heroic trumpet fanfare (in 6/8 time). When
Jack swings down in the Dream version, however, they accompany him with their
electronic thumping and a simple minded, "desperate" action cue.

Darkness gets a hold of Jack and traps him between his massive horns. This
is a significant moment as Jack is finally fact to face with his adversary,
and this adversary has the upper hand. Jack is in the clutches of the most
evil being in the world, and Goldsmith masterfully conveys Jack's feelings of
fright and horror with a searing, dissonant chord held by synthesizers and
strings. As Jack escapes the Dark Lord's clutches and engages in a sword
duel with him, Goldsmith's music becomes bold and heroic, its 6/8 tempo
suiting the exciting action perfectly. This is one of the best heroic cues
Goldsmith has ever written, in the style of his fine heroic music for
SUPERGIRL and KING SOLOMON'S MINES (though here more dramatic and
heavyweight.

This sequence of the film is parallel edited, cutting between Jack battling
Darkness in the dungeon and Oona attempting to wake up Screwball on the
castle top, and Goldsmith accents both situations as they appear. The tempo
of the music remains the same, but Jack is accented by heroic brass, while
Oona is personified by the whistly synthesizer. When Jack is overpowered and
subdued by Darkness, Goldsmith employs crescendoed low brass which
frighteningly portrays the Dark Lord's seemingly unstoppable power. Darkness
with one hand hurls jack against the wall and onto the floor. Lying there,
Jack looks over to see the Unicorn's horn slipping slowly into a pool of
burning water. Here Goldsmith brings in female voices that express both the
magical power of the horn, and the horror of what will happen if the horn is
lost - that Darkness will win, bringing eternal night and chaos on the world.

As the shaft of light blasts into the dungeon and engulfs Darkness, the
chorus is the dominant force, heralding his demise with storm-like fury.
Jack strikes him down and he is sucked into the abyss, accompanied by a solo
whistly synthesizer that rises in pitch as he is swept further and further
from our view. The excitement of this whole climactic sequence is just
indescribable when accompanied by Jerry Goldsmith. My only complaint is that
his music is dubbed at an annoyingly low level, hindering its contribution.

The thumping music by Tangerine Dream's that underscores the climax in the
American release offers little support to the visual, its 2/4 tempo being too
wooden to generate the excitement that Goldsmith's 6/8 tempo does. Nor does
their music provide the vital accenting for the significant events of this
sequence. Jack is cornered by Darkness, but the music does not convey the
chilling intensity of the moment. The generic, rock-ish music thumps through
the whole sequence, never altering to portray Oona's ethereal delicacy,
Jack's sterling heroism, Darkness' satanic evil or the significance of the
horn being nearly lost. Their music does turn momentarily triumphant as the
shaft of light burns into the dungeon, and appropriately black-hearted when
Darkness is dragged down the corridor (fortunately, they don't use their
"sitar" here).

Interestingly, in the Dream version this scene contains additional dialog
that actually makes the ending slightly different than in the Goldsmith
version. Darkness defiantly exclaims he cannot really be destroyed and that
his evil influence is within all of us. A few scenes later, the seemingly
happy ending is broken by a dissolve to a shot of the Dark Lord cackling
wickedly, with the implication that he truly cannot be destroyed. This was
probably derived from the ad-lib footage that Scott always shoots when making
a film (in case he wants to make changes while editing). Always thinking
with their wallets, Universal most likely altered the ending because they
wanted the option of doing a sequel if the film did well, and what's a sequel
without the old villain coming back?

The final scenes of Goldsmith's version are scored beautifully, as Jack
brings life back to Lili and Gump returns the horn to the Unicorn. One is
swept away by the majestic enchantment these scenes possess when invested
with his music. Dream, however, uses their haughty "Jack" theme over the
final scenes, referring briefly to the Unicorn theme. In an effort to make
it even more commercial, Universal added lyrics and singing by Jon Anderson
(the lead vocalist of the rock group, Yes). His lyrics are banal, and his
whiny, high-pitched singing demolishes the carefully crafted mood of the
moment. The Bryan Ferry song that follows into the end titles (creating an
awkward change of pitch in the segue) is equally boorish.

Jerry Goldsmith's score for LEGEND is simply perfect, which comes as no real
surprise as Goldsmith is the best there is, and his stylistic versatility has
been unmatched by any other composer in his more-than 125 film scores.

Tangerine Dream's score for LEGEND, on the other hand, does not at all fit
the delicate fabric woven by Ridley Scott. The Eastern-influenced,
transcendental type of music they specialize in is just fine on their
abstract recordings, but they don't seem to be able to function very well
outside of that realm, as is often needed for films. Their score is a
synthesizer score which occasionally leans toward pop. This kind of
electronic pop music seems to be a favorite among film and TV producers these
days. It is everywhere - commercials, TV shows, movies - particularly in
those sleazy, superficial kids films by John Hughes and other great thinkers.
This music is catchy and inexpensive. It is also commercial, and thus would
logically take care of Universal's dilemma concerning how to get the kids to
go to LEGEND. Unfortunately, the Universal execs didn't stop to think that
doing this would be the essential equivalent to trying to get children to eat
their veggies by putting chocolate syrup on them - it just makes it taste
worse, and the veggies get ruined in the process.

Now, this is not to say that electronic scores don't work. There have been
many highly effective scores of this kind - WITNESS, SUMMER LOVERS, JAGGED
EDGE. Of course, there have also been many inappropriate uses of synthesizer
scores in films: THE BOUNTY, SWORD OF THE VALIANT, among others. You'll
find that the most effective synthesizer scores are by the serious film
composers who understand the dynamics of film scoring, and not by musicians
who specialize only in synthesizer music. It's really the pop aspect of
Dream's score that makes it ill-fitting more than the fact that it was played
on synthesizers.

If they had to have a synthesizer score for their American release of LEGEND,
Universal could have at least asked Goldsmith to re-do his score for
synthesizer (as he did with part of his EXTREME PREJUDICE score when one
sequence was trimmed). But it's clear that Tangerine Dream were chosen for
LEGEND simply because they are a popular group and Universal wanted a name
which would (they thought) draw a larger audience. I wish Dream had stuck
closer to the approach taken by Goldsmith. Even though it would be
synthesized, it would still suit the film much better than a pop approach.

Its a tragedy that Jerry Goldsmith's best score to date should have ended
in this way. I hope he never applies his genius to scoring another film for
Universal.

*******************************************************************

8. What versions of the score are available on LP, cassette or CD?

LP
---

Jerry Goldsmith (International soundtrack) (1986) FILMTRAX
RECORDS # MOMENT 100
Cover: Close-up of Darkness with a playful smile.
Titled "LEGEND:The music of Jerry Goldsmith"

SIDE ONE
--------------
1. My True Loves Eyes
2. The Riddle
3. Sing The Wee
4. The Goblins
5. The Dress Waltz
6. The Ring

SIDE TWO
--------------
1. The Unicorns
2. Bumps and Hollows
3. Forgive Me
4. Re-United

(I was told at the time when I purchased this LP (1987) that it was a very
limited pressing by Goldsmith himself. - Tony)

=========================================================

CASSETTE
----------------

Tangerine Dream (U.S. Soundtrack) (1986) MCA RECORDS # MCA-6165
Cover: Darkness standing posed with eyes closed, holding staff.
Titled "Music From The Motion Picture Soundtrack LEGEND"

SIDE ONE
--------------
1. Is Your Love Strong Enough?
Performed By Bryan Ferry
2. Opening (Instrumental-Tangerine Dream)
3. Cottage (Instrumental-Tangerine Dream)
4. Unicorn Theme (Instrumental-Tangerine Dream)
5. Goblins (Instrumental-Tangerine Dream)
6. Fairies (Instrumental-Tangerine Dream)

SIDE TWO
--------------
1. Loved By The Sun
Performed By Jon Anderson
2. Blue Room (Instrumental-Tangerine Dream)
3. The Dance (Instrumental-Tangerine Dream
4. Darkness (Instrumental-Tangerine Dream)
5. The Kitchen/Unicorn Theme Reprise (Instrumental-Tangerine
Dream)

=========================================================

COMPACT DISCS

[1] Tangerine Dream (U.S. soundtrack) NOT AVAILABLE. It was rumored to
have been issued in Tangerine Dream's native Germany but, nothing concrete
has ever surfaced to my knowledge. Currently, a bootleg (similar to the
"Blade Runner" boot earlier this year) is said to be coming out in December
1994. It is said to be basically the same as the early version except there
will be an extended piece on "The Unicorns" that is recorded live and was
broadcast on German radio. The copies of this boot will be *extremely*
limited, probably limited to "2000" copies as with the Blade Runner and
Excalibur bootlegs.

[2] Jerry Goldsmith (International soundtrack) 1986 UP-ART # 86002
(Not available domestically (U.S.) TIME: 46:40

This is the compact disc version of the above vinyl LP. It is the exact same
in content and it's cover is the same. There are pictures on the back of the
LP cover that are not contained in the CD packaging. This CD is very basic,
cover and CD. That's it.

[3] Jerry Goldsmith (International soundtrack) 1992 SILVA SCREEN
RECORDS # FILMCD045 (Apparently Silva Screen has gone out of business so this
cd may be hard to find - Sean)

Cover: A picture of the two unicorns galloping down the stream.
Titled: "Original Soundtrack Recording LEGEND : The Jerry Goldsmith Score",
composed and conducted by Jerry Goldsmith TIME: 70:54

THE TRACKS :
---------------------
1. Main Title*/The Goblins
2. My True Love's Eyes#/The Cottage
3. The Unicorns
4. Living River*#/Bumps and Hollow#/The Freeze
5. The Faeries*/The Riddle
6. Sing The Wee#
7. Forgive Me
8. Faerie Dance*
9. The Armour*
10. Oona*/The Jewels*
11. The Dress Waltz
12. Darkness Falls*
13. The Ring
14. Re-United#

*contains previously unreleased material
# Lyrics by John Bettis

[4] Currently available on "Born On The Fourth Of July: Music From The Films
Of Tom Cruise" is a single track from both the Goldsmith score and one from
the Tangerine Dream soundtrack. Although the Tangerine Dream cut is not the
original composition, this version is a very close rendition, what with a few
varying musical instruments. If you are fond of this score then I suggest
seeking out this music collection.

BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY: Music From The Films Of Tom Cruise
(1994) Silva Screen Records America, Inc.
Compact Disc: SSD 1038
Manufactured In The U.S.A.

Track (6) LEGEND (Jerry Goldsmith) "The Unicorns" 7:58
The National Philharmonic Orchestra
Conducted By Jerry Goldsmith

Track (7) LEGEND (Tangerine Dream) "Opening/Unicorn Theme" 6:28
Arranged, Performed and Produced By Mark Ayres

*******************************************************************

9. What are the liner notes found in the Goldsmith CD?

The following information is taken directly from the CD booklet that
accompanies the above SILVA SCREEN release of the Jerry Goldsmith score. The
liner notes list each music track and explains the context in which the music
is found in the film. Two of these pieces, denoted by the #, are The Goblins
and Faerie Dance which are cues for sequences entirely cut from the film.
This text was written by Paul Andrew MacLean (c) 1992 and he has graciously
allowed us to reprint it here. Pages 2 - 9, and 13 - 18. (Pages 10 - 12 can
be found in question #1.)

THE CD MASTER

Preparing this new CD master was akin to combining a mystery story with a
jigsaw puzzle - a certain amount of detective work linked with a large degree
of patience.

The score of LEGEND has always been generally regarded as one of Jerry
Goldsmith's finest achievements although the original CD release proved to be
something of a disappointment - not because of anything lacking in the
musical content but due to the sub-standard packaging and shallow sound
quality. As the initial release of the soundtrack did not remain in catalog
for very long it was Silva Screen's original intention just to reissue the
original album with improved artwork, notations and sound. However, when it
was discovered that the original album master had been lost, we contacted the
recording engineer for the LEGEND sessions, Mike Ross-Trevor of the Hit
Factory Studios (London) in an effort to find alternative tapes. Fortunately
he had stored a set of 2-track digital tapes from the original sessions
(mixed-down from 8-track) which he knew "would be worth preserving".

These tapes featured some complete "takes" but many were just sections of
cues which had then been edited for the soundtrack and later for the album
master. Those edits had now to be "recreated", which proved difficult
especially as the film company had lost all of the printed scores for LEGEND,
so this work had to be done without the aid of following bar lines. Where
possible we have remained faithful to Goldsmith's edits, and because of great
advances in digital technology since 1985, have in some cases made "cleaner"
cuts. Whilst preparing the new CD master a wealth of other material was
found. So, an alternative master utilizing some of the additional music was
prepared and then sequenced in the order they would have appeared in the
uncut version of the film - Goldsmith's complete score was composed for a
film of 14 reels which was then trimmed down to 12 reels with the first 4
reels being left virtually intact, but then in other reels music from
completely different scenes appear, e.g. cues from reel 13 find their way
into reel 6! It was then decided to release this alternative master as it
gives a more complete and "darker" view of this landmark score from Jerry
Goldsmith's illustrious career.

Special thanks are due to Mike Ross-Trevor without whose skill, patience and
infinite care for detail, this release would not have been possible.
-James Fitzpatrick

LEGEND: Eons ago, the Lord of Darkness reigned sovereign over the world.
Then came the splendor of light which bestowed peace and harmony upon the
world, and the Dark Lord retreated to the solace of the shadows deep beneath
the world. Hateful of light, his destroyer, the Dark Lord plotted his return
to power by one day banishing light forever. But the secret and power of
light is safe from the clutches of the Dark Lord, resting in the souls of two
unicorns, who are hidden from all but the purest of mortals.

1) MAIN TITLE/THE GOBLINS#
An enchanted, "woodsy" atmosphere is conjured by ethereal chords from chorus,
synthesizers and strings, counter pointed by bird-like calls from the flute
and synthesizers, as the moonlit forest is seen. However, three goblins,
Blix, Pox and Blunder, disrupt the peace, as they espy two shafts of light
emanating from a forest glade. The noisy goblins rush to investigate, but the
light recedes, and the many animals gathered around it flee. All are gone as
the goblins reach the glade, save for a long, silvery hair caught upon a
tree-a strand from a unicorn's mane. The goblins snatch it up and ride off.
Goldsmith perfectly captures the wicked essence of the goblins in their
theme, which is most often voiced by an eerie synthesizer, the sound of which
has a strikingly "vicious" quality, suggestive of slime, flatulence and the
uncouth vulgarity so characteristic of these creatures.

2) MY TRUE LOVES EYES/THE COTTAGE
Sent out by the Dark Lord to destroy the unicorns, and bring back their
enchanted horns, the goblins stalk Lili, a young princess who sings to
herself as she wanders through a woodland glade. Arriving at the cottage of
her friend, a peasant woman named Nell, Lili mischievously plays a trick on
Nell by untying her laundry line. Lili enters the cottage, and the music
expresses her love of nature and longing for the simple agrarian life. But
this soothing air is interrupted by an eerie glissando from a synthesizer, as
Lili has a vision of Nell's chiming clock frozen in ice and snow, portending
the terrible fate which is to come from Lili's mischievous nature. The
pastoral mood returns however, when Nell enters, and Lili forgets her
premonition.

3) THE UNICORNS
Lili runs deep into the forest to meet her sweetheart, Jack, who lives alone
in the woods among the animals. Jack brings Lili to a secret place in the
forest, where they are able to gaze upon the unicorns who frolic blissfully
in a stream, and the unicorn's theme crescendos in its most soaringly
beautiful setting of the score. Not content merely to gaze, Lili leaves
Jack's side to get closer, but the goblins have been following the lovers,
and close in, waiting for the opportunity to strike.

4) LIVING RIVER/BUMPS AND HOLLOWS/THE FREEZE
Lured by Lili's song, the stallion inadvertently walks into Blix's line of
fire, where he shoots it with a poison dart from his blow-gun. Terrified,
both unicorns flee, and the goblins set-off in pursuit, their theme now
voiced by belligerently triumphant brass. Jack chastises Lili for her
blasphemous attempt to touch a unicorn, still unaware of the goblins and the
doom which has been sown. Lili sings to Jack to soothe his troubled spirit.
When he questions her true devotion, she hurls her gold ring into a deep pool
of water, joking that she will marry "he that can retrieve it." To her
startled surprise, Jack dives in instantly. However, in another part of the
forest, the Goblins corner the dying stallion and sever the spire from it's
head. The sky darkens and a raging tempest engulfs the world in snow and ice,
leaving Jack trapped beneath the frozen surface of the pool. He manages to
break through, but Lili has fled, believing him drowned. Running blindly
through the blizzard, Lili arrives at Nell's cottage, and the same
synthesizer glissando now signifies that her earlier vision has come to pass,
for Nell and her family (and the clocks) are all frozen stiff. Lili's trance
of horror is broken by the arrival of the goblins, (announced by the nasty,
viscous synthesizers) who burst through the door, narrowly missing the
princess as she ducks into the loft.

5) THE FAERIES/THE RIDDLE
Having collapsed from cold and exhaustion into the snow, Jack is revived by
woodland faeries, where he is introduced to Honeythorn Gump, a child-like,
but wise and ancient elf. Agreeing they must set things right, Jack sets off
with Gump and three faeries - Screwball, Brown Tom and Oona, to find the
remaining unicorn mare, and retrieve the spire of the stallion. After nearly
killing Jack with a spell to make him dance uncontrollably (as punishment for
allowing Lili to touch a unicorn), Gump offers Jack the chance for absolution
by answering a riddle- "What is a bell that does not ring, yet it's knell
makes the angels sing?", to which Jack correctly guesses, "bluebells". Being
bested by a mortal sends Gump into a temper tantrum, and he smashes his
fiddle in a rage, underscored by a frantic solo violin. Snapping out of it,
he befriends Jack and offers him faerie wine. The briefly happy mood is
broken however, when they are reminded of the peril the world is in, and that
they must try to do something about it.

6) SING THE WEE
Though aware of the terrible tragedy that has befallen the world, the faeries
retain the compulsion to sing, and launch into a song which celebrates their
faerie ways - ways which seem so frivolous to mortals who do not understand
them.

7) FORGIVE ME
Jack and the faeries discover the dead stallion in the snow. Angry brass
signals the appearance of the mare, who regards Jack with rage at having
caused the death of her mate. Tears well up in Jack's eyes as he begs the
unicorn's forgiveness, and the music shifts into a gentle, somber setting of
the unicorn theme on solo flute, expressing the mare's forgiveness (it is
appropriate to note that the unicorn's emotions of rage, sorrow, and finally
forgiveness, would not come across were it not for Goldsmith's music). Jack
explains to the faeries what he has learned from the unicorn. The stallion's
spire must be retrieved if the world is to be returned to normal, and a
mortal champion must be found to accompany the faeries in their search. Gump
chooses Jack, who is reluctant, but agrees.

8) FAERIE DANCE#
When Jack reveals he took Lili to see the unicorns and she touched one, Gump
and the faeries are so incensed that they cast a spell upon him and Jack
begins to dance uncontrollably. In an interesting blend of source music and
underscore, Gump plays his fiddle, while orchestra and synthesizers accompany
him. The tempo of the dance grows more ferocious, as Jack is literally danced
to the brink of death. With his last breath Jack proclaims "I did it for
Lili, I did it for love, and I would do so again!", at which point Gump
breaks off the spell, for folly out of love is a different story altogether.
(This dance was cut from the film).

9) THE ARMOUR
Jack is led by Oona, a tiny faerie who resembles a floating point of light,
into an ancient cave containing weapons and armour from eons past, which Jack
must take up to be the champion. Alone with Jack, Oona transforms into her
true form - that of a beautiful and alluring young nymph with dragonfly wings
and makes him promise to keep it a secret. A new theme, for Jack the
Champion, is introduced here by the noble French horns, as Jack reaches for
an ancient sword. Oona is personified by a three-note motif, heard on a high,
whistle-like synthesizer when she is a point of light, then joined by strings
and woodwinds when she transforms into a nymph.

10) OONA/THE JEWELS
Lili and the unicorn mare have been captured by the Goblins and taken to the
Dark Lord's fortress - a huge, decaying oak hundreds of feet tall, with the
facade of a castle in its thick trunk, surrounded by a dark, sinister swamp.
In pursuit of the goblins, Jack and the faeries overcome the peril of a
carnivorous swamp hag, only to be trapped in the cell- like larder of the
fortress's kitchen by ogre-chefs. Jack suggests Oona fly out and get the key,
forcing Oona to reveal her true form (infuriating Gump, who never had any
idea of it). She agrees to do as Jack wishes, if he will only kiss her.
Unsatisfied with Jack's quick peck on her lips. Oona takes the form of Lili,
hoping to seduce Jack, but to no avail, for Jack's love for Lili is true.
Hurt and rejected, Oona transforms back into a tiny light and angrily flies
away - but in seconds returns with the key and they escape. Meanwhile,
watching Lili, the Dark Lord is overcome with feelings of lust and desire,
and resolves to corrupt her soul and make her his bride. Lili, lost in the
cavernous fortress, wanders into the Dark Lord's empty throne room. Although
alone and frightened, she is seduced further into the chamber by a shimmering
box of precious and exotic jewelry.

11) THE DRESS WALTZ
A dark, wraith-like spirit wearing a grotesque, black gown appears to Lili
and dances hypnotically about her. Lili is soon bewitched and seduced into
the dance, which crescendos in euphoric fury. As the waltz reaches a climax,
Lili finds she is suddenly alone, and attired in the wraith's gown herself.
Dazed, she gazes with intoxicated vanity into a large mirror and admires
herself in the dress.

12) DARKNESS FALLS
Having confronted Lili, the Dark Lord reveals his plan to destroy the last
unicorn, which will prevent the sun, his destroyer, from ever rising again,
and make him lord over all. He attempts to seduce Lili with lies that her
true nature is one of evil, calling her responsible for the unicorn's death
and the tragedy which has befallen the world. Her corruption seems complete
when she consents to be the Dark Lord's bride, if he will permit HER to kill
the unicorn. However, Jack has devised a plan to bring light to darkness, by
arranging a series of giant shiny plates (stolen from the kitchen) to catch
and reflect the rays of the setting sun into the fortress to destroy the Dark
Lord. As the sun nears the horizon, Darkness and Lili make ready to spill the
blood of the unicorn, while Jack and Gump, hidden, look on in horror. But
instead of killing the unicorn, Lili remains true and uses her sword to cut
the chain which holds it captive, and it flees. Enraged, the Dark Lord
strikes her down, but he is attacked by Jack and they engage in a broad sword
duel, where the "Champion" motif now struggles to be heard against the
onslaught of the Dark Lord's theme. Meanwhile, high atop the fortress, Oona
tries desperately to rouse Screwball, who has fallen asleep after the long
climb to set-up the final plate. Jack fights valiantly against the Dark Lord,
but is overcome by the strength of the demon, who laughs at Jack's puny
efforts to defeat him. All seems lost until Oona and Screwball manage to
raise the plate at the last second. Heralded by a chorus in triumphant fury,
the final moments of sunset blast through the dungeon doors and engulf the
Dark Lord. Jack smites him down with his sword and the demon is swept into an
eternal abyss.

13) THE RING
Lili lies sleeping, still bewitched by a dark curse. Jack returns to the pool
and this time retrieves the ring. Placing it upon Lili's finger, Jack kisses
her and she awakens, the spell broken, and the two lovers embrace. In another
part of the woods, Gump restores the spire to the stallion's forehead, and it
is raised to life and reunited with the mare.

14) REUNITED
The world restored to the warmth of summer, Jack and Lili wave farewell to
the faeries and unicorns, and run hand-in-hand into the morning sunlight. The
end credits reprise the music for Jack, Lili, and the faerie theme of "Sing
the Wee" in a fuller setting, bringing the score to a finale of ethereal
reassurance, where light truly has overcome the darkness.

THE MUSIC

As much as the visual essence of faerie tales is captured in Ridley Scott's
images, Jerry Goldsmith deftly conjures their musical ambience in his score.
Goldsmith is clearly imbued with an uncanny insight into the characteristic
playfulness and ethereal sensuality of faeries and woodland spirits, as well
as the dark brooding and hate of demonic forces, and his score rings
quintessentially true.

Goldsmith had previously worked with Ridley Scott on ALIEN, but found it a
frustrating experience, sighting lack of creative input and feedback from the
director as a major difficulty. As a result, Goldsmith's score for ALIEN was
not used as it was intended, and some of his original music was discarded in
favor of temp music (consisting of Howard Hanson's "Symphony #2") and
Goldsmith's own music for the 1962 film FREUD". In spit of his experience on
ALIEN, however, Goldsmith was the never the less very eager to score LEGEND,
having been utterly bewitched by the beauty of William Hjortsberg script.

Written in London over 3 months, Goldsmith scored LEGEND for a full orchestra
and chorus, embellished by an ensemble of synthesizers, including the YAMAHA
DX-7, ROLAND JP-8, MEMORYMOOG, OBERHEIM OB,-8 DMX & DSX, and Sequential
PROPHET-T8. Unlike the coarse, propulsive synthesizer music of RUNAWAY (a
futuristic action adventure thriller Goldsmith completed shortly before
LEGEND), the electronics here complement the orchestra and chorus with a
sparkling, effervescent air, evoking faerie enchantment and black magic,
while at the same time fulfilling more specific character expression, in
particular for the goblins and Oona.

Stylistically, the score is lushly Romantic, yet suffused with the fluidity
of Impressionism as well. The way Goldsmith veers from familiar tonality
into the mysterious and uncertain atonal realm, makes the score inherently
evocative of fantasy. As the music drifts between tonality and atonality, so
does fantasy drift within that twilight realm between dreams and reality, the
concrete physical world and the spirit realm. The use of voices also lends a
spiritual atmosphere, with a vocalise chorus suggestive of angels (and
sometimes demons), swirling about the orchestra in a fashion somewhat
reminiscent of another great fantasy score, Maurice Ravel's ballet DAPHNIS ET
CHLOE. Elements of folk music are also prominent in Goldsmith's score, most
notably in the faerie music, such as the song "Sing the Wee", and Gump's
reel-like solo fiddle in "Faerie Dance".

Goldsmith's contribution to LEGEND was also more than an ordinary film score.
While most of the music was written for the completed film in
post-production, Goldsmith actually began working in pre-production, with
choreographer Arlene Phillips on the film's dance sequences, and with
lyricists John Bettis on the songs sung by Lili and the faeries (Goldsmith
had previously worked with Bettis on THE LONELY GUY and TWILIGHT ZONE-THE
MOVIE). However, while dances and songs were featured in the film, LEGEND is
not a musical, where dramatic "reality" is suspending to accommodate musical
numbers. Rather, these songs and dances occur within the context of their
respective scenes as part of the story (for example, Lili singing in order to
attract the Unicorn, or the faeries casting a spell on Jack to dance him to
death).

The score is thematically complex, although Goldsmith refrains from using
leitmotifs, per se, believing that a score should instead be built from one
basic theme, and out of that theme a few notes extracted and re-configured to
develop more themes, so that all the material is related and indigenous to
that one score.

When LEGEND was reduced to its 95 minute release cut, this of course
necessitated that the music track be cut-down as well. Unfortunately this
was executed with little regard for the cohesion of the score. Cues were
indiscriminately edited, if not needlessly removed altogether. Worse, bits
of different cues were cut together to make "new" pieces of music (Resulting
in awkward shifts in key, tempo and orchestration), while other cues were
used more than once, resulting in redundancy. Additionally, as in ALIEN,
temp music was again retained (this time from Goldsmith's score for PSYCHO II
plus library music by British composer Tim Souster), resulting in a breach of
stylistic structure.

But even in its ravaged state, Goldsmith's score still contributed greatly to
LEGEND, bringing to life its faerie-tale heart and soul. Fortunately,
preserved on disc, the music's evocation of nature, spirituality, heroism,
love and the epic struggle of powers of light and darkness can be heard in
its fullness, as it was originally meant to be.

THE COMPOSER

Jerry Goldsmith was born in Los Angeles in 1929. He studied piano with Jacob
Gimpel, and composition with Mario Castelnuovo - Tedesco. Goldsmith's strong
love of drama, coupled with the prospect of how difficult it might be to make
a living writing concert music, convinced him to pursue a career composing
music for films. Goldsmith continued his education at UCLA, while studying
film scoring with Miklos Rozsa at USC. Expertise with another kind of
keyboard, the typewriter, enabled Goldsmith to land a position as a
clerk/typist at CBS radio in Hollywood, where, as he put it, "a lot of
persistence and nagging" finally gave him the opportunity to write music for
radio drama programmes. Goldsmith ultimately broke into television, where he
contributed noteworthy scores for many productions, including DR. KILDARE,
PERRY MASON, PLAYHOUSE 90, GUNSMOKE and THE TWILIGHT ZONE.

In time, Goldsmith graduated to feature films, and during the sixties his
talents were sought-out by legendary film directors such as John Huston, Sam
Peckinpah, Otto Preminger and Robert Wise. Since then, Goldsmith has earned
a reputation as perhaps the most continually eclectic and prolific composer
for films, with diverse scores for over 150 productions, among them A PATCH
OF BLUE, PLANET OF THE APES, PATTON, CHINATOWN, MAGIC, STAR TREK - THE MOTION
PICTURE, POLTERGEIST, UNDER FIRE, TOTAL RECALL, THE RUSSIA HOUSE and BASIC
INSTINCT.

Goldsmith has also established a reputation in the concert hall as well as
films. He made his public conducting debut in 1969 with the Southern
California Chamber Symphony, performing his cantata "Christus Apollo". His
orchestral concert works have been premiered by ensembles such as the St.
Louis Symphony conducted by Leonard Slatkin, and the Dallas Symphony
conducted by Goldsmith himself, while his ballets have been performed by the
National Ballet of Australia, the San Francisco Ballet, and Ballemet, a young
dance company in Columbus, Ohio. Over the last several years Goldsmith has
also conducted a successful series of live concerts of his film music with
many of the top orchestras in Great Britain, the United States and Canada.

Jerry Goldsmith is one of the most trend setting and respected of composers,
and his influence on an entire generation of younger film composers is most
apparent. Conductor Leonard Slatkin has noted Goldsmith as an example of how
film music is sometimes more adventurous and forward-looking than much of the
music that has been written for the concert hall in recent years. Goldsmith
is also a strong advocate of electronic instruments being accepted as a new
section of the orchestra, and that their inclusion is part of the orchestra's
necessary and inevitable evolution.

As an artist, Jerry Goldsmith is not a great believer in waiting for
"inspiration", nor does he subscribe to the notion of creative burn-out. For
him, creativity stems from being disciplined enough to just sit down and
write, and as long as one has mastered one's craft, music will come.

Goldsmith has been the recipient of many honors, including six Golden Globe
nominations, seven Grammy nominations, and fourteen Academy Award
nominations, winning the Oscar for THE OMEN.

THE AMERICAN RELEASE

Although Jerry Goldsmith's score was noted in many reviews of the European
release as one of the film's most positive attributes, Universal Executive
Sidney Jay Sheinberg determined that the success in America was dependent on
replacing Goldsmith's score with more commercial, pop/rock-style music. This
would theoretically make the film more "accessible" to, and attract, teenage
audiences, as well as allow for a more marketable pop-music soundtrack album.
The fact that LEGEND had been conceived in pre-production with Goldsmith's
dance sequences and songs as an inherent element (the script actually
contained John Bettis' lyrics) was apparently considered irreverent.

The Universal version was also cut differently, with a few shots and quick
scenes which were not in the Fox release, including an ill-fitting kissing
scene early in the film (derived from different shots of Jack and Lili's kiss
at the film's end), which utterly ruins the faerie-tale innocence of Jack and
Lili by implying they have had sex. [Editor's Note : See question #3 for more
information)

Scott was bitter about the changes imposed by the American distributor, which
were against the essential nature of the film, and a clear attempt to capture
the core audience of MTV and John Hughes' teen-narcissism films, which were
big money-makers at the time. But Scott, now wallowing in the all-to-common
post-production doldrums where director's are convinced their latest creation
is a flop, bowed willingly to Sheinberg (who personally presided over the
editing), welcoming the "objective" collaboration of someone who also desired
the film's success. However, when LEGEND was released in America, it
received scalding reviews and failed to be the hit with teens that Sheinberg
had hoped after all his "improvements".

Interestingly, around the same time, Sheinberg also attempted to "improve"
the other Arnon Milchan production awaiting release by Universal - Terry
Gilliam's BRAZIL, by dumping Michael Kamen's score (again in favor of pop
music), as well as other radical narrative alterations. Gilliam however
remained steadfast that BRAZIL be released his way, and threatened to burn
the negative if his wishes were not honored. The director's cut of BRAZIL
wound-up winning the award for Best Picture of 1985 from the Los Angeles Film
Critics Association, and Sheinberg was left with abundant egg on his face
(and within a year, Sheinberg was to have an even worse disaster, having
personally "green-lighted" the infamous HOWARD THE DUCK).

Had LEGEND been released as originally intended, who can say what its
reception might have been? But shorn of one quarter of its running time, and
one of its most powerful elements - Jerry Goldsmith's score, its failure was
unsurprising, and in that state, perhaps deserved.

THE OTHER SCORE

Selected to replace Goldsmith's score was Tangerine Dream, the German
electronic group, consisting of synthesists Chris Franke, Johannes
Schmoelling and Edgar Froese (who originally formed the ensemble).

It is probable that the Dream's work on RISKY BUSINESS was a deciding factor
in their selection, as it was at that time Tom Cruise's most successful film,
and Universal no doubt thought the Dream's involvement in another Tom Cruise
film would invest LEGEND with the "successful formula" to attract the youth
market.

The Dream approached LEGEND differently from Goldsmith, scoring the film
"wall-to-wall" (with roughly 85 minutes of music for the ninety-minute cut),
largely retaining their signature style of Eastern-influenced "New Age" pop
throughout.

While the Dream have not been unsuccessful in some of their film endeavors,
their adherence to purely electronic music, and their admitted desire to
retain a consistent stylistic "identity" even when doing films, limits the
spectrum of assignments to which they can effectively contribute. Although
the "metaphysical" electronic sound of the dream would seem on the surface
correct for LEGEND's air of spirituality, its appropriateness is
questionable, as the Dream's style is strongly rooted in Eastern traditions,
while LEGEND's was rooted in Western lore of Britain and northern Europe.

There are moments of effectiveness in their LEGEND score, but much of their
music feels stylistically out-of-place, such as the sampled sitar playing a
quasi-pentatonic melody, while the more gritty, rock-styled cues clash with
the delicate, faerie-tale quality of the film, as well as affecting the
credibility of Tom Cruise's performance (the slick, RISKY BUSINESS-style of
certain cues clashing with Cruise's playing a kinder, gentler, kind of
teenager).

One thing Tangerine Dream's score did have in common with Goldsmith's
however, was that it also fell victim to studio meddling. When Universal
decided a song was needed over the final scene of the film, they simply
overlaid the Dream's cue for the finale with the vocals of Jon Anderson
(without the Dream's cooperation). The Dream were obviously not pleased by
this interference, but had no say when it was done, nor when a totally
ill-fitting rock song by Bryan Ferry was put over the end credits (Universal
no doubt felt that Bryan *Ferry* was the right choice for a *faerie* tale).

While Goldsmith's score complemented LEGEND perfectly, it would appear that
Ridley Scott is somewhat indecisive when it comes to music, as was previously
illustrated by Scott's hiring electronic composer Vangelis to score BLADE
RUNNER, even though much of that film was in fact temp-tracked with
*orchestra* music from Goldsmith's PLANET OF THE APES and James Horner's
HUMANOIDS FROM THE DEEP.

Ironically, when Universal sold LEGEND to American television, they beefed-up
its running time by adding footage from the Goldsmith-scored version, so that
in one scene Goldsmith's score suddenly pops in for a few minutes, then the
Dream's music returns, causing a jarring clash of styles.

In the final analysis, few involved with LEGEND came away particularly
pleased, but the fate of the film served to reinforce the notion that
entertainment businessmen should best remain in their swivel chairs and leave
creative work to creative people.

Music Composed, Conducted & Produced by JERRY GOLDSMITH
Lyrics by JOHN BETTIS
Performed by THE NATIONAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA (Leader : Sydney Sax)
Recorded and mixed at CBS Studio 1 (London), January 1985 by Mike Ross Trevor
Album sequenced at The Hit Factory (London) by Mike Ross-Trevor and James
Fitzpatrick, July 1992
Published by Filmtrax PLC
Executive Producer for Silva Screen Records Ltd: Reynold da Silva
CD release Supervision: David Stoner
All Stills and Artwork 1985 20th Century Fox Film Corp.
Layout Design and Artwork: Stephen Pettman
Typesetting by Diamond Graphic Ltd.
1985 Filmtrax plc
Issued under licence from Trax Music Ltd.
1992 Silva Screen Records Ltd.

For information on the Goldsmith Society, write to :

Jonathan Axworthy
102 Horndean Road
Emsworth, Hants. PO10 7TL

Marketed by SILVA SCREEN RECORDS LIMITED
SILVA HOUSE, 261 ROYAL COLLEGE STREET, LONDON NW1 9LU
TEL: 071-284-0525 TELEX: 8951182 GECOMS G FAX:071-482-2385

For further information about our film soundtrack catalogue, please send a
SAE to Silva Screen Records.

*******************************************************************

10. Is there a "Making of" documentary?

As far as we know. What we've been able to find out is that a documentary
does exist and that it was produced by Nickelodeon. It was part of the
series called "Standby : Lights, Camera, Action" hosted by Leonard Nimoy.
We've never seen it but we know it's out there somewhere. If anyone has a
copy or knows how to get one, please drop Sean a line at Figme...@aol.com.

[Mr. THX]

In article <3sm0k1$6...@nnrp3.primenet.com>,

Glenn Saunders <kri...@primenet.com> wrote:
>>studio-imposed cuts hurt the film, but even in its truncated state
>LEGEND

>>still an impressive and unique fantasy, its shimmeringly enchanted atmosph

>>so exquisitely brought to life by Ridley Scott's obvious knowledge and lov
>>for such lore.
>
>Scott doesn't know shit about what makes a successful fantasy besides how
>it should look. George Lucas is the only one who actually got it right
>(although not with Willow, with Star Wars).
>

Oh, PLEASE! George is NOT the only one who got it right. Look at
Excalibur, Back to the Future, Blade Runner, Labyrinth and Dragonslayer.
As much as I like Star Wars, I hate it when people think it's the
end-all-be-all of cinematic history.

Mike

********************** Mike Gaines
* * * * * sta...@cnj.digex.net
* * * * * Personal / Star Wars Home Page at:
* ****** ** http://cnj.digex.net/~starman/Starman.html
* * * * *
* * * * *
********************** Germans love David Hasselhoff

[FordaT]

> I really *doubt* Silva Screen has gone out of business...can
>anyone confirm this?
--
>Rab
>rabu...@io.com

Well my paycheck from them is still coming so I can only assume that SILVA
SCREEN is still in business....

Ford A. Thaxton (For...@aol.com)

[Jeff Gaines]

>
>COMPACT DISCS
>
>[1] Tangerine Dream (U.S. soundtrack) NOT AVAILABLE. It was rumored to
>have been issued in Tangerine Dream's native Germany but, nothing concrete
>has ever surfaced to my knowledge. Currently, a bootleg (similar to the
>"Blade Runner" boot earlier this year) is said to be coming out in December
>1994. It is said to be basically the same as the early version except there
>will be an extended piece on "The Unicorns" that is recorded live and was
>broadcast on German radio. The copies of this boot will be *extremely*
>limited, probably limited to "2000" copies as with the Blade Runner and
>Excalibur bootlegs.

Word has it that Varese Sarabande will release the Tangerine
Dream score on CD in August.

[snip]

>[3] Jerry Goldsmith (International soundtrack) 1992 SILVA SCREEN
>RECORDS # FILMCD045 (Apparently Silva Screen has gone out of business so this
>cd may be hard to find - Sean)
>

I really *doubt* Silva Screen has gone out of business...can

anyone confirm this?
--
Rab
rabu...@io.com

http://www.io.com/~rabulias/ [Under Construction]

[Jeremy Bond Shepherd]

Glenn Saunders (kri...@primenet.com) wrote:

: Depends on what you think fantasy (the epic variety) is all about.

I for one would welcome your definition of fantasy.

The American Heritage Dictionary's relevant entry is:

1. The creative imagination; unrestrained fancy.
2. Something, such as an invention, that is a creation of the fancy.
3. A capricious or fantastic idea; a conceit.
4.a. Fiction characterized by highly fanciful or supernatural elements.
b. An example of such fiction.
5. An imagined event or sequence of mental images, such as a daydream,
usually fulfilling a wish or psychological need.

#4a is the operative entry.

: Read Tolkien's "On Faerie Stories" essay if you want to know the
: distinction between "Fairy" stories (of which Legend is one) and "Faerie".

: Blade Runner is film noir, not fantasy.

I disagree--it's not really supernatural (although it raises supernatural
questions, such as about the existence of the soul), but it is absolutely
fantastic. What else would you call a futuristic story with cars that
work like aeroplanes and robots which think they're people?

: Back to the Future is just an adventure-comedy, not really a fantasy.

Why not? People can't really travel through in time in an automobile.
This fantastical notion is the central motivating force in the story.

: All of the films which purported to be fantasy EXCEPT Star Wars were
: pretty much failures at the boxoffice and that to me is enough proof that
: they "didn't get it right" because when you DO get it right you connect
: with something very deep in the universal human psyche (in a Joseph
: Campbell sort of way).

Hmmm... RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK? JURRASIC PARK? GHOST? BATMAN FOREVER?

All fantasy films which, to the best of my understanding of the term,
were not "failures at the boxoffice".

--
----------
"Have you never wanted to look beyond the clouds and the stars? Or to know
what causes the trees to bud, and what changes a darkness into light?"

Jeremy Bond Shepherd
San Francisco, California
Internet: jb...@netcom.com
CIS: 71161,736

[Glenn Saunders]

The mortal Mr. THX wrote:
: Oh, PLEASE! George is NOT the only one who got it right. Look at

: Excalibur, Back to the Future, Blade Runner, Labyrinth and Dragonslayer.
: As much as I like Star Wars, I hate it when people think it's the
: end-all-be-all of cinematic history.

Depends on what you think fantasy (the epic variety) is all about.

Read Tolkien's "On Faerie Stories" essay if you want to know the
distinction between "Fairy" stories (of which Legend is one) and "Faerie".

Blade Runner is film noir, not fantasy.

Back to the Future is just an adventure-comedy, not really a fantasy.

Labyrinth is of the same sort of Legend only even MORE concerned with whimsy.

Dragonslayer is not particularly epic, nor is the setting particularly
fantastical, and the actor they chose as a lead does not engender much
sympathetic identificiation. There is also a good unhealthy smattering
of borderline camp (mostly coming from Ralph Richardson) that destroys
some of the suspension of disbelief which the murkily realistic
production design sets up.

Excalibur was a grossly compressed plot that really unfolds poorly, not
to mention the use of Wagner which seems more of a copout than a valid
artistic choice.

And don't even get me started on Willow and those damn Brownies.

All of the films which purported to be fantasy EXCEPT Star Wars were
pretty much failures at the boxoffice and that to me is enough proof that
they "didn't get it right" because when you DO get it right you connect
with something very deep in the universal human psyche (in a Joseph
Campbell sort of way).

Star Wars was new and familiar at the same time. The humor did not occur
at the expense of suspension of disbelief (at least not until some of the
campiness in ROJ). Lucas insisted on playing it as straight as possible,
and making sure the production design and the music helped bolster the
notion of it being a serious story, because it's so difficult, as jaded
realists, for most people to accept fantasy stories without thinking
"this is some crummy B-movie".

Legend, on the other hand, is so self-conscious and deliberate in being "a
fairy story" that it no longer has anything unique to it. It is nothing
but cliche and 1-dimensionality. There is a difference between an
archetype and a cardboard cutout. An archetype is the skeleton upon
which a character can be built, not the be all and end all. Obi-Wan is
not an identical character to Gandalf although he may serve the same
role. If you just present characters as their archetypes without a real
personality they fail to come to life and the fact that they are
archetypal is of no importance because they are so flat.

Just because Goldsmith wrote a good score to it doesn't elevate the movie
beyond mediocrity no matter how deeply you analyze it and its many versions.

[Geoffrey M Wright]

for...@aol.com (FordaT) writes:

>> I really *doubt* Silva Screen has gone out of business...can
>>anyone confirm this?
>--
>>Rab
>>rabu...@io.com

>Well my paycheck from them is still coming so I can only assume that SILVA
>SCREEN is still in business....

Thanks. I'm not sure where Sean heard this one, but I'll be sure and
remove this from the FAQ.

Geoff

[Glenn Saunders]

The mortal Jeremy Bond Shepherd wrote:

: Hmmm... RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK? JURRASIC PARK? GHOST? BATMAN FOREVER?

: All fantasy films which, to the best of my understanding of the term,
: were not "failures at the boxoffice".

Your definition of fantasy is too broad. Legend is a particular kind of
fantasy (or at least it raises the expectations that it will be) and that
is the heroic or epic fantasy variety. When I speak of fantasy, I am
referring to that type of fantasy which Legend failed at delivering.

Ever wonder why there even hasn't been a successful animated Lord of the
Rings let alone a live action film like it? It's because this type of
fantasy is very hard to do on film, and few people even understand it.

John Boorman wanted to do it, and part of that impule resulted in Zardoz,
and the rest resulted in Excalibur. (To me, the former was more
successful than the latter).

The Star Wars (or extending to the trilogy) are the only films which
captured the spirit of epic fantasy effectively.

[Jeremy Bond Shepherd]

Glenn Saunders (kri...@primenet.com) wrote:

: The mortal Jeremy Bond Shepherd wrote:

: : Hmmm... RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK? JURRASIC PARK? GHOST? BATMAN FOREVER?

: : All fantasy films which, to the best of my understanding of the term,
: : were not "failures at the boxoffice".

: Your definition of fantasy is too broad. Legend is a particular kind of
: fantasy (or at least it raises the expectations that it will be) and that
: is the heroic or epic fantasy variety. When I speak of fantasy, I am
: referring to that type of fantasy which Legend failed at delivering.

Oh, I see. So when you say "fantasy" you are referring to "heroic
fantasy", a subset category of what I refer to broadly as "fantastic
cinema", and which French critics have dubbed "le cinefantastique". (Which
includes the kinds of films I mentioned, plus horror, plus things like THE
WIZARD OF OZ and SOMEWHERE IN TIME.)

: The Star Wars (or extending to the trilogy) are the only films which

: captured the spirit of epic fantasy effectively.

Your examples have helped me understand what you mean by "heroic
fantasy" or "epic fantasy".

BLADE RUNNER is clearly not in this vein, as its themes are personal and
introspective. STAR WARS and EXCALIBUR are concerned with broad,
expansive, high-stakes-for-the-universe kinds of themes.

By these parameters, DON GIOVANNI would be "fantasy", but DIE NEIBELUNGEN
would be "heroic fantasy".

-J