A RAMBLE IN FOREIGN LANDS : "LEGEND"

This is NOT a film I would have expected from Ridley Scott. On many levels. On one hand it is an old school fantasy with all the visual effects – or lack thereof – pertaining to its era. But to be fair, technology was a tad limited and frankly he made up for the lack of special effects, computers and whatnot in his later films. Secondly, it is a fantasy, as it’s a fairy story. Literally. Yes, Scott later made a bit more of a name for himself in the genre of historical epics but hey. A man can change his mind. No, it’s just that when I picked this one up in the library and it actually said “directed by Ridley Scott” on it, I kinda took a double take. But it had Tim Curry in it. On a smaller and slightly less important note, there was a very young Tom Cruise in it. What, I asked myself, could be the harm? I was write to gamble, as it turned out. This, boys and girls, is a “proper” good one. For this particular Legend we are transported to a magical land. A land of gnomes and fauns, of mystical forest dwellers and beautiful princesses. In this land, there is one particular princess of the name of Lilly whose beauty and goodness is known far and wide. Many would like to wed her but her heart belongs to only one person and that is Jack (Tom Cruise – and I can’t help but feel that he was rather unimaginatively named for this one but hey ho…). Now Jack is a forest dweller. But this doesn’t stop the fact that he responds completely to Lilly’s feelings. Their happiness is almost complete when suddenly, a well-meant error plunges their entire existence into jeopardy. Jack must pit himself against Darkness (Tim Curry – almost unrecognizable under the makeup but the voice gives him away)or the rule of evil will be supreme and dawn will never come again. The film has many good sides. The great imagination used in writing the story is one of them. We revel in the new world created and there are a lot of original characters to sympathize with and get excited with. There is one small problem though. If you are somehow unfamiliar with fantasy as a genre, don’t make this the first film you watch. I have seen A LOT of fantasy in my day so I know the basic “rules” of the game but the one problem I found with Legend was the utter lack of backstory. Characters and events erupt out of nowhere, willy nilly with no more than the absolute minimum of explanation required. It can get just a tad discombobulating. But once you suspend your disbelief utterly and completely and resign yourself to the fact that you will have to actually get through the film with the bare minimum of exposition required, it is fun. Tom Cruise suits his role perfectly even though he is from time to time a tad wooden (but then again that’s how I always think he is so possibly someone who usually likes him a lot would love him? I’m not sure). Tim Curry makes an absolutely terrifying Darkness and the most is made of his wonderful voice by not showing him full on right until the end thus revving up the suspense and getting us to concentrate on “the voice” (sigh). Like I said, this one has the odd shortcoming here and there. But then again, which of us don’t? Thoroughly enjoyable.

DON’T DREAM IT – BE IT! WITH THE "ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW!"

I’m sure the title has caused a lot of you no little confusion on a lot of counts. The older among you will exclaim – “But that was a musical – surely they haven’t made a FILM of it – that’s BLASPHEMY!” And the younger among you will say “Rocky WHO?” Ok, let’s recap and begin at the beginning. In the United Kingdom, in 1973, there was a musical. It spoke openly of sex and sexual awakening (which was not usual for the 70’s) and also caused no little controversy because one of the protagonists (Dr. Frank N. Furter – now most definitely my FAVORITE any kind of character of all times) is a transsexual . In platform shoes. Underwear. Suspenders. Makeup. The works. Kids broke out of their family homes and collected pocket money for weeks to go and see it. Parents strongly disapproved and worried – but with most things of this genre, could do nothing about it to prevent it spreading like a wildfire. In the mid 70’s, seeing the success of the musical, the company decided to turn it into a “motion picture”. Starring big names like Susan Sarandon (Good LORD she is young. I barely recognized her!) the one and only Tim Curry (the original Dr. Frank N. Furter from the musical) and rock singer Meatloaf (of all people). Now, I knew shamefully little about this. I knew sex featured heavily. That it was considered the granddaddy (or grandmommy?!) of absurd comedy. That it was probably a musical. That was it. I saw the DVD on discount in the foreign land I was travelling in last week and picked it up. I did not speak the language of this land and therefore only got to learn the story by watching the damn thing. It turned out to be the best purchase I have made. Like, ever.
However, I guess you lot want to have a touch more forewarning about what you are going to watch and its topic so I will now proceed to give you a short summary. Meet Brad (Barry Bostwick) and Janet (Susan Sarandon). They are you’re a-typical engaged couple of the late 60’s – early 70’s. Very “good” no “heavy petting” nothing “unusual”. They are going through life “the normal way” and are preparing to go through life pretty much on the same route - until they get a flat tire one night when they are in the middle of nowhere. Well, it isn’t exactly the middle of nowhere, there’s a rather spooky looking castle in the middle of that particular slice of nowhere. Janet is scared but Brad is reasonable. The castle may have a phone that will allow them to call civilization for help. The castle, however, is no ordinary castle. Its master is Dr. Frank N. Furter – and he has plans for our couple. And neither telephones nor returning to the car is included in these plans…
Now, first and foremost, don’t even go near this DVD if you hate musicals, disapprove of comedy of a sexual nature or think that 70’s movies are lame and absurd comedy is pointless. Just forget I mentioned it and move on to the next post. If, on the other hand, you are not one of the above, get this DVD by hook or by crook. Even if you have watched the musical, the particular edition I have includes such delightful extras as a “participation prompter” – where you are advised as to how you can participate in the musical as you watch (it’s not complicated and you don’t necessarily need a prompter. For instance, in the middle of writing this, for a distraction, (I have a migraine as I write this so I can only stare at the screen and concentrate on it for short periods of time) I slapped the DVD on and did the “Time Warp” round the room. No prompter used, just common sense. Well, when I say common sense…) Or, if you would rather see the reactions of others, you can listen to the reactions of an audience of veterans (I’m guessing fan-club members) singing along to it – it makes for a PRICELESS experience. Even the DVD menus are hilarious. Curious? Then “go up to the lab and see what’s on the slab!”

P.S. For those who are now “full on Frankie fans” here’s the link to the fan club website. I’m definitely signing up. Like, seriously… Oh and by the way on the same website you can purchase tickets for the musical itself in various countries... Check it out! :D