MovieChat Forums > Legend (1986) Discussion > I think it's sad

I think it's sad

posted 13 years ago by info-4857
20 replies | jump to latest

Movies will never EVER get made again this way.

I just sat down and watched the theatrical version with someone who had never seen it before and it as like watching the film new again.
I felt the palpable atmosphere of the movie and the utterly luxuriant lighting. I even got a little lump in my throat at the end when they were all waving like a theater play with the curtain coming down.
I cannot believe how beautiful this film is, it is a lighting masterclass, darkness's rubber, the sets, everything is utterly sublime.

I then saw a trailer for Hugo and realised it doesn't have the texture or the craft behind it, there's no mysticism to the effects and definitely no CHARM whatsoever.
Nothing that pulls you into this other world which seems a little too perfect (I don't hate Hugo I haven't even watched it but it s a benchmark for movies of today in terms of looks and quality).
Hugo look's like a magazine cover and Legend is like an art gallery.

Ridley Scott took 12 hours pre-lighting each scene before he even shot making the film just under a year to make.
Hollywood would never allow that now, they wouldn't allow such extensive use of rubber or pre production that lasted half a year.
It would be CG sets with CG creatures and non of the charm or gritty, dark feel of Legend.
Subtle lighting would be replaced with teal versus orange and nothing in between, no shades or textures, no beautiful sets but green screened composited characters in a far too well lit FX background and camera moves intended to disorientate rather than tell a story.

Legend was a product of its time and a grand experiment from Ridley Scott going nuts for a year. It is bittersweet and divine but at the same time a flawed masterpiece.

I wish I had a hundred movies like it across a span of genres to sit through, movies that have been crafted to this degree in this kind of style but time moves on unfortunately and now film making is far too clean creating worlds that are just way too perfect.

I mourn the old and despair the new.

[–] 5535 13 years ago

Thank you !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You should check out the Prometheus board and post about the hideous teal and orange generic tints that movies seem to have today. I find it very cheap and ugly and Ive started a thread all about it because I know Ridley is using teal pushing for Prometheus, which will ruin some of the look considering Ridley's older films were so natural and beautiful. I hate this new trend! Legend is a rare breed of beautiful filmmaking!!!

[–] JustCallMeAndy 13 years ago

Im in 100% agreement. There are still some really magical films being made, albeit with CGI, but some of them are really good.

[–] speedolitec 13 years ago

Absolutely!

[–] puirt-a-beul 12 years ago

I absolutely agree, 5535. This teal-and-amber palette is such a lazy and artistically empty trend – it's just coding to tell unimaginative audiences they're watching dystopic science fiction. Hideous, indeed.

You might very well think that. I couldn't possibly comment.

[–] puirt-a-beul 12 years ago

Thanks for the post, info-4957. I do agree with what you have to say.

It may well be a vain hope, but I wonder if it's just a matter of time for the new technologies to find their own level? CGI is often still just a technical exercise, with very little aura or personality to it. I'll admit that I personally wonder if it will ever reach the impact of practical effects, but maybe the problem is more to do with human perception than digital artistry.

But thanks for putting your finger on the nub of the problem. I too have seen the preview of Hugo, and was left very cold by it, but I hadn't quite worked out why until you made the comment about it missing out on a certain charm. I think you've hit on it exactly.

But what to do? The simple truth, sadly, is that no studio is going to foot the expense any more to make films the way Legend was made, even if craftspeople with this kind of expertise weren't a dying breed.

You might very well think that. I couldn't possibly comment.

[–] Tetra123 12 years ago

"Legend" is such a strange film because the story, itself, is so weak and disjointed but visually, it's a masterpiece. That may have been intended -- to evoke a dream-like atmosphere -- but the weak storyline is in such contrast to the utter beauty and overwhelming atmosphere of this film. It is one of the most beautiful looking films that I have ever seen. It's such an odd conflict.

The actors have absolutely nothing of substance to say, whatever viewers like to impose about symbolism and monumentalism onto "Legend" (although, to be fair, some of it is very interesting -- but really, it's an inkblot test), but the camera is used with such extraordinary skill, that you try to avoid the obvious; the close-ups are astonishingly poetic, seductive, emotive.

Rather than rely on a measured, stylized design for the sets, they are an orgy of absolute abundance and excessive beauty or strangeness (even the eerie dance of the underworld has a kind of Victorian Gothic quality to it, it almost looked liked something from a silent film). Sitting through the plot can be such a chore but there are scenes in this film which are totally mesmerizing enough to be unforgettable and we don't just take at face value that the characters, themselves, are transfixed, we experience that feeling with them.

It's the best and the worst of films. Truly fascinating.

[–] prbronx5 12 years ago

I actually think that the story is pretty good too. It's much darker in the Director's Cut and Darkness isn't revealed until he comes out of the mirror. The music is much more grander and epic too.

That being said, I also love the edited American version. It's the version I grew up on and I love the Tangerine Dream score as well. The American version has a more kids movie vibe, but it's still pretty scary for younger viewers. Darkness is also revealed moments into the opening of the film.

[–] TheSolarSailor 12 years ago

The story seems lacking in the theatrical cut, but I think it is better in the Director's Cut. But the film excels in the dreamlike quality that makes this a wonderful entry in the fantasy genre.

- - - - - - -
Whose idea was it for the word "Lisp" to have an "S" in it?

[–] CremersAlex 12 years ago

[–] Sugarminx 12 years ago

@ info-4857: what a beautiful post!

Look at this, it's a nighty. She would look sexy in that, you'd look like a moose!

[–] deeveed 12 years ago

"...and Legend is like an art gallery.

That's right. Scott, at times in his pictures, hits the high point in pushing out images which sit on your retina and swirl around as you watch the screen canvas. There's ugliness in the world and there's beauty too. He makes you "see" a little more.

[–] fiatlux-1 12 years ago

I felt the palpable atmosphere of the movie and the utterly luxuriant lighting. I even got a little lump in my throat at the end when they were all waving like a theater play with the curtain coming down.

AGREED! Thank you! That is part of why I tend to get teary at this film. Its part the film itself, but the rest is because I know the sheer beauty of this film will never be seen again.
This film is flawed yes, but its beauty is unmatched and likely always will be.

As a rule, I despise CGI. But it does have its place: In films like "Terminator II" and such.
BUT NOWHERE ELSE! And not ever in fantasy films like these!

I wish I had a hundred movies like it across a span of genres to sit through, movies that have been crafted to this degree in this kind of style but time moves on unfortunately and now film making is far too clean creating worlds that are just way too perfect.

Agreed. Well said!!!!!!!!

"I'd say this cloud is Cumulo Nimbus."
"Didn't he discover America?"
"Penfold, shush."

[–] lockon_stratos 12 years ago

This movie and all of 80s fantasy movies are unmatched. The Neverending Story, Labyrinth, Willow, The Dark Crystal, He-Man Masters of the Universe, Dragonslayer, Time Bandits, Krull, Conan, In the Company of Wolves, Red Sonja, etc. // Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, The Golden Compass, Narnia, etc. are not anything great with the overused of CG and kiddy crap. The movie studios today would never spend the time and care on a movie like they did with Legend and TNS. At least I'll always have those movies in my heart.

Legend had such great props, costumes, makeups, sets, effects. The slimy witch that Jack killed was damn freaky looking. I don't have a problem with CG and like it in many movies like the Aliens series which have benefited greatly with CG. Fantasy movies of today will rely less on great props than they would CG. Horror movies at least retain many practical effects than too much CG. Unless someone dares to do all great props and costumes for their movies now, we will never see the likes of Legend and Neverending Story again.

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[–] heelmaster2000 12 years ago

Yeah that is sad. And that is what I thought while watching the film.

[–] Tetra123 12 years ago

So true, gundam dynames. CGI works well in worlds that attempt to bear no, remote resemblance to Earth and Nature. The best fantasy films tweak what seems like reality, just enough for it to feel slightly dreamlike; strange, but uncannily like somewhere you swear you remember from childhood, evoking a slight twinge of nostalgia and familiarity.

The reason I think some of the best fantasy films emerged from the 80's, is because of the cultural influences of the 60's and early 70's that influenced these film makers in a big way. There's an imbedded, "Earth Child" vibe to a film like "Legend", where sunlight dances on everything, flowers are larger-than-life, trees are lush and overgrowth is sunbaked and steamy -- there's a distinct love of the wild, unsanitized beauty of Nature, evident throughout. It's almost "jolie laide" primeval; the beauty of mud and insects, old trees and tall grasses. "Imperfection" and hand-crafted was celebrated as perfection. I really belive this was a subconscious, cultural influence on set designers and the art direction crews, to.

Consider how sanitized and safe so many arts are, today; all clean lines and abstracts appropriate as public art. Music has the humanity auto-tuned out of it. Perfumes are less complex and challenging -- and The Public seems to have lost the tools to appreciate strange, natural beauty. This is reflected in films and characters, as well; this fear of the nautral, of anything that isn't polished. I think audiences would benefit from being challenged by difficult art and crafts, again. Arts that make you think, not simply buzz around as cultural background noise.

[–] Drenyelle 12 years ago

So much truth to this post! I was watching the film earlier and got very saddened at the thought that had the film been made today, we would never have gotten Darkness' outstanding makeup, or Meg Mucklebones for that matter. Those characters would have certainly been CGI. The stunning sets? CGI. It's kind of heartbreaking. Tim Curry's performance would have surely been hindered by the use of a computer animated character. He's scary as hell because he looks insanely real! As a child, I thought he could reach through the screen and grab me at any moment.

Those days are all but gone. I do respect Peter Jackson for using traditional effects when he could for The Lord of the Rings, but he seems to be an exception to the rule. Most filmmakers run from anything requiring hands-on artistry. The trailer for Oz: The Great and Powerful is a perfect example of what's wrong in fantasy films today. I just watched it and cringed at the egregious CGI. I guess that's why so many of us born pre-nineties are in love with '80s fantasy films.

[–] dirtbunny199 11 years ago

Well said!!! It really is sad that today's movie makers rely so heavily on CGI; it's esp. pathetic when it's so painfully obvious that it's fake CGI crap. Even the costumes today are nothing compared to those from back then. Technology is great & wonderful but sometimes the old fashioned ways like Ridley's way of filming in the 80s (he directed some of Duran Duran's best videos) are better.