Ridley Scott’s 1985 fantasy film Legend, starring Tom Cruise, is a little-known example. Despite being a box office dud, it gained a cult favorite for these reasons.
Many 1980s films have gone on to become cult classics, but Tom Cruise’s 1985 film Legend is one of the stranger ones to do so. The epic fantasy adventure picture Legend, directed by Ridley Scott, centers on a young man named Jack (Tom Cruise) who must face and vanquish the Lord of Darkness (Tim Curry), who intends to slay every unicorn in this realm and take their horns in order to curse the entire world with endless night. Jack meets a number of creatures along the trip, including a princess by the name of Lili (Mia Sara).
After he made Alien, Scott wanted to make a fairytale film. He teamed up with author William Hjortsberg and the two worked closely together for five weeks on the first draft of what would become Legend. Soon after, Scott started principal photography on his iconic sci-fi film Blade Runner (via Starburst Magazine). By the time Scott had completed Blade Runner, he and Hjortsberg went through 15 drafts before settling on what would serve as the official Legend script. And while Legend may not be nearly as popular as either Alien or Blade Runner, it had enough unique aspects that allowed the Tom Cruise fantasy adventure to become a cult classic.
The Only Fantasy Film Ridley Scott and Tom Cruise Worked On
Part of why Legend became a cult classic is that it stands out in both Ridley Scott’s and Tom Cruise’s catalog, serving as the only fantasy film either has worked on. While some of Scott’s films have fantastical elements, most notably his biblical epic Exodus: Gods and Kings, Legend is the only pure fantasy movie that Scott has directed. Considering that a lot of Scott’s filmography consists of high-concept science fiction movies, big-budget historical action epics, intense crime dramas, or horror films, something like Legend completely stands out. The uniqueness of this kind of movie in a filmography like Ridley Scott’s makes it worth seeking out.
Similarly, Legend is the only pure fantasy movie that Tom Cruise has starred in. While it can be argued that his reboot of The Mummy has fantastical elements in it, like Scott, he has never again worked on a pure fantasy film. Cruise’s filmography primarily consists of either high-adrenaline action movies like Top Gun: Maverick or Mission: Impossible, science fiction films like Oblivion or Edge of Tomorrow, or artistic character dramas like Eyes Wide Shut or A Few Good Men. Therefore, like Scott, Tom Cruise being in a film like Legend is a reason why it is appealing.
Legend Bombed At The Box Office
Like many other movies that become cult classics, Legend was a flop — Tom Cruise’s only real box office bomb. The film had a $25 million dollar budget and only made a worldwide total of about $23.5 million despite having been the number one movie at the box office for two weeks when it was released in 1985 (via The Numbers). The fact that Legend performed so poorly at the box office could be a big reason why neither Scott nor Cruise attempted to make another fantasy movie. However, regardless of how it did financially, Legend eventually gained its cult status when it was seen on home video.
Legend Was Poorly Received Despite Some Positives Aspects
The majority of the reviews for Legend were unfavorable, with complaints that it was disorganized, inconsistent, and generally lacking in identity or purpose. Legend was deemed by Roger Ebert to be “…a movie that has no clear idea of its own mission and no joy in its own accomplishment.” Source: RogerEbert.com Even harsher criticism of Scott’s fantasy movie came from Gene Siskel, Ebert’s TV colleague and fellow critic: “I don’t want to remember any more about Legend than to make sure I include it in my ‘worst films of 1986’ list and never rent it when it comes out as a video cassette.” via way of Chicago Tribune
However, even the harshest critics cannot deny some admirable aspects of Legend as many of the positive reviews praise the film for its gorgeous visuals. Through a combination of the cinematography, set pieces, and most importantly the makeup effects, Legend was dazzling to look at. Several critics stated that Legend’s visuals and makeup prosthetics alone were enough reasons to see it. A big reason why the movie had such great makeup effects is because of the involvement of makeup effects artist Rob Bottin, who is best known for his work on films like The Howling, Robocop, and The Thing.
Tim Curry Gave A Great Performance
Another aspect of Legend that even the biggest detractors praised was Tim Curry’s performance as the Lord of Darkness. Despite only appearing in the last 20 minutes and heavily covered with makeup and prosthetics, Curry received much acclaim for truly embodying this evil, sadistic character and has been cited by many as the best part of the movie. While Curry has played similar types of villains and creatures before, he is completely unrecognizable as Darkness and gives a hugely entertaining yet thoroughly terrifying performance.
The Director’s Cut Helped Legend Become A Cult Classic
Similar to the multiple director’s cuts that Blade Runner received, a big reason why Legend became a cult classic is the unrated Director’s Cut released in 2002. There are two main differences between Legend’s theatrical and director’s cut, and the first is that the latter offers a more bittersweet ending in which Jack and Lili go their separate ways instead of riding off into the sunset. The other big change is that the Legend director’s cut uses the original Jerry Goldsmith score that was kept in for European audiences rather than the music by Tangerine Dream, Jon Anderson, and Brian Ferry that was in the US theatrical release (via Cinefantastique).
Overall, the Legend director’s cut offers a more ethically ambiguous narrative whereas the theatrical cut presents a more straightforward good vs. evil scenario. In the director’s cut, the concepts of good and evil are repeatedly called into question because the protagonists are flawed people who make errors and may not be the absolute epitome of good but will nonetheless succeed in the end. When a better version of Legend was released, it achieved the same prestige and admiration as Blade Runner did when it did the same for the original film.