# Legend (1985 film)

Legend is a 1985 fantasy film released by 20th Century Fox (in Europe) and Universal Pictures (in the U.S. and Canada), directed by Ridley Scott and starring Tom Cruise, Mia Sara, Tim Curry, Alice Playten, and Billy Barty.

## Intro

* Once long ago, before there was such a thing as time, the world was shrouded in darkness. Then came the splendor of light, bringing life and love into the Universe, and the Lord of Darkness retreated deep into the shadows of the earth, plotting his return to power... by banishing light forever. But precious light is protected, harbored in the souls of Unicorns, the most mystical of all creatures. Unicorns are safe from the Lord of Darkness, they can only be found by the purest of mortals... Such a mortal is Jack, who lives in solitude with the animals of the forest. A beautiful girl named Lili loves Jack with all her heart. In their innocence, they believe only goodness exists in the world. Together they will learn there can be no good without evil... No love without hate... No heaven without hell... No light without darkness. The harmony of the Universe depends upon an eternal balance. Out of the struggle to maintain this balance comes the birth of Legends.

## Jack

* I trust you, Lili. I'll always trust you.

## Lili

* This place holds more magic than any palace in the world.

## Darkness

* Mother Night! Fold your dark arms about me. Protect me in your black embrace. I sit alone, an impotent exile, whilst this force, this presence, returns to torment me!
* Looking upon these frail creatures, one would not think that they could contain such power. One could rule the universe with it!
* I require the solace of the shadows and the dark of the night. Sunshine is my destroyer!
* What have we here? A little boy!
* Every wolf suffers fleas. 'Tis easy enough to scratch!
* You think you have won. What is Light without Dark? What are you without me? [laughs] I am a part of you all. You can never defeat me. We are brothers eternal!

## Blix

* Maybe innocence. Maybe sweet. Ain't half as nice as rotting meat.
* Hark! Mortal world turned to ice. Here be goblin paradise!
* Higher, higher, burning fire, making music like a choir!

## Others

* I know everything, Jack. Yet I do not understand what has happened today. Suppose you tell me, Jack? You know these woods as well as any elf. Did you not see something odd today, any strange spirits? Did nothing untoward happen?
** Honeythorn Gump
* Love you say? Well love is another matter.
** Honeythorn Gump
* Look! Ugly one-horned mule!
** Blunder, speaking of the unicorns.
* She was so sweet, I could eat her brains like jam!
** Blunder
* Nobody knows but you. It's our secret Jack. Don't tell Gump! Promise? Promise? I could be anything you want me to be, even your heart's desire. You've got to help us, Jack! A fairy's love makes anything possible.
** Oona

## Dialogue

    Jack [After Lili touches the unicorns]: What you did is forbidden.
    Lili: Who says so?
    Jack: It is known, Lili. These are sacred animals. You risk your immortal soul.
    Lili: I only wanted to touch one. Where is the harm in that?
    Lili: Are you afraid to kiss me Jack?
    Jack: I'm afraid you'll break my heart.
    Lili: Then still your heart. You're dear to me as life itself! Don't you wish this was our wedding ring?
    Jack: If I say yes, will my wish come true?
    Lili: I'm a princess. It's my right to set a challenge for my suitors. I will marry whoever finds this ring! [throws the ring in a lake]
    Meg: Foul tasting fairy! [sees Jack] Come to Meg, juicy boy! Who be this tender morsel to disturb Meg Muckelbones's rest?
    Jack: Jack. They call me Jack ma'am.
    Meg: Jack! What a fine, fat boy you are, Jack!
    Jack: You don't really mean to eat me, do you Ma'am?
    Meg: Oh, indeed I do!
    Jack: That would be a shame, because someone as fair and lovely as yourself Miss Meg, deserves far better than scrawny me. Don't you think?
    Meg: You think me fair, do you Jack?
    Jack: All the heavenly angels must envy your beauty!
    Meg: What a fine meal you will make, be the rest of you as sweet as your tongue!
    Jack: No wait! Fill your soul with loveliness! Feast on the beauty of your reflection. You are an angel miss Meg. Look!
    Meg: Clever boy.
    Screwball: There's only one thing I want to know.
    Brown Tom: What?
    Screwball: Why me?
    Blix: Wow. Forgive that intrusion, great lord, but goblins are inclined to be outspoken and I like to encourage their initiative.
    Darkness: [holding the unicorn's horn] Did you think this a mere plaything? With it, my empire is eternal! Before I ruled only the night. Now, my minions will frolic in darkness until the end of time. The unicorns are dead. Is this not true?
    Blix: True lord, very plenty true.
    Pox: Undeniably true.
    Darkness: You lie! Here is dawn!
    Blix: The stallion is dead, dead as dreams.
    Darkness: Out with it!
    Pox: The mare lives still!
    Darkness: If even one unicorn walks the earth, my power is not complete.
    Blix: It's just a female, lord. She has no power.
    Darkness: Only the power of creation! Get the mare, I command you!
    Darkness: Father, I hold the world in my grasp and yet, this girl distracts me. It has been an eternity since I have felt such desire. What am I to do?
    Father: She fascinates you because her soul is pure. To make her one of us, charm her. Woo her. Change her spirit. Hypnotize her. Set her free. Bring her to you!
    Darkness: How like you my gifts? Does the gown not please you?
    Lili: [sobbing] No.
    Darkness: Can you speak so of your bridal gown? I have found my true mate, and you know it!
    Lili: Never!
    Darkness: Beneath the skin we are already one. Was it not your sin trapped the unicorn? Even now the evil seed of what you've done germinates within you.
    Lili: No. You lie! You disgust me! You're nothing but an animal!
    Darkness: [laughs] We are all animals, my lady. Most are too afraid to see it!
    Lili: Damn you!
    Darkness: We are all of us damned, my queen.
    Darkness: Some simple conversation?
    Lili: I have nothing to talk about. You've stolen my dreams away!
    Darkness: All things change, Lady. The dreams of youth are the regrets of maturity. Dreams are my speciality. Through dreams, I influence mankind. My dream is of eternity with you. I offer you this rose, princess: my heart, my soul, my love.
    Lili: Love?
    Oona: I'll do what you ask if you'll kiss me, Jack.
    Jack: Easy enough. [pecks her quickly on the cheek]
    Oona: You call that a kiss? Am I not sweet?
    Jack: Sweeter than bee pollen on summer wind.
    Oona: [taking the form of Lili] Sweet as the wind that blows me to you!
    Screwball: It's fairy magic!
    Jack: Lili? Lili!
    Oona/Lili: Yes, Jack?
    Jack: This isn't real.
    Oona/Lili: Oh, but it is! I'm warn and alive and want to be in your arms.
    Jack: [hesitating] No, I can't! No. It's just more fairy glamor. Human hearts don't work that way.
    Oona: What care I for human hearts, soft and spiritless as porridge? A fairy's heart beats fierce and free!

## Songs

* Just one step at a time And closer to destiny I knew at a glance There'd always be a chance for me With someone I could live for Nowhere I would rather be.
Is your love strong enough Like a rock in the sea? Am I asking too much? Is your love strong enough?
** "Is Your Love Strong Enough?" by Bryan Ferry - YouTube video
* Just one beat of your heart And stranger than fantasy I knew from the start It had to be the place for me Someone that I would die for There's no way I could ever leave.
** "Is Your Love Strong Enough?" by Bryan Ferry
* Legends can be now and forever Teaching us to love for goodness sake. Legends can be now and forever Loved by the sun, loved by the sun.
** "Loved by the Sun" by Jon Anderson - YouTube video
* Who sings of all of Love's eternity Who shines so bright In all the songs of Love's unending spells? Holy lightning strikes all that's evil Teaching us to love for goodness sake. Hear the music of Love Eternal Teaching us to reach for goodness sake.
** "Loved by the Sun" by Jon Anderson
* Sweet songs of youth, the wise, the meeting of all wisdom To believe in the good in man.
** "Loved by the Sun" by Jon Anderson

## Taglines

* There may never be another dawn.
* A world full of magic, wonder and desire.
* Adventure has got your back.
* This is such stuff as dreams are made of. This is Legend.
* She is of the purest innocence. He is pure evil. He is Darkness.
* [from trailer; narrated by Tim Curry] There is a balance to the universe. The struggle to maintain that balance is the stuff of legends. For there can be no good without evil, no love without hate. Life needs death. Innocence feeds lust. There can be no heaven without hell, no light without me! I am Darkness!
* [from trailer; narrated by Tony Jay] Through the ages, the powers of good and evil have been at work amongst us. Through the passages of time, many have attempted to probe and distinguish between myth and fact. What is innocence? What is purity? What is corruption? And what is evil? We still search for the answer. The confrontation between the forces has captured the imaginations of civilization's greatest philosophers, poets and writers. Now, through the cameras of one of the most innovative filmmakers of our generation comes a motion picture to fire the spirit, to excite the senses, to captivate the eye.

## About Legend (1985 film)

* All of the visual effects in the world, all of the great makeup, and all of the great Muppet creatures can't save a movie that has no clear idea of its mission and no joy in its accomplishment.
** Roger Ebert Looking back at Ridley Scotts Legend

## External links

* Legend quotes at the Internet Movie Database
* Legend at Rotten Tomatoes
* Ridley Scott's LEGEND FAQ