LEGEND devolved into fact when this painstakingly adorned but shakily conceived fantasy saga emerged in 1985 to cool verdicts from critics and cold water dousing at the box office. So bummed was star Tom Cruise that for years he refused to talk about it. After previous versions made the rounds, indefatigable director Ridley Scott eventually released a considerably improved ‘Director’s Cut’ in 2002. The original European release in ’85 ran 94 minutes, the US  release in 1986 was 89. After several decades and a tale-wind of sturm und drang, Scott’s final cut goes 113. It’s the one to cleave to, not least because it contains Jerry Goldsmith’s score, used in the Euro version, instead of the one by Tangerine Dream that was studio-imposed opon unwary Americans in ’86. Further fussing: the differing versions have different endings.

“May be innocent, may be sweet…ain’t half as nice as rotting meat.”

The ‘Lord of Darkness’ wishes to plunge the world into eternal frozen night. His loyal goblins  ambush innocent, carefree ‘Princess Lili’ when she unwisely touches a magical unicorn. Lili’s besotted forester friend ‘Jack in the Green’ sets out to rescue her from a ghastly fate and prevent collective doom. A hungry witch, a jealousy-inclined fairy, a precocious elf and a pair of comical  dwarves hinder & help Jack, but he’s on a highway to the hot place.

As with the story’s mystical/mythical posit of Light & Dark, our more prosaic Good & Bad judge a split decision in this alternately rewarding and frustrating attempt to fuse classical folkloric/fairy tale elements to cynicism-infused postmodern sensibilities. Since it’s a Ridley Scott showpiece, it looks splendiferous, that’s a given; the visuals alone enough to demand attention and command applause.

The rub: script and gist. Musing that began in 1977 turned into years of pre-production with Scott and novelist William Hjortsberg going thru 15 drafts of a screenplay that left its protagonists adrift without backstory (physically attractive cutouts minus depth, rushed into peril before we have a chance to care) and a persistently bleak tone that’s off-putting. The few clumsy injections of humor hit flat notes. Tom Cruise, 22 and hot from Risky Business, and 17-year-old Mia Sara in her debut are blameless: they’re stuck with characters so thinly sketched they may as well be trace paper. In the original US version, Tangerine Dream’s acid-trippy score is not just inappropriately mod for the ‘period’, it mushes into a sensory sameness that eventually dulls into a daze better suited to an opium den. In the favored 2002 cut Jerry Goldsmith’s is far richer, an eerie beauty that makes dramatic yet delicate accompaniment.

In each version, revel in Alex Thomson’s lush cinematography, the creations from the makeup department headed by Rob Bottin and Assheton Gorton’s superlative production design. As the stand-in for that evil guy who rules Hades, the dark lord is a deliciously wicked treat as played by Tim Curry, his gift for mellifluous malevolence the performance highlight of the enterprise. Dig those horns and cloven hoofs. The show, especially in its final incarnation, has a loyal fan base: more power to ’em. For others who were somewhat underwhelmed back in the mid-80s, it’s certainly worth a revisit in the lengthier, Goldsmith-blessed director’s cut, even if those script fissures are still in evidence, nipping at your contentment like a pesky sprite.

After costing $25,000,000 (not helped when a giant, stunningly crafted set burned down) darkness descended with a whimpering US take of $15,500,000, 65th for the year, with just $8,000,000 coming in elsewhere. *

Under the Oscar-nominated makeup are the people personages of David Bennett, Alice Playten, Billy Barty, Cork Hubbert, Robert Picardo and Annabelle Lanyon.

* Legend’s best cut still has definite issues, but the negative buzz that its flopping sound was an “extinction event” that scared Hollywood off fantasy films is unfair: the same time saw The Black Cauldron, Ladyhawke, Return To Oz and Red Sonja: all of them dropped bundles.