Krull (film)
Encyclopedia
Krull is a 1983 heroic fantasy
Heroic fantasy
Heroic fantasy is a sub-genre of fantasy which chronicles the tales of heroes in imaginary lands. Unlike stories of sword and sorcery, heroic fantasy narratives tend to be intricate in plot, often involving many peoples, nations and lands. Grand battles and the fate of the world are common themes,...

 film directed by Peter Yates
Peter Yates
Peter James Yates was an English director and producer. He was born in Aldershot, Hampshire.The son of an army officer, he attended Charterhouse School as a boy, graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and worked for some years as an actor, director and stage manager...

 and produced by Ron Silverman. Released by Columbia Pictures, it stars Ken Marshall as Prince Colwyn and Lysette Anthony
Lysette Anthony
Lysette Anthony is an English film, television, and theatre actress.-Early life:Anthony was born Lysette Chodzko in Fulham, London, the only daughter of actors Michael Anthony, and Bernadette Milnes....

 as Princess Lyssa.

The film's most distinguished features include a robust score by James Horner
James Horner
James Roy Horner is an American composer, orchestrator and conductor of orchestral and film music. He is noted for the integration of choral and electronic elements in many of his film scores, and for frequent use of Celtic musical elements...

, its early screen roles for actors Liam Neeson
Liam Neeson
Liam John Neeson, OBE is an Irish actor who has been nominated for an Oscar, a BAFTA and three Golden Globe Awards.He has starred in a number of notable roles including Oskar Schindler in Schindler's List, Michael Collins in Michael Collins, Peyton Westlake in Darkman, Jean Valjean in Les...

 and Robbie Coltrane
Robbie Coltrane
Robbie Coltrane, OBE is a Scottish actor, comedian and author. He is known both for his role as Dr...

, and its surrealistic set design within the Black Fortress. It opened to mixed reviews but later would become a cult classic thanks to its entertainment, production values and visual work.

Plot

The planet Krull is invaded by an evil, omnipotent entity known as "The Beast" and his army of Slayers, who travel the galaxy in a mountain-like spaceship, called the Black Fortress. Prince Colwyn (Ken Marshall) and Princess Lyssa (Lysette Anthony
Lysette Anthony
Lysette Anthony is an English film, television, and theatre actress.-Early life:Anthony was born Lysette Chodzko in Fulham, London, the only daughter of actors Michael Anthony, and Bernadette Milnes....

; dubbed by Lindsay Crouse
Lindsay Crouse
-Early life:Crouse was born in New York City, the daughter of Anna and Russel Crouse, a playwright. Her full name—Lindsay Ann Crouse—is an intentional tribute to the Broadway writing partnership of Lindsay and Crouse. Her father and his writing partner, Howard Lindsay, wrote much of...

) marry and form an alliance between their rival kingdoms in the hope that, together, their combined forces can defeat the Beast's army. A prophesy foretells that Lyssa would bear a child destined to rule the galaxy. The Beast, intent on ensuring the prophecy remains unfulfilled, has his Slayers attack the wedding. The castle of Lyssa's father, King Eirig (Bernard Archard
Bernard Archard
Bernard Joseph Archard was an English actor.Born in Fulham, London, he was a tall, imposing actor with a distinctive face. He was a conscientious objector in the Second World War and worked on the land...

), is destroyed and the Kings are murdered. The Kingdoms' armies are devastated and the princess is kidnapped.

Colwyn, the only survivor, sets out to rescue his bride under the guidance of Ynyr the Old One (Freddie Jones
Freddie Jones
Frederick Charles "Freddie" Jones is an English character actor.Jones was born in the town of Longton, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, the son of Ida Elizabeth and Charles Edward Jones. He became an actor after ten years of working as a laboratory assistant with a firm making ceramic products,...

). He must first find the Glaive, an ancient, magical star-shaped weapon, which he retrieves in a high mountain cave. Next, he must track down the Black Fortress, which teleports to a new location every day at sunrise. He is joined by a powerful, but awkward shapeshifting magician, Ergo "the Magnificent" (David Battley), the cyclops Rell (Bernard Bresslaw
Bernard Bresslaw
Bernard Bresslaw was an English actor. He is best remembered for his comedy work, especially as a member of the Carry On team.-Biography:...

) and Torquil (Alun Armstrong
Alun Armstrong (actor)
Alun Armstrong is a prolific British character actor. Armstrong grew up in County Durham in North East England. He first became interested in acting through Shakespeare productions at his grammar school. Since his career began in the early 1970s, he has played, in his words, "the full spectrum of...

), the leader of a band of ten fugitives that includes Kegan (Liam Neeson
Liam Neeson
Liam John Neeson, OBE is an Irish actor who has been nominated for an Oscar, a BAFTA and three Golden Globe Awards.He has starred in a number of notable roles including Oskar Schindler in Schindler's List, Michael Collins in Michael Collins, Peyton Westlake in Darkman, Jean Valjean in Les...

), Rhun (Robbie Coltrane
Robbie Coltrane
Robbie Coltrane, OBE is a Scottish actor, comedian and author. He is known both for his role as Dr...

; dubbed by Michael Elphick
Michael Elphick
Michael John Elphick was an English actor. Elphick was known in the UK for his trademark croaky voice and his work on British television, in particular his roles as the eponymous private investigator in the ITV series Boon and later Harry Slater in BBC's EastEnders.Robust and ruggedly good-looking...

) and Oswyn (Todd Carty
Todd Carty
Todd Carty is an Irish actor and director, who has grown up on television screens in a variety of roles. His stage work has varied from pantomime to serious drama, as well as radio plays, voiceovers, commercials, narrations, and films...

). Colwyn enlists the convicts' aid and in return offers them their freedom as their reward.

Colwyn and Ynyr get help from blind prophet the Emerald Seer (John Welsh
John Welsh (actor)
John Welsh was an Irish actor.After an early stage career in Dublin, Welsh moved into British film and television in the 1950s. His roles included James Forsyte in the 1967 BBC dramatisation of John Galsworthy's The Forsyte Saga, as well as the butler Merriman in The Duchess of Duke Street, Sgt...

), and his young apprentice Titch (Graham McGrath
Graham McGrath
Graham McGrath is an English actor with film, television, radio, and theatre credits. He currently also works as a freelance photographer based near London in Surrey, England. He had tuition at the Junior Academy of the Royal Academy of Music in London when he was only 4 years old...

), to find the Black Fortress. However, the Beast has the seer killed before he can tell them. With time running short, Ynyr journeys to the Widow of the Web (Francesca Annis
Francesca Annis
Francesca Annis is an English actress, known for her film and television appearances, most recently in the BBC series Wives and Daughters, Cranford, and Deceit.-Early life and education:...

) for aid. The Widow is actually an enchantress, also named Lyssa, who loved Ynyr long ago and was exiled to the spider's lair for murdering their only child. The Widow reveals where the Beast's fortress would be at the next sunrise. She also gives Ynyr the sand from the enchanted hourglass that kept the spider from attacking her. Ynyr returns to the group to reveal the news before he loses the last of the sand, which kills him.

Colwyn and his followers use captured Fire Mares (the only transport fast enough to reach the teleporting fortress in the same day) to locate the Black Fortress, but are attacked by Slayers, who kill Rhun. When they get to the Black Fortress Rell, using his massive strength, holds open huge rock doors long enough for the others to enter. He dies, though, when the entrance closes, crushing him. Kegan is killed by a Slayer shortly afterwards and Colwyn gets lost. When the Slayers try to kill Titch, Ergo surprisingly transforms into a tiger and kills the Slayers, injuring himself while saving Titch's life. Torquil and Oswyn are caught in a trap with slowly closing walls studded with massive spikes.

Colwyn injures The Beast with the Glaive and finds Lyssa. He is, however, unable to pull the Glaive from the Beast's body. Lyssa realizes that the flame she passed him at the marriage ceremony can finish the beast. The two use the flame to slay The Beast and they make their way out of the crumbling Fortress, finding Torquil and Oswyn and retrieving Ergo and Titch. Colwyn uses the fire to blast his way out of the Fortress, which collapses and disappears. Colwyn names Torquil as Lord Marshal, which Torquil accepts. As the heroes depart across a field, the narrator confirms that they will rule the world and their child shall rule the galaxy.

Cast

  • Ken Marshall as Colwyn
  • Lysette Anthony
    Lysette Anthony
    Lysette Anthony is an English film, television, and theatre actress.-Early life:Anthony was born Lysette Chodzko in Fulham, London, the only daughter of actors Michael Anthony, and Bernadette Milnes....

     as Lyssa
  • Freddie Jones
    Freddie Jones
    Frederick Charles "Freddie" Jones is an English character actor.Jones was born in the town of Longton, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, the son of Ida Elizabeth and Charles Edward Jones. He became an actor after ten years of working as a laboratory assistant with a firm making ceramic products,...

     as Ynyr
  • Francesca Annis
    Francesca Annis
    Francesca Annis is an English actress, known for her film and television appearances, most recently in the BBC series Wives and Daughters, Cranford, and Deceit.-Early life and education:...

     as The Widow of the Web
  • Alun Armstrong
    Alun Armstrong (actor)
    Alun Armstrong is a prolific British character actor. Armstrong grew up in County Durham in North East England. He first became interested in acting through Shakespeare productions at his grammar school. Since his career began in the early 1970s, he has played, in his words, "the full spectrum of...

     as Torquil
  • David Battley as Ergo
  • Bernard Bresslaw
    Bernard Bresslaw
    Bernard Bresslaw was an English actor. He is best remembered for his comedy work, especially as a member of the Carry On team.-Biography:...

     as Rell (credited as Cyclops)
  • Liam Neeson
    Liam Neeson
    Liam John Neeson, OBE is an Irish actor who has been nominated for an Oscar, a BAFTA and three Golden Globe Awards.He has starred in a number of notable roles including Oskar Schindler in Schindler's List, Michael Collins in Michael Collins, Peyton Westlake in Darkman, Jean Valjean in Les...

     as Kegan
  • Robbie Coltrane
    Robbie Coltrane
    Robbie Coltrane, OBE is a Scottish actor, comedian and author. He is known both for his role as Dr...

     as Rhun
  • John Welsh
    John Welsh (actor)
    John Welsh was an Irish actor.After an early stage career in Dublin, Welsh moved into British film and television in the 1950s. His roles included James Forsyte in the 1967 BBC dramatisation of John Galsworthy's The Forsyte Saga, as well as the butler Merriman in The Duchess of Duke Street, Sgt...

     as Seer
  • Graham McGrath
    Graham McGrath
    Graham McGrath is an English actor with film, television, radio, and theatre credits. He currently also works as a freelance photographer based near London in Surrey, England. He had tuition at the Junior Academy of the Royal Academy of Music in London when he was only 4 years old...

     as Titch
  • Tony Church
    Tony Church
    James Anthony "Tony" Church was a British Shakespearean actor, who has appeared on stage and screen. In 1989 he became the Dean of the National Theatre Conservatory, which is the teaching arm of the Denver Center Theatre Company in Denver, Colorado.-Stage:Church was educated at Hurstpierpoint...

     as Turold
  • Bernard Archard
    Bernard Archard
    Bernard Joseph Archard was an English actor.Born in Fulham, London, he was a tall, imposing actor with a distinctive face. He was a conscientious objector in the Second World War and worked on the land...

     as Eirig
  • Belinda Mayne
    Belinda Mayne
    Belinda Mayne is a British actress.Belinda is the daughter of German actor Ferdy Mayne and Deirdre De Peyer.She has appeared in Films and TV and Theatre shows in Germany, UK, and the US since 1974 when she made her first appearance in Strangers....

     as Vella
  • Dicken Ashworth
    Dicken Ashworth
    Dicken Ashworth is an English actor who has made several appearances in film and television.His film credits include: Force 10 from Navarone, Tess, Krull, and Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.On television, can be a regular cast member in several soap operas - playing Alan Partridge...

     as Bardolph
  • Todd Carty
    Todd Carty
    Todd Carty is an Irish actor and director, who has grown up on television screens in a variety of roles. His stage work has varied from pantomime to serious drama, as well as radio plays, voiceovers, commercials, narrations, and films...

     as Oswyn
  • Clare McIntyre as Merith
  • Bronco McLoughlin
    Bronco McLoughlin
    Bronco McLoughlin is an Irish actor, stuntman and animal trainer with more than 30 years experience in Hollywood movies.He has performed and co-ordinated stunts in more than 40 movies including...

     as Nennog
  • Andy Bradford as Darro
  • Gerard Naprous as Quain
  • Bill Weston as Menno

Production notes

  • The film was one of the most expensive movies of its time.
  • The voice of Princess Lyssa was re-dubbed by American
    United States
    The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

     actress Lindsay Crouse
    Lindsay Crouse
    -Early life:Crouse was born in New York City, the daughter of Anna and Russel Crouse, a playwright. Her full name—Lindsay Ann Crouse—is an intentional tribute to the Broadway writing partnership of Lindsay and Crouse. Her father and his writing partner, Howard Lindsay, wrote much of...

    .
  • The Fire Mares, steeds that travel so fast they leave a trail of flame and can defy gravity, are played by Clydesdale horses.
  • Twenty-three sets were built for the film, covering ten sound stages at Pinewood Studios
    Pinewood Studios
    Pinewood Studios is a major British film studio situated in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, approximately west of central London. The studios have played host to many productions over the years from huge blockbuster films to television shows to commercials to pop promos.The purchase of Shepperton...

    , London
    London
    London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

    .
  • The dub for the death screams of the Slayers and the demise of the Emerald Seer imposter was taken from the Mahar shrieks in At The Earth's Core
    At the Earth's Core (film)
    At the Earth's Core is a 1976 science fiction film produced by Britain's Amicus Productions. It was directed by Kevin Connor and starred Peter Cushing, Caroline Munro, Philippa Herring and Doug McClure. It was filmed in Technicolor...

    .
  • Other filming locations were Lanzarote
    Lanzarote
    Lanzarote , a Spanish island, is the easternmost of the autonomous Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 125 km off the coast of Africa and 1,000 km from the Iberian Peninsula. Covering 845.9 km2, it stands as the fourth largest of the islands...

     in the Canary Islands
    Canary Islands
    The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...

     and Cortina D'Ampezzo
    Cortina d'Ampezzo
    Cortina d'Ampezzo is a town and comune in the southern Alps located in Veneto, a region in Northern Italy. Located in the heart of the Dolomites in an alpine valley, it is a popular winter sport resort known for its ski-ranges, scenery, accommodations, shops and après-ski scene...

    , Campo Imperatore
    Campo Imperatore
    Campo Imperatore is a mountain grassland or alpine meadow formed by a high basin shaped plateau located in the Province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of Italy in the Gran Sasso massif. It is the largest plateau of the Apennine ridge...

    , Italy
    Italy
    Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

    .
  • Despite persistent rumors that the film was meant to tie-in with the game Dungeons & Dragons
    Dungeons & Dragons
    Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...

    , Gary Gygax
    Gary Gygax
    Ernest Gary Gygax was an American writer and game designer best known for co-creating the pioneering role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons with Dave Arneson. Gygax is generally acknowledged as the father of role-playing games....

     has said, "To the best of my knowledge and belief the producers of Krull never approached TSR for a license to enable their film to use the D&D game IP."

Tie-ins

In 1983, several games were developed with the Krull license:
  • A Parker Brothers
    Parker Brothers
    Parker Brothers is a toy and game manufacturer and brand. Since 1883, the company has published more than 1,800 games; among their best known products are Monopoly, Cluedo , Sorry, Risk, Trivial Pursuit, Ouija, Aggravation, and Probe...

     board game and card game
  • An arcade game by D. Gottlieb & Co.
    Gottlieb
    Gottlieb was an arcade game corporation based in Chicago, Illinois. The company was established by David Gottlieb in 1927, initially producing pinball machines while later expanding into various other games including pitch-and-bats, bowling games, and eventually video arcade games .Like other...

    , who also designed a Krull pinball game that was never put into production.
  • A console game originally planned for the Atari 5200
    Atari 5200
    The Atari 5200 SuperSystem, commonly known as the Atari 5200, is a video game console that was introduced in 1982 by Atari Inc. as a higher end complementary console for the popular Atari 2600...

    , but changed to the Atari 2600
    Atari 2600
    The Atari 2600 is a video game console released in October 1977 by Atari, Inc. It is credited with popularizing the use of microprocessor-based hardware and cartridges containing game code, instead of having non-microprocessor dedicated hardware with all games built in...

     because of poor sales of the former system.

Music

The film's score, composed by James Horner
James Horner
James Roy Horner is an American composer, orchestrator and conductor of orchestral and film music. He is noted for the integration of choral and electronic elements in many of his film scores, and for frequent use of Celtic musical elements...

 and performed by The London Symphony Orchestra and the Ambrosian Singers
Ambrosian Singers
The Ambrosian Singers are one of the best-known London choral groups, particularly appreciated for its great variety of recorded repertory.They were founded after World War II in England...

, has received a cult following on itself, being featured on CD in several releases by different labels through the years. It has been commended as part of the composer's best early efforts before his more famous post-1990 era works.

The score features traditional swashbuckling fanfares, an overtly rapturous love theme and other musical elements that were characteristic of fantasy/adventure films of the 80's, as well as incorporating avant-garde techniques with string instruments to represent some of the monstrous creatures in the story. Additionally, to accompany the main antagonists, the Beast and its army of Slayers, Horner utilized Holst-like rhythms
The Planets
The Planets, Op. 32, is a seven-movement orchestral suite by the English composer Gustav Holst, written between 1914 and 1916. Each movement of the suite is named after a planet of the Solar System and its corresponding astrological character as defined by Holst...

 and groaning and moaning vocals from the choir. Also of note is a recurring "siren call" performed by female voices that starts and bookends the score, and appears numerous times in the story to represent the legacy of the ancient world of Krull.

As usual, Horner's score is reminiscent of earlier works, particularly Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is a 1982 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. The film is the second feature based on the Star Trek science fiction franchise. The plot features James T...

.

Some pieces of the music were reused for the area atmosphere nearby
Space Mountain
Space Mountain
Space Mountain is the name of a space-themed indoor roller coaster attraction located at all five Magic Kingdom-style Disney Parks. Although all five versions of the attraction are different in nature, all have a similar domed exterior façade that is a landmark for the respective park.The name can...

: From the Earth to the Moon (1995–2005) — now Space Mountain: Mission 2
Space Mountain: Mission 2
Space Mountain: Mission 2 is a steel roller coaster-type attraction in Discoveryland at Disneyland Park in Disneyland Paris themed around a journey into space. The attraction opened on June 1, 1995, three years after the opening of the park, as a revival of interest to draw more guests to the...

 — at Disneyland Paris.

The score has been released numerous times on album. The first was a 45 minute condensed edition released by Southern Cross records in 1987, featuring most of the major action cues, three renditions of the love theme and the music from the End Credits, however, omitting music from the Main Title sequence. The same label later released a Special Edition in 1992 and 1994 (the latter a Gold disc) with a running time of over 78 minutes, expanding on all of the previously released tracks, featuring the Main Title music and other action cues.

In 1998, SuperTracks released the complete recorded score in a 2 CD set with extensive liner notes by David Hirsch in a notoriously designed booklet, however, this release, along with the '92 and '94 ones, have become rare and very expensive collectible items. 12 years later, La-La Land Records
La-La Land Records
La-La Land Records is an American record company based in Burbank, California . The company specializes in film and television soundtracks. The label is run by Michael V...

 re-issued the SuperTracks album, with two bonus cues and new liner notes by Jeff Bond in a limited edition of 3,000 copies, which sold out within less than a year. Both the SuperTracks and La-La Land albums are highly regarded by fans as stellar products.

Adaptations

A novelization was written by Alan Dean Foster
Alan Dean Foster
Alan Dean Foster is an American author of fantasy and science fiction. He currently resides in Prescott, Arizona, with his wife, and is also known for his novelizations of film scripts...

. A comic book adaptation was published by Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...

, both as a Marvel Super Special
Marvel Comics Super Special
Marvel Comics Super Special was a 41-issue series of one-shot comic-magazines published by Marvel Comics from 1977 to 1986. They were cover-priced $1.50 to $2.50, while regular color comics were priced 30 cents to 60 cents, Beginning with issue #5, the series' title in the its postal indicia was...

 with behind-the-scenes material from the film, and as a two-issue limited series
Limited series
A limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....

.

Home media

The film was released on multiple formats: VHS, CED, Laserdisc and DVD. The film is available on DVD as a "Special Edition" in 2008. Also, the film is available for streaming through Starz and Netflix. No Blu-Ray version has been released.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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