Customer Reviews

Krull

5 star:		(57)
4 star:		(45)
3 star:		(21)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

Unlike most reviewers here, I don't think Krull is as good as they say, let alone a classic. But the DVD quality and extras available on it make up for the film's shortcomings and really adds to the viewing experience. Another example of the DVD enhancing the actual film, beyond the obvious upgrade in video and audio. If you like this type of film, buy it. If you don't, a rental will do as it still makes for an enjoyable 'popcorn'-viewing experience.

A few notes on the film:

*visually, it's still impressive. From the psychadelic set pieces inside the beast's fortress, the design of the 'Slayers', the 'swamp' sequence(arguably the best scene in the film), the widow's lair, etc. Only the sparse-looking castle designs at the beginning look 'cheap'. The music is also rousing and memorable enough to draw you in.

*the film should be given an award for not having an annoying child actor or grating 'comic relief' actor mess up the film. Both of these characters work quite well. In fact, the secondary characters(bandits, old man, cyclops,etc) all come off better(more natural) than the primary leads. Don't believe me? Can you imagine anyone else playing Luke Skywalker? No. But I could easily imagine someone else playing the leads in Krull. Btw, Lysette Anthony CAN act. She just doesn't do it very well in this one.

*the film does a nice job(for the most part) of invoking a medieval yet far-off time and place, with its main weakness being the not-so-charismatic leads and not so great script.

*One thing really bothers me though, the special weapon 'Glaive' is rendered pointless at the end when the two of them discover it's their love(ugh) that can defeat the beast, not the glaive-that and shooting fire out of Colwyn's hand. So why make such a big deal about getting the Glaive at the beginning?

Other films you might want to check out: Excalibur, Dragonslayer, Clash of the Titans, Conan the Barbarian, & maybe Hawk: The Slayer or The Beastmaster.

Despite the predictable, formulaic plot, this film contains plenty of visual and symbolic creativity to entertain sci fi and fantasy lovers. Surreal images and stunning filmography dominate the entire movie, and sufficiently overshadow the somewhat weak characterization and acting that is no more than satisfactory. The pre-computer age special effects are good enough and, most importantly, put to good use. The plot maintains a consistent pace and doesn't become sidetracked from its original aim. The music is an upbeat, John Williams-like symphonic composition.

The story takes place on the planet Krull, which has been besieged by an evil entity known as the Beast. He inhabits the Black Fortress, a mountainous structure that changes location at every sunrise. Price Colwyn embarks on a quest to destroy this evil after his father is slain and his bride imprisoned in the Black Fortress. The plot progresses in a way reminiscent of a Dungeons and Dragons campaign.

Some intriguing oddities, like the use of driving bits (normally used in conjunction with carriage harness) on the riding horses, help to create an otherworldly feel through relative unfamiliarity. Medieval style weaponry and laser guns bring past and future together in an interesting combination. Symbolism involving the concepts of time and space is prominent and repeated in countless different forms.

Though i personally like this film a lot, it's not for everybody. The lack of character depth and not-so-great acting are major counts against it, so i highly recommend renting it at your local video store before buying it.

Take the whiz-bang fantasy of films like the "Lord Of The Rings" trilogy, mix in two parts "Star Wars," and add a pinch of modest flicks like "Legend," and you have the perfect formula for "Krull." Though the cheese factor is quite high, Ken Marshall, Lysette Anthony, and friends make the best of this fantasy/sci-fi flick.

Ten times better than the schlock on SciFi Channel, "Krull" has a little something for everyone. There's a nasty bad guy(The Beast) who is intent on taking over the universe with his floating fortress and his army of Slayers. Standing in the way is the love of Prince Colwyn and Princess Lyssa, which is said to bring about a future universal ruler and one of the coolest toys in the world of fantasy....the Glaive! There's a band of rogues who help Colwyn along the way. This group features future "Darkman" and "Schindler's List" star, Liam Neeson and future "Harry Potter" good guy Robbie Coltrane. There's a little swordplay, a little magic, and a little deception(gotta love the shapeshifters).

The acting isn't the best in the world, and neither are the special effects, but the story is interesting enough to move the picture along. Others have accused this film of ripping off films like "Star Wars" and novels such as "The Lord Of The Rings" books, but keep in mind that all of these stories, and just about every flick ever made for that matter, have borrowed something from other stories. Also, the tale of a prince searching for his damsel-in-distress has been around since storytellers first told tales.

The extras on this DVD are pretty limited. I haven't listened to the commentaries, because I'm not a big fan of such things, but the "Journey To Krull" featurette is a nice addition, and the obligatory photo galleries, trailers, etc. are all par for the course.

In closing, youngsters might be turned off by this movie since it honestly isn't up to par with its contemporaries of the time in both story and special effects. I won't argue with anyone that this film isn't as good as any of the "Star Wars" films, and it can't hold a candle to "Lord Of The Rings," but it is still a good film in its own right. If you grew up during this time, and still remember flicks like "Willow" and "Excalibur," you're guaranteed to fall in love with this treasure of the 80's.

Highly recommended to the over twenty crowd who remember when this flick came out.

What's better than a movie with swords AND lasers?

There's magic in Krull, and it's not just coming from the blind wizard! Krull is the story of a prince whose marriage to the princess of a rival country will bring an end to their family's longstanding feud. Their wedding, however, is interrupted by reptilian-like aliens in Cylon-like armor who fire lasers at an essentially medieval-like peasantry.

Throughout the film, the dauntless Prince Colwyn assembles a group of brigands, mages, and even a golden-hearted cyclops to help rescue his princess and bring about a more egalitarian future for his planet. The evil alien king--somewhat akin to Milton's Satan, but without the sour-grapes dialogue--plans to marry the princess and extend his fascistic grasp on an otherwise peace-loving aristocratically-organized political body.

The political significance of Krull cannot be overstated; however, I do not want to detract from the amazing special-effects, the comic scenes, the heart-wrenching sacrifices, or the fantastic scenery. Additionally, the score is so dramatic, that it truly does become a character of its own. The leitmotif of the glave is one of the boldest moments in the history of film soundtracks (it even rivals "Alexander Nevsky").

Of course, Krull operates on different levels: one can read into the film if one likes, or one can indulge in the fantasy of it. Either way, the film is an essential in the development of American Genre Film. Because it is a "genre" picture, AFI neglected to put Krull on its list of the greatest movies ever. But if we could see past the labels of "sci-fi" or "fantasy," we'd certainly recognize that Krull tells the story of our own quests to find the princess in each of us.

A+ For the movie itself. This cheesy film has never looked or sounded better, and that's why I wanted the DVD.

That said, this appears to be a newer edition of the DVD. Many of the extras advertised on the packages are missing entirely. Instead, it comes with just the two commentary soundtracks, a trailer for Men in Black and a DRM-laden version of the movie to play on a computer or a Sony PSP. After repeatedly digging through the menu system to find them, I popped the disc in my PC and had a look at the contents. A quick examination of the disc reveals that it does not contain the Marvel Comic presentation, the Journey to Krull video, or any photo galleries.

I'm rating the product well because I didn't buy it for the extras, but new buyers beware!

At one point called The Dragons of Krull until someone noticed that they'd written the dragons out in one of the early draft screenplays, this 1983 underachiever was the end result of Columbia's desire for a big fantasy film - any fantasy film - to compete in the Star Wars stakes: the story came later, and came made to measure.

The result is a pic'n'mix of several genres, from swashbuckler to sci-fi as Ken Marshall's Prince must rescue his Princess (Lysette Anthony, dubbed, although on past form this is no great hardship) from the alien Slayers who have invaded his world. The notion of a medieval society literally fighting an enemy armed with scientific weapons with swords and sorcery is intriguing, but nothing here does it justice - where Lucas established an entire credible universe for Star Wars, we know nothing about this world: it exists purely for the purposes of the story.

This is more of a Christmas panto than anything else, with dialogue to match, although at least the latter improves when Marshall teams up with Alun Armstrong's outlaw band that includes Liam Neeson, a cockney Robbie Coltrane (looking all cloned up for a night in a gaybar) and even Eastenders Todd Carty.

Stephen Grimes' production design comes into its own with the organically designed Black Fortress, although his sets always look like sets (everything is peachy clean - even the swamps), leaving the paradox of an obviously very expensive film that still manages to look a bit cheap, for which Peter Suschitzky's photography must take much of the blame. Perfect on the exteriors, he consistently proves unable to match them with the interiors. Even worse, the camera feels like it is often in the wrong place (courtesy of director Peter Yates), and the editor seems more interested in what's going on in the sidelines than in the action itself, particularly in the fight in the swamp where the last Slayers are despatched in the background with the minimum of interest.

Not all is lost, however. There is one terrific sequence when Freddie Jones' Obi-Wan substitute must venture into a giant spider web to find out the location of the Slayer's Black Fortress from his long abandoned lover, Francesca Annis' Widow of the Web. There's heart, soul and a painful sense of lost opportunity to the scene that shines through, a magical moment that defies the lack of inspiration in the surrounding scenes and Freddie Jones' unrestrained ham (elsewhere his performance is pure "Can you hear me at the back, mother?" grandstanding) to create something quite touching. Similarly, Bernard Bresslaw's Cyclops, doomed to know the moment of his death from birth, benefits from a dignified, sincere performance that makes more of his scenes than they deserve. James Horner's score is one of the film's greatest strengths too, but the mix tends to lose much of it - a shame, because it is possibly his best work to date.

Columbia's DVD boasts a goodwidescreen transfer and a good selection of extras.

Krull is a story of old fashond style fantasy.It tells a story of a faraway planet. A evil beast of great power comes to this world seeking to conquer it, as it had done to many others. The movie sets a medievil setting with kings, monsters, swords, and magic. A prince and a princess seek to end a fued of their two different lands, arranging a marriage to seal an alliance against the beast.Before the marriage is complete the beast's minions the "Slayers" capture the princess and leave only the prince alive. Now as king, he must embark on a great journey to save his queen and his world, enlisting any help he can find along the way.Cleverly done this movie is timeless. A true fantasy fan will enjoy the non-stop action and adventure and the stunning music by master composer James Horner.

A marriage between Colwyn and Lyssa, the children of two feuding families would also create an alliance in order to defeat the Beast and his army of Slayers on the planet of Krull. Unfortunately, the festivitites are interrupted by the Slayers, who kidnap Lyssa and take her to the Black Fortress, the Beast's stronghold which moves each sunrise and never twice in the same place.

Colwyn and Ynyr, the old man from the hills, set out to defeat the Beast. They need the Glaive, the disc-like five-bladed weapon on the video cover, and some help, which they find. There's the scruffy Torquil and his band of raiders. The cowardly Ergo, a self-professed magician whose qualifications are questionable, and who introduces himself as "Ergo the Magnificent, short in stature, tall in power, narrow of purpose, and wide of vision," the blind Emerald Seer, his boy assistant Titch, and Rell, a stoic Cyclops, a member of a race who were promised to see the future in exchange for one of their eyes, but only the time of their demise.

The movie's filled with the usual encounter of perils, such as Slayers, Changethings, creatures that can impersonate others, and quicksand. The armoured Slayers are interesting in that when they're killed, they emit a horrid scream and plunge into the Earth. They resemble some kind of worm.

In terms of dialogue, nothing too memorable, but there's a good exchange between the Beast and Lyssa, who debate whether it is power or love that is eternal, the other being fleeting. Torquil has a good line on fame: "Fame is an empty purse. Count it and go broke. Eat it and go hungry. Seek it and go mad." And when Rell is asked what would be the one thing he would wish for, the Cyclops flatly replies "Ignorance."

The effects of the Beast's Black Fortress landing was probably better on the big screen. And James Horner comes out with another memorable fanfare theme. There's also swashbuckling music in the fight in the castle that's reminiscent of The Adventures Of Robin Hood (1939). The interior of the Beast's castle is another highlight.

The experienced Freddie Jones is a pillar in this movie as Ynyr, as is Alun Armstrong (Torquil). Ken Marshall (Colwyn) isn't all that good, but he isn't all that bad either. The red-haired Lysette Anthony (Lyssa) is simply lovely to look at. This is also well known for early appearances by Liam Neeson (Kegan) and Robbie Coltrane (Rhun) who lend support as members of Torquil's band. Francesca Annis (the Widow) would co-star the following year in another fantasy movie--Dune.

The prophecy spoken in the end of the movie hint that there was supposed to be a sequel, but this movie unfortunately tanked at the box office. Okay, there were derivative moments, such as the usual hero rescuing the princess from the monster, and some elements of Star Wars (older mentor, rogue sidekick, cowardly sidekick, armoured bad guys, and supernatural powers), but it's not bad in itself. 3.5 rating, rounded up to 4.

One of the more original fantasy films of the 80s, Krull is indeed an amalgamation of Excalibur and Star Wars (and even stars Liam Neeson, who has appeared in both). Krull itself is a pseudo-medieval world of swords and sorcery, but imperiled by aliens from another world known as Slayers, and their master who is known simply as the Beast. For reasons none-too-well defined, the Beast kidnaps Lyssa, the betrothed of the young swashbuckler Colwyn, and leaves the newly united kingdoms destroyed in his wake. With the aid of the wise Ynir, Colwyn sets out to rescue his fiancé and the entirety of Krull, while employing the aid of a ragtag group of adventurers he meets along the way.

Though the visuals are dated now, the world of Krull is an interesting place filled with giant spiders, seers, firemares, and cyclopean aliens. Still, the adventure itself is a bit contrived, and somewhat predictable, and vague in more areas than it should be. And yet the film is one of those classic fantasy movies that see the light of day so rarely now, and brings with it an inherent charm and classical ambience. It is a straightforward sci-fantasy adventure, and aspires to no false pretenses.

The DVD itself is packed with interesting features for fans of Krull new and old, including audio commentaries and a making-of featurette which may not have been seen since around the time of the film's theatrical release in July of 1983. The on-screen display (menus and such) are very attractive and enhance the presentation value of the disc. It's certainly worth the money to own this little gem and add it to those collections of science fiction and fantasy out there.

Recently, I did a review for "The Black Hole" where I noted my childhood fascination with the film. Well, like any good child, it only took some other trend to lure me away. Drifting in-between Star Wars toys, I found myself drawn to the magical marketing of "Krull" and specifically the one weapon I would have given up a lightsaber for - the Glaive, a combination between a boomerang, a ninja star, and that ball from the Phantasm movies.

Well, my desire for a Glaive was easily sated when a friend of mine and I took two small, thin strips of wood, laid them out in an X and pounded a bunch of nails in the center. Voila - instant Glaive. I even had the Krull video game for my super high tech Atari 2600.

But I digress...the same friend who helped make the Glaive some 18 years ago just bought me the DVD for my birthday. I hadn't seen the film in well over ten years, and eagerly popped it in. I recall thinking the film mediocre even as a child (hence why I hadn't seen it in so long), and that sensation was reinforced upon viewing it again on DVD.

The story itself is intriguing, akin to John Sayles' "Seven Samurai" sci-fi interpretation as seen in "Battle Beyond the Stars". "Krull", though, suffers from an uneven flow and lack of character development. The only prolonged scenes in the film are those of action, whereas the plot movement is reduced to nothing more than an explanation of why the characters are moving onto the next action sequence location. Character development doesn't just take a back seat, it's not even in the car. After some whisperings of dialogue at the very beginning about the situation on Krull, nothing further is really brought up to explain the pasts of the characters, the history of this unique world, or key insights into personalities which are so pivotal to ensemble films such as this. After the beginning, the movie seems to move forward assuming that "Damsel in distress, Hero to Rescue" in and of itself is compelling enough reason to watch the characters interact with various set pieces. It is not, which is why "Krull" is obvious in its ambition, attractive in its presentation, but ultimately hollow in delivering satisfaction.

Now, why the four stars? The DVD presentation is first-rate. Audio commentary, trailers, "Making of" features, and an extremely creative and entertaining presentation of the Marvel comic book adaptation (did I mention I had that, too?). This seems to be a hold-over from my days of collecting widescreen films on video. I was quick to notice then that the best stuff and most supported letterbox releasing came from distributors who put out cult films. In the days of DVD, this seems to translate to first-class presentation for sometimes second-class films.

That's ok. I'll take it, because I appreciate that these distributors understand the nature of a certain film's fan base and do what they can to make it a worthwhile business endeavour and customer purchase. The four-star rating is a show of support for high-quality releases such as this one, and a slight nod to nostalga. I can't recommend it to the casual viewer, but if you are a sci-fi freak or cult film collector, go ahead and take a chance. Odds are, you'll enjoy yourself.

Now, for your enjoyment, I'll end with my world-famous Leonard Maltin impression: look for Liam Neeson and Robbie Coltraine in early roles.