"Krull": The film that could have been

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by Ghostworld, Aug 10, 2010.

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  1. Ghostworld

    Ghostworld Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    US
    I was scrolling through the Netflix streaming cue the other day and stopped on "Krull." I knew the name of the film, of course, but realized that I had never seen it. I also knew that it had spawned a sequel, which in general means the original had to have been pretty good. So I watch "Krull" for the first time this weekend.

    It doesn't start off very promising, a very hokey Star Wars clone, but as the movie moves along it starts creating its own charm. The best part of the film is the cast, with a number of great British actors making an appearance -- I recognized many of them as veterans of the Royal Shakespeare Company. They're all such great actors that the film begins coming to life and picking up real weight as a fantasy.

    What kills the film is probably the worst editing I've ever seen in a feature. I don't know if the director, Peter Yates, screwed up shooting the initial footage or if it was butchered in the editing room, but it feels as if it was sliced into ribbons by some hack. Just the worst, most amateurish editing I've ever seen. If ever there was a call for a "special edition" some one needs to recover the raw stock (doubtful) and completely re-edit this film, really a travesty. On the plus side, although it is close be being a true B-film, "Krull's" photography, set design and the acting often make it feel like an A-list production.

    I think the picaresque aspect of the film, the middle third in which the group of rescuers slowly band together, is the best part of the film. Again, the strength of those great actors make it shine. There are also a number of really fun bits (like the Widow of the Web) that are imaginative and classic in their own right.

    Unfortunately the film winds own into a (rather poor) special effects shootout, but I still rather liked the film overall for its performances. I don't know what the status of this film is among fantasy-sci fi fans, but I was glad I watched it for its bright moments - especially the performances of the fantastic supporting characters (including the always great Freddie Jones as the film's "Obi Wan" and a young Liam Neeson). I was just wondering what others think about the film.
     
  2. FACE OF BOE

    FACE OF BOE Forum Resident

    Location:
    London
    Yes I remember seeing Krull back in the summer of '83. It was touted as being the next big thing after Star Wars. The irony was that it got trounced at the box office by the 'final' Star Wars movie, Return Of he Jedi. Still a fun movie even with some editing and special effects issues.
     
  3. Texastoyz

    Texastoyz Forum Resident

    Location:
    Texas, USA
    I've always enjoyed Krull and didn't get the scorn that was heaped upon it.
     
  4. mark renard

    mark renard Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    There was a sequel to Krull??
     
  5. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    Not as far as I know or can tell. I looked online and found no evidence of one. I think the OP must've misremembered... :shrug:
     
  6. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    Haven't seen "Krull" since the DVD came out in 2001, but I thought it was a snoozer:

    "“Isn’t it ironic - don’t you think?” moment for the day: during the audio commentary found on this DVD, director Peter Yates repeatedly asserts that Krull is not a “sword and sorcery” story. In the notes I took while I watched the movie, I wrote “ordinary sword and sorcery fare”. Bizarre but true!

    While Krull indeed makes a few attempts to deviate from the normal clichés of the genre, it does little in that regard, and it fails more than it succeeds. Not only was Krull nothing more than a very typical example of the “S&S” domain, but it wasn’t a terribly interesting retelling of that kind of tale.

    At the start of Krull, we witness the wedding of Prince Colwyn (Ken Marshall) and Princess Lyssa (Lysette Anthony). Both represent opposing communities on the planet Krull, and their marriage intends to unify the various elements. Unfortunately, a nasty thing creatively called the Beast has minions called Slayers attack the wedding and kidnap Lyssa. From there, Colwyn attempts to rescue his ladylove and set everything right.

    A prince battles evil monsters to save his honey - wow, now I understand why Yates thought he offered such a unique experience! Honestly, I don’t mind films that feature predictable plots as long as their execution offers something different and enjoyable; whether a movie provides solid acting or slick production or just some fun action scenes, a few well-done elements can make the tired and shop-worn exciting again.

    Unfortunately, none of those factors make an appearance in Krull. This film was as bland and plodding as any I’ve seen from the genre. On the surface, it appears that Krull will integrate a variety of science-fiction elements; after all, the flick starts with shots of an ominous spacecraft as it approaches a planet. However, other than those images and some swords that shoot laser beams, I detected nothing that fit into the science-fiction genre; the rest of the story relies entirely on the usual magic and bravery elements typical of sword and sorcery movies.

    Had Krull offered anything really exciting and spiffy, it might have been more compelling, but what I found was dishwater dull. As our dashing lead, Marshall looked decent in the part but he displayed absolutely no charisma or presence. His Colwyn made for one of the least compelling heroes I’ve seen in a while, as he offered no distinguishing characteristics. Poor Anthony looked cute despite poofy Eighties hair, but she has almost nothing to do in the film. She spends most of the movie in the clutches of the Beast, and all she needs to do is look scared and act modestly defiant.

    Worst of all, her voice has been dubbed! According to the audio commentary, the producers thought an American sound for Lyssa would help sell tickets, so Lindsey Crouse re-recorded all of Anthony’s lines. The result seems very incongruous, as Crouse had too deep and mature a voice for this young princess, and the words often integrate poorly with the action.

    Not that the lack of original dialogue from Anthony really made much of a difference; the movie doesn’t actually suffer because it already was so bland. The supporting characters are all uninventive variations on the typical themes; you have your rogues who become heroes and your cowards who become heroes and your fearsome dudes who turn out to be heroes. I half-expected that the villains would become heroes as well, but that didn’t happen. Too bad - it might have made Krull more interesting.

    Actually, the most intriguing aspect of the film was to see some now-famous faces in the smaller roles. Robby Coltrane and Liam Neeson both appear as part of the band of scoundrels recruited by Colwyn to aid in his quest. Neither gets much screentime, but it’s still fun to spot them in the crowds. By the way, I thought it was quite cheesy of Columbia-Tristar to prominently feature Neeson among the pictures on the back of the DVD case; this might make you believe that he plays a substantial role in the film, which is most definitely not the case.

    What else is there to say about Krull? I thought it offered a thoroughly boring and bland telling of the usual sword and sorcery nonsense. I have no objection to that kind of story, but I would like to see something inventive or clever. Alas, no such excitement appears during Krull. The heroes are flat, the villains are dull, and the tale is insanely ordinary and predictable. In short, Krull was a dud."
     
  7. FACE OF BOE

    FACE OF BOE Forum Resident

    Location:
    London
  8. Perhaps the original poster is confusing the film "Kull the Conquerer" which is based on Robert E. Howard's character (similar to Conan) and which was made into a film with Kevin Sorbo in 1997 with a sequel to "Krull".

    I would agree with most assessments of the film--it seemed like a standard fantasy flick of the time most notable for its interesting cast and the fact that the studio went back and redubbed many of the original actors with OTHER American actors.

    I do recall that the film looked like it had been tampered with in the editing room and I wouldn't doubt that it was recut by the studio since they did a lot of post-production tampering in other areas.

    It's most notable also for Kenneth Marshall who went on to play a great character on "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" (it was a fairly pivotal role). Stanford Sherman who wrote the film was a writer on the 1960's "Batman" TV series and also wrote the genre film "The Ice Pirates".
     
  9. XMIAudioTech

    XMIAudioTech New Member

    Location:
    Petaluma, CA
  10. pdenny

    pdenny 22-Year SHTV Participation Trophy Recipient

    Location:
    Hawthorne CA
    KRUDD, 1989.
     
  11. Ghostworld

    Ghostworld Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    US
    That's exactly what I was thinking of! Oops, guess I made a mistake.
     
  12. agentalbert

    agentalbert Senior Member

    Location:
    San Antonio, TX
    This came out on blu-ray recently. Watched it tonight. The transfer and audio are pretty good. It's absolute bare bones. One audio track (DTS HD-MA 5.1), no subtitles (not that I need them), but none of the special features from the dvd are carried over. That had two commentary tracks, a documentary, and a video motion comic. That's all gone, annoyingly. When the disc boots up (no trailers, yeah!) it goes to a menu with one option - "Play Movie".

    Now what's needed is a re-release of this:

    [​IMG]
     
    alexpop and Moonbeam Skies like this.
  13. DannyC

    DannyC Forum Resident

    I got the blu ray steel for a nostalgia trip - really wish I hadnt - it was worse than I remember. Why could they never get anyone who could a) act b) direct or c) use a camera (I hate zooms - so tacky) when it came to these movies - perhaps I agree then - the potential was there but it looks like when it came to finally getting in the studio they just rushed it off - not sure its the editors fault - Im not sure he had enough stock to actually use.
     
  14. soundboy

    soundboy Senior Member

    I thought it was more notable that Ken Marshall played the title character in the 1982 NBC mini-series "Marco Polo", before making "Krull".
     
    wayneklein likes this.
  15. agentalbert

    agentalbert Senior Member

    Location:
    San Antonio, TX
    Since this is a music forum, I'll point out that Lysette Anthony (who plays the princess "Lyssa" in the movie) is the babe in a number of 80's music videos - Bryan Adams (Run To You, Heaven, Summer Of '69), Rainbow (Street Of Dreams) and Depeche Mode (I Feel You).
     
    Jerry Horne likes this.
  16. Jerry Horne

    Jerry Horne WYWH (1975-2025)

    Location:
    NW
    She's great in Woody Allen's 'Husbands and Wives'.
     
  17. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    I always thought it was Richard Chamberlain who starred in KRuLL. Seem to remember 'what's he doing in this crap movie".Remember 'thinking he was so much better in "The Man In The Iron Mask "starring along side The Prisoner star Patrick McGoohan.
    But I digress,sorry.
     
    Last edited: Nov 27, 2014
  18. Probably what helped get him the job.
     
  19. smilin ed

    smilin ed Senior Member

    Location:
    Durham
    Now I wish someone would make a good Kull movie. Always thought the character had more potential than Conan. Used to love the Marvel Comics version until they took away his kingdom and made him a Conan clone.
     
    Karnak likes this.
  20. dewey02

    dewey02 Forum Resident

    Location:
    The mid-South.
    Krull is Dull!
     
  21. agentalbert

    agentalbert Senior Member

    Location:
    San Antonio, TX
    It is. I have a nostalgia for the 80's sci-fi/fantasy movies, but Krull certainly doesn't stand up to Conan, Dragonslayer or even Beastmaster. I always want it to be better, and then when its done, I'm disappointed.

    Can someone remind me how Liam Neeson's character dies? I assume its somewhere in the fortress, but I can't remember specifically where. Since he's not there at the end, I'm assuming he ate it.
     
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