The Legacy (1978).

Review #2589: The Legacy.

Cast: 

Katharine Ross (Maggie Walsh), Sam Elliott (Pete Danner), Roger Daltrey (Clive Jackson), John Standing (Jason Mountolive), Ian Hogg (Harry), Margaret Tyzack (Nurse Adams), Charles Gray (Karl Liebnecht), Lee Montague (Jacques Grandier), Hildegard Neil (Barbara Kirstenburg), and Marianne Broome (Maria Gabrieli) Directed by Richard Marquand (#115 - Return of the Jedi)

Review: 

Sure, why not a co-production between the States and the United Kingdom for an original (i.e. one that actually isn't based on a book) horror movie? Apparently, Hammer mainstay Jimmy Sangster wrote the original script before further work was done by Patrick Tilley and Paul Wheeler. At the helm to direct for the first time was Richard Marquand. Born in Wales as the son of a politician, he started out as a TV/documentary director in the early 1960s. Marquand ultimately directed a total of seven films (most notably Return of the Jedi*) before his sudden death at the age of 49 in 1987. For whatever reason, the movie was released first in the UK in September 1978 and then an American release...in September 1979 (got to love a poster that actually advertises the "best-selling" book of the movie right then and there). With a budget of over $2.5 million, the movie did make some money with audiences, even if cast members weren't too fond of it; Anne Coates later stated that despite being convinced to do the film by Marquand, she felt he "clearly didn't know what he was doing at all", while Sam Elliott once called the film "fifteen years behind its time". Regardless of all the quibbles, it found a steady life on TV and home video.

With a plot that might as well have been cribbed from Rosemary's Baby (1968), The Omen (1976) and any movie involving old dark houses (with a bit of Ten Little Indians present just for the hell of it), you may get at least some entertainment from just ridiculously it all comes together in such an ersatz experience. You might be wondering, what could possibly be the "legacy" in the plot? Well, it involves six people all being invited to a rambling country estate in where else but jolly old England where odd butlers and spooky cats lurk within a few casual revelations involving, well, birthright and the craft. Somehow, within the powers of "witchcraft", escape or getting a ring off one's finger is basically impossible and somehow, a whole bunch of people start dying because, yes, six living heirs actually translates to "the Devil does in fact have takesies-backsies". It falls to Ross to try and sell the shock of not only being stuck in a strange new place (what, it's the English*) and I wish I could say she sells it, but no, it just feels like she is more on a bland trip of "oh I guess I'm going a bit nutty, that'll flush out", but I guess you could say the chemistry between her and Elliott* is curious. It just feels like a series of mild inconveniences, and sometimes I wish it was more about Elliott and his wiseass attitude towards the ridiculousness of this whole thing (imagine being told that your woman looks like someone in a painting while people are randomly dying and *then* you get stuck in a warp where you can't drive away). You wish there was more from Daltrey (as best known from his work with the Who*) or with Gray before they inevitably kick the bucket, which probably sticks out more; one dies through choking on a chicken bone and the other catches fire in a manner that makes sure the house is left totally unscathed. There just isn't a big enough ham or real villainous threat (Standing is barely present in a bed) to actually generate anything besides chuckles with seeing unsavory people getting offed. There are some pretty shots and fine gore, but it really does feel like a movie warped out of time without the energy to match. Even the ending feels too casual to actually work - imagine seeing what you've seen, climax and all and it just ends on more ring-giving. As a whole, it's a goofy little movie that doesn't exactly conjure up anything besides a few gore scenes and some offbeat conclusions to jump through by the time it concludes its tale of death and despair. It's the kind of movie you stumble onto and wonder, where the hell did the time go in all of the chuckles for such a mediocre time.

Overall, I give it 6 out of 10 stars.

Song of the day!

*A damn good movie, as I'm always prone to reminding people.

*Look man, willingly getting on a plane doesn't sound like my cup of-oh hell, throw the tea out.

*Incidentally, Elliott and Ross eventually married each other, so at least someone got a happy ending.

*The Who are neat, that's the note.

Redux - Special Edition: Return of the Jedi.

Review #115: Return of the Jedi.

Cast
Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Harrison Ford (Han Solo), Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia Organa), Billy Dee Williams (Lando Calrissian), Anthony Daniels (C-3PO), Kenny Baker (R2-D2), Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca), David Prowse (Darth Vader (voiced by James Earl Jones), Sebastian Shaw (Anakin Skywalker), Ian McDiarmid (The Emperor), Alec Guinness (Obi-Wan Kenobi), Frank Oz (Yoda), Denis Lawson (Wedge Antilles), and Timothy M. Rose (Admiral Ackbar, Sy Snootles and Salacious Crumb) Directed by Richard Marquand.

Review
In my original review (#115 - April 1, 2012), I had given the movie a 9/10 rating, and while I stand by the rating, I regretted not saying more about the movie, with regards to the characters, action and effects. Because of this, I decided to finally make a Redux - Special Edition (which I had done for A Christmas Story, Halloween, Licence to Kill, and On Her Majesty's Secret Service). 

Now, with May 25, 2023 on the horizon, it is time for a bit more editing. Don't worry, it's just the addition and subtraction of certain sentences to give better clarity. Enjoy.

Decades after its release, Return of the Jedi always seems to be lumped in as the lesser of the three films of the so-called Star Wars Original Trilogy. On an emotional level, the movie is a bit too safe, particularly with the ending. Granted, The Empire Strikes Back is a tough act to follow, because that film basically saw the series grow up a bit when it came to the stakes being even higher in terms of space opera while separating its characters into neatly defined plots. I maintain of course that the original 1977 film is the one with the most punch in terms of "first-time joy", but with Return of the Jedi, it does have the benefit of closing its door of a story not one of simple rebellion, but of one with father and son. Howard Kazanjian replaced Gary Kurtz as producer. The director would be Richard Marquand, who had directed The Legacy (1978), Birth of the Beatles (1979), and Eye of the Needle (1981), with the latter being cited by Lucas as key to hiring. This time around, Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas wrote the screenplay with Lucas providing the story (Kasdan used tape transcripts of him, Lucas, Marquand, and Kazanjian in conference discussing ideas to help make the script). The film was a tremendous success, although for Marquand, having to direct with Lucas looming on set frequently when it came to handling effects certainly must have been a challenge. Marquand directed three further films after Jedi before his death in 1987 at the age of 49 following a stroke. 

Of all the cast in the movie, the one actor with the most impact is the one with little screen time and only 24 words, Sebastian Shaw, who manages to evoke the dying words of a redeemed but withered man with such little time and be one of the more memorable aspects of the film. The Emperor, after being seen briefly in Empire Strikes Back (voiced by Clive Revill in 1980 but replaced by Ian McDiarmid with computer-generated imagery for the 2004 alteration), is given his time to showcase his power over the Empire and Vader himself. McDiarmid plays this master of deception with an unsettling tone of voice that makes the villain more than just a hammy bad guy, compelling even without much revealed about him (until the prequels, anyway, which let him play a double act). Hamill's best scenes are with McDiarmid & Jones, and they make for compelling entertainment, with the lightsaber duel being a key highlight. While the trio of Hamill, Ford & Fisher doesn't really cover any new ground, it is nice to see them again. It's interesting that Ford wanted his character to die as a "self-sacrifice" for a character that progressed from a rogue who didn't particularly care about the Rebellion (while caring mostly about himself) all those years ago to one who decides to die for his friends; Kazanjian had got Ford to return to the role and actually agreed with Ford's suggestion to kill the character off, but Lucas refused. The reveal of Leia being Luke's sister isn't a bad scene, but after everything the two characters had gone through (such as the kiss in Empire to make Han jealous - at least I hope so), it comes off as somewhat strange, especially with Leia stating that she apparently always knew. Circle of life and all. The movie ends with everyone happy (complete with celebratory music in both the original and Special Editions), but does an Empire truly end just because you take down the leader? By this point, Lucas wanted to end the trilogy and curtail any plans he (supposedly) had for Episodes VII-IX and just end it, even if it wasn't as poignant as it could've been. My thoughts on the film have shifted the tiniest bit when it came to the Ewok battle on Endor, since a group of teddy bears that believed a golden robot was a deity manage to take down Empire soldiers with logs and...overpowering them seems more and more amusing when considering the idea of a technological empire losing to a primitive tribe was evidently Lucas deciding to evoke the Vietnam War. Hell, he calls the Ewok sequences a "distraction", not a win, so keep that in mind. The opening rescue sequence on Tatooine with the loathsome Jabba the Hutt is a delightful way to spring adventure from the get go.

Of course, the space dogfight is as fun as ever, probably more so when considering how the series would do them in later years (to say nothing of the Special Editions, which are most apparent here, from the ridiculous song in the first half to the ending); Richard Edlund, Dennis Muren, Ken Ralston and Phil Tippett were each given a Special Achievement Academy Award for their work in the film in effects. Once again, the music by John Williams is excellent, being entertaining (any of the themes from the Battle of Endor, with one of my favorites being "Into The Trap", but "Emperor's Throne Room" is also a chilling brilliant one). For all I said about how it seems too safe at times, Return of the Jedi an enjoyable film, full of spectacle that has enough fun to mostly overcome its emotional shortcomings. Is it slicked in more commercial flavor than the other two? Sure, but it still an enjoyable adventure, one that showed what is fun about making space adventure that turns old cliches into new enjoyment for all to see.

32 years later, Star Wars: The Force Awakens bridged its continuation to the old and new generations of fans, doing a fine job as a beginning of a new trilogy. Time will tell how the new trilogy (and spin-off films) will go, but as someone who saw Episode VII on opening day and enjoyed himself, I sure can't wait.

Overall, I give it 9 out of 10 stars.