Blu-ray Release: Legend: 2-Disc Limited Edition

Blu-ray Release Date: Sept. 28, 2021
Price: Blu-ray $34.99
Studio: Arrow/MVD


When filmmaker director Ridley Scott turned his visionary eye to the fantasy genre, he teamed with writer William Hjortsberg (Angel Heart) to create a breathtaking cinematic fairytale with one of the screen’s most astonishingly rendered depictions of Evil. And it was called Legend.

In an idyllic, sun-dappled forest, the pure-hearted Jack (up-and-comer Tom Cruise) takes his true love Princess Lili (Mia Sara) to see a pair of unicorns frolicking at the forest’s edge. Little do they know, however, that the Lord of Darkness (Tim Curry, in a remarkable make-up designed by The Thing‘s Rob Bottin) has dispatched his minions to capture the unicorns and sever their horns so that he may plunge the world into everlasting night. After Lili and the unicorns are taken prisoner, Jack must team with a group of forest creatures and descend into Darkness’ subterranean lair to face off against the devilish creature before it is too late.

Despite a troubled production in which the elaborate full-size forest set was accidentally incinerated and a lengthy post-production that resulted in multiple versions of the 1985 film (with competing music scores by Jerry Goldsmith and Tangerine Dream), Legend has since been restored to Scott’s original cut and embraced by generations of film fans eager to see a master director’s unique vision of a world beyond our imagination.

Here’s a breakdown of the trove of materials on Arrow’s limited edition Blu-ray release:

  • High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentations of the U.S. Theatrical Cut and the Director’s Cut
  • DTS-HD MA 5.1 and 2.0 stereo audio on both cuts
  • Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing on both cuts
  • Illustrated perfect-bound book with new writing by Nicholas Clement and Kat Ellinger and archive materials including production notes and a 2002 interview with Charles de Lauzirika about the restoration of the Director’s Cut
  • Large double-sided poster with newly commissioned artwork by Neil Davies and original theatrical artwork by John Alvin
  • Glossy full-color portraits of the cast photographed by Annie Leibovitz
  • Six double-sided postcard-sized lobby card reproductions
  • Reversible sleeve featuring newly commissioned artwork by Neil Davies and original theatrical artwork by John Alvin
  • DISC 1: US THEATRICAL CUT
  • New 2K restoration of the US Theatrical Cut from original materials including a 4K scan of the original negative
  • New commentary by Paul M. Sammon author of Ridley Scott: The Making of His Movies
  • 2002 Reconstructed isolated score by Tangerine Dream
  • Isolated music and effects track
  • A Fairytale in Pinewood, new featurette interviewing grip David Cadwallader, costume designer Charles Knode, co-star Annabelle Lanyon, camera operator Peter MacDonald, set decorator Ann Mollo and draftsman John Ralph
  • Incarnations of a Legend, comparison featurette written and narrated by critic Travis Crawford
  • The Directors: Ridley Scott, 2003 documentary where the director discusses his career, including Legend
  • “Is Your Love Strong Enough?” music video by Bryan Ferry
  • DISC 2: DIRECTOR’S CUT
  • Commentary by Ridley Scott
  • Creating A Myth: Memories of Legend, a 2002 documentary with interviews with Ridley Scott, William Hjortsberg, Mia Sara, Tim Curry, Rob Bottin and others
  • Original promotional featurette
  • Alternate ‘Four Goblins’ opening and ‘The Fairie Dance’ deleted scene
  • Storyboard galleries for three deleted scenes
  • Two drafts of William Hjortsberg’s screenplay
  • Alternate footage from the overseas release plus textless footage
  • Trailers and TV spots
  • Still galleries

Buy or Rent Legend: 2-Disc Limited Edition

About Laurence

Founder and editor Laurence Lerman saw Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest when he was 13 years old and that’s all it took. He has been writing about film and video for more than a quarter of a century for magazines, anthologies, websites and most recently, Video Business magazine, where he served as the Reviews Editor for 15 years.