Sci-Fi Week: Krull

Hiya boys and girls and welcome to Day 3 of Sci-Fi Week.  Well we have had some comedy, some sexist overtones and some decent writing.  Howabout a collection of fine English actors that happen to be in what I still think is one of the goofiest premises yet?    So grab your unexplained energy emitting blade, grab a bow and by gum pray to whatever deity whose ear you have.   This is Krull.

Wow, they do put anything in a crane machine game.

There is a prophecy that was foretold about a spoiler ruling these lands…

Directed by the astounding Peter Yates (The Saint (TV), Bullitt, The Robbery, Secret Agent(TV), Murphy’s War, The Deep, Eyewitness and Suspect) this film was a real boom for the sci-fi fantasy genre though it has been misunderstood, misquoted and frankly been baffling many for some time.  Our story opens with a bit of narrative (No, not Uwe Boll unnecessary narrative) proclaiming a prophecy of a girl of ancient name (or lineage) shall become queen, that she shall choose a king, and that together they shall rule their world and that their son shall rule the galaxy.   Sweet gig thus far, right?

Live in concert: Slayer...s

Prince Colwyn (Ken Marshall of Tilt, Claws, The Stay Awake, Feds, Burn Down and Berlin ’39) has agreed to marry the fair Princess Lyssa (Lysette Anthony of The Lady and the Highwayman, A Ghost in Monte Carlo, Dark Shadows (’91 TV series), Switch and Dracula: Dead and Loving It) for the benefit for both kingdoms and just as that whimsical romantic standing occurs, the land is invaded  a creature known only as The Beast in his huge rock formation of a starship known as the Black Fortress.  His armored lackeys known as the Slayers go sick house on the royal court and as well and destroying the castle and most of the Kingdom’s armies with blaster bolts all over the place.   Yeah went from fantasy realm and right into scifi.  Pretty sneak of you, movie.   So Lyssa follows true to form of Princesses Peach and Zelda and gets captured.  Seriously writer how about the girl gets to put up a bit more of a fight than that? Colwyn the only survivor is nursed back to health by Ynyr(Freddie Jones of The Satanic Rites of Dracula, Son of Dracula, Never Too Young to Rock, The Ghosts of Motley Hall, The Elephant Man, Dune and Erik the Viking) wise and older man who tells Colwyn the only weapon that could aid him in this quest would be the legendary Glaive.  Colwyn vows to rescue the girl and slay the Beast and his dark minions and the two proceed on this odd quest.  No Ynyr does not say that it is dangerous out there and hand him a wooden sword that shoots an energy beam but dammit if that wouldn’t be handy.    

He proceeds to head to the mountain range that might allow him to get to the Black Fortress quicker only to find out the Black Fortress teleports from location to location once a day at sunrise.   Boy, hope these people brought in the supplies ahead of time or they are going to be low on materials.   Along the path He finds a wizard that is more accident prone than Chevy Chase made former President Gerald Ford out to be Ergo “the Magnificent” (David Battley of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, S.O.S. Titanic, The Gentle Touch, Dramarama, Relative Strangers and Vigo) A band of brigands lead by Torquil (Alun Armstrong of Inspector Morse, Split Second, Patriot Games, Blue Ice, Black Beauty and Braveheart) and asks them to join in his quest and so the Fellowship of the…Glaive is formed.

Can he not see I love him tenderly?

Alrighty, I had just a few bits of observation to the film and or trivia to be had.   The fire mares are overexposure red filtered shots of Clydesdale horses that had to be rocketing across the fields when they were filmed.   The death cries of the Slayers is lifted from a 1976 film called At The Earth’s Core as it was the death cries of the Mahars.  Lastly scifi/scifi fantasy writer Alan Dean Foster did a novelization of the movie Krull and Marvel Comics felt its popularity was going to be so huge they did a two-issue limited series.   For me it was a piece of my childhood that combines sword and sorcery with lasers and starships.  Maybe it wasn’t an ideal blend but all in all it was fun to view after these so many years.