Only the king and his Lord Marshall carry this key!
Today on Classic Movie Review, we are taking on Krull (1983). Quite frankly, I don’t know how well-known this movie is. Most people tend to have a faint glimmering when you mention the glaive, but that’s about it.
Krull (1983) is a perfectly positioned film that features alien attacks and a medieval world. Fitting neatly in and among outer space films like Starwars (1977) and The Last Starfighter (1984) and fantasy films like Excalibur (1981), Dragonslayer (1981), and Ladyhawke (1985). Although this movie featured many people who would go on to be stars, I am going to venture that this film did not do better because it may be too British. This is despite the male lead being American and the female lead’s voice being dubbed by an American actress. The movie is also a perfect example of the Hero’s Journey.
On iMDB.com, the film has a pretty weak 6.1[1]. The film fares no better on Rottentomatoes with 32 percent on the Tomatometer and only 51[2] audience approval. Janet Maslin, a film critic at the New York Times, said on July 29, 1983:
“Krull is a gentle, pensive sci-fi adventure film that winds up a little too moody and melancholy for the “Star Wars” set, though that must be the audience at which it is aimed. It concerns a handsome prince, his beautiful bride and a band of sidekicks something like Robin Hood’s, not to mention an enchanted movable mountain and a little golden gizmo that has magical powers.
Before the Princess vanishes, she and Colwyn indulge in some unexpectedly grown-up flirting, which is part of what distinguishes “Krull” from some of its kiddie-oriented competition. There are also characters who speak resignedly about death, and a bizarre but moving sequence about long-lost love. And the mostly British cast performs with more delicacy than the usual gee-whiz adventure film requires. However, “Krull” is muted and unemphatic, too. And for all its unusual touches, it doesn’t fully feel like anything new.
There are hints of other movies, from “Star Wars” to “Dragonslayer,” in the screenplay by Stanford Sherman. Indeed, the story of a young hero aided by an older mentor, surrounded by a band of funny-looking sidekicks as he quests after something that will save his kingdom from ultimate destruction, is a story that’s being told with some regularity these days. However, Mr. Sherman also incorporates some wit and intelligence into the proceedings. And Mr. Yates works hard to bring understatement and dimension to the material. His “Krull,” which is decorous and dignified throughout, has more depth than excitement.”[3]
Actors – Krull (1983)
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Ken Marshall played Prince Colwyn, who Minty[4] calls Dennis Quaidish. Marshall was born in 1950 in New York City. Marshall attended the University of Michigan and Juilliard before becoming an actor. He first received wide attention in the television mini-series “Marco Polo” 1982—1983. With Krull (1983), it was expected that Marshall would have a spectacular career. However, it was more modest with only 24 film and television credits. His last credit was in 2003.
Lysette Anthony was Princess Lyssa. Anthony was born in England in 1963. Both her parents were actors, and she started working at their theater at the age of 10. By the age of 14, Anthony was in the National Youth Theatre. She began working on television in 1982 and was in Krull (1983). She returned to television and music video work with an occasional movie.
In 1988, she posed nude for Playboy to try and shake off her aura of sweetness. She played Angelique, the famous redheaded witch on television’s “Dark Shadows” in 1991. Anthony was also in Husbands and Wives (1992). Following this, she worked nude in The Advocate (1993) and Save Me (1994).
Anthony was in a couple of horror spoofs, Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995) with Leslie Nelson, and in Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde (1995), a gender bender as was Switch (1991).
Anthony continues to be active on television and in movies. She owns a production company named Barnaby Pictures. One of her movies that I had never heard of before that I discovered while researching this film is Strippers vs Werewolves (2012). Great title. I wonder if it’s better than Strippers vs Zombies (2008)?
Freddie Jones plays the Obi-Wan Kenobe role of Ynyr as he guides the young prince on the journey. Jones was born in England in 1927. Jones worked as a laboratory assistant before beginning work in amateur theater. To further his career, Jones began studying at the Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama. He began working in repertory theater and eventually became part of the Royal Shakespeare Company.
His first film was Marat/Sade (1967). He later gave an outstanding performance as the monster in Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969). The prolific character actor continued in other performances such as Kidnapped (1971), Antony and Cleopatra (1972), Son of Dracula (1973), Old Dracula (1974), All Creatures Great and Small (1975), Zulu Dawn (1979) with just about all the other English actors, The Elephant Man (1980), the amazing fighter jet movie Firefox (1982), Krull (1983), The Ship Sails On (1983), Dune (1984), Firestarter (1984), Young Sherlock Holmes (1985), Erik the Viking (1989), Wild at Heart (1990), and The Count of Monte Cristo (2002). Jones died in 2019.
Alun Armstrong was in the role of Torquil. Armstrong was born in England in 1946. His English teacher got him interested in acting. He was eventually recruited for the National Youth Theatre. Armstrong worked extensively on television beginning in 1963. His first movie was Neo-Noir Get Carter (1971). Armstrong has a distinctive face and often plays characters that fail or are frustrated. He is known for A Bridge Too Far (1977), which was a requirement for most English actors, The French Lieutenant’s Woman (1981), Krull (1983), Patriot Games (1992), Braveheart (1995) as a betraying Scottish noble, The Saint (1997), Sleepy Hollow (1999), The Mummy Returns (2001), Van Helsing (2004), and Eragon (2006).
Other actors having small parts include Liam Neeson as Kegan and Robbie Coltrane as Rhun. David Battley was in the role of Ergo the Magician. Don’t you know who David Battley is? Well, he was Charlie Buckets teacher that couldn’t believe Charlie had only eaten two Wonka Bars. Princess Lyssa’s voice was dubbed by American actress Lindsay Crouse. This voice work was uncredited. Lindsay was excellent in Slap Shot (1977).
Story – Krull (1983)
Following the credits and a few shots of the glaive (more about that later), a big, mountainy, rock fortress thingy is moving through space to the sound of ethereal music. The fortress closes in on a planet with two moons, Krull. The fortress descends to the planet’s surface, burying itself partially in the ground.
Ynyr (Freddie Jones) gives narration that the Beast within the Black Fortress and his army of Slayers have enslaved many worlds. The Black Fortress opens, and horse-mounted Slayers charge forth. They are armed with two-pronged forks that we later find the fire deadly bolts of energy. These weapons are very similar to those Ra’s army used in Stargate (1994).
Ynyr continues that he doesn’t know if the prophecy is true, but it is told that a girl of ancient name shall become queen. She will choose a king, and they will rule Krull. Their son will rule the galaxy.
Princess Lyssa (Lysette Anthony) is in her father’s castle. The castle is busy with urgent military actions. Lyssa is waiting for her betrothed to arrive when her father comes to talk to her about the wedding. She is waiting for Prince Colwyn (Ken Marshall). Lyssa and Colwyn’s fathers are old enemies, and he is unsure of the alliance. The father tells Lyssa that with the world under attack by the Slayers, it will be hard for Colwyn to make it through to their castle. He also says that he sent men to help. Colwyn and a small band of men are riding hard to reach the castle.
Colwyn’s group makes it to the castle, where Lyssa’s father mentions that he sent twenty men to help. Colwyn’s father replies that they lost 300 men on the route. While the fathers snipe at each other, Colwyn and Lyssa say they choose to marry and have an alliance. Colwyn and Lyssa meet, and they have genuine affection.
The wedding begins at the moonrise. The alliance between the two kingdoms is agreed to. Slayers are shown riding hard through the night. Ynyr hides in the woods and watches the Slayers pass. In the wedding vows, Colwyn extinguishes fire in a pot of water. He says it will not return except from the hand of the woman he chooses as his wife. Lyssa reaches into the water and takes the fire out. Before Colwyn can complete the ceremony, the Slayers attack the castle.
Colwyn sends Lyssa to what he assumes will be safety. Although the men of Krull fight bravely, there are simply too many Slayers. A team of Slayers captures Lyssa. Colwyn is putting up a great fight in the other room until he hears Lyssa calling his name. His loss of focus causes his father’s death, and Colwyn goes down with a glancing shot to the chest. The Slayers go back to the Black Fortress with the captured princess.
Just a side note from bad guy 101, if you want to stop the prophecy, just kill the princess.
Ynyr rides to the castle where deadmen are strewn about. He takes the royal necklace from Colwyn’s dead father. The necklace has the symbol of the glaive. He begins to treat Colwyn, who is wounded but not dead. Ynyr is the old one and has come down from the Granite Mountains to help. Colwyn gets a little whinny at the point, believing he can’t continue. Ynyr rages that Colwyn is a king, and his kingdom may be greater than he thinks. Colwyn mans up and wants to go find Lyssa. Colwyn says he will find the needed help on the way to save Lyssa.
Ynyr takes Colwyn high into the mountains to search for the glaive. The glaive is a symbol of power, but Ynyr says it can be a powerful weapon. Ynyr says the glaive can only be controlled by the right man. Colwyn heads to the top of the mountain alone. Colwyn has to dodge avalanches of boulders and do some technical free climbing.
The cave at the top is lava-filled, and small rocks continue to fall. Colwyn sees the glaive floating in a pool of lava. He overcomes his fear and reaches in to retrieve the weapon. It is a five-bladed throwing star.
In the Black Fortress, the Beast tells Lyssa that he will be marrying her.
Colwyn returns to Ynyr with the glaive. Ynyr begins to lay out their problems. Each sunrise, the Black Fortress moves to a new location on the planet. Ynyr says he knows how to find the Black Fortress by seeking the vision of the Blind Emerald Seer. But Colwyn says the seer’s location is also not known. Ynyr says he knows the way, and they head out.
That night as they rest by a river, a comet shoots into the water. It turns out to be Ergo the Magician (David Battley), a very clumsy magician. When Ergo tries to turn Colwyn into a goose, the spell goes back on him. Colwyn invites Ergo to travel with them. He accepts when he sees a cyclops (Bernard Bresslaw) in the woods.
The Beast terrorizes Lyssa with more talk of marriage.
Ynyr leads the crew into a canyon that is crawling with robbers. The robbers attack and include Torquil (Alun Armstrong), who is the leader, Kegan (Liam Neeson), and Rhun (Robbie Coltrane). The men have manacles as they are escaped, prisoners. Colwyn and Ynyr try to convince the men to help him fight. Oswyn (Todd Carty) agrees to join the quest. Colwyn pulls out a key and unlocks Oswyn’s manacles. Torquil is amazed, saying only the king and his lord marshal have the key to the lock.
Torquil agrees to go with the king, but he will keep his manacles until they succeed. The cyclop watches the larger group from a distance. A Slayer is about to attack Ergo. The cyclops throws his spear and kills the enemy. Ynyr explains that cyclops were from another world. They made a deal with the Beast. They gave up one eye in exchange for the ability to see the future. The Beast only gave the ability for them to see the time of their own death.
The group continues on for a time before Colwyn, Ynyr, Torquil, and Ergo go forward alone. Ynyr goes to a solid rock face and is invited inside by the Blind Emerald Seer (John Welsh). The cave of the seer is full of emeralds. Ynyr asks about the location of the Black Fortress but tells that the vision will be opposed.
Ergo makes friends with the seer’s child assistant Titch (Graham McGrath). The seer spins his emerald as he looks for the location. The hand of the Beast reaches from far away to destroy the emerald and the vision, before the location of the fortress can be revealed. After the winds die down, the seer says he can give the fortress’s location if he goes to the Emerald Temple. The seer agrees to go with the group through a very dangerous swamp. The Emerald Temple is located in the center of the swamp.
Deep in the swamp, Colwyn and his band of fighters are ambushed by a large group of Slayers. A spear thrown by a cyclops forces one group back. Torquil men put up a good fight. Ergo approaches the cyclops and learns that his name is Rell. The Slayers are defeated.
The group continues into the swamp.
Back at the Black Fortress, Lyssa continues to look for an escape. She is finally confronted by the hideous Beast.
Back in the swamp, the Beast turns the path into quicksand. As they work to pull the men out of the quicksand, the seer is left alone. Colwyn risks his life to try and save one of the men. A changeling is sent by the Beast to kill and replace the seer. The changeling hides the body in the swamp. Torquil leads the seer as Titch and Colwyn lead the group forward. Rell, who has remained behind, sees the dead body of the seer rise from the quicksand.
The fake seer says Cowlyn must lead him into the Emerald Temple. Rell runs through the swamp as the fake seer starts to kill Colwyn. Between the spear and Colwyn’s sword, the changeling is killed. Ynyr tells that there may be another that can help them find the Black Fortress. Ynyr says he will consult the Widow of the Web. Torquil replies that anyone who goes there will die. Ynyr says that he knows her true name, and she may help him.
The group continues towards the Widow of the Webs location. They are now all riding except Rell. Ynyr goes into the cave alone. The rest of the group settles down to camp. Kegan recruits one of his many wives, Merith (Clare McIntyre), who lives nearby, to feed the group. Merith has brought a displaced woman with her.
In the Black Fortress, Lyssa is still being tormented by the Beast. She finds a view of the outside. The Beast takes on the form of Colwyn but with red eyes. The Beast shows the woman trying to seduce Colwyn. She changes and has the chance to kill Colwyn. She does not because Colwyn is faithful. The Beast kills his changeling. He tells Lyssa that if she accepts him, the killings will stop.
Ynyr enters the cave, which contains a giant spider web. The Widow of the Web (Francesca Annis) says if he enters, he will die. Ynyr begins climbing the web. A giant translucent spider begins making its way to kill Ynyr. He calls out the Widow’s true name, which is also Lyssa, and the spider stops. When she recognizes who is coming, she turns an hourglass and gives him time to make it to her location in the center of the web.
The Widow is old, and Ynyr says his responsibilities forced him away, although he loved her. The Widow says that she killed their son when he was born. She has to live inside the web as punishment. Ynyr did not know about the child, and he says he forgives. Ynyr sees her as young and beautiful as she once was. The Widow foresees that the Black Fortress will be in the Iron Desert the next day. Ynyr tells of Colwyn and Lyssa and the peril of Krull.
The Widow breaks the hourglass that is her life force. She gives Ynyr a handful of sand. It will protect him from the spider, but his life will run out when he drops the last grain. Ynyr makes it out, and the Widow is killed by the spider. He makes it back to camp and gives Colwyn the location before dropping the last sand and dying. Ynyr last words remind Colwyn to use the power of the glaive wisely.
Colwyn and Torquil are considering how they can travel 1,000 leagues to the Iron Desert. Rell says that Fire Mares can travel that far in the time limit. The Black Fortress moves to its new location, leaving the band 24-hours to complete their mission. A large herd of Clydesdale horses is running through a draw. Colwyn and the company trap them and have the transportation they need. Rell refused to ride with the group, saying that his time of death was near.
The horses have fire flying from their hooves as they run at great speed. The horses can also fly, so that helps. The group arrives at the Black Fortress. Colwyn’s group scales the fortress fighting Slayers as they go. They have to get inside the fortress before the sun rises. Rell is seen in the distance riding a fire mare towards the fortress. Rhun is killed by a Slayer shot.
Rell climbs past the group and leads them onward. He holds open a door into the fortress but at the cost of his own life. With the group inside, the Black Fortress moves to a new location. One of Torquil’s men is shot and killed. They lose another crossing a bridge. Keegan is killed, saving Colwyn. A trap floor separates Ergo and Titch from the group. Ergo turns himself into a tiger and fends off a group of Slayers.
Colwyn finds the room where Lyssa is imprisoned. He uses the glaive, but he has a hard time cutting through. Torquil, Oswyn, and another man are trapped in a room with spikes protruding from all surfaces. The spikes start moving in on the group be seem to stop when you are not in a particular part of the room. Lyssa and Colwyn are reunited. She tells that the Beast must be fought away from the center. Colwyn used the glaive to seal the Beast inside and to make their escape.
However, the Beast immediately breaks out. He and Colwyn begin fighting. It is glaive versus energy bolts from the mouth of the Beast. The fight is pretty even. Finally, the glaive strikes the Beast in the chest, and the monster goes down. Colwyn cannot retrieve the glaive from the Beast’s chest. Thinking he has won, Colwyn goes forward to retrieve the glaive. The Beast is alive and keeps the glaive.
Lyssa tells Colwyn that the power is him and not the glaive. He then realizes it is the pair. They complete the marriage ceremony, and he takes the fire from her hand. Colwyn wears the Beast out with his flame thrower hand. The fire is so intense it kills the Beast.
The spikes in the room retract. Lyssa and Colwyn head out to find the other survivors. The fortress starts breaking apart. Torquil and Oswyn reunite with the princess and prince. The group goes looking for Ergo and Titch. Colwyn uses the fire to burn an exit through the wall of the fortress. They find them and make it outside before the destroyed fortress is sucked back into space.
Colwyn gives a key to Torquil, the keys to the manacles he is wearing. Torquil says he will keep wearing them as a reminder of their journey. Colwyn tells him to keep the key, to which Torquil replies that only the king and his lord marshall have that key. Colwyn replies, “That’s right.”
Ynyr voice says a girl of ancient name shall choose a king, and they will rule Krull. Their son will rule the galaxy.
Conclusion – Krull (1983)
As a result of the poor performance of this movie, the sequel with their son was never made.
This is an exciting story, and the special effects were pretty well done for the time of release. While the film did not initially make a lot of money, it has a strong following. To illustrate this, the glaive was one of the weapons used during the final battle sequence in Ready Player One (2018).
It’s a fun movie with a good sound trace and some actors who would do big things.
World-Famous Short Summary – A guy goes to extremes to marry the girl of his dreams
Beware the moors.
[1] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085811/
[2] https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/krull
[3] https://www.nytimes.com/1983/07/29/movies/krull-adventure-with-magic-and-a-beast.html
[4]10 Things You Didn’t Know About Krull – YouTube
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