Karen: I admit it -this film has long been a guilty pleasure of mine -I even have it on DVD! It's such a weird, goofy blend of fantasy and science fiction, and it doesn't seem to know which it wants to be, but that's fine -I like both! Have at it, yea or nay -I won't be offended. I've noticed past a certain age group, I get a lot of puzzled stares when I bring this film up.
You might spot a very young Liam Neeson in the clip below:
Never actually saw it all the way through; even though I recall really wanting to see it when it was released, that never happened for whatever reason.
ReplyDeleteYears later, I came into the middle of it while channel surfing, but only watched it for about a half-hour before losing interest.
Watching those two YouTube videos you linked, two things struck me: the actor playing the main character looks a little like Benedict Cumberbatch; and it's interesting how many movies Neeson appeared in during the 1980s as a supporting actor before Schindler's List made him an A-lister. He also appeared in Excalibur and the Mission, and there's probably a few more I'm forgetting.
A couple that come to mind are SUSPECT and, of course, as the lead in the first DARKMAN (whoo. . . there's a career-starter!).
ReplyDeleteI have to tell ya, Karen-- KRULL has caught me completely flat-footed. If I've ever heard of it, it didn't adhere to any of my current brain cells. . . ! (Of course, that puts it on par w/ the whereabouts of my last 4 pairs of glasses. . . )
HB
Saw it in the theatre when it came out in what? 1983?
ReplyDeleteI thought it was great b/c I was so hungry for that stuff before the days of DVDs and VCRs you couldn't watch the good stuff over and over again.
It kind of wanted to be Star Wars and Excalibur at the same time.
I haven't seen it again since then, but would if I had enough beers to go with it. :)
It's just awful. The only good things I can think of to say about it are that Lysette Anthony looked nice in it and that it created work for Bernard Bresslaw.
ReplyDeleteNever cared for the film--or "sword and sorcery" stuff in general--though at the time I recall thinking that propeller-blade weapon thing was pretty cool. James Horner's music score has some fine moments in it. Other than that, KRULL just never resonated with me like the more intense EXCALIBUR did.
ReplyDeleteI adore Excalibur, and it's fun seeing Liam Neeson AND Patrick Stewart it in now. But Excalibur is like a fine meal, while Krull is more like a package of Ho-Hos or Ding-Dongs that you scarf down, knowing it's so wrong...
ReplyDeleteThirty or so years ago we got cable television for the first time and Krull must have been on every day. I have not seen it for decades but those clips brought back all of the memories. (I was probably actually eating Ho-hos when I watched it for the 15th time). Hilarious that Liam Neeson was in it - I never realized that was him. Some of the special effects were really bad - yet still creepy in a low budget weird kind of way.
ReplyDeleteKaren, you're not helping my snack food addiction by name dropping Hostess products! I was always a Drake's cakes kid myself, but Hostess seemed glorious thanks to those endless and ever-present one-page ads in every comic I read!
ReplyDeleteBTW, Lysette Anthony and Liam Neeson would both appear in Woody Allen's 1992 film, "Husbands and Wives", though the two do not share any scenes together.
I remember the weapon and the Cyclops and for the longest time thought I had seen this movie. As I got older and began to poke around the internet, putting bits and pieces of memories together, I realized I had put Lee Horsley's The Sword and the Sorceror together with what I knew of this movie. Now, I'm not sure if my childhood is what I remember of it or false memories implanted by the military to protect my family when I entered the Super Soldier program.
ReplyDeleteIf we are offering our favorite early Liam Neeson movies, I try to watch Satisfaction with him, Justine Bateman and Julia Roberts at least once a year.
For favorite guilty pleasure, the oatmeal cookie sandwich thing with the frosting in the middle. For a while, they made a double layer one that was just heaven.
The Prowler (it's sad, so sad, it's a sad sad situation and it's getter more and more absurd).
I saw this on Betamax tape (remember those?) back in the day. The only thing that was cool was that propeller weapon. At that time as I recall there were a lot of barbarian/Mad Max hybrid movies that were being churned out seemingly by the dozen every month. Most were forgettable; this one was no exception.
ReplyDelete- Mike 'Mad Max 3? Hey where's Mel?' from Trinidad & Tobago.
I think Krull looks a bit like Chris Pratt from Guardians of the Galaxy, too.
ReplyDeletestarfoxxx