Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7924 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-09-05
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Dubbed, Letterboxed, PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English, German
• Subtitled in: English, German, French, Hindi, Turkish, Danish, Icelandic, Bulgarian, Swedish, Hungarian, Polish, Arabic, Dutch, Finnish, Czech, Greek
• Dubbed in: French
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 115 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
There's something inescapably appealing about Krull, a camp Star Wars-meets-The Lord of the Rings knock-off, that encourages the viewer to overlook it's very many silly shortcomings and simply enjoy the fun. James Horner's rollicking music score--written soon after his similarly memorable contribution to Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan--certainly helps, as does the epic-scale CinemaScope photography of the breathtaking Italian landscapes. The costumes and extravagant production design are also great to look at, and much of Derek Meddings' visual effects work still looks striking if not exactly state-of-the-art.

Of the cast, Freddie Jones stands head and shoulders above all others as the Obi Wan Kenobi-meets-Gandalf character Ynyr: his trip to the centre of the spider's web is both genuinely scary and genuinely touching. The two romantic leads, Ken Marshall as the Luke Skywalker-meets-King Arthur clone Prince Colwyn and Lysette Anthony (with an overdubbed American voice) as his Leia-Guinevere Princess Lyssa, are mere formalities on which to hang the plot. Ironic fun can be had with the all-British supporting cast, which includes Todd Carty of Eastenders fame and Carry On's Bernard Bresslaw, as well as Robbie Coltrane, Liam Neeson and the gorgeous Francesca Annis.

On the DVD: Krull comes to DVD in an anamorphic widescreen print, preserving the luscious CinemaScope look of the theatrical release. The Dolby 5.1 sound lives up to the picture. There are two commentary tracks: on the first, director Peter Yates talks through the movie, with contributions from other crew members and leads Ken Marshall and Lysette Anthony. Oddly, the second audio track is just a reading of an article that originally appeared in the November 1982 issue of Cinefantastique magazine. There's also a half-hour "making-of" featurette originally produced to promote the movie at the time, the usual trailer, stills gallery and three talent profiles. --Mark Walker

Video Description
DVD Special Features:

"Journey To Krull" Featurette
2 Commentaries including Feature-Length Commentary by Cast and Crew
4 Galleries including SFX, Production Design and Costume
Behind-the-Scenes and Cast Portraits
Theatrical Trailer
Filmographies
Animated Menus
Multiple Language Choice: English, German, French
Multiple Language Subtitles: English, French, German, Polish, Czech, Bulgarian, Hungarian, Hindi, Turkish, Danish, Arabic, Swedish, Finnish, Icelandic, Dutch, Norwegian, Greek, Hebrew.

Synopsis
Fantasy meets science fiction in this visually spectacular tale of valiant Prince Colwyn (Ken Marshall) and Lyssa (Lysette Anthony), his young bride-to-be, who dwell in the mythical kingdom of Krull. During their wedding ceremony the Beast, a monstrous dark force of evil who threatens to rule their world, kidnaps the princess and hides her in his dark and forboding fortress. In order to save his prisoner bride and his kingdom from the evil powers of the Beast, Colwyn embarks on a heroic quest to find her. In order to accomplish this, though, he must first get his hands on the glaive, a magical weapon that is his only hope for slaying his fearsome enemy. With the help of an elderly leader and a band of magicians and rogues (including Liam Neeson), Colwyn sets out on an eye-opening journey throughout his kingdom, where evil slayers and mythical creatures under the possession of the evil Beast oppose him at every turn. Ultimately, Colwyn uncovers the mysterious whereabouts of the Dark Fortress and must battle the dark and powerful forces of the Beast to rescue his loving bride and save his kingdom from the clutches of the evil being. This highly entertaining fantasy adventure features state-of-the-art animation and visually stunning special effects that combine to create a dreamy and magical kingdom reminiscent of the legendary fantasy worlds of STAR WARS, EXCALIBUR, and WILLOW.

Customer Reviews

An all-action, mystical romp for all the family
I first saw this film as a wee, ankle-biting nipper, hot as it was on the heels of such sci-fi epics as Star Wars and Battlestar Galactica. This tale delved very much more into the territory of sword and sorcery, immersing you in the story of Colwyn as he seeks to save his girl from the "Beast", an interstellar-travelling, Stalinesque villain. The special effects may look dated when compared to the more modern day oeuvre, but you'll marvel at the bad 80s hair, Lysette Anthony's overdub, the early performances of pre-Qui-Gon Liam Nesson and EastEnders' Mark Fowler, and the fact that Bernard Bresslaw can play anything other than Sid James's sidekick. Freddie Jones also turns in a fantastic performance as Colwyn's Obi-Wan Kenobi style advisor, so you'd be mad to miss it! It also takes a much darker tone than many other space-based dramas, so watch out for a few surprises at the end.

Classic Fantasy.
This is a movie from the good old days when effects weren't considered to be the be-all and end-all of a good action film.
The film is good fun, and the heroes are likeable. This is one where you'll be supporting the good guys throughout.
The various challenges that the protagonists face throughout also add to the fact that this is more than just a no-brainer action movie.
A fair few good guys get wasted along the way which is nice to see every now and then as it brings a bit of darkness to the film and provokes different emotions depending on who goes.
Although when the Prince fights the 'end-boss' it ends up a little cheesy (you'll know when you watch), you'll still be satisfied as to the outcome at the movie's conclusion.
The plot, acting and even the dated effects are all good and set this film in the right frame as one of the best fantasy films so far alongside Willow (although it can't touch The Lord Of The Rings, which no other fantasy film can do anyway.) .

Classic Fantasy Film
OK, so this film won't stand up to todays modern CGI graphics. But it was good for it's time, and should be considered a classic! If you liked Willow or Dark Crystal, you'll like this.
For me, one of the best things about this film is the James Horner soundtrack. Composed just after his contribution to Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, it features many of the same trombones, french horns and trumpets.
If you like fantasy, magicians, cyclops, ugly alien monsters, and kick ass sound tracks, buy this!