Masters of the Universe (film)

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Movie
German title Masters of the Universe
Original title Masters of the Universe
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1987
length 101 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Gary Goddard
script David Odell ,
Stephen Tolkin ,
Gary Goddard
production Yoram Globus ,
Menahem Golan
music Bill Conti
camera Hanania Baer
cut Anne V. Coates
occupation
synchronization

Masters of the Universe is an American science fiction film from 1987 directed by Garry Goddard . It is based on the Mattel action figure series of the same name . In the USA he grossed around 17.3 million US dollars. The film was produced by Cannon Films . The film opened in German cinemas on December 17, 1987.

action

Skeletor, the Lord of Evil, has almost managed to usurp control of the distant planet Eternia. The defenders of Eternia are defeated and their home and Castle Grayskull have been conquered by Skeletor. He holds his guardian, the sorceress of Castle Grayskull, captive and drains her of her life energy. His ultimate goal, however, is to use the magic of the castle to usurp cosmic power in order to become the ultimate master of the universe.

He-Man, Duncan (aka Man-at-Arms) and his daughter Teela are among the last free defenders of Eternia. In a fight against one of Skeletor's patrols, they meet the dwarf Gwildor, the inventor of a device called the Cosmic Key, which is able to create gates through space and time. Evil-Lyn stole the secret of the key from Gwildor and delivered it to Skeletor, who was able to start his surprise attack against the Eternier with his help. However, Gwildor still has a working prototype and he agrees to help He-Man and his friends.

When trying to free the sorceress, the friends of Skeletor's troops are surprised and have to use the key to escape; they land on earth in 1987 by chance. The cosmic key is lost and is found by the teenage couple Julie Winston and Kevin Corrigan when they visit the grave of Julie's parents. At this moment Julie is about to move out of the area. She recently lost her parents in a plane crash and blames herself for having wanted to spend the day with her; when she refused because of Kevins, they had decided on that fateful flight.

Kevin, an amateur musician, thinks the cosmic key (that works with music) is a modern synthesizer . The unwitting activation of the key puts Skeletor on the trail of the refugees, and he sends his bounty hunters to earth. He-Man and his friends manage to locate the key at the same time, and they can save Julie and Kevin from access by Skeletor's henchmen. However, this causes Skeletor to come to earth even with a force. He-Man is captured and Skeletor returns to Eternia with him. Arrived in Grayskull, he usurped the ultimate power and transformed into a god-like being; and he tries to use torture and magic to get He-Man to submit to him and thereby break him.

Duncan, Teela, Gwildor, Kevin and Julie, fatally injured by Skeletor's magic, are left on Earth, along with Gwildor's key, which was damaged in battle. Gwildor succeeds in repairing the key, but cannot remember the sequence of notes that she can bring back to Eternia and that was in the key's memory, which has now been deleted. But Kevin, who was able to activate the key now and then, remembers the sequence and succeeds in reactivating the key. The group is transported directly to Castle Grayskull, where the decisive battle takes place. He-Man can free himself and defeat Skeletor despite his new strength in a duel, rob him of his power and throw him down a deep shaft.

Julie is healed by the sorceress, and in thanks for her help in the fight against Skeletor, the Eternians send her and Kevin not only back to Earth, but also through time. This is how Julie can prevent her parents from leaving for their flight. However, she and Kevin still remember all the adventures they had with the Eternians, and in a crystal that the sorceress had given them, they see He-Man and Castle Grayskull again.

synchronization

The German-language dubbing was done by Deutsche Synchron under the dialogue direction of Michael Richter.

role actor speaker
He-Man Dolph Lundgren Manfred Lehmann
Skeletor Frank Langella Engelbert von Nordhausen
Teela Chelsea Field Karin Buchholz
Kevin Corrigan Robert Duncan McNeill Charles Rettinghaus
Julie Winston Courteney Cox Bettina Spier
Blade Anthony De Longis Thomas Wolff
Charlie Barry Livingston Hans-Jürgen Dittberner
Detective Lubic James Tolkan Friedrich G. Beckhaus
Duncan (Man-at-Arms) Jon Cypher Frank Glaubrecht
Evil-Lyn Meg Foster Viola Sauer
Gwildor Billy Barty Hans-Werner Bussinger
Saurod Pons Maar Eberhard Prüter
Meager Robert Towers Eberhard Prüter

Reviews

  • Cinema : "Stupid, but effective."
  • Lexicon of international film : “Adventurous trivial epic that brings popular toy characters to cinematic life; a dull show with occasional ironic swipes. "
  • The Washington Post : "Little kids at play have come up with craftier plots, better characterization and conceivably more spectacular effects - provided their mothers let them play with matches." also better special effects - provided their mothers let them play with matches. ")

Awards

Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films
  • Silver roll of parchment in 1988 for director Garry Goddard for Outstanding Achievement ;
  • Nominations for the Saturn Awards 1988 in the categories of Best Science Fiction Film , Best Costumes ( Julie Weiss ) and Best Special Effects ( Richard Edlund );
Festival Internacional de Cinema do Porto (Fantasporto) 1988
  • International Fantasy Film Award for Best Special Effects;
  • Nomination for the International Fantasy Film Award for Best Film;
Golden Raspberry 1988
  • Nomination for Worst Supporting Actor for Billy Barty;

Frames

The German VHS cassettes from Cannon have been shortened by about a minute of plot, especially scenes that characterize Julie more. The television broadcasts, on the other hand, are (with the exception of a few first broadcasts) all unabridged. An official German DVD was released on November 6, 2009.

Sequels and remakes

  • After the end credits , Skeletor lifts his head out of a lake and says “I will be back” (Eng .: “I'll be back”), which left a back door open for a planned but unfinished sequel.
  • In the sequel, Laird Hamilton would replace Dolph Lundgren as He-Man and Albert Pyun would direct.
  • Parts of the sequel with the working title Masters of the Universe II had already been shot when the production company Cannon Films was no longer able to make outstanding payments to Mattel due to financial problems and therefore the rights to the Masters of the Universe franchise lost. Production was discontinued and parts of the material that had been filmed as well as the staff, sets and costumes were used for the film Cyborg . Cyborg was at times incorrectly shown on US television as Masters of the Universe II: The Cyborg .
  • In 2004 rumors grew that John Woo was planning to make a new Masters of the Universe film. There was much speculation about the actors of the main characters He-Man and Skeletor: Nicolas Cage was in discussion as Skeletor, but denied this, Paul Walker , Dwayne Johnson and Paul Levesque were named for He-Man . The script was supposed to be written by Adam Rifkin . Since his designs could not convince and John Woo was not available for a long time, the production company Fox returned the film rights to Masters of the Universe to Mattel in 2000.
  • In the spring of 2007, a message appeared about a remake by the production company Warner Brothers . Producer Joel Silver ( Matrix ) is said to have been hired and he hired Justin Marks to write a script.
  • Columbia Pictures announced in the spring of 2015 that Jeff Wadlow had written a script for a film and that it was ready to begin production.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Certificate of Approval for Masters of the Universe . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , October 2009 (PDF; test number: 58 870 V).
  2. ↑ Statistics from BoxOfficeMojo
  3. ↑ Masters of the Universe. In: synchronkartei.de. German synchronous index , accessed on October 4, 2017 .
  4. ↑ http://www.cinema.de/film_aktuell/filmdetail/film/?typ=inhalt&film_id=25538
  5. ↑ Masters of the Universe. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  6. ↑ https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/mastersoftheuniversepgkempley_a0ca67.htm
  7. ↑ http://www.moviegod.de/kino/meldung/8950/he-man-fox-2000-gibt-die-filmrechte-zurueck-an-mattel
  8. ↑ http://movies.ign.com/articles/791/791404p1.html
  9. ↑ http://www.techtimes.com/articles/24534/20150105/he-man-masters-of-the-universe-script-is-complete-movie-coould-go-into-production-soon.htm