Masters of the Universe (1987)

Director:

Gary Goddard

Writer:

David Odell (written by)

Release Date:

7 August 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Fantasy | Music | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

A Battle Fought In The Stars. Now... Comes To Earth.

Plot:

A life-action feature film based on the popular cartoon kids show about a prince turned warrior named He-Man.

Plot Keywords:

He Man | Key | Castle | Sorceress | Evil

Awards:

2 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Dolph Lundgren	...	He-Man
Frank Langella	...	Skeletor
Meg Foster	...	Evil-Lyn
Billy Barty	...	Gwildor
Courteney Cox	...	Julie Winston
Robert Duncan McNeill	...	Kevin Corrigan
Jon Cypher	...	Duncan (Man-at-Arms)
Chelsea Field	...	Teela
James Tolkan	...	Detective Lubic
Christina Pickles	...	Sorceress of Castle Grayskull
Tony Carroll	...	Beastman
Pons Maar	...	Saurod
Anthony De Longis	...	Blade
Robert Towers	...	Karg
Barry Livingston	...	Charlie

Also Known As:

Masters of the Universe: The Motion Picture (USA) (promotional title)
Les maîtres de l'univers (Canada: French title) (France) [fr]
He-Man dünyalar hâkimi (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
He-Man universums härskare (Sweden) [sv]
I dominatori dell'universo (Italy) [it]
Los amos del universo (Venezuela) [es]
Masters del universo (Spain) [es]
Masters of the Universe (Greece) [el]
Masters of the Universe (Finland) [fi]

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Netherlands:MG6 | Iceland:10 | Argentina:Atp | Canada:PG | Chile:TE | Finland:K-12/9 | France:U | Sweden:11 | UK:PG | USA:PG | West Germany:12 | Australia:PG | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Iceland

Company:

Golan-Globus Productions

Trivia:

Many viewers reviewed the motion picture in comparison to the cartoon, when it really was an adaptation of the toys only (which initially depicted He-Man as a barbarian in the first mini-comics (not Prince Adam or Orko). Ed Pressman was interested in the property before the cartoon was even aired and Filmation had no involvement whatsoever in the film.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Evil-Lyn introduces the bounty hunters to Skeletor, they change position between shots.

Quotes:

Blade: [sword-fighting with He-Man] I've waited a long time for this!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (1986) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Waitin' Up

A lot of fun! Some great performances as well...

I first saw this movie way back in the 80's, and recently got hold of the DVD. I'm pleased to say I still enjoyed it as much as I did back then! While the decision to place part of the story in 1980's suburban America, planet Earth, was no doubt a way to keep the budget low, the end result is still a lot of fun, and the main characters manage to stay pretty close to their original characters. Naturally, though, I'd loved to have seen some more of Eternia instead. Unfortunately, the promised sequel never came to be.

Frank Langella is simply brilliant; his bigger-then-life portrayal of Skeletor may be different from what they did in the TV series, but it works great. He commands every scene he is in, and his performance is powerful yet subtle at certain moments. Wonderful! By the way, be sure to watch until the end credits are over...

Dolph Lundgren, while perhaps not quite the eloquent thespian Langella is, does make a formidable old-fashioned hero.