10 Things You Didn’t Know About Krull

Krull is the kind of fantasy/science fiction madness that either tickles your fancy beyond belief or totally misses the spot. It is recognizable for looking medieval while also being futuristic and strange for the creatures and lazer guns. Things aren’t as they seem, is what I’m saying. If you’re a fan of early 80’s fantasy then you’ve certainly heard of Krull and if you’ve seen it you’re most definitely wondered how it didn’t make a bigger impact on the world of film. Well, here we are all these years later, and we’re about to deliver 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Krull.

1- Stage and Locations: Krull was mostly filmed using 10 sound stages at the famous Pinewood Studios in England. Exterior shots were done later for the film in Italy.

2- 007: The 007 stage was an enormous stage that they used to film many of the outdoor scenes for the film. They used it for two separate scenes during the making of the film. It was such a large stage that it would develop its own atmosphere and you would sometimes get rain inside of it because of the humidity.

3- We need a hero: Ken Marshall’s preparation for his role included horse riding lessons, fencing lessons, and many hours of boxing. All under the supervision of stunt coordinator Vic Armstrong. He would go on to completing as many stunts as possible, as well.

4- The music: One of the most memorable things about the film has to be the music. It was composed by James Horner. He would later win an Oscar for Titanic. He was brought on very early in the film to get a feeling of the film before he composed the music.

5- Horse king: It took months of training to get the 16 Clydesdale horses prepared for filming. Stunt coordinator Vic Armstrong was eventually able to train the horses to run on a treadmill. They filmed the scenes with the fire mares running at super speed against a blue screen.

6- Young and pretty: Lysette Anthony was only 17 during filming of Krull. At one point the character of Lyssa was going to be the antagonist at the end but they didn’t want her to appear “less than pure”.

7- The dubbing: That makes the decision to dub over Anthony’s voice even more odd, to me. The producers apparently wanted the voice of Lyssa to sound more mature so they brought in Lindsay Crouse to dub over her lines.

8- Loud noises: Director Peter Yates would often use loud sounds or something totally surprising on set to get a reaction out of his actors on set. They began to grow used to it by the end of shooting, according to Ken Marshall. Lysette Anthony mentions production members standing with buckets on their head in place of the Beast in scenes.

9- The Beast’s crib: The sequence of the Beast’s fortress exploding was filmed with the structure upside down and falling with the video later being reversed. The dust was all added in post to give it a greater effect.

10- The money: The film has been estimated to have spent between $30-$47 million. It ended up being a critical and commercial failure after only bringing in around $16 million at the box office. It was released the same year as Return of the Jedi and was hindered by that film’s success. Krull is still, very much, a cult film for many lovers of fantasy. It fits in nicely with the other swords and sorcery films of the 80’s while still feeling very original.