The Devils I Know - NUMBER ONE
HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Welcome to the final entry for “The Devils I Know!” For this spooky time of year, I’ve spent all of October counting down My Top 31 Depictions of the Devil, from movies, television, video games, and more! And today, I unveil our topmost contender! Who is my favorite Devil? I’ll give you a hint: sunshine is his destroyer. NUMBER ONE IS…Tim Curry, from Legend.
If you know me especially well, then you probably already knew this would be my number one choice. But for those who don’t…I could just simply say “it’s Tim Curry playing the Devil, I don’t need any other reason,” and leave it at that (which, frankly, would be true), but I’m an old windbag who likes to ramble and pontificate, sooo…nope. I’m gonna talk all your ears of…or…um…type all your eyes out…that sounds terrible, ANYWAY…! Directed by Ridley Scott – famous for the “Alien” franchise, of all things – 1985’s “Legend” was a film meant to be an homage to classic fairy-tales of yore. It’s not directly based on any specific story, mind you; it’s simply meant to be a story that FEELS like a classic fairy-tale. The plot is essentially a conglomeration of various elements and tropes taking from many myths and fables, so it isn’t exactly the most complex or unique…but, to be honest, that’s part of the point. “Legend” is meant to feel like a story out of your past, a story we all know, despite being its own original piece, and it’s more about the fantasy and the spectacle than anything else. It is a feast for the eyes and the imagination, with some hidden meaning under its surface, much like so many illustrated fairy-tale storybooks of decades past were. Now, to be fair, these same elements can turn some people off from the film, so to speak (not me, but some people), but I’ve yet to hear ANYBODY complain about one thing in the film. That one thing – the one part everyone agrees is the best part of the picture – is its villain: Tim Curry as the Lord of Darkness, or simply “Darkness.” Darkness is, of course, the Devil: he essentially has two plans in the film sort of moving together. Darkness wants to first of all kill the last two unicorns in the world, as apparently the unicorns are angelic symbols of light, and, being Darkness, light isn’t exactly something he cares for much. (“Sunshine is my destroyer!” he recites a couple of times in the film.) He ends up getting some unwitting help from the beautiful but naive Princess Lili. This, for me, is where Darkness gets interesting: he actually falls in love with Lili. And…he actually means it! Yeah! He legitimately loves her, and wants to impress and please her. It doesn’t seem to be a mere case of lust, he’s not offering her anything in exchange for loving him, exactly…he just…loves her, and wants to marry her. Of course, being the Lord of Darkness, he has no idea how to properly EXPRESS and handle love. Lili is not receptive of his advances, and ends up actually using that love against him to trick him and help save the day at the end (ouch, poor devil…literally), but I’ve always found this specific element fascinating. Because the rest of the time, Darkness is a classic Devil in every way: a pure evil fiend with no real redeeming qualities and a lot of power and prestige. But this one sympathetic element really helps make him a more layered character, and helps to make an already amazing Devil even more amazing. Beyond the sympathy, what qualities make him amazing? Well, beyond all else, two things: the actor, and the costume and makeup. I mean…freaking LOOK AT THAT THING. My God…or…My Devil! Just…LOOK AT THAT THING. That has to be one of the greatest costume and makeup designs of any movie ever, without question. Curry is completely buried, literaly head to toe, in that makeup. In fact, there’s a story about how Curry tried desperately to keep his own eyes for the outfit, only for them to demand he wear special contact lenses to give him feline-like eyes. Curry grumbled as he put them in…but the moment he looked in the mirror, he immediately felt impressed by how he, himself, looked in the full regalia. And he deserved to be impressed, not only because the Devil in the film is MAGNIFICENT to behold – like a blood red living sculpture of evil beauty – but because Curry himself, through all that makeup, not to mention vocal effects that deepened his voice and gave it a powerful, unsettling echo, manages to give, in my opinion, possibly the finest performance in his entire career. This is, without a shadow of a doubt, my favorite Tim Curry performance, if nothing else, and part of it is how effortlessly he seems to pull it off; he just lives inside that costume and that makeup, as if it is nothing. You have no problem believing this Devil as a walking, living, mighty thing as Darkness strides across the screen. Curry was cast because, to paraphrase Ridley Scott, he felt that the actor could bring something “operatic” to the role, which was obviously desired. Indeed, Curry is his usual melodramatic self, but it’s in the best way: this is an imposing creature, ruling the room with every moment he has onscreen, but also so human with his more sympathetic qualities. When I think of Tim Curry, Darkness is one of the first things I think of. When I think of the Devil, again, Darkness is one of the first things I think of, if not THE first thing I think of. This is just how I would imagine the Devil to look and behave, beyond all else, and to me, that is what makes him so great. He has the right balance of so many qualities other Devils, before and after, have: he’s theatrical, yet he’s genuine; he’s malicious, he’s tragic; he’s a master manipulator, and a beast of the battlefield, all at the same time. It’s the full package. These facts, beyond all else, are what make the Lord of Darkness from “Legend” My Favorite Portrayal of the Devil. No more need be said. Thank you all for joining me! I hope you had fun with this crazy little list. And don’t worry: when and if the day comes I see what Old Scratch actually looks like, I’ll let you know if any of the plus-thirty versions I’ve covered were anywhere near the mark. ;)













