The Film Talk » Escapism Festival Preview #1: The Last Unicorn

Escapism Festival Preview #1: The Last Unicorn

October 15th, 2009by Gareth Higgins · Comments

last unicorn

In preparation for this weekend’s Escapism Film Festival, I’ve been watching a film I didn’t see on its first release – 1982’s ‘The Last Unicorn‘. I remember it being released, but even at 7 years old, I was sure I knew what kind of movies were for girls (having experienced ‘Annie‘ at the Savoy Cinema in Bangor, now a nursing home, only a few months prior) and which were for boys (I only had to wait a little while for the miracle that was ‘BMX Bandits’). So I missed ‘Unicorn’, but I know that a lot of people my age think it was one of the most magical films of their childhood. It doesn’t mean that much to me – but I can see why some people are captivated.

I’m going to try to offer one sentence reviews of each of the films that are screening at the Carolina Theatre this weekend – while ‘The Last Unicorn’ is an acquired taste, there’s plenty of assured classics to see too – ‘Dr Strangelove’, ‘Superman’, and ‘Planet of the Apes’ among them, and hope you might join Jett and I for a couple of days of real nostalgia if you can. The Festival is a labor of love, and needs to sell at least a thousand tickets if it’s going to be able to take place again next year; I’ve already bought ten of them; but if you’re near the Triangle, it would be great to see you there.

For now, ‘The Last Unicorn’ gets its one sentence review:

The most striking thing about this film that features Mia Farrow, Jeff Bridges, and Robert Klein, among many others, is that from the opening moments you are aware of two things: this is not a Disney film; and it has character.

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Tags: Animation · Carolina Theatre · Film Festivals · Gareth Higgins

Tom

Recently re-watched BMX Bandits, and I hate to shatter some good memories but it was pretty dreadful - lots of unintentional laughs though.

Also saw Explorers, that forgotten Joe Dante film of the 80s. The Jerry Goldsmith score kept reminding me of Innerspace, which came later. Only of interest to me to see a 10 year old Ethan Hawk and spot the mannerisms so familiar to me in Before Sunrise/Sunset.

slyboots

The Last Unicorn is one of the markers in my past I can point back to and say, definitively, THAT helped shape me into the person I am today. Which is to say, a flaming nerd, and a girl one at that. It broke my tender heart right in two at such a SAD story, with such a bittersweet ending that you hardly see in movies any more, let alone an ostensible child's movie. I wept when I was 6, I wept when I met Peter S. Beagle and shook his hand and explained what an impact his creation had on my life, and will undoubtedly weep on Sunday when I take my three nieces, who are 6, 14, and 17. All little girls deserve unicorns. I am very excited.

StanleyRumm

Neither here nor there, but this reminded me of something... A gang of us wanted to go see the latest movie that was being hyped on every channel at the time (that means _both_ channels -it was the early 80s). The movie was The Last Flight of Noah's Ark... starring thefilmtalk's recent guest Mr. Elliot Gould -still hot property at the time, at least round chez Rumm.
But it was sold out! Full House! So someone said c'mon let's go to the other ark one. None of us knew what that was about, but figured it'd be much of a muchness. "How come there are two films about Noah's Ark all of a sudden?" we wondered, paying the money completely oblivious to what we were about to see. My eleven/twelve year old brain had never considered seeing a melting face before, but the climax to Raiders especially left me glued to the spot.
It was far more terrifying to me than The Exorcist or anything else I had seen up to then.
It was a special "cinematic discovery" I think I've spent my life trying to repeat -go in knowing absolutely nothing about a film, with no expectations either way and being totally blown away by it.

I never did get to see The Last Flight of Noah's Ark. I wonder where is it now? I don't think I saw The Last Unicorn either.
Ho hum.

kiley

OMG! I LOVED THE LAST UNICORN!! heh heh heh...when ur a young child u let movies get away with a lot: laybrynth, dark crystal, unico...legend....looking back, movies for kids in the 80s were really dark and meta-physical, (Flight of the Navagator was very disturbing to me, probably should give it another watch now i'm older...)and i mean 'Dungeons & Dragons' was a saturday morning cartoon!! times have really changed...

and OMG professor doctor! I LOVED BMX Bandits and The Dirt Bike Kid!