Welcome to The Best Movie You NEVER Saw, a column dedicated to examining films that have flown under the radar or gained traction throughout the years, earning them a place as a cult classic or underrated gem that was either before it’s time or has aged like a fine wine.
This week we’ll be looking at director Matthew Vaughn’s STARDUST, starring Charlie Cox, Michelle Pfeiffer, Claire Danes, Robert De Niro, Mark Strong, Sienna Miller, Peter O'Toole, Ben Barnes, Jason Flemyng, Rupert Everett, Ricky Gervais, and a barely recognizeable Henry Cavill.
THE STORY:
In a countryside town bordering on a magical land, a young man makes a promise to his beloved that he'll retrieve a fallen star by venturing into the magical realm.
THE PLAYERS:
Based on the novel by Neil Gaiman, STARDUST is written and directed by Matthew Vaughn (X-MEN: FIRST CLASS, KICK-ASS), and stars Charlie Cox (the upcoming Netflix/Marvel Daredevil series), Michele Pfeiffer, Claire Danes, Robert De Niro, Mark Strong, and Sienna Miller.
THE HISTORY:
Gaiman published the novel version of STARDUST in 1997, which featured illustrations throughout by artist Charles Vess. The rights were optioned in 1998 by Miramax, where it went through development hell until returning back to Gaiman, who courted both Matthew Vaughn and Terry Gilliam to adapt. Gilliam was burnt out on the genre after just doing THE BROTHERS GRIMM, while Vaughn was busy with LAYER CAKE. In 2005, after leaving X-MEN: THE LAST STAND, Vaughn dove back into STARDUST and signed on to direct.
Vaughn wrote the screenplay with Jane Goldman, who Gaiman recommended and would become a frequent collaborator for his future films. The original novel is a longer and more mature-themed tale, but Gaiman was hip to the fact that it would have to be compressed in order to fit into a feature, essentially saying that the film and novel versions could easily exist on their own.
Vaughn cast Charlie Cox tentatively as the lead, Tristan, but had him audition with actresses for the role of Yvaine in order to ensure onscreen chemistry. Originally, Sarah Michelle Gellar was offered the role (amongst others), but declined, leaving Claire Danes to swoop in and find the spark between the two characters.
STARDUST was shot predominantly at Pinewood Studios in England, but also in Iceland and Scotland for specific scenes in early 2006. The film tested well and was eventually released on August 10, 2007. It received favorable reviews and took home $38 million domestically and $135 million worldwide from a production budget of $70 million. While not a massive hit, the film fared decently, more so overseas than in the states and received predominantly positive ratings, sitting at 76% on RT. Given that, the film has slowly gained word-of-mouth traction, particularly for Vaughn’s involvement and a cast that continues to make waves in their own careers, including Charlie Cox, Claire Danes, and Mark Strong.
“I just read it and I felt like I could make my version of “The Princess Bride.” Basically, when I read it, it reminded me of “Princess Bride” and it reminded me of a movie called “Midnight Run” and I just felt I could combine the two and do something different and unique.” – Matthew Vaughn
WHY IT’S GREAT:
Having not read the original novel, I came to STARDUST with little expectations. I was familiar with Vaughn, of course, and that was the primary draw to the film initially (which I missed in theaters). What became very clear from the get go was that STARDUST wasn’t trying to be a game changer in the fantasy genre, but simply a great addition to it. Too often there’s a push to redefine a genre when making a new entry for it and STARDUST instead focuses on telling a fun, whimsical, and adventurous tale that fits perfectly within its wheelhouse, making it one of the best of its kind. It feels like a quirky fantasy adventure with balance, having plenty of strange and unusual, but not so much that it turns into a complete head-trip.
The film stars future Daredevil, Charlie Cox, as Tristan, the awkward son of a “magical scientist,” who leads a rather insignificant life, while pining for the local beauty, played by Sienna Miller. Tristan lives in a small village called Wall, which is on the border of a magical realm called Stormhold. One evening while attempting to woo Miller’s resident love interest (who is "spoken for" by a sandy-haired/moustached Henry Cavill), Tristan sees a star falling from the sky. He vows that he will retrieve it for her hand in marriage, to which she agrees. The star in question was knocked from the sky when the dying king of Stormhold tossed his ruby necklace into the sky, proclaiming that whichever of his conniving sons retrieve it first shall be the new king, setting them all on a murderous journey to retrieve it.
“I insisted on having an unknown. That was one character I knew should be an unknown actor, ’cause I just that for the journey of Tristan, to really buy him as a geeky guy becoming a hero, you had to have an actor who is not know, so when you meet him first of all, you cannot imagine him looking like a king at the end of the film. I also thought you go on the journey of going from a boy to man and even the journey of him encountering all this stuff, I remember as a kid, I had no idea who Luke Skywalker was in the sense of Mark Hammill, and I didn’t even know who Han Solo was. All these characters, Han Solo was Han Solo and Luke Skywalker was Luke, and I really believe that if you can get away with making movies without movie stars, films would always be better, because you always know it’s a movie star playing the role once you become famous.” – Matthew Vaughn
Meanwhile, another group of cretins observe the falling star: witches. Led by Michelle Pfeiffer, a coven of three sister witches, old and rotting, also join the hunt for the star, which they plan to cut out its heart in order to sustain their lives, magic, and beauty. However, once the star collides with Earth it takes on the form of a beautiful woman named Yvaine (Claire Danes) and she awakens from her crash with a very familiar ruby necklace on. Tristan is the first to find Yvaine and apprehends her, kicking off their journey, which has everyone chasing the star for one reason or another.
You get all that? It sounds way more complicated than it is and once all that set up is done (which is still “fun” set up) the film quickly becomes a cat-and-mouse chase film filled with magical encounters, dastardly villains, wayward lightning pirates, and of course a burgeoning love story. Sound too sappy? It’s not, I assure you. Vaughn handles the proceedings deftly, balancing the humor, action, and effects with equal measure, never letting the film devolve into one particular aspect. It’s a goofy story, really, as fantasy goes, but it works perfectly within that context. This isn’t Lord of the Rings, nor does it want to be. The tone is perfectly light, but has just enough attitude, edge, and originality that you never feel trapped by a rating.
“Tolkien is wonderful, I am a huge fan of LORD OF THE RINGS, but having said that it’s always been something where you look at LORD OF THE RINGS and it changed everything everybody did in fantasy ever after and what fascinated me was that period, back before 1930, where every now and then people would write fantasy… they’d write fairy stories. They’d write magical stories and those magical stories that they’d write would be… they’d be just like regular novels. It’s not like there was a fantasy shelf for the stuff to go on. They’d just write the novel, which would happen to be sort of a fairytale. That’s what my attitude was with STARDUST. I wanted to write something were it was absolutely its own thing… it was different, but it felt like a fantasy. It was always going to be a romance and I wanted it to be a romance that felt… even when I was writing it, I had the model of the old screwball comedies in my head. Sort of things like IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT, the idea of a couple on the road who hate each other that are going to end up eventually falling in love.” – Neil Gaiman
Vaughn’s energy is ever present in STARDUST and it’s thankfully light on computer visual effects, giving it a much more realistic atmosphere, while still supplying enough that you feel like you’re in a magical world. The director makes ample use of the sweeping locations and relies largely on the performances to do most of the heavy lifting. In an age of oversaturated VFX, STARDUST is refreshingly moderate in that department. The score by Ilan Eshkeri is another great attribute that plays a large role in setting up the tone of the film. Eshkeri’s swashbuckling themes and airy interludes help give the film an adventurous charm that fits the material perfectly. A great score all around.
There are two other things that make STARDUST such an absolute blast and you’d expect no less from them, even if they never share a scene together in the film; Michelle Pfeiffer and Robert De Niro. Pfeiffer plays the lead witch, Lamia, with equal parts humor and villainous spirit, while De Niro plays the Lightning Pirates’ Captain Shakespeare with a very unexpected twist; a flamboyant crossdresser behind closed doors and a merciless pirate in the open. This is not your TAXI DRIVER De Niro, that’s for sure, but he hams it up wonderfully, making this quite possibly one of his most “fun” performances ever. For Pfeiffer it’s just nice to see her take on something with a bit more bite, while still capitalizing on her charm and considerable beauty. Clearly, both esteemed actors enjoyed their parts here.
“What I felt about the script was that it wasn't your typical fantasy. It wasn't any one genre, it's a lot of genres mixed into one. It's an adventure story, it's romantic, it's magical, it's dark, it's incredibly funny. And at the same time it had a very modern tone to it. Then when I talked to Matthew and he talked more specifically about the character and the direction he wanted it to take, and the commentary he wanted to make on society's obsession with youth and beauty, and poke fun on that, and I thought was kind of risky and courageous and unusual for a male to be thinking about that. Plus he's so young, I wondered why he'd even be thinking about that. So all of those reasons, plus it was one of those things where I knew if I didn't do it, I'd regret it! I really didn't want to see anyone else in this part.” – Michelle Pfeiffer
Vaughn banked on Cox and Danes to have the right onscreen chemistry to make the film work and he put his money on the right horse(s). Cox goes from zero to hero with all the awkward steps and heroic beats that make for a strong character arc, while Danes is simply a vision to look at, while bringing her usual neurotic playfulness and innocent grace. Both actors tap-dance around the reluctant romance with heart and magnetism. In short, it works. You want these two to be together and save the day, all while facing off against nefarious princes and diabolical witches. There’s nothing more annoying than a cheesy love story getting in the way of an otherwise entertaining story and, thankfully, these two make the journey all the better.
STARDUST is not a classic and it’s not going to topple the bigger flicks of the genre, but it surely earns its place among them, particularly films like THE PRINCESS BRIDE, WILLOW, or PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN (the first one, that is). For those tired of the ultra dark, doom-and-gloom, VFX-filled fantasy tales that feature cardboard cutout heroes and villains, I offer the elixir of STARDUST, which is sure to cleanse the palate and show that there’s plenty of room in the genre to have a little fun.
BEST SCENE:
There’s a ton of cool scenes in STARDUST, but my personal favorite is the showdown at the end, which has Mark Strong’s freshly killed evil prince reanimated for a sword fight against our hero, Tristan. It’s a really fun, cool, and clever sequence and really encapsulates the film’s spirit overall, balancing action, fantasy, and humor all at once with a nimble touch.
SEE IT:
STARDUST is currently available to stream on Netflix. You can get the blu-ray here!
PARTING SHOT:
“My heart’s desire when I was 17 or 18 would have been just the idea of being an author. Not even being an author, just having a book with your name on the spine and your name in big letters on the front and what more could anybody want? Like Tristran, I was a simple lad. Part of the fun for me about Stardust is just the idea that everybody sets out to get their heart’s desire and most people who get it discover it wasn’t really what they wanted at all. – Neil Gaiman
Oh, and just for fun, here's a side-by-side comparison of Henry Cavill in STARDUST (as Humphrey) and in BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE. Crazy how things worked out, eh?
And here's another pic of Michelle Pfeiffer…just because…