Masters of the Universe

"A battle fought in the stars...now comes to Earth."

1987 1h 46m EN

😐

5.9

MID

🥫

21%

ROTTEN

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

5.4

IMDB

★5.9TMDB · 1,185🥫21%Rotten Tomatoes●35Metacritic★5.4IMDB · 53,644

ActionFamilyFantasyAdventure

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

When He-Man is driven from Eternia after Skeletor seizes Castle Grayskull, a stolen portal device strands the fight on Earth, where a pair of teenagers become entangled in a war that spans worlds.

“A battle fought in the stars...now comes to Earth.”

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Cast

Dolph Lundgren
He-Man
Frank Langella
Skeletor
Billy Barty
Gwildor
Jon Cypher
Man-at-Arms
Courteney Cox
Julie Winston
James Tolkan
Lubic
Chelsea Field
Teela
Robert Duncan McNeill
Kevin

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Gary Goddard
Writers: David Odell
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 79% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

39 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Gary Goddard, shot by Hanania Baer. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Bill Conti. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Anne V. Coates shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Dolph Lundgren and Frank Langella and Billy Barty carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "A battle fought in the stars...now comes to Earth.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0093507 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Gary Goddard directs. Hanania Baer behind the camera. Bill Conti scores. Anne V. Coates cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 79% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
239 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Directed by Gary Goddard, shot by Hanania Baer. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Bill Conti. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Anne V. Coates shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Dolph Lundgren and Frank Langella and Billy Barty carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "A battle fought in the stars...now comes to Earth.".
8IMDB entry: tt0093507 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 11 themes, including "skeleton", "saving the world", "key", "superhero".
10Released under 15 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Hanania Baer
Original score: Bill Conti
Editing: Anne V. Coates
Production design: William Stout
Costume design: Julie Weiss
Makeup / hair: Todd McIntosh
VFX supervisor: Garry Waller
Sound: Dean Okrand
Stunt coordinator: Loren Janes
Runtime: 106 min · 1h 46m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $22,000,000
Box office: $17,336,370
Return: 79% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Masters of the Universe (1987)
Rotten Tomatoes: 21% 🥫 Rotten
Metacritic: 35/100
IMDB rating: 5.4/10 · 53,644 votes
MPAA: PG

Awards

2 wins & 5 nominations total

Also by

Gary Goddard

Hershey's Really Big! 3D Show
2002

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Peter89Spencer2021-07-25
★ 9/10
Somehow, Dolph Lundgren portrayed He-Man brilliantly! This was an epic classic. And it had a young Courtney Cox!
GenerationofSwine2023-01-12
★ 10/10
Masters of the Universe, at least the cartoon and toys, were one of the reasons I am so happy I had a childhood in the 80s... along with GI Joe and Star Wars, they were some of the most defining things of 80s childhood play. And then this came out and we all felt a little cheated that we had a knock-off Orco, but totally excited that we had a movie we could see on the big screen. And we were young enough to not see how low the budget was. But, man, Frank Langella really sold his role didn't he? He brought his A-Game to this and knocked it out of the park. And Chelsea Field deserved better roles, she's never been bad in any of her films, even this low budget fair. But, watching it as an adult... it's a lot more B-Movie than it was when I was a kid, and the nostalgia and, well, Langella, are all that's really carrying it. But it's still fun. It still entertains, and is still all that matters.
Filipe Manuel Neto2023-07-06
★ 2/10
The glorious "greasy sci-fi" of the 80s: who doesn't miss the days when a rough rubber mask was a good idea in a movie? I'm not really a comic connoisseur. It was only when I read about this film that I realized that the characters had been taken from that literary universe and from a line of action toys created by the American company Mattel. This is something that helped me to understand the sheer confusion and goofiness of this film, which I think only toy fans will truly appreciate. The best thing about this movie is the cast. There are some very respectable actors here, and their commitment and talent is remarkable, raising the quality of a cheesy movie quite a bit. Frank Langella's involvement is particularly good. He gave life to the great villain, a being called Skeletor, who looks like Darth Vader in the day he decided to go to Halloween dressed as Death. The character himself isn't impressive, he's a huge cliché without any intimidation ability, but Langella is really enjoying and having fun with this work. On the opposite side is Dolph Lundgren, a herculean and apparently invulnerable young man who came out of the world of combat sports, who doesn't know how to play and has the dramatic qualities of an avocado, but who manages to respond to what is asked of the character. Meg Foster, the proud owner of one of the most beautiful pairs of eyes of her time, has a charisma of her own and does a very good work. But let's be honest, is anyone going to see a movie just for the cast? I do not think so. It's a good argument, but it doesn't take anyone to the theatre by itself. Does the movie have anything else? Do you have qualities? Is it really worth it? There are audiences for all types of cinema, including kitsch, trash and B cinema. The proof of this is the success of some films that would never convince a person with the least amount of good taste. Therefore, I believe that lovers of “oily sci-fi” will be delighted with this magnificent piece of cheese with a very characteristic taste of the 80s. We have everything: stilted action scenes, choreographed like a Russian ballet, extraordinarily cheap special effects, “DIY” level, a very poor script, characters reduced to sketches, dialogues more melodramatic than a Mexican soap opera, crude make-up (Langella's mask is particularly bad) and many laser shots, in the golden age of lasers and neon. One last word for the soundtrack, bloated and arrogant like a 16-year-old on steroids.