Remember..... you will die.

January 8, 2016 3:32 AM

Looking for a mechanical clock like the one seen in Ridley Scott's Legend (1985). It's a memento mori clock that Lily sees in the peasant cottage. Does anyone remember it?

In one of the early scenes in Ridley Scott's Legend (1985) Lily sees a memento mori mechanical clock in the little cottage she visits. When the clock strikes, a lady comes out of a little door in the bottom, followed by a dancing, fiddle playing (??) skeleton.

I would LOVE a timepiece like this. I can't seem to find anything like it. I've tried looking for/at cuckoo clocks, memento mori timepieces, mechanical clocks, etc. to no avail.

I've seen other memento mori clocks that have skeletons - but not the kind of movement I want: with the skeleton actually coming after the woman-figure.

Can anyone help me? Am I searching wrong?

posted by Dressed to Kill to Shopping (3 answers total)

Best answer: There is always the possibility that the film's set designer simply modified an existing mantel clock by replacing the usual dancing figurines with the woman and Death. If you are in any way crafty, modifying an old Black Forest cuckoo clock might give you something with a similar feel although the figures would be small and above the clock face. A vintage German weather house/chalet with a clock would have larger figurines below the clock face.
posted by Ariadne at 5:36 AM on January 8, 2016

Somehow I haven't seen Legend before, so I looked around to see if I could find a picture of the clock in question.

Clock is prominently displayed starting at 7:50, if you have a way to see the film (ahem, ahem).

If you're feeling really bold, you could try reaching out to the artists who worked on the film and see how that clock came about...uh...30 years ago.
posted by enfa at 9:17 AM on January 8, 2016

Here's a still image of the clock from enfa's second "ahem" link. In the video, the figures process in front of the clock face.
posted by Nelson at 9:49 AM on January 8, 2016 [1 favorite]