Dragonslayer [DVD]

If you are a fan of fantasy then you must see this film. I can remember watching this film for the first time and was amazed at how real the dragon looks. The scenes at the end of the film are spectacular.

No talking and goody goody dragons here! This dragon is as evil and twisted as they come. A must see...It rivals any other dragon special effects even to this day. I guarantee that you will not be disappointed.

The special effects team who animated this dragon, as far back as 1981 , deserve every penny they made...

Outstanding!

In the early 1980s there was a spate of fantasy movies -- ranging from movies like "Conan the Barbarian" and "Excalibur", to distinctly B-grade productions like "The Sword and the Sorceror", and "Hawk the Slayer". This was probably due to the phenomenal success of "Star Wars", as science fiction and fantasy have always marched pretty closely beside one another as genres. "Dragonslayer" was one of the better films of this type, and the movie's lack of financial success is frankly inexplicable to me. The best guess I can make to account for it is that the movie is not so action packed as "Star Wars" or "Conan the Barbarian", and not quite so fast paced, so perhaps audiences were let down by that. But it's still a great movie. The production values are second to none. The film perfectly captures the look of the Dark Ages -- the early medieval period, no more than a century or two after the fall of the Roman Empire. This was a time when records were scanty, many communities were more isolated than at any time before or since, Christianity was a new religion, and just one faith among many, and a time when people really believed in magic and the supernatural. It is the PERFECT setting for such a movie. The cast is superbly chosen. Peter MacNicol makes a good Galen, who is naive, brash, and possesses the arrogant confidence of youth, but who finally comes to understand he didn't have it all as completely figured out as he thought. Ralph Richardson, in one of his last roles, is superb as the wise old sorceror. Peter Eyre is thoroughly believable as the weak-willed king of Urland (presumably one of the smaller kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England) who has made what he sincerely believes is the best bargain he can make with an invincible supernatural creature. John Hallam is a charismatic, though ultimately villanous king's henchman. And Caitlin Clarke is cast perfectly as a woman who is just barely androgynous enough to pass for a boy, and yet just barely attractive enough to pass for a romantic interest for Peter MacNicol's character.

What is most surprising, perhaps, is the dragon. It was breathtaking in 1981. Today it still looks pretty good. Obviously, it's not quite as realistic as today's CGI creatures. But given the limitations of pre-CGI special effects, it's still really impressive, and doesn't look completely dated like, for example, the 1933 Kong does, or like the Kraken from "Clash of the Titans" another film that came out the same year as this one. The "go-motion" techniques they used to film the dragon Vermithrax would be superseded by CGI effects before too many years had passed, but they were still a huge improvement on the stop motion animation that was previously the only way to put such mythical creatures on the screen.

This movie benefits from a really good story, great special effects, a first rate cast, and cinematography that is positively superlative. It should have done better at the box office. Some movies just don't get fully appreciated till later. "Bladerunner" is another such movie. While this movie has not been as influential as "Bladerunner", it has, like that movie, been more appreciated since it was released than it was at the time of its debut. Great fantasy movies are really pretty thin on the ground. This movie is one of the better ones.

Ultimately, "Dragonslayer" succeeds where the vast majority of monster movies fail, which is the point at which you get to see the creature and it is a big disappointment. Very few movies had really great monsters when I was growing up and you get to the point where you just expect them to be bad. Even when the make up is pretty good, say Boris Karloff in the original version of "The Mummy" or Oliver Reed in "The Curse of the Werewolf," you get shorted on how often the monster actually gets to be on screen. "Dragonslayer" ups the ante because there is a big build up to the point when you finally get to see the dragon. But for my money it is well worth the wait because the folks at Industrial Light & Magic delivery even though we are talking 1981 special effects.

The story in "Dragonslayer" combines a couple of recognizable plot lines from the fantasy genre. First there is the hapless young apprentice, Galen (Peter MacNicol), trying to learn his craft from a great wizard, Ulrich (Ralph Richardson). I am certainly reminded of Mickey Mouse from "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" in "Fantasia," except that Galen is a lot more earnest. Second, there is the fact that Casiodorus Rex (Peter Eyre), the ruler of the land, has been sacrificing virgins to keep the local dragon from leveling the countryside. Young Valerian (Caitlin Clarke) arrives to beseech Ulrich, the last wizard around, to kill the dragon, which is probably the last of its kind as well.

The only problem is that Ulrich has died, which means that young Galen has to become a dragonslayer. Galen wants to do the great deed for the right reasons, but there is also the Princess Elspeth (Chloe Salaman) to consider, along with all the other young virgins forced to participate in the grim lottery. Casiodorus is not thrilled by the prospect of the fate of his kingdom resting on the shoulders of Galen, so he tries to thwart the young man's plans. However, there is somebody who thinks that the rules of the game in Urland have to be changed.

Beyond the Oscar nominated special effects (and musical score by Alex North) what makes "Dragonslayer" work is that it takes place in a grungy medieval world where everybody is dirty and outright despair seems like an appropriate response to each sunrise. In such a world sacrificing a virgin once a year seems rather reasonable, and an act of heroism seems improbable, especially when your hopes rest on the baby-faced Galen. The atmosphere and the special effects fit together just perfectly, and Ralph Richardson's performance as the sorcerer gives the film its memorable performance.

The casting of MacNichol is seen as problematic by some, especially those familiar with his stellar comedy work on "Chicago Hope" and "Ally McBeal," but I think he works well in this particular context. The idea here is that the hero is not somebody who wants to be a great fighter with a sword but a sorcerer using potions and magicks. MacNichol looks like somebody who would be more comfortable with a staff than a sword, so that when he actually has to pick up a spear and shield to fight the dragon he looks really uncomfortable. Then he sees the dragon and he looks scared. We see the dragon, so we completely understand.

Although a lot of the elements are familiar to everyone weaned on Tolkien and excited by the original "Star Wars" films, there are some attempts to be different. I especially liked the fate of the Princess and the ending has a sense of fatalism we rarely get in a fantasy film, with or without a monster. Unfortunately, the DVD version of "Dragonslayer" has absolutely nothing in terms of bonus features (not even the trailer), but at least the film is presented in anamorphic widescreen so you can enjoy all of the Scottish landscape. More importantly, there is the CGI dragon that mandates this one getting five stars because that dragon is that good. When a movie delivers the goods with the monster the way "Dragonslayer" does, attention must be paid.