Dragonslayer (1981)

Despite its box-office failure in 1981, Dragonslayer was gradually recognized as one of the finest fantasies to emerge from the post-Star Wars boom in special effects. It's still one of the best adventures of its kind, featuring one of the most fearsome fire-breathing serpents in movie history. Ominously named Vermithrax Pejorative, this ill-tempered monster terrorizes the peasantry of sixth-century England, feeding on maidens sacrificed by a duplicitous king until a sorcerer's apprentice named Galen (Peter MacNicol, long before Ally McBeal) is recruited as a reluctant hero. Aided by a tenacious beauty (Caitlin Clarke) and his resurrected mentor (Ralph Richardson), Galen confronts the soaring beast in a breathtaking climax. Employing a then-innovative technique called Go-Motion to animate the dragon, the special effects are still dazzling, and stunning locations in Scotland and Wales allow director Matthew Robbins (cowriter of Steven Spielberg's feature debut, The Sugarland Express) to maintain a vivid atmosphere for the wealth of movie magic. --Jeff Shannon Amazon.com essential video

First of it's kind

When this movie was produced we were still in the age of godzilla where it was obvious the monster was a man in a suit wrecking havoc in a minature seaside town with bath tub "ocean" waves. The dragon is Dragonslayer was the first computer generated image laid against a backdrop of a real landscape complete with up close human interaction. A super-sized monster that you could easily imagine burning down the strip mall down the street. I've been in awe ever since. May 25, 2008

If you loved 'The Lord of the Rings'.........

LOTR fans will plug right in to this 1981 film!

Here we have sorcerers, dragons, rotten old kings, and VIRGINS (to be sacrificed!) *.*

A very Dark Ages village must periodically sacrifice one of its beautiful young virgins to a local trouble-making dragon. The King conducts a lottery, as needed, in the village to determine who the unlucky gal is to be for each sacrifice.

An assemblage of the locals gets damned tired of this process and so they travel to the castle of a renowned sorcerer to get him to resolve their dilemma; however, not everyone in the village agrees with this idea, knowing that if the plan goes awry, the dragon is going to REALLY be ticked off and the devastation is sure to be tremendous. So the King covertly sends his chief bad guy close behind the vigilante group to make sure that things go along as they always have.

The sorcerer (think "Gandalf") is killed in a test of his powers, prior to taking on the job, so it falls to his enthusiastic, but inept, apprentice to complete the task.

I'll stop here to avoid major spoilers but be aware that this superb film boasts excellent cinematography, shrewd casting, and is conveyed in letterbox format. The filmscore by the great Alex North, ("Cleopatra," "Spartacus," and other great high-end films), also adds a notable extra quality to this fine movie. The dragon is one of the best that you'll ever see in the vast world of film. I don't know that Peter Jackson will be able to top it in "The Hobbit" when that long-awaited film finally does premier!

The movie runs 109 minutes and is rated PG, probably due to one very quick flash of underwater nudity (from the side). This is one of the great films of all time -- a masterpiece! March 31, 2008

I just wish we had a horse......

"Dragonslayer" has become THE dragon film within the genre. There was "Reign of Fire", but there existed too many inconsistencies to make the film great. "Dragonslayer" does not go outside of the legends associated with the myth. I do not count films like "Dragonheart" and "Eragon", as dragons (within the mythical representations) do not speak. While both latter films could be considered suitable for children, the myth is much too sinister, and there also exist the references to evil and the domain of Hell.

"Dragonslayer" makes no bones about the origins of the myth, and the dragon itself does not change it's character from the "Hellspawn" nature that it has occupied all throughout history. There has always been morbid curiosity regarding dragons for thousands of years, and in all cultures. It does seem strange that cultures that possess no similarities all have dragons! Some good, but for the most part, they represent evil incarnate.

In the film "Dragonslayer", the beast does not disapoint. It has ravaged a kingdom that has lost sight of it's primary purpose in protecting it's citizenry. The King has made a "pact" with it. The Kingdom supplies it with a virgin sacrifice at certain intervals (the result of a lottery), in exchange for it's crops remaining unburnt. A small band of villagers have taken it upon themselves to enlist the talents of a "Wizard". However, one of the King's most loyal soldiers kills the Wizard before he can do any good. The Wizard's Apprentice takes on the responsibilities his Master would have undertaken. The job is not without it's hazards, as the Apprentice finds out. The Wizard is "summoned" from the death he suffered earlier to aid the Apprentice in slaying the beast.

This film was released in 1981, and if memory serves, did not do well at the Box Office. It HAS been a modest success since it's release on VHS, and now DVD. "Dragonslayer" continues to draw more and more fans to the genre, which as of late, has turned them into cuddly talking flying lizards. The myth is all but gone, save for films such as this one. March 30, 2008

Only the virgin lottery is fun

Dragonslayer might sound like a film involving barbarians and knights taking on a fire breathing monstrosity... instead you get a young jolly magician with a crystal stone who buffoons about the place like a court jester, dates a boy-girl (yes) and takes on an iguana with wings glued onto it.

The only good part is that the local village has a virgin lottery to decide which dame is going to get sacrificed to the dragon so that they can live peacefully that year. There are certainly not enough dragons (baby dragons that get stabbed to death by the cheery hero don't count) and the blue screen effects are clearly visible. This doesn't seem to be a good production, even for its time (1981). Overall I wanted to watch a good fantasy film and found this one on the list, but was disappointed by the plodding plot, lack of story, hamming acting and bad special effects.

Let this one burn. March 3, 2008

Best Dragon Movie to Date

Even when you consider this movie was made in 1981 and you have current movies like Reign of Fire and Eragon to contend with Dragonslayer beats them all. Not only do you have the coolest dragon ever, but you also have a very well written story with plenty of parallels moving alongside the main plot. Add to that a fantastic setting and talented cast and you have not only the best dragon movie, but also one of the best fantasy movies made so far.

Lets start with the dragon, Vermithrax Perjorative (cool name eh?). This is simply the best-designed dragon to ever reach the silver screen. From the conceptual design to how ILM (Industrial Light and Magic) made it come to life, Vermithrax is a delight to behold. Granted most of the dragon sequences are filmed using stop motion effects, but the process used makes the movements very fluid and believable. The dragon design itself is not the only beautiful thing about it. The way they tease you will a little shot of the tail here and a claw there makes seeing the dragon all that more satisfying at the final scenes. The dragon is definitely a treat to behold. The rest of the special effects (non-dragon related) are subtle and effective. Perfect for a movie of this sort.

The story is as well designed as the dragon. Everything falls into place like it should. This is very refreshing when many Hollywood movies tend to throw a scene in just to appease what they think the audience wants. Dragonslayer is all substance without any of that fluff. I particularly like some of the underlying subjects like the rise of Christianity and the end of the age of magic. The story is complimented by what I consider one of the most detailed and accurate settings for a medieval dragon story I have ever seen. You really feel like you are in the Dark Ages. The acting, from both veteran and young actors, is compelling and believable without any of the camp many fantasy films fall victim to.

The one thing I didn't really enjoy was the soundtrack. Granted it was done very professionally and the music is definitely befitting of the movie theme, I just found it more distracting than anything else on most of the scenes. There is no melody or pace set to the music. It just flies off all over the place like a mad scientist's experiment. I know most people who like Dragonslayer love the music. I just can't say that I am one of them.

Too bad the DVD treatment isn't as good. No special features to speak of. No commentary tracks. Nothing special at all. Would be nice to at least see a remastered version sometime in the future.

Compelling story, wonderful sets and location shots, talented and effective acting, spectacular special effects (especially considering when it was made), and a kick butt dragon design make Dragonslayer required viewing for any fantasy movie fan. This is especially true if you are into the swords and sorcery type or into dragons. If you want to see a really good story done really well then this too is the movie for you. Action fans might or might not get into it depending on how much action you really need, but there is probably not enough action for you testosterone freaks out there. All I can say is when you see this movie get ready to put away every preconceived notion you had on what a REAL dragon movie should be like.
February 27, 2008

More reviews at Amazon.com ...