Dragonslayer (1981)

Director:

Matthew Robbins

Writers:

Hal Barwood (written by) &
Matthew Robbins (written by)

Release Date:

26 June 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy

Tagline:

IN THE DARK AGES DRAGONS WERE REAL. [USA theatrical]

Plot:

A King has made a pact with a dragon where he sacrfices virgins to it, and the dragon leaves his kingdom alone...

Plot Keywords:

Dragon | Apprentice | Kingdom | Safety | Attack

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 5 nominations

Cast

Peter MacNicol	...	Galen
Caitlin Clarke	...	Valerian
Ralph Richardson	...	Ulrich
John Hallam	...	Tyrian
Peter Eyre	...	Casiodorus Rex
Albert Salmi	...	Greil
Sydney Bromley	...	Hodge
Chloe Salaman	...	Princess Elspeth
Emrys James	...	Valerian's Father
Roger Kemp	...	Horsrik
Ian McDiarmid	...	Brother Jacopus
Ken Shorter	...	Henchman
Jason White	...	Henchman
Yolande Palfrey	...	Victim
Douglas Cooper	...	Urlander

Runtime:

108 min | USA:109 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Vistasonic (some 35 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints) | 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints)

Certification:

Iceland:L | Iceland:LH (video rating) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Singapore:NC-16 | Denmark:11 | Iceland:12 | Finland:K-16 (video rating) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:M | Chile:TE | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:11 | UK:PG | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

North Wales, Wales, UK

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Peter MacNicol is said to be embarrassed by this film and does not list it on his CV.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Obvious matte work during some of the flying sequences and when the dragon is moving on the ground.

Quotes:

Ulrich: There's something you must do.
Galen: Anything.
Ulrich: I want you to destroy the amulet, and me along with it.
[disappears and reappears on the mountainside]
Ulrich: You brought me from the flame! You must send me back! You'll know the time! You must act while life is still in me!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Outlander (2008)

Just watched the DVD...

The Disney company took a lot of heat from angry parents because many thought this co-production with Paramount was going to be "a Disney movie" (if you follow me), and nowhere as intense as it turned out to be to their freaked-out children! I never saw this in theaters; I first saw this years ago, when it was on TV. With its DVD release I decided to take another look at it, since it was in widescreen and I could see it uncut.

The movie has a lot going for it. The look of it is great - the locations impress and chill you at the same time, the sets (especially the cave interior) are detailed, and some of the dragon special effects are great, beating a lot of similar effects done with computer graphics nowadays. The story had some interesting (and unexpected!) plot turns.

However, while the movie is a good rainy day viewing, I didn't feel it to be much more than that. Minor stuff first. While some of the dragon special effects were good, there were others (mainly when the dragon was flying or crawling) that looked pretty bad. I don't know if it was because of the source print (clearly Paramount didn't bother to restore the movie, given there are some visible scratches in some parts), but on my TV screen the dragon in those sequences looked badly superimposed, and actually *worse* than some computer graphics nowadays!

The biggest problem I had with the movie (and the reason why I think the movie was a box-office failure) is that there are no real strong and compelling characters. The youthful hero (and his eventual girlfriend) don't have that much depth and personality. There are signs that some character development (not just of those two characters) got cut out, given the abruptness of a few scenes. As well, I couldn't really figure out just was what propelling that evil henchman knight character to do all that evil stuff he was doing. Also, the mountaintop climatic fight somehow lacked a good amount of punch, with an ending that was more like a whimper than anything else.