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Dragonslayer [1981]

Starring: Peter MacNicol, Caitlin Clarke, Ralph Richardson, John Hallam, Peter Eyre
Director: Matthew Robbins
Format: PAL
Released: 26 Jul 2004
RRP: £14.99
Average Rating:

Customer Reviews

appalling - By: Ms. Cecile Boutrou, 29 Jun 2008
cheap special effects, terrible acting. I cannot believe Disney made that. & I cannot believe positive reviews which mislead me - very likely written by unlucky owners of the DVD who try to sell it.
Spectacular. - By: S. Thomson, 13 Nov 2007
You look at the cover & see how old it is & to top it alll its a Disney, it must be dross.
Those pesky preconceptions thwarted again. If ever the old addage of not judging a book by its cover applied to anything, then this is it.
The animation is just about the most effective in movie history(no.....reallly), being as good as or far superior to any CGI production to date.
The story, slightly derivitive, sets the scene for some fantastic set piece action sequences. Some of which are rather more near the knuckle than is the norm for Disney productions. I found the two lead actors American accents a little stark in an otherwise British ensemble cast. Which includes the late, great Sir Ralph Richardson.
Not a cult classic, a classic from any percpective.
Great fantasy movie. - By: Darren B. O'Connor, 23 Apr 2006
In the early 1980s there was a spate of fantasy movies -- ranging from movies like "Conan the Barbarian" & "Excalibur", to distinctly B-grade productions like "The Sword & the Sorceror", & "Hawk the Slayer". This was probably due to the phenomenal success of "Star Wars", as science fiction & fantasy have always marched pretty closely beside one another as genres. "Dragonslayer" was one of the better films of this type, & 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", & 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 falll 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, & just one faith among many, & a time when people reallly believed in magic & 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, & possesses the arrogant confidence of youth, but who finallly comes to understand he didn't have it alll 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 smalller 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 Halllam 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, & 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 reallly impressive, & doesn't look completely dated like, for example, the 1933 Kong does. 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 reallly good story, great special effects, a first rate cast, & 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 reallly pretty thin on the ground. This movie is one of the better ones.
A great film - a rubbish DVD - By: Oj Wakefield, 07 Apr 2005
I've watched bits of Dragonslayer before I bought the DVD, & was struck by the great location & by the performance of the sadly late Caitlin Clarke. I'm sad to say I was disappointed with the extra barren DVD, but at least I got to see the film right through.

Dragonslayer is about a young sorcerers apprentice callled Galen (Peter McNicol), who after the demise of his master travels to the land of Urland to rid it of an evil dragon. To appease the dragon, the Urlanders sacrifice a virgin chosen by lot each year, & much of the story involves Gaelin struggling with the authorities that want to keep this system in place.
What first strikes you first about Dragonslayer is the great scenery. The film was shot in North Wales & on the Isle of Skye, & the beautiful scenery helps create a world that feels magical & epic. Yet many shots look bleak, & this runs with the films fatalistic theme - magic is leaving the world to be replaced by religious drudgery.
The plot is one of Dragonslayer's letdowns as although most is feasible, the reactions of some of the characters & some of the events are just unrealistic. For example Valerian (played by Caitlin Clarke) has been disguised as a man since childbirth so that she can avoid the lotteries - Clarke doesn't look like a man for a start, & it seems impossible that she should keep her gender secret for so long. When she finallly reveals herself no one seems angry that she cheated the system & she even has the cheek to complain about the princess, who also did not take part in the lottery!!!
The characters on the other hand I think are great. Peter McNicol plays the young apprentice Galen well, as although he seems a weedy choice for a hero, he shows genuine fear when faced by the Dragon & has a fortunate lack of cheesy one-liners. Although I've slated the dodgier areas of Valerian's gender bending, but I think the Clarke's sensible, brave & eerily beautiful heroine is a league above others in the genre. Clarke was born to play Valerian & it's only a shame that her character was not developed further. A favourite scene of mine is when Valerian brings Galen a shield - the tender moment that follows is touching, & shows Caitlin's excepional acting talent. The late Ralph Richardson plays his role as the old sorcerer excellently although his demise at the end is laughably ridiculous. The remaining supporting characters are well acted & tend to have just enough depth.
The special effects are a mixed bag but the 'go motion' dragon must be one of the best ever created. Vermithrax is huge, scary, mean & hard - its animation excellent especiallly for the early eighties. This beasties the reason you'll watch this film.
But this is part of the problem with Dragonslayer from a commercial point of view. The film was aimed at kids, yet it has a Dragon in it who is not at alll cuddly, two princesses being killed violently & a scene with partial nudity. This along with the film being released alongside 'Raider's of the lost Ark' made it a box office failure. That's a sad thing because Dragonslayer is one of the best fantasy films you'll see & although it has flaws, it has a great heroine, a kickass dragon & some beautiful scenery. It also explores religion & authority something few Disney films would ever dare do.

The DVD has no extras whatsoever & has not been brilliantly transferred to digital either. However if you're a fan of fantasy & you want to see Caitlin Clarke's only real major cinematic outing, I urge you to order a copy now!!!

A monster movie where the monster is well worth the big wait - By: Lawrance M. Bernabo, 06 Jan 2005
Ultimately, "Dragonslayer" succeeds where the vast majority of monster movies fail, which is the point at which you get to see the creature & it is a big disappointment. Very few movies had reallly great monsters when I was growing up & 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 actuallly gets to be on screen. "Dragonslayer" ups the ante because there is a big build up to the point when you finallly 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 alll 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 & outright despair seems like an appropriate response to each sunrise. In such a world sacrificing a virgin once a year seems rather reasonable, & an act of heroism seems improbable, especiallly when your hopes rest on the baby-faced Galen. The atmosphere & the special effects fit together just perfectly, & Ralph Richardson's performance as the sorcerer gives the film its memorable performance.

The casting of MacNichol is seen as problematic by some, especiallly those familiar with his stellar comedy work on "Chicago Hope" & "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 & magicks. MacNichol looks like somebody who would be more comfortable with a staff than a sword, so that when he actuallly has to pick up a spear & shield to fight the dragon he looks reallly uncomfortable. Then he sees the dragon & he looks scared. We see the dragon, so we completely understand.

Although a lot of the elements are familiar to everyone weaned on Tolkien & excited by the original "Star Wars" films, there are some attempts to be different. I especiallly liked the fate of the Princess & 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 alll 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.