Dragonslayer (1981)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

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 | Knight | Sword And Sorcery

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
Yolanda 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:

First film to use go-motion, a variant of stop-motion animation in which parts of the model (in this case, the dragon) were mechanized and the movement programmed by computer. During shooting, the computer moves the model while the camera is shooting, resulting in motion blur, which makes the animation more convincing.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the scene in which the wizard teleports himself to the mountaintop for the final battle, thunder continually rumbles under a clear sky in the soundtrack though the wizard hasn't yet magically summoned the electrical storm (which he will do in a few moments).

Quotes:

Hodge: Ah, so it's a test you're looking for. We don't do tests!
Tyrian: No, of course not. They never do tests. Not many real deeds either. Oh, conversation with your grandmother's shade in a darkened room, the odd love potion or two, but comes a doubter, why, then it's the wrong day, the planets are not in line, the entrails are not favorable, "we don't do tests"!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Napoleon Dynamite (2004)

one of the best

Dragonslayer came out when "Dungeons & Dragons" was getting to be a big thing where I live, so there was a lot of interest. It was even adapted into a book by Wayland Drew (in a rare instance when a movie preceded a book).

Two things I like mainly. First, of course: Vermithrax. I rather hope that Dragonslayer is never remade, for there's no way the digital animation done these days could do this magnificent creature justice. New isn't always better.

It's also nice to see a film which doesn't stereotype Pagans and magicians as evil. In fact, the film treads the whole good-evil line rather lightly; Ulrich displays a certain respect for Vermithrax, even while planning the dragon's demise.

I find it easy to be swept up in the lovely mystery of Dragonslayer: a mystical film from 1981 (a more mystical age).