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Dragonslayer (1981)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
26 June 1981 (USA) moreTagline:
IN THE DARK AGES DRAGONS WERE REAL. [USA theatrical] morePlot:
A King has made a pact with a dragon where he sacrfices virgins to it, and the dragon leaves his kingdom alone... more | add synopsisAwards:
Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 5 nominations moreNewsDesk:
(7 articles)
Retro Slave: Hal Barwood's unsung plague flick Warning Sign (From QuietEarth. 9 August 2009, 9:43 AM, PDT)
Cinematheque, Joe Dante, Vampire-Con genre screenings in Hollywood
(From Fangoria. 6 August 2009, 1:58 PM, PDT)
User Comments:
one of the best more (87 total)Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| 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 |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parentsRuntime:
108 min | USA:109 minCountry:
USALanguage:
EnglishColor:
Color (Metrocolor)Aspect Ratio:
2.20 : 1 moreCertification:
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:PGFun Stuff
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. moreGoofs:
Continuity: During one of the dragon attacks, Galen tells Valerian to run. But then a few seconds later, he wants to know where she's going. moreQuotes:
Horsrik: [the first virgin/victim is about to be sacrificed to Vermithrax] ... Now be it known throughout the kingdom that this maiden, having lawfully been chosen by a deed of fortune and destiny, shall hereby give up her life for the greater good of Urland! By this act shall be satisfied the powers that dwell underground! In gratitude of this sacrifice, His Majesty declares the father - a plowman - to be free of obligations for a period not to exceed five years! Duly ordained...[he notices heat and smoke rising from the mouth of the lair, as the earth trembles, and flees... leaving the maiden to her fate]
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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).