Dragons: A Fantasy Made Real (2004)

An imaginative blend of adventure and nature special that purports to investigate the discovery of a dragon's corpse in modern-day Romania. A British scientific team attempts to understand the creature's unique capabilities.

Director:

Justin Hardy

Writers:

Charlie Foley (creator), Charlie Foley (story)

Stars:

Paul Hilton, Katrine Bach, Aidan Woodward

Nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Paul Hilton	...	Dr. Tanner
Katrine Bach	...	Biologist
Aidan Woodward	...	Data Analyst
Tom Chadbon	...	Museum Curator
Niccolò Cioni	...	Lead Knight One (as Niccolo Cioni)
Hamish MacLeod	...	Lead Knight Two
Bradley Lavelle	...	Narrator (voice) (as Brad Lavelle)
Patrick Stewart	...	Narrator (voice)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ian Holm	...	Narrator (voice)

Storyline

An alternate scientific history, in which dragons were real and lived on Earth, is imagined in this fantasy docudrama. Dr. Tanner, a modern, but renegade scientist, hopes to prove the existence of the creatures by discovering paleontologic evidence.

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Plot Keywords:

scientist | dragon | dragon feature | flying dragon | winged dragon | 

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Taglines:

What if dragons actually existed?

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Genres:

Documentary | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some mild violence

Did You Know?

Trivia

The scene where the fossilised skull of the Tyrannosaurus rex who fought the Prehistoric Dragon is examined was filmed in the Oxford Museum of Natural History rather than the Natural History Museum in London.

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Alternate Versions

The US broadcast of this program was cut and edited for time and content, and was narrated by Patrick Stewart. The copy for sale in the US is the original UK version, narrated alternately by Paul Hilton and Ian Holm.

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Connections

Referenced in The Creation Today Show: Are Dragons Real? (2012)

User Reviews

If only the script were as imaginative as the concept....

I stumbled across this on youtube, and being a bit of a dragon freak, I gave it a watch. Firstly, the dragons are fantastic and the Walking With Dinosaurs style documentary sections are beautifully done. It's just a shame that when it comes to the humans that the worst actor was given the most screen time! I have seen a thousand B-movie actors who could do a better job than Paul Hilton. In fact, just about every other actor in this film could have done a better job! He was like a private investigator out of the least classy B rated crime flick ever. For me, he honestly let the whole film down. I guess his script had a lot to answer for too. Surely someone must have said during the recording of Dr Tanner's dialogue and voice-overs "there is no way any self-respecting biologist would speak/act in this way". Every time he came on screen I cringed. That said, Ian Holm's Attenbourgh-esque narration of the dragon's evolutionary journey was fantastic and the special effects and dragon designs were marvellous. And yes, the theories put forward wouldn't stand up to any real scrutiny... but if you are watching a fictitious documentary about the evolution of dragons throughout the ages, I think you can afford a little suspension of disbelief...

This would have received a 9 from me if it weren't for Dr Tanner's character.

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 March 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dragon's World: A Fantasy Made Real

Company Credits

Production Co:

Darlow Smithson Productions

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1