Eragon (2006)

In his homeland of Alagaesia, a farm boy happens upon a dragon's egg -- a discovery that leads him on a predestined journey where he realizes he's the one person who can defend his home against an evil king.

Director:

Stefen Fangmeier

Writers:

Peter Buchman (screenplay), Christopher Paolini (novel)

Stars:

Ed Speleers, Sienna Guillory, Jeremy Irons

1 win & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ed Speleers	...	Eragon
Jeremy Irons	...	Brom
Sienna Guillory	...	Arya
Robert Carlyle	...	Durza
John Malkovich	...	Galbatorix
Garrett Hedlund	...	Murtagh
Alun Armstrong	...	Uncle Garrow
Christopher Egan	...	Roran (as Chris Egan)
Gary Lewis	...	Hrothgar
Djimon Hounsou	...	Ajihad
Rachel Weisz	...	Saphira (voice)
Richard Rifkin	...	Horst
Steve Speirs	...	Sloan
Joss Stone	...	Angela
Michael Mehlmann	...	Villager #1 (as Michael A. Mehlmann)

Storyline

The Kingdom of Alagaesia is ruled by the evil King Galbatorix, a former dragon rider that betrayed his mates and his people in his quest for power. When the orphan farm boy Eragon finds a blue stone sent by Princess Arya, he sooner realizes that it is a dragon egg. When the dragon Saphira is born, Eragon meets his mentor Brom, and becomes the dragon rider foreseen in an ancient prophecy that would set his people free from the tyrant Galbatorix. Eragon meets the rebels Varden and together they fight against the evil sorcerer Durza and the army of Galbatorix in a journey for freedom.

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Plot Keywords:

dragon | dragon rider | teenage hero | sword and fantasy | fictional war | 

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Taglines:

The next fantasy adventure begins.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Family | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for fantasy violence, intense battle sequences and some frightening images

Details

Country:

USA UK Hungary

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 December 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

Eragon

Filming Locations:

Tatabánya, Hungary

Box Office

Budget:

$100,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$23,239,907, 17 December 2006, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$75,030,163

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$174,400,164

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fox 2000 Pictures, Davis Entertainment, Dune Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Black and White (DVD) Color (Metrocolor) Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This isn't the first movie that Jeremy Irons has played in with dragons. The other movie is Dungeons & Dragons (2000).

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Goofs

About 40 minutes in the movie, during a riding scene, the CGI hills in the background are not synced correctly to the camera motion, giving the impression that the hills are actually moving against the foreground.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Brom: [narrating] There was a time when the fierce and beautiful land of Alagaësia was ruled by men astride mighty dragons. To protect and serve was their mission, and for thousands of years, the people prospered. But the Riders grew arrogant, and began to fight among themselves for power. Sensing their weakness, a young Rider named Galbatorix betrayed them, and in a single bloody battle, believed he had killed them all, Riders and dragons alike. Since then, our land has been ruled by ...

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Dragons from Movies and TV (2013)

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Soundtracks

Once in Every Liftime
Written by Patrick Doyle, Jem and Lester Mendez
Performed by Jem (as Jem)
Produced by Lester Mendez
Jem performs courtesy of ATO Ventures

User Reviews

Good actors, Good special effects, Bad writing.

The movie follows nothing of the book's plot line. I think someone read like maybe ten chapters of the Eragon book and decided to make the movie. If they decide to make Eldest (The sequel to Eragon) it would be nothing like the book because they have changed too many things in this movie to carry the plot correctly. The plot of the movie shares nothing with the book and the characters (the ones they actually decided to add) share no similarities to the book's idea of them. The storyline used in the movie could have possibly been acceptable if it hadn't had such bad writing. The lines were mediocre and no one other than Brom, Eragon and Saphira had ten lines. Murtagh had like eight or nine lines through the whole movie, Nasuada and Ajihad had like two or three (and Nasuada doesn't say who she is) and Hrothgar had maybe one or two lines. They completely rushed the movie too quickly. Unless you read the book, you have no idea how Eragon learns to use magic and are left in the dark about most things. The actors did the best job they could with the horrid lines they were given to read. The special effects were great except that Saphira isn't supposed to have feathers. What dragon has feathers? Christopher Paolini says like fifty times in the book that Saphira's wings are a thin membrane. Also that Eragon is fifteen, not seventeen. Every problem comes back to the horrid writing. Bottom Line: Could have been a great and timeless movie. Not Lord of the Rings worthy.