Dragonslayer (1981)

Just perfect...

Beautiful, moving film.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

How they managed to cover this D&D film in a Christian veneer in the early 80's is unbelievable. But throw in a Catholic theme and the movie went right to the box office.This was obviously made for the 2nd Addition Advanced Dundeon's & Dragon's, crowd back in 1981. But there was this psychotic notion that everything fantasy was antichrist in that era. So, instead of a great tale set in the Forgotten Realm's, you get, Galen Bradwarden, wizard's apprentice, in what freaking country is this again?But they managed to keep it looking enough like a real D&D setting by avoiding too much cultural identity.You have the fighter, and the rogue, the wizard, and the only epic failure was the cleric.But it's good that the setting had to remain Earth, because the wizard could use a shield and a spear. Both totally contrary to conventional canon play.Another movie not too hard on girls and showing the capable nature of females as individuals of varying ranges.Yes, they had those in the 1980's.A great movie with lots to love, and my favorite dragon in cinema before the masterpiece, Reign of Fire.I wish they do a remake, just to get the RoF boys back behind the computers, but stick to the old movies feel and wardrobe esthetics. Peter MacNico, could play the new old wizard, and some strapping lad the new apprentice.

A powerful but weary wizard, threatened townspeople in need of a savior, a young apprentice short on life experiences, a corrupt King, and a very powerful and aging dragon combine to make the greatest dragon and sorcerer movie made to date."Are you afraid of dragons? No, in fact if it weren't for sorcerers there wouldn't be any dragons." I saw this movie in the theater as a kid and I've watched it a dozen times since on television. I love it. Everyone plays their part perfectly. The wizard's keep has the appearance you'd imagine. The dragon's lair is scary and the dragon is as realistic as any creature of that size I've seen on the big screen. Even the journey the apprentice takes through the woods takes you back to a medieval time that never existed.This is a great movie that is under-rated on IMDb as of this review, but reasonably rated 86% on Rotten Tomatoes. The story is wonderful, the scenes are set well, the actors are perfectly cast, and only a few things could have been slightly better, which is why I've given this a 9 out of 10. I have yet to see another "dragon movie" that is Dragonslayer's equal.

Though a critical and commercial disappointment upon its release, 'Dragonslayer' has had quite a reputation renaissance in the years that followed, currently sporting an %85 fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and a 6.7 rating here on IMDb. With numbers like that, I purchased a used copy of 'Dragonslayer' with rather high hopes. Too high as it turned out.'Dragonslayer' features some incredible special f/x; particularly the creation of Vermithrax the dragon, but its paper thin characters get lost within a story that is told without even an ounce of energy or flourish.

This film blends witchcraft and wizardry , adventures , battles and is extremely fun and amusing . A sorcerer's apprentice (Peter MacNichol) is sent to kill a dragon which has been devouring girls from a nearby kingdom . An older magician (Ralph Richardson) is the mentor of the rockie sorcerer . The young boy dreams becoming a valiant sorcerer and join forces with a girl (Caitlin Clarke) to vanquish a horrible dragon . The young wizarding apprentice suddenly finds himself the only person who save the kingdom from a free-breathing dragon . This fantasy movie packs action , witchery and and sorcery with impressive battles . Likable performance by a young Peter MacNichol , though is the first film released under the Disney name to have full frontal male nudity , as when Peter MacNicol jumps into the water, his legs swing wide giving the audience a quick shot of his genitals . Funny acting by the veteran Ralph Richardson and enjoyable support cast . The story has many familiar dragon motifs found throughout Western culture , in particular Saint George and the Dragon, in which maiden sacrifices were made to appease a harassing dragon. Saint George's tale also includes a sacrificial lottery resulting in the surprise condemnation of a princess , Saint George is also frequently depicted with a magic blessed lance or a sword . Smart screenplay by Hal Barwood dealing with fantasy medieval , dragons , necromancy , fantastic kingdoms and many other things . Entertaining and fun movie with acceptable special effects bringing the dragon to life . Work on dragons made by CG sometimes seem authentic , but is also noted its computer realization . First film to use go-motion, a variant of stop-motion animation in which parts of 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 . The only thing that let it down from this perspective , was that some of the parts in between the dragons fighting were a little dull . Colorful cinematography , shot on location in Wales , though the final scene was shot in Skye, Scotland and many town locals were employed in the film as village extras. Thrilling as well as spectacular musical score by the classic Alex North , some of the score by Alex North was "recycled" from music he'd originally composed for 2001: A Space Odyssey that went unused . This co-production between Walt Disney Pictures and Paramount was efficiently directed by Matthew Robbins and it was more mature and realistic than most Disney films of the time .The picture belongs to Fantasy/Dragon sub-genre ; other important films dealing with Dragons are the following : ¨Dragonheart¨ by Rob Cohen with Dennis Quaid , Dina Meyer , Jason Isaacs and Julie Christie ; ¨Dragonheart , a new beginning¨ with Chris Marterson , Figueroa and Harry Von Gorkum ; ¨Dragom Storm¨ (2004) by Stephen Furst with Maxwell Caufield , Angel Boris , Tony Amendola and John Rhys Davies ; and other latter day movies and belonging to this Dragons sub-genre are ¨Reign of fire¨ (2002) by Rob Bowman with Christian Bale, Matthew McConaughey , Izabella Scorupco , and Gerard Butler ; ¨Eragon¨ (2006) by Stephen Fangmeier with Edward Speleers , Robert Carlyle , Sienna Gullory and John Malkovich .