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Stars:
Peter MacNicol, Caitlin Clarke, and Sir Ralph Richardson
Writers:
Hal Barwood and Matthew Robbins
Director:
Mathew Robbins
Feature
length: 109 minutes
Languages:
English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and Dolby Surround Sound
Subtitles:
English Captions and Closed Captions
Packaging:
Amaray Keep Case
Chapter
Stops: 12
Sound:
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and Dolby Surround Sound
Year
of Theatrical Release: 1981/DVD Release: 2003
Theatrical
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Home
Video Distributor: Paramount Home Entertainment
MPAA
Rating: PG
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
There
was a brief time in the early 1980s when fantasy films were popular with
pictures such as “Excalibur,” “The Beast Master,” “Conan The
Barbarian,” “The Sword And The Sorcerer,” and “Dragonslayer.”
“Dragonslayer” was a co-production between Paramount and Walt Disney and it
features one of the best big screen dragons ever created, “Vermithrax
Pejorative.” That has got to be one of the coolest names for an onscreen
dragon yet. It has a Celtic ring to it that suits the film’s pagan times quite
nicely. Now in the twenty-something years that have past since
“Dragonslayer” was produced, we have seen talking CGI dragons like
“Draco” in “Dragonheart” as well as the menacing fire breathing beasts
of “Reign Of Fire.” Even George Lucas’ “Willow” featured a rather
alien looking two-headed dragon like creature, but in my opinion, the creature
from “Willow” looked more like a unused design from the “Star Wars”
films and I just think “Draco” is a weak name for a dragon though I can
understand the need to have a simple name and even give the dragon a more
sympathetic look since Sean Connery provided the voice and the dragon in that
film was not at all a villain. The design for the dragons from “Reign Of
Fire” were actually inspired by “Vermithrax Pejorative” in
“Dragonslayer” so they looked cool, but the problem with that film was that
as cool as they looked, they all looked the same. There should have been
variations in the species the same way there are many different types of birds.
So this brings me back to “Dragonslayer” and
“Vermithrax Pejorative,” who still retains his title in my opinion as
the coolest looking big screen dragon yet and quite a creation for a time when
CGI was virtually non-existent.
A
Wizard’s apprentice “Peter MacNicol” undertakes a journey to the kingdom
of “Urland” where the people have had to sacrifice female virgins to an old,
but quite dangerous dragon at every solstice so that their crops and home will
not be burned. The King made the bargain with the beast thinking that it was an
old creature and if they simply waited it out, time and old age will take care
of their problem, but Vermithrax is still viral with a few baby dragons waiting
to takeover long after it dies. The appearance of the apprentice is seen as a
threat to the stability of the kingdom, which has also been visited by a
Christian Brother eager to convert the peasants and prove that faith in God can
slay beasts. Ian McDiarmid plays the Brother in a “pre-Palpatine” role.
Despite the best of intentions and a heroic confrontation, our apprentice soon
learns that this beast created long ago by magic and the last of it’s kind,
can only be destroyed by his mentor (Sir Ralph Richardson), the last sorcerer.
“Dragonslayer”
has a great gritty look to it mixed with lush green forests and rocky exteriors
and interiors to give the viewer that sense that one has have entered some
prehistory Europe. The costuming and the detail of the production design for
period authenticity is very good. At the time when “Dragonslayer” was
released, this co-production with Walt Disney Productions marked another attempt
for the studio to break away from more traditional “G” rated family material
the studio was known for while not corrupting the “Disney” brand name. While
not entirely successful, this was still one of the early steps that would
eventually lead the studio to revitalize itself in the later half of the 1980s.
The effects were produced through a collaboration of talents that included Phil
Tippett, Brian Johnston, and Dennis Muren along with other effects artists
courtesy of Industrial Light & Magic. Some of the effects have dated while
others still look pretty good. Overall though for their time, they are still a
marvel to behold.
Paramount
Home Entertainment has unleashed “Dragonslayer” onto DVD as a bare bones
release with an anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) aspect ratio presentation. This
is by far the best-looking home video presentation of the film I have ever seen.
There are some defects on the source print, but overall I’d say this is a
pretty good-looking disc considering. A new English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
Soundtrack has been created and while not as discrete or aggressive as one might
hope for, it is still very well mixed, capturing Alex North’s excellent score
beautifully while mixing the rumblings of the dragon enough to make the
subwoofer quake. An English Dolby Surround Soundtrack is also provided along
with English Captions and Closed Captions for the hearing impaired as options.
The menus are standard interactive still frames that are easy to navigate.
“Dragonslayer”
is available on DVD-Video now from Paramount Home Entertainment.
©
Copyright 2003 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.
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