Dragonslayer

1981
PG
1h 48m

IMDb RATING

6.6/10

21K

YOUR RATING

Peter MacNicol and Caitlin Clarke in Dragonslayer (1981)

Play trailer1:56

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Dark Fantasy Sword & Sorcery Action Adventure Fantasy

A young wizarding apprentice is sent to kill a dragon which has been devouring girls from a nearby kingdom.A young wizarding apprentice is sent to kill a dragon which has been devouring girls from a nearby kingdom.A young wizarding apprentice is sent to kill a dragon which has been devouring girls from a nearby kingdom.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.6/10

21K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Nominated for 2 Oscars
- 7 nominations total

User reviews145

Featured review

10/10

Great fantasy movie.

Fantasy movies such as this are non-existent these days. Gimme back the days of The Dark Crystal, Jim Henson and the Gremlins. For a family movie this is also very straight-faced too. There is not much humor in it, but that only adds to the overall weird tone.

The story is of a wizard apprentice called Galen (a very young Peter MacNicol) who goes on a quest to slaughter a Dragon terrorizing the people of Urland (Ireland maybe?). There are long moments of quiet and a strange atmosphere brewing around the whole movie. It looks and feels quite unique.

No doubt this is owed a lot to the fabulous widescreen compositions, visual effects that range from not bad to surprisingly good and stunning scenery and locations. Indeed the mood of this film is something I've never come across in a fantasy film. Plus for a film that is rated a simple PG, there was quite a lot of graphic gore, violence and even slight nudity. Surprising, but it adds to the boldness of the production. You would never get a family movie like this these days. I will take Dragonslayer over Harry Potter anytime.

Filmed in Panavision, the 2.35:1 anamorphic picture looks really great in most scenes but in others there is a small problem with the black levels. The soundtrack has been remastered in Dolby 5.1 and it is surely loud and forceful. Unfortunately there are ZERO extras. Which is a shame, because for a film like this, I really want more.

Videos1

Trailer 1:56

Official Trailer

Photos89

+ 83

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
"Vermithrax Pejorative" roughly translates as "The Worm of Thrace Which Makes Things Worse".

Goofs
In the Paramount Widescreen Collection edition, during the lottery scene the man drawing the tiles reads the name "Princess Elspeth Ophelus; Filia Regis," Latin for "Daughter of the King". The subtitles say "Clearly outrageous".

Quotes
Valerian: Are you afraid of dragons?
Ulrich: [confidently and calmly] No. In fact, if it weren't for sorcerers, there wouldn't be any dragons. Once, the skies were dotted with them. Magnificent horned backs, leathern wings... soaring... and their hot-breathed wind. Oh, I know this creature of yours... Vermithrax Pejorative. Look at these scales, these ridges. When a dragon gets this old, it knows nothing but pain, constant pain. It grows decrepit... crippled... pitiful. Spiteful!

Alternate versions
In the edited-for-television version, two scenes are completely removed - The scene where Galen discovers Valerian to be female (by swimming with her) and the scene where Galen causes an avalanche over the entrance to the dragon's cave.