| Dragonslayer | 
 enlarge | Director: Matthew Robbins
Actors: Peter Macnicol, Caitlin Clarke, Ralph Richardson, John Hallam, Peter Eyre
Studio: Paramount
Category: DVD
List Price: $9.98
Buy New: $4.09
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Avg. Customer Rating:  114 reviews
Sales Rank: 6005
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dvd-video, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled)
Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 109
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: PARD013674D
UPC: 097360136746
EAN: 0097360136746
ASIN: B0000AUHOM
Theatrical Release Date: June 26, 1981
Release Date: October 21, 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand New and Factory Sealed Item Fast Shipping
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Product Description
A sorcerers apprentice reluctantly inherits the task of slaying a fire-breathing dragon. Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 08/23/2005 Starring: Ralph Richardson Peter Eyre Run time: 109 minutes Rating: Pg Director: Matthew Robbins
Amazon.com essential video
Despite its box-office failure in 1981, Dragonslayer was gradually recognized as one of the finest fantasies to emerge from the post-Star Wars boom in special effects. It's still one of the best adventures of its kind, featuring one of the most fearsome fire-breathing serpents in movie history. Ominously named Vermithrax Pejorative, this ill-tempered monster terrorizes the peasantry of sixth-century England, feeding on maidens sacrificed by a duplicitous king until a sorcerer's apprentice named Galen (Peter MacNicol, long before Ally McBeal) is recruited as a reluctant hero. Aided by a tenacious beauty (Caitlin Clarke) and his resurrected mentor (Ralph Richardson), Galen confronts the soaring beast in a breathtaking climax. Employing a then-innovative technique called Go-Motion to animate the dragon, the special effects are still dazzling, and stunning locations in Scotland and Wales allow director Matthew Robbins (cowriter of Steven Spielberg's feature debut, The Sugarland Express) to maintain a vivid atmosphere for the wealth of movie magic. --Jeff Shannon
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| Customer Reviews: Read 109 more reviews...
 Quality lacking October 23, 2008
There's a lot of heart that went into this film, and the innovation of Phil's stop-motion procedure breathes life into the dragon. On the heals of early ILM work in the 80's, the main focus, however, still dwells with character development and political/ religious commentary.
If the film could somehow be re-mastered, I'd enjoy the product more. As it is, there are many poorly illuminated scenes that are hard for me to see on the tv. During such plentiful moments, this does make a good movie to listen to while doing other things, such as artwork, knitting, or cooking.
Decent for the decade, but a little dated... September 11, 2008
I read a lot of the reviews on the site before I actually bought this movie. I have to say that it isn't the best dragon movie out there, but the dragon is definitely a pretty awesome thing to see. The detail in the skin and its clawed feet is just amazing. The story was not worked on in as much detail. While it is a simple and easy to follow plot, the movie didn't capture me as much as the visuals of the dragon itself did. I definitely enjoyed the movie more than my fiance did, but it's really not a movie that I'll want to watch over and over. It's a little predictable at parts and I didn't feel like you really got to know the characters very well. I am a big fan of the sci-fi/fantasy genre and this one was only okay in my book. As stories go, it's not as good as Flight of Dragons (which has yet to be released on DVD, unfortunately) or Dragonheart - 2 Legendary Tales Double Billand the characters aren't nearly as interesting.
I would recommend watching it somehow before actually purchasing it, but if you want a kind of campy 80's dragon fantasy movie then this one might just meet those criteria. Just don't expect to be floored by this one (except by the dragon itself).
 First of it's kind May 25, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
When this movie was produced we were still in the age of godzilla where it was obvious the monster was a man in a suit wrecking havoc in a minature seaside town with bath tub "ocean" waves. The dragon is Dragonslayer was the first computer generated image laid against a backdrop of a real landscape complete with up close human interaction. A super-sized monster that you could easily imagine burning down the strip mall down the street. I've been in awe ever since.
 If you loved 'The Lord of the Rings'......... March 31, 2008
LOTR fans will plug right in to this 1981 film!
Here we have sorcerers, dragons, rotten old kings, and VIRGINS (to be sacrificed!) *.*
A very Dark Ages village must periodically sacrifice one of its beautiful young virgins to a local trouble-making dragon. The King conducts a lottery, as needed, in the village to determine who the unlucky gal is to be for each sacrifice.
An assemblage of the locals gets damned tired of this process and so they travel to the castle of a renowned sorcerer to get him to resolve their dilemma; however, not everyone in the village agrees with this idea, knowing that if the plan goes awry, the dragon is going to REALLY be ticked off and the devastation is sure to be tremendous. So the King covertly sends his chief bad guy close behind the vigilante group to make sure that things go along as they always have.
The sorcerer (think "Gandalf") is killed in a test of his powers, prior to taking on the job, so it falls to his enthusiastic, but inept, apprentice to complete the task.
I'll stop here to avoid major spoilers but be aware that this superb film boasts excellent cinematography, shrewd casting, and is conveyed in letterbox format. The filmscore by the great Alex North, ("Cleopatra," "Spartacus," and other great high-end films), also adds a notable extra quality to this fine movie. The dragon is one of the best that you'll ever see in the vast world of film. I don't know that Peter Jackson will be able to top it in "The Hobbit" when that long-awaited film finally does premier!
The movie runs 109 minutes and is rated PG, probably due to one very quick flash of underwater nudity (from the side). This is one of the great films of all time -- a masterpiece!
I just wish we had a horse...... March 30, 2008
"Dragonslayer" has become THE dragon film within the genre. There was "Reign of Fire", but there existed too many inconsistencies to make the film great. "Dragonslayer" does not go outside of the legends associated with the myth. I do not count films like "Dragonheart" and "Eragon", as dragons (within the mythical representations) do not speak. While both latter films could be considered suitable for children, the myth is much too sinister, and there also exist the references to evil and the domain of Hell.
"Dragonslayer" makes no bones about the origins of the myth, and the dragon itself does not change it's character from the "Hellspawn" nature that it has occupied all throughout history. There has always been morbid curiosity regarding dragons for thousands of years, and in all cultures. It does seem strange that cultures that possess no similarities all have dragons! Some good, but for the most part, they represent evil incarnate.
In the film "Dragonslayer", the beast does not disapoint. It has ravaged a kingdom that has lost sight of it's primary purpose in protecting it's citizenry. The King has made a "pact" with it. The Kingdom supplies it with a virgin sacrifice at certain intervals (the result of a lottery), in exchange for it's crops remaining unburnt. A small band of villagers have taken it upon themselves to enlist the talents of a "Wizard". However, one of the King's most loyal soldiers kills the Wizard before he can do any good. The Wizard's Apprentice takes on the responsibilities his Master would have undertaken. The job is not without it's hazards, as the Apprentice finds out. The Wizard is "summoned" from the death he suffered earlier to aid the Apprentice in slaying the beast.
This film was released in 1981, and if memory serves, did not do well at the Box Office. It HAS been a modest success since it's release on VHS, and now DVD. "Dragonslayer" continues to draw more and more fans to the genre, which as of late, has turned them into cuddly talking flying lizards. The myth is all but gone, save for films such as this one.
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