Review of Dragonslayer (1981) by Aaron B — 02 Sep 2009

As the story begins we discover that in order to placate a dangerous dragon a medieval kingdom has instituted a lottery in which young female virgins are chosen as sacrifices. The peasants become disenchanted when they conclude that the daughters of the rich and powerful are kept out of the lottery. A delegation is sent without the consent of the King to enlist a sorcerer to end the threat of the dragon.

Our protagonist is a young apprentice magician named Galen (Peter MacNicol) who feels responsible for removing the threat of a dragon after his master Ulrich, (Ralph Richardson who was almost 80 at the time) the sorcerer who had undertaken the task dies proving his abilities.

Despite being made at a time with much more limited Special Effects capabilities the film makers manage to produce a dragon that is still amongst the most effective presentations of such a creature on film. Admittedly the glimpses of creature are for the most part fleeting which echoes the approach taken by Steven Spielberg in making Jaws. Thus a potential limitation raised by the technical capabilities can be used very effectively.

The result of this craftsmanship combined with a compelling story and effective performances is a very well made sword and sorcery film. This may not be a profound cinematic experience and it may be a little dark especially for children but in that context it is extremely enjoyable.

The film was both written and directed by Mathew Robbins who has served as a screenwriter for his friend Steven Spielberg.

The film was nominated for two Oscars, in Visual Effects and Score.

Surprisingly to some the movie was co-produced by Disney despite the more mature and dark tone than was there standard. The film was marginally unsuccessful at the box office but had considerable success in the burgeoning home video market.