Dragonslayer

The Movie: Amazing. Practical effects are off the charts. They don't make them like this anymore. The Disc: Outstanding picture and sound. Dolby for the win! The Case: Impeccable. Fantastic artwork worthy of this film. Collectors should love this!

Classic film that stands the test of time. Great (slightly dark) fantasy film about magic and dragons. A must watch in my opinion.

Dragonslayer is a Paramount/Disney co-production from 1981. I won't get into the plot as the title is self explanatory.... a dragon needs to be slayed. I remember watching this several times when i was a kid on HBO in the early 1980s. I thought it was a pretty decent flick back then as I'd never seen a movie about dragons before and the special effects were quite good for the time, although I was a much bigger fan of Clash of The Titans which also came out in '81 because there was alot more action and creature effects throughout the whole film where as Dragonslayer kinda moves at a snails pace and you have to wait about 1hr 20min to get a good look at the dragon but overall I still think it's a pretty good movie. It stars Peter Macnicol (who later went on to star on Ally Mcbeal tv series), Ralph Richardson ( who played the crypt keeper in Tales From The Crypt 1972), and Ian McDiarmid ( who played Emporer Palpatine in the star wars films). I would compare this film to other other early 1980s medieval fantasy type movies like Clash of The Titans, Krull, and Excalibur. This 4k steelbook comes with only a single 4k disc. There is no blu-ray included. The picture quality is very good with some film grain throughout. One of the special features is a new retrospective on the making of the film which is pretty good. Both the steelbook case and cardboard slip-cover have really nice artwork. A+

I saw this in the theater when I was a kid, so I'm aware there is a certain "nostalgia" factor which might make me rate this movie higher than it actually deserves ... but I watched it again recently, and doggone if it isn't every bit as good as I remember! The effects hold up surprisingly well, and except for some chroma-key and matting flaws in the climactic aerial battle scene, this movie still looks pretty good. Audiences nowadays are spoiled by a glut of slick CG effects that look real but are somehow not as IMPRESSIVE as old-fashioned optical effects. Vermithrax Pejorative (this movie's dragon) looks pretty freakin' awesome when you finally see her. Filmmakers were a lot more meticulous back in the days when "we'll fix it in post" was not an option. This movie is good because they put a lot of planning & effort into making it right. The plot is simple, but the story is compelling because the characters are well-portrayed. Many of the secondary characters had no depth per se, but the actors did a good job of making them convincing nevertheless. The only character whose motives I question was the big goon, the king's enforcer (he - not the dragon - is the real villain of the story) who continues to be belligerent when it no longer makes sense to do so. Still, this movie has a certain charm which is lacking in 21st-century productions which focus more on spectacle and less on story. Even though this was a "special effects" movie, it still spent more time establishing characters and setting than similar genre movies do today. The locations were beautiful, the costume and set details really made me feel like I was seeing medieval England, and the deft camera work helped to create a mood of suspense long before the dragon appeared. There's a certain satirical undercurrent here which I completely missed when I was younger. The king is a weaselly opportunistic politician, making decisions based on expedience rather than justice or "right." Another subtext in this film is the disappearance of paganism and the rise of Christianity in Celtic/Norman England. I was a little surprised to notice in my most recent viewing that Christianity is not presented in an entirely favorable light. The scene near the end has a hedge priest leading his congregation in a hymn while the king views the dragon's carcass .. I don't want to spoil it, so let me just say it's a bitterly satirical moment that I didn't pick up on as a kid, but as an adult it hits me right between the eyes. Four stars because it's old and there are some visible technical flaws in that climactic battle scene - but this is a REALLY good movie which should not be passed up by sword & sorcery fantasy fans.

Such a great movie!!

Dvd que se ve y se escucha... Como un dvd, es lo que hay. Película maravillosa. Con perfecto CASTELLANO. RECOMENDABLE para quien la quiera y amantes del cine de fantasía. 80s total.

Il film è un cult del fantasy anni 80 ! L'unica pecca è che lo schermo è piccolo

Still an enjoyable movie. Happy with purchase.

Now this was one of those films that l had always watched bits of but never seen all the way through. A dark fantasy which was produced by Disney and paramount in the lat 70s and early 80s. Honestly, it's a bit of a gem. And holds up very well. The special affects and acting are top notch for it's time. Picked up for a fiver so happy days. It is dark, brutal in tone but also sprinkled with light hearted moments. Well worth a watch

Ein sehr düsterer Disney Film aus den 80ern Total ungewöhnlich mit einem angsteinflössenden Drachen sehr zu empfehlen ab 12 Jahren aufwärts nur englische Sprache