Dragonslayer
released 1981
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“Dragonslayer” is an American, fantasy, action film produced by Hal Barwood and Howard W. Koch. It was directed by Matthew Robbins who also wrote the story with Hal Barwood. It stars Peter MacNicol, Caitlin Clarke, Ralph Richardson, John Hallam, Peter Eyre, Albert Slami, Sydney Bromley, Chloe Salaman, Emrys James, Roger Kemp, Ian McDiarmid, Yolande Palfrey and many others. This is a very good film with a fantastic story that, according to Wikipedia, was overshadowed by films like Indiana Jones and  Star Wars. So it did not get the praise it deserved. They did create a comic and novel from it.

Dragonslayer IMDb webpage

The story takes place in the fictional, medieval kingdom of Urland which is being terrorized by a ferocious dragon. The dragon basically demands human sacrifices, burns the town and basically keeps the people in fear. Other brave knights have tried to kill the dragon and all have failed. It is very important to mention that this film was done before the age of computers in films, CGI, green screens. So everything we see it real or built in reality and not on a computer screen. The dragon is amazing and ferocious. As ferocious as any CGI dragon created today. A wizard named Ulrich of Craggenmoor, played by Ralph Richardson, and his apprentice Galen Bradwarden, played by Peter MacNicol, are working together to kill the dragon. Now Galen is not the most skilled apprentice but he has heart, as the saying goes.

This is one of the most underrated films in its genre. The story is fantastic and original, the characters are flawed but likeable and the set designs, customs, dragon and special effects still hold up today. You might be tempted to think that CGI was used because it is that well done.

I highly recommend “Dragonslayer” as a must see, especially if you like the fantasy genre. I saw it again on TV in Asia and it was still good the second time around. So go check it out or even buy yourself a copy because it is the type of movie you can watch more than once. This is a very old film that should be called a classic and has withstood the test of time.

written by John

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