Review: Dragonslayer

Sorcerer Ulrich (Sir Ralph Richardson) and his young apprentice Galen (Peter MacNicol) are called upon to help a group of villagers rid the countryside of a ferocious, fire-breathing dragon. Unfortunately, Ulrich makes an untimely exit, leaving it up to the inexperienced Galen to kill the dragon. Meanwhile, King Cassiodorus (Peter Eyre) has devised a lottery of all the village’s virgins, offering up one as a sacrifice to appease the dragon. Did I mention that one of the villagers is a young man (Caitlin Clarke) who sure does look rather girly? Chloe Salaman turns up as the lovely, virginal princess (Uh-oh!), whilst Sydney Bromley plays crotchety old Hodge, Ian McDiarmid cameos as a wimpy priest (i.e. dragon fodder), and Albert Salmi is another of the band of villagers.

Not a lot of the fantasy films of the 80s still hold up today, but this 1981 Disney release from co-writer/director Matthew Robbins still proves highly watchable in 2019. Certainly it comes out better than another 1981 fantasy flick, the dour and charmless “Excalibur”, with Sir Ralph Richardson essentially playing the role of Merlin here (with a touch of Gandalf to Peter MacNicol’s Frodo). Despite not really being all that similar (this is more “Lord of the Rings” meets “Beowulf”), it’s hard not to compare the two, due to the release dates and genres of both films, and this one’s the far more palatable, magical, handsomely staged, and overall entertaining.

Peter MacNicol, an American actor in his screen debut seems an odd choice at first. However, after a while he becomes an acceptable presence in the film, even if he’s not nearly as good here as the talented actor he would later become. At any rate, he’s a less egregious presence than Matthew Broderick in “Ladyhawke” (overall a better film), by virtue of not going for the cheap snarky gags and condescending to the material. Less effective is the late Caitlin Clarke as a character no one with a working set of eyes would ever confuse for a boy. She’s not convincing during the portion of the film where she’s masquerading as male (though I’m sure there were some very confused young boys out there after seeing this film, especially in some TV versions that cut out the reveal scene!), and although just as American as lead actor MacNicol, she’s far more distracting (and amateurish) a presence in the film. I feel a bit sorry for her, because the role is a very difficult one for any actress to convince in, I’m sure. Personally I’m not sure why she had to dress as a boy anyway, given her reasons, there’s clearly another way for her to get around the lottery. Think about it. Funnily enough, veteran character actor Albert Salmi, mostly an actor in westerns, pulls off the only decent English accent of the three Americans in the film. His isn’t a large role, but the late actor is rock-solid nonetheless. The real acting standout, however, is veteran British character actor Sir Ralph Richardson. Whilst Nicol Williamson made a tolerable (if mannered) Merlin, Richardson is so spot-on here it’s a shame he didn’t play the Arthurian wizard. Oh well, this Merlin substitute will have to do. He’s really quite brilliant here, and much more effective than in “Time Bandits”, yet another fantasy from 1981, I’ve just realised. Hell, why don’t I also say that this film is more enjoyable than “Clash of the Titans”, yet another fantasy from 1981 (albeit of the Greek Mythology variety). Look out for elderly Sydney Bromley (who had a role in “The NeverEnding Story”) as doddering old Hodge. He’s absolutely hilarious, one of the very best things in the film. Excellent cameo by the future Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) too, as a preacher. It’s probably the most intense scene in this borderline dark effort from Disney. It’s certainly a bit intense for young uns, especially when you consider that the plot involves sacrificing virgins for cryin’ out loud. It’s also a bit gory, especially towards the end, so I’d say 12 and up, on this one (And I hesitate in saying that because all kids are individuals, and having none of my own, it’s none of my business anyway).

This is a really handsomely mounted film that despite being a Disney flick was probably not a hugely budgeted spectacle. Robbins handles the dragon scenes just about perfectly, initially adopting the “Jaws” rule of judicious revelation of the dragon. The first glimpse of the dragon is effective in not giving us too much, and the awesome sound FX do a lot of the work. Although the rotoscoping isn’t all that great, the only FX here that disappoint are some of the back-projection shots, and even those are at least better than in “Marnie”. Puppets or not, those little dragons are wonderfully disgusting, and that fiery dragon’s den is terrific stuff. The big dragon itself looks bloody brilliant for 1981 and still holds up for the most part. The likes of Phil Tippett (“Star Wars”, “Robocop”, “Jurassic Park”), Dennis Muren (“The Empire Strikes Back”, “ET: The Extra Terrestrial”, “Jurassic Park”, “Terminator 2”), and Chris Walas (“Return of the Jedi”, “Gremlins”, “Enemy Mine”, “The Fly”) were involved here, and it doesn’t surprise me in the least, with Tippett, Muren, Ken Ralston (Oscar winner for both “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” and “Forrest Gump”), and Brian Johnson (“The Empire Strikes Back”, “The NeverEnding Story”, and Oscar-winner for “Alien”) also earning a Visual FX Oscar nomination. Those are some weighty names and impressive credentials right there, folks. And no, I will not apologise for cluttering my review with credits, it serves a purpose in highlighting the talent involved here. An abundance of fire certainly helps to add some (dare I say) smoke and mirrors to things. Capping it all off is a top-notch score by Alex North (“The Misfits”, “Spartacus”), probably one of his best. I will say, though, that the finale isn’t as strong as the rest of the film, because things pan out awfully bloody conveniently. I don’t think the conclusion holds up to close scrutiny, especially with one character’s sudden and inexplicable reappearance. The screenplay is by the director and Hal Barwood (both of whom scripted Spielberg’s overrated “Sugarland Express”), and Robbins would return the favour to Barwood in 1985 by co-scripting Barwood’s directorial debut “Warning Sign”. This is much more well-written than a lot of these films tend to be, even in the years since this was released.

Look, I personally think “Dragonheart” is the better dragon flick, but this fantasy still holds up some 30 odd years later. Good fun, especially for teens.

Rating: B-