Dragonslayer (1981)

Dragonslayer revolves around a deceptively simple fantasy quest. A dragon threatens the kingdom of Urland and the locals approach Ulrich (Ralph Richardson), a sorcerer, to help them vanquish it. However, the sorcerer dies before he can make the journey. In his stead, Ulrich’s apprentice, Galen (Peter MacNicol,) takes up the task. The king (Peter Eyre) disapproves of this mission. He has crafted a lottery system that selects and serves up a young virgin girl to the dragon every six months. By doing so, the king believes that the dragon spares the kingdom from fiery destruction. Attempting to slay the dragon and failing will put the kingdom at risk. Galen disagrees and goes off to slay the dragon. The king tries to interfere. But, of course, our hero hits a few snags along the way and realizes that it’s not going to be as easy as he believes.

The film came out at a time when Disney was trying to capitalize on the popularity of Star Wars. By releasing more “adult” leaning fare, they hoped to capture the same young-at-heart-if-not-in-body audience that flocked to see George Lucas’ space epic. Of all their attempts, Dragonslayer contains the darkest and most adult subject matter. Surprisingly, the film even includes a brief flash of nudity in one scene. Scandalous!

Director Matthew Robbins, who had previously helmed Corvette Summer, never dallies on the darkness too long. There’s actually an infectious lightheartedness that permeates the film but never subverts the story. Co-written by Robbins and longtime writing partner Hal Barwood, the script keeps things moving along at a brisk pace and never over-complicates the story with needless subplots or diversions. The result is an exciting and genuinely engaging quest.

By keeping a full reveal of the dragon hidden until the latter part of the film, one might presume it’s to hide a disappointing looking creature. Quite the opposite is true. Dragonslayer features some of the best stop-motion animation I’ve ever seen and a jaw-droppingly awesome animatronic dragon. The eventual reveal is well-worth the wait. Only a few optical effects involving the dragon in flight don’t hold up today. The visual effects were nominated for an Academy Award in 1982 and only lost to Raiders of the Lost Ark, also no slouch in the effects department.

The rest of the film’s visuals and sets are top-notch as well. With cinematography by Derek Vanlint (Alien) and production design by Elliot Scott (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,) Dragonslayer looks and feels appropriately epic. The musical score by Alex North sometimes feels over-dramatic but never inappropriate.

Perhaps the only real downside to Dragonslayer are the unusual characters. Galen, at least at first, doesn’t feel like the hero-type. He’s more of an overconfident oaf who eventually learns his way. Valerian (Caitlin Clarke) doesn’t have much chemistry with Galen despite being pitched as the film’s love interest. The king’s daughter, Elspeth (Chloe Salaman,) provides an interesting perspective on honor but is soon discarded unceremoniously.

But these are minor quibbles about what in the end proves to be a rousing fantasy adventure for teens and above. I believe that Dragonslayer deserves a second look by audiences that ignored it during its original theatrical run.