Dragonslayer

[rachelmanija]

A very enjoyable 80s fantasy movie which I inexplicably missed ever seeing before, notable for a legit masterpiece of an animatronic/"go-motion" dragon. Forget CGI dragons, Vermithrax is the real thing.

Peter MacNicol plays Galen, the young apprentice of an elderly wizard, Ralph Richardson. When an expedition headed by Valerian (Caitlin Clarke, unconvincingly disguised as a boy) comes to beg the wizard to slay the dragon, the wizard meets with the usual fate of mentors, and Galen and Valerian head off to slay the dragon themselves.

This has more and a more interesting plot than I expected. The dragon is basically just an extremely dangerous animal, but its presence has created a whole bunch of political and social effects. Some people use its existence to seize power and a lottery for virgin sacrifices has multiple unanticipated consequences, but in the midst of all those complications, there's still the problem of how to deal with that damn dragon.

Lots of fun despite a hilariously bombastic score. MacNicol and Clarke are charming. And did I mention that the dragon is great? The dragon is GREAT.

Free on Amazon Prime.

Comments

[sovay]

Valerian (Caitlin Clarke, unconvincingly disguised as a boy)

However convincing or unconvincing, Valerian made a huge impression on me in high school.

[rachelmanija]

Oh, Valerian's great! I just meant that she looks extremely feminine at all times.

[cloudsinvenice]

I really love this one. Also dragonish and free on Prime, I recently discovered I Am Dragon, which is a Russian film with lovely production design. The only thing is that it's dubbed; you don't get the option to have the original dialogue with subtitles.

[isis]

Hah, I was just going to rec I Am Dragon for the same reasons (dragonish and Prime-able)!

The plot and acting is super cheesy - it brought to mind Brooke Shields' Blue Lagoon, which I have never seen but have osmosed - but the costumes and sets are gorgeous. Also there is a small amount of fic on AO3 for it!

(I recall that the version I saw was subtitled, not dubbed - I wonder if that's still available?)

[cloudsinvenice]

I hadn't realised they put multiple versions of films up; that's very good to know - thanks!

It's pretty clearly a dragon-skinned take on a familiar fairytale, so definitely cheesy - and there's that one montage with the pop song! Definitely one for anyone who likes angsty boys with terrible secrets.

[rachelmanija]

Darn!

[senmut]

It has been ages. And I forgot it was Peter in the role.