I have just dragooned my sister into doing some movie and book reviews. Sheri has a couple of novels out and is working on a series of short novels. You can find her link on our network page. I was thrilled that she picked a movie that I never saw.
Release date: June 26, 1981
Director: Matthew Robbins
CAST
Peter MacNicol - Galen
Caitlin Clarke - Valerian
Ralph Richardson - Ulrich
John Hallam - Tyrian
Ian McDiamid - Brother Jacopus
Sydney Bromley - Hodge
Peter Eyre - Casiodorus Rex
For a movie that was created over thirty years ago, Dragonslayer still holds up as one of my all-time favorites. For those of you that know me and know my taste, that would also include Arachnophobia and Eight-Legged Freaks, but hey, they too have merit.
Peter MacNicol plays the naive Galen to perfection, young and blind to his own failings as a magician he’s forced into service as a would-be dragon slayer.
Caitlin Clarke plays Valerian, a girl disguised as a boy. While I have to admit that there have been times I’ve passed by a large group of teenagers in the mall and haven’t been entirely positive of their sex, you’d have to be blind and deaf to think Valerian was anything but a girl. Shave her head, dirty her up a bit, and for crying out loud if she can’t sound like a guy then make her a mute or something.
As to the film itself, the most poignant moment in the movie for me is when the king’s daughter takes it upon herself to replace all the names in the virgin lottery with her own. She had been judged harshly by her peers, ridiculed for being spared the horror of having her name added to the lottery by her father, but as it turned out, not to her own knowledge. As she makes her speech about fair play you can see Valerian cast her own eyes down in shame. Hadn’t she also avoided the lottery by deceit? The only difference between her and the princess was that Valerian had willingly played along with the charade while the princess was an innocent.
The movie moves along quickly, no lags in the adventure or times when you felt the need to look at the clock ticking away your sun-filled afternoon. My only regret is that we lose Ralph Richardson so early in the game; he’s one of my favorites as well. The graphics, although not up to today’s standards, still work and at no time did I get the feeling that I was sitting down to an 80’s movie. Overall, don’t question too much or over-think anything and you’ll go away with a smile on your face and a warm feeling in your gut that maybe Dragonslayer deserves a spot in your list of top movies of all-time as well.
One of the most underrated fantasy movies ever made that few people seem to have seen.
The whole unfair lottery sacrifice and connection between the Dragon and the last Sorcerer were nice touches. Quite a brutal and unsentimental movie as well with amazing animatronic effects.