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Dungeons & Dragons [2001] (REGION 1) (NTSC)

Our Price: £2.43 (subject to change)

Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review

A sword and sorcery fantasy, Dungeons and Dragons the film is based on the role-playing game first introduced in the 1970s. It delivers some of the same kind of fantasy and fun the game offered, as its youthful heroes journey through a magical kingdom battling with the forces of evil. One or two scenes (such as someone having their brain sucked out by a nasty thing with tentacles) might upset very young children. But many of the special effects look tame compared to state-of-the-art films like The Matrix (the dragons in particular are rather wimpish), and though you do need full-blooded acting for this sort of thing, Jeremy Irons goes way over the top as the wicked wizard Profion. Marlon Wayans is supposed to provide some street-wise comedy, but is simply annoying. If you enjoyed playing the game you might like this, but there's a lot of competition in the fantasy film genre these days, and Dungeons and Dragons isn't really up to it. --Ed Buscombe

On the DVD: This one disc is packed full of extra features. The film and special effects are breathtaking in needle-sharp Widescreen (1.85:1) Anamorphic transfer. As for the soundtrack, you haven't heard a dragon roar until you hear it in Dolby 5.1 or 2.0 Surround. The director Courtney Solomon, Justin Whalin who plays the hero Ridley, and the Dungeons and Dragons game co-creator Dave Arneson, offer one commentary track, which is a bit inane and doesn't really add anything to the film. However, the second commentary with Solomon, Arneson and cinematographer Doug Milsome is much more intelligent and offers some great info about the filming of specific scenes. Along with the UK trailer, there are two special features--a 20-minute "Making of" featurette, with some entertaining stuff about how Solomon secured the rights to the D&D universe and the creation of the special effects, CGI, costumes and make-up and a 14-minute special feature on the legacy of Dungeons and Dragons. There are 12 deleted scenes, most of which are pretty near completion (save a few blue screens here and there) and the more adrenalin-pumped scenes are broken down in stages to show how the SFX were created. For those who have seen the film and want to play the game, on the DVD-ROM there is also a playable demo of Black Isle's computer game sequel, Shadows of Amn. --Kristen Bowditch

Really not that bad
Review date: 2008-04-14 Rating: 8 out of 10

Maybe it all depends on your expectations, but having read all the reviews here, I felt the need to say something more positive. Yes, there maybe faults, but I still thing this movie is far better than many other game-made-into-movie attempts (Mortal Combat or Doom for example). It's not like the games, in fact, which I believe to be an advantage. But it's fantasy, it's got the different races and some weirder creatures (I quite like the Beholder), it's got good looking actors (maybe not the dwarf), some battles and some romance. It's not a character drama if you're looking for it, but serves well enough for some light Sunday morning family entertainment.

Reviews

For those who thought that Eragon was a bad movie...
Review date: 2007-09-09 Rating: 2 out of 10

...It is far better (and I mean FAR BETTER) than this utter drivel of a movie! Jeremy Irons makes an appearance in this movie, but his performance sucks... NO, make that the whole cast! The acting is really, really dire, but it doesn't end there. The sets, soundtrack, story, plot etc... are all terrible. As for the special effects, they are VERY unconvincing... even the dragons looked like they were made on a cheap old PC rather than a proper supercomputer!

A VERY pathetic attempt at making a movie based on a phenominal franchise. I love the original D&D game, and a fan of dragons in general. Please do not buy this as you'll be wasting you money.

I'd like to be nice
Review date: 2007-05-23 Rating: 2 out of 10

...but it's hard to find much positive to say about this movie. Jeremy Irons must have needed the money, but at least he gurns his way through this in a professional fashion; his sidekick can at least do vaguely menacing, although it must have been hard not to giggle when the blue lipstick went on.

The lead characters are drawn with all the subtlety one would expect of a man who has been allowed to write the script with red crayons on the back of some old wallpaper. They are by turns, appallingly naff and simply appalling. Marlon Wayans manages a new low in eye-rolling sidekickness. When one 'hero' is thrown from a tower by the blue-lipsticked villain, I found myself cheering for the Forces of Darkness.

However, if bad movies are your thing, there are bits to savour and enjoy: Tom Baker's wonderful slice of ham as the Elf King (surely the lardiest elf in the history of the world!) and Richard O'Brien's splendidly camp performance as the master of the Thieves' Guild are there to treasure. Feel the love at these points because you'll want to stab yourself in the face with forks during the rest. In the long run, the forks are a more rewarding experience. :(

D'n'D (film) killed my childhood!
Review date: 2006-07-23 Rating: 2 out of 10

Many moons ago I played the actual D'n'D game. I also bought some of the books, merchandise etc.

In more recent years I have been a fan of some of the computer games. Eye of the Beholder 2 and Baldur's Gate 2 being big faves.

So mainly good memories.

For years so many of us had wanted a D'n'D film - the nearest we got was the somewhat dodgy cartoon series. Then we are told Jeremy irons is in it. Gravitas indeed.

They then serve up this pile of festering puke complete with cardboard characters (many in the wrong era/film such as the thieves), an awful script, bad lighting, ancient and poor 'special' effects and a plot that would insult a retarded goldfish.

Not long after of course the Lord of the Rings films and Harry Potter films show how it SHOULD be done and the remnants of TSR go and cry in a corner.

Putrid vomit in a dirty ashtray looks good in comparison.

Thanks for spitting on my childhood memories!

To this day it boggles my mind- NOT in a good way!
Review date: 2006-07-10 Rating: 2 out of 10

This movie is neither creative nor thought-provoking, all because it's not an original idea. It's just this big copy of different fictional masterpieces melded in a way that gives no heed to the matter of balance &unity. The supposed 'mystery element' took the formula of an average "Crystal Maze" episode... seriously! They tried to make a Star Wars-like movie to the point of including would-be light saber fights and even this weird podrace.

The make-up was horrible. The lighting was terrible to the point that they somehow emphasized this, otherwise I probably wouldn't have noticed the lighting. And what's with the colours? Most of the film was dull green, red, and orange in color (sets, costumes). The costumes were another thing that needed professional help. What happens when the costumes from "Star Wars Episode I" meet "The Lost World"? Something unimaginably horrible that goes by the name of "Dungeons and Dragons"!

They could have made such a good movie as "Dungeons &Dragons" is considered a cult classic. It sounds like something you'd want to see but you realize that it's really not something you'd want to see, 4 minutes into the movie. Worst scenes were the ones with the main characters. In the DVD special feature option, the alternate ending the director decided not to use was a whole lot better and more realistic than the surreal so-called surprising ending he decided to use. The deleted scenes in the DVD were the best scenes in the movie- some of them were actually okay (but not amusing enough to make me laugh). I would call this a kiddy movie but I would just be insulting and embarrassing the kids around the world.

I shouldn't forget the sound. The sound-editing, it can't be fixed (it's that bad). As for the score, the crew don't know what musical sequence they are supposed to use. When someone dies this cheerful score starts in the background with fanfares and chimes!

If you really want to know, the plot revolves around this empress that needs to use these scrolls so she can find this thing to control these fake red dragons but the bad guy also wants it. So her mentor's librarian and two commoners help her find it in one of cinematic history's most disappointing adventures! Some war! My sister's fights with me last longer than this! One of the best things about this movie was that it ended so quickly.

Who wrote this? The script, every line, was messed up. Either their computer didn't print the script out properly or the writers are just plain bad! They can't distinguish between what is good and what is bad. But there was one thing I really liked and appreciated... The font they used for the ending credits was fascinating!

Now let's look at the cast. :) Jeremy Irons (Propion)-word of advice, stick to doing voices like Scar's in "The Lion King" because this movie is like a showcase for the untalented (Luckily for you, you have acted brilliantly in many other movies which saves your reputation). Thora Birch (The Empress), I can barely hear your soft whispery voice but it really doesn't matter because you really don't have anything important to say. You try to dress like Amidala but you will forever offend her. You tried so hard to become the next Amidala and I pity you, I really do. You acted so badly that I couldn't even laugh at you! Your speeches are so memorable- I'll never forget how uninspiring, tedious, simple and uncalled for they all were! They were the opposite of Al Pacino's speech at the end of "Scent Of A Woman" if that begins to show how pointless your speeches were. As for you Zoe McLellan (Marina), you need acting lessons like the rest of the cast. I have yet to spot a scene where you don't have this traumatized and puzzled expression on your face (Perhaps it's like that for a reason? A psychological something...? NOT!!!). But Kristin Wilson (Norda) is one person I feel really bad for. She was the only person who gave a reasonably good performance. Unfortunately for Wilson, the whole movie was stupid. As for the movie's main character, Justin Whalin- you should really stick to TV shows because you don't know how to act. At least Scary Movie's Shorty (Marlon Wayans) did what he does best. Acting crazy! As for Bruce Payne (Damodar), you're a payne in the ***! First question: "What is with you and that blue fluorescent lipstick?" Question #2: "Are you really this lifeless in real life?" You sound like you have a thousand frogs stuck in his throat (hope none of you out there even think of comparing his voice to James Earl Jones' "Darth Vader")!

The movie was a mixture of dim-witted characters that were just wannabes of other famous characters. The characters tried to imitate Xena, Queen Amidala, Darth Vader, Lara Croft, Hercules, The Amazons, and Indiana Jones among others, only to fail miserably! The cast can't even cry. The tears were so phony that it would have seemed more realistic if they had water splashed on their faces (and the sad thing is that I'm not exaggerating). Even the laughs are fake, they sounded like the ones Dr. Evil's crew do in Austin Powers (and they have an excuse because they're mocking the cliched evil laughters). In short, this is the worst cast ensemble in the history of motion pictures. Did the casting people actually hold auditions for this movie or did they just pull people off the streets?

This movie is so unbelievably surprising (not in a good way) that it would be the Oscars' worst nightmare but the Raspberries' dream come true! The D&D crew did a good job of making sure they do the worst of everything the Oscars look at before nominating a film. Just for the record, I didn't feel like finishing this movie and I only did for the sake of this review to warn all those who dare to rent such a pathetic piece of work!

Product Details/Specifications

Actor(s):
Bruce Payne
Marlon Wayans
Robert Miano
Justin Whalin
Jeremy Irons

Director(s):

Recording label: New Line Home Video
Manufacturer: New Line Home Video
EAN: 9780780634787
Binding: DVD
ISBN: 0780634780
Number of items: 1
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Colour, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC, Widescreen,
Release date: 2001-05-22
Universal product code (UPC): 794043524523
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Region code: 1
Running time: 107 minutes
Theatrical release date: 2000
Language: English (Original Language)

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Dungeons & Dragons [2001] (REGION 1) (NTSC)

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