Dragonslayer is about a young sorcerers apprentice called Galen (Peter McNicol), who after the demise of his master travels to the land of Urland to rid it of an evil dragon. To appease the dragon, the Urlanders sacrifice a virgin chosen by lot each year, and much of the story involves Gaelin struggling with the authorities that want to keep this system in place.
What first strikes you first about Dragonslayer is the great scenery. The film was shot in North Wales and on the Isle of Skye, and the beautiful scenery helps create a world that feels magical and epic. Yet many shots look bleak, and this runs with the films fatalistic theme - magic is leaving the world to be replaced by religious drudgery.
The plot is one of Dragonslayer's letdowns as although most is feasible, the reactions of some of the characters and some of the events are just unrealistic. For example Valerian (played by Caitlin Clarke) has been disguised as a man since childbirth so that she can avoid the lotteries - Clarke doesn't look like a man for a start, and it seems impossible that she should keep her gender secret for so long. When she finally reveals herself no one seems angry that she cheated the system and she even has the cheek to complain about the princess, who also did not take part in the lottery!!!
The characters on the other hand I think are great. Peter McNicol plays the young apprentice Galen well, as although he seems a weedy choice for a hero, he shows genuine fear when faced by the Dragon and has a fortunate lack of cheesy one-liners. Although I've slated the dodgier areas of Valerian's gender bending, but I think the Clarke's sensible, brave and eerily beautiful heroine is a league above others in the genre. Clarke was born to play Valerian and it's only a shame that her character was not developed further. A favourite scene of mine is when Valerian brings Galen a shield - the tender moment that follows is touching, and shows Caitlin's excepional acting talent. The late Ralph Richardson plays his role as the old sorcerer excellently although his demise at the end is laughably ridiculous. The remaining supporting characters are well acted and tend to have just enough depth.
The special effects are a mixed bag but the 'go motion' dragon must be one of the best ever created. Vermithrax is huge, scary, mean and hard - its animation excellent especially for the early eighties. This beasties the reason you'll watch this film.
But this is part of the problem with Dragonslayer from a commercial point of view. The film was aimed at kids, yet it has a Dragon in it who is not at all cuddly, two princesses being killed violently and a scene with partial nudity. This along with the film being released alongside 'Raider's of the lost Ark' made it a box office failure. That's a sad thing because Dragonslayer is one of the best fantasy films you'll see and although it has flaws, it has a great heroine, a kickass dragon and some beautiful scenery. It also explores religion and authority something few Disney films would ever dare do.

The DVD has no extras whatsoever and has not been brilliantly transferred to digital either. However if you're a fan of fantasy and you want to see Caitlin Clarke's only real major cinematic outing, I urge you to order a copy now!!!

A monster movie where the monster is well worth the big wait
Review date: 2005-01-06 Rating: 10 out of 10

Ultimately, "Dragonslayer" succeeds where the vast majority of monster movies fail, which is the point at which you get to see the creature and it is a big disappointment. Very few movies had really great monsters when I was growing up and you get to the point where you just expect them to be bad. Even when the make up is pretty good, say Boris Karloff in the original version of "The Mummy" or Oliver Reed in "The Curse of the Werewolf," you get shorted on how often the monster actually gets to be on screen. "Dragonslayer" ups the ante because there is a big build up to the point when you finally get to see the dragon. But for my money it is well worth the wait because the folks at Industrial Light & Magic delivery even though we are talking 1981 special effects.

The story in "Dragonslayer" combines a couple of recognizable plot lines from the fantasy genre. First there is the hapless young apprentice, Galen (Peter MacNicol), trying to learn his craft from a great wizard, Ulrich (Ralph Richardson). I am certainly reminded of Mickey Mouse from "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" in "Fantasia," except that Galen is a lot more earnest. Second, there is the fact that Casiodorus Rex (Peter Eyre), the ruler of the land, has been sacrificing virgins to keep the local dragon from leveling the countryside. Young Valerian (Caitlin Clarke) arrives to beseech Ulrich, the last wizard around, to kill the dragon, which is probably the last of its kind as well.

The only problem is that Ulrich has died, which means that young Galen has to become a dragonslayer. Galen wants to do the great deed for the right reasons, but there is also the Princess Elspeth (Chloe Salaman) to consider, along with all the other young virgins forced to participate in the grim lottery. Casiodorus is not thrilled by the prospect of the fate of his kingdom resting on the shoulders of Galen, so he tries to thwart the young man's plans. However, there is somebody who thinks that the rules of the game in Urland have to be changed.

Beyond the Oscar nominated special effects (and musical score by Alex North) what makes "Dragonslayer" work is that it takes place in a grungy medieval world where everybody is dirty and outright despair seems like an appropriate response to each sunrise. In such a world sacrificing a virgin once a year seems rather reasonable, and an act of heroism seems improbable, especially when your hopes rest on the baby-faced Galen. The atmosphere and the special effects fit together just perfectly, and Ralph Richardson's performance as the sorcerer gives the film its memorable performance.

The casting of MacNichol is seen as problematic by some, especially those familiar with his stellar comedy work on "Chicago Hope" and "Ally McBeal," but I think he works well in this particular context. The idea here is that the hero is not somebody who wants to be a great fighter with a sword but a sorcerer using potions and magicks. MacNichol looks like somebody who would be more comfortable with a staff than a sword, so that when he actually has to pick up a spear and shield to fight the dragon he looks really uncomfortable. Then he sees the dragon and he looks scared. We see the dragon, so we completely understand.

Although a lot of the elements are familiar to everyone weaned on Tolkien and excited by the original "Star Wars" films, there are some attempts to be different. I especially liked the fate of the Princess and the ending has a sense of fatalism we rarely get in a fantasy film, with or without a monster. Unfortunately, the DVD version of "Dragonslayer" has absolutely nothing in terms of bonus features (not even the trailer), but at least the film is presented in anamorphic widescreen so you can enjoy all of the Scottish landscape. More importantly, there is the CGI dragon that mandates this one getting five stars because that dragon is that good. When a movie delivers the goods with the monster the way "Dragonslayer" does, attention must be paid.

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