Dragonslayer

Although it's not mentioned on the Amazon page, or on the disc box, the disc is locked to Region A (North and South America, and South East Asia). If you're buying for elsewhere in the world, you'll need a player which can handle Region A discs. With that out of the way, this is an excellent presentation of a Disney film that's not currently on Disney+. (As the film was co-produced with Paramount, there may be some contractural difficulties, given it's not on Paramount Plus either.) For anyone raised on CGI-laden films from the late 2000s onwards, Dragonslayer may seem slow, especially with revealing the dragon, Vermithrax Pejorative (Vermithrax - the worm of Thrace, Pejorative - implying evil). But when she makes her first full appearance, it's been well worth the wait. This dragon has been terrorising people for years, she's not just existing or terribly misunderstood, she is evil. The King of Urland and his people - cowed, fearful of doing anything other than surviving, want someone - anyone - to help them. What they get on the one hand is all-American Boy Scout Peter MacNichol, playing Galen Bradwarden, apprentice to Urlich the Sorceror. Ralph Richardson takes on Urlich's mantle with great professionalism and enthusiasm for the short time he's on screen, but the script demands he leaves dealing with the dragon to Galen. On the other hand, we have Emperor Palpatine himself, Ian McDiarmid as Brother Jacopus, whose mission is to show the Pagan Urlanders that song and prayer will dispel all evil and supersition from the land, especially a non-existent dragon. The two struggles, between Christanity and Paganism, as well as people versus Vermithrax, make for mixed if interesting viewing. The pacing is uneven, but the characters and the politics are realistic enough to make it entertaining. Mercifully, while the influence of Monty Python and the Holy Grail is evident in the sets and clothing, this is not a film played for laughs. It is grim, and occasionally shockingly brutal, and deserves its PG rating. The effects that bring the dragon to life along with other small bits are excellent for their time, and stand up well today. From flare effects added after filming, to landslides and fissures opening, up to Vermithrax herself, a mixture of life-size parts and "go-motion", the computer assisted next stage from Ray Harryhausen's hand made stop motion, the dragon and her effects on her surroundings are more than believable enough for the 110 minutes the film takes. In a time where there's so many new films available on streaming services, this is a refreshing example of an older film that's as entertaining today as when it was first released. I highly recommend it.

Absolute quality

Awesome! Really enjoyed watching this with my kids.

This review is for the US Import 4K Blu-ray (Region FREE ABC) PLOT... A young wizarding apprentice is sent to kill a dragon which has been devouring girls from a nearby kingdom. For 1981 DragonSlayer is a terrific fantasy movie, a simple tale of a young wizards apprentice who has to take on the role of master after some unfortunate events lead to his death, and he must slay the last dragon in the land, a huge beast that feasts on virgin girls of all things! The movie has a good cast from the time and is very serious, there's no comedy elements to the story. It can be very dark at times too which was very bold for Disney/Paramount back in the 80's. There's some bloody violence at times and scary creature effects. The dragon looks amazing, terrific effects its huge and breaths fire, a great combination of practical and some CG effects, very good looking for 1981, probably some of the best from the time. Well worth picking up if you love these old movies from back in the day, amazing release on 4KBlu-ray too the picture quality is fantastic. Features include commentary, screen tests and a featurette (78mins) Region FREE ABC 4K Disc. Running time 109mins, 1981. English language movie, English subtitles. The outer slip has great looking new art as does the steelbook inside.

Excellent delivery and plays well and stunning picture quality 👌

I saw the film on TV many years ago so I was glad to find it had a 4K release, it is not the most exciting film and didn't do great commercially but I like it. At one point I did feel slightly sorry for the dragon.

I already had this on a Region 2 release some years back but the picture is a 4:3 ratio even though the film is in widescreen. So I ordered another copy on Region 1 and that is 16:9, just right to accommodate my TV. Anyhow, onto the film: I've always loved this film and feel it is well underappreciated. It's one of the best films of the fantasy genre, very dark for a PG rating, and still have, for me, possibly the best dragon on film. Deserves to be in anyone' s DVD collection.

Bought as a gift and well received.

Still an enjoyable movie. Happy with purchase.

La película llegó a tiempo y en buen estado. Primera vez que veo la película, me había guiado por los comentarios y estaban en lo cierto, es una buena película, para mí ya un clásico. Viene solo con subtítulos en inglés.

VHSを探さなくてもすみます。 オリジナル版が手に入り嬉しいです。

My personal theory about this Dragonslayer 4K release is that someone either took extremely good care of the original film, and the home video department at Paramount had some spare time, or else a Paramount executive was a huge fan of this movie growing up, and was determined not to screw this up. Whatever the case may be, Dragonslayer, one of the "lesser" fantasy films of the 80s that was by no means a box office success or pop culture fixture, has gotten a 4K restoration that would normally be reserved for the likes of cinematic classics. On the visual side, it's crazy how much love this movie got. They've done it the proper way, going right back to the original negative and rescanning it in 4K, and then meticulously going through to remove any scratches, dirt, or other imperfections that might mar the image while leaving the film grain intact, so this movie still retains that 80s filmic look. The result is an 80s movie that looks far and away more impressive than it has any right to, especially when compared to the rough 4K treatment that some other 80s classics have received, like The Highlander. The audio is another area with pleasant surprises. Even now, there are some restorations of beloved movies like The Crow or Event Horizon that take the easier route, choosing to retain the decent 5.1 or 7.1 Dolby/DTS audio that previous Blu-Ray releases got. However, Dragonslayer somehow got a brand new Dolby Atmos mix, and because this is a movie about a guy fighting a dragon, this sounds as impressive as you'd expect. Overhead speakers come to life when the dragon soars overhead, attacks villages, or even just rises up and towers over the hapless hero. Thanks to how immersive the sound is, viewers are now getting, far and away, a vastly superior audio experience to what film-goers experienced in theaters in 1981 when this movie first ran. Music is boisterous, dialog is crystal clear, and during dragon sequences, the subwoofer roars to life to match the dragon and will shake your walls if you let it. All in all, it's an astounding level of unexpected high-quality audio for a movie that tanked at the box office in the 80s. The same goes for the extras. Fans of the film get a wealth of documentary material with some of the greats in analog special effects, like Dennis Muren and Phil Tippet, talking about the innovative stop-motion animation techniques they utilized. But perhaps most surprising of all, there is a brand new commentary included for this 4K restoration with both Dragonslayer's director, Matthew Robbins, but he's accompanied by Guillermo Del Toro, who it turns out is a huge fan of this film. If you're a fan of Dragonslayer or even just like to see older film restoration done right in the 4K era, this is a surprising must-own for your 4K movie shelf.

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