Dragonslayer (1981) ***1/2

I enjoyed Dragonslayer (1981) more on a second viewing (the first time I watched the film was 15 years ago). I really appreciate how dark the movie is—both the tone and the cinematography, which is fantastic (filmed in Wales and Skye, Ireland). This second joint production between Paramount and Disney, after 1980's Popeye (review), pulls no punches for a PG fantasy film—there's tangible danger, nudity, and one gory scene (where a character you don't expect is killed) that is pretty disturbing (and awesome). The effects by ILM (the first use of the company outside of a Lucasfilm production) is simply stunning, on a scale not seen any more. The design and realization of the menacing Vermithrax Pejorative, the titular monster in need of slaying, is truly spectacular, considered by many to be the best cinematic dragon. To some this type of effects work is "charmingly antique," to quote director Matthew Robbins, but I appreciate it more and more as the years go by (and I'll take practical over CGI till I die). The score by Alex North—utilizing queues rejected by Stanley Kubrick for 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) (review)—is grand and bombastic, perfectly suited to the world created on screen. A really entertaining and satisfying picture.

Matthew Robbins Films Ranked