BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

VividSimon Simply Perfect

AnhartLinkin This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Jenni Devyn Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

atlassub34 A powerful but weary wizard, threatened townspeople in need of a savior, a young apprentice short on life experiences, a corrupt King, and a very powerful and aging dragon combine to make the greatest dragon and sorcerer movie made to date."Are you afraid of dragons? No, in fact if it weren't for sorcerers there wouldn't be any dragons." I saw this movie in the theater as a kid and I've watched it a dozen times since on television. I love it. Everyone plays their part perfectly. The wizard's keep has the appearance you'd imagine. The dragon's lair is scary and the dragon is as realistic as any creature of that size I've seen on the big screen. Even the journey the apprentice takes through the woods takes you back to a medieval time that never existed.This is a great movie that is under-rated on IMDb as of this review, but reasonably rated 86% on Rotten Tomatoes. The story is wonderful, the scenes are set well, the actors are perfectly cast, and only a few things could have been slightly better, which is why I've given this a 9 out of 10. I have yet to see another "dragon movie" that is Dragonslayer's equal.

SnoopyStyle In the kingdom of Urland, King Casiodorus selects a virgin maiden twice a year in a lottery to be sacrificed to an ancient dragon. Valerian (Caitlin Clarke) leads a group to find Ulrich (Ralph Richardson), the only one alive rumored to have killed a dragon. Soldier Tyrian challenges Ulrich to prove himself but the test kills him. His apprentice Galen Bradwarden (Peter MacNicol) with the special amulet intends to complete the quest himself. He discovers that Valerian is actually a girl pretending to be a boy. Tyrian intends to stop anything that could disrupt the way of life and kills Ulrich's elderly servant Hodge. Hodge tells Galen to spread Ulrich's ashes over a lake of "burning water". Galen seals the dragon cave entrance. Thinking it safe, Valerian reveals herself as a girl to the village. Tyrian arrests Galen. In the dungeon, princess Elspeth comes to see Galen and he reveals the popular rumor of the rigged lottery. She rigs the lottery against herself and is sent to be sacrificed.This is simple high adventure. Peter MacNicol may not be the pretty young face that the hero is suppose to be. He does have a good nature about it. Caitlin Clarke is a great heroine. Her story is compelling. The princess is great and so is Tyrian. On top of that, Vermithrax is a great scary dragon. He doesn't show his face until the last act like Jaws. This is one of the great dragon movie.

ma-cortes This film blends witchcraft and wizardry , adventures , battles and is extremely fun and amusing . A sorcerer's apprentice (Peter MacNichol) is sent to kill a dragon which has been devouring girls from a nearby kingdom . An older magician (Ralph Richardson) is the mentor of the rockie sorcerer . The young boy dreams becoming a valiant sorcerer and join forces with a girl (Caitlin Clarke) to vanquish a horrible dragon . The young wizarding apprentice suddenly finds himself the only person who save the kingdom from a free-breathing dragon . This fantasy movie packs action , witchery and and sorcery with impressive battles . Likable performance by a young Peter MacNichol , though is the first film released under the Disney name to have full frontal male nudity , as when Peter MacNicol jumps into the water, his legs swing wide giving the audience a quick shot of his genitals . Funny acting by the veteran Ralph Richardson and enjoyable support cast . The story has many familiar dragon motifs found throughout Western culture , in particular Saint George and the Dragon, in which maiden sacrifices were made to appease a harassing dragon. Saint George's tale also includes a sacrificial lottery resulting in the surprise condemnation of a princess , Saint George is also frequently depicted with a magic blessed lance or a sword . Smart screenplay by Hal Barwood dealing with fantasy medieval , dragons , necromancy , fantastic kingdoms and many other things . Entertaining and fun movie with acceptable special effects bringing the dragon to life . Work on dragons made by CG sometimes seem authentic , but is also noted its computer realization . First film to use go-motion, a variant of stop-motion animation in which parts of the dragon were mechanized and the movement programmed by computer . During shooting, the computer moves the model while the camera is shooting, resulting in motion blur, which makes the animation more convincing . The only thing that let it down from this perspective , was that some of the parts in between the dragons fighting were a little dull . Colorful cinematography , shot on location in Wales , though the final scene was shot in Skye, Scotland and many town locals were employed in the film as village extras. Thrilling as well as spectacular musical score by the classic Alex North , some of the score by Alex North was "recycled" from music he'd originally composed for 2001: A Space Odyssey that went unused . This co-production between Walt Disney Pictures and Paramount was efficiently directed by Matthew Robbins and it was more mature and realistic than most Disney films of the time .The picture belongs to Fantasy/Dragon sub-genre ; other important films dealing with Dragons are the following : ¨Dragonheart¨ by Rob Cohen with Dennis Quaid , Dina Meyer , Jason Isaacs and Julie Christie ; ¨Dragonheart , a new beginning¨ with Chris Marterson , Figueroa and Harry Von Gorkum ; ¨Dragom Storm¨ (2004) by Stephen Furst with Maxwell Caufield , Angel Boris , Tony Amendola and John Rhys Davies ; and other latter day movies and belonging to this Dragons sub-genre are ¨Reign of fire¨ (2002) by Rob Bowman with Christian Bale, Matthew McConaughey , Izabella Scorupco , and Gerard Butler ; ¨Eragon¨ (2006) by Stephen Fangmeier with Edward Speleers , Robert Carlyle , Sienna Gullory and John Malkovich .

bheadher I remember seeing Dragon Slayer when it came out, and it remains one of my top favorites of all time. I'm an "old guy", so CGI only impresses me when it is done well and enhances the story. Dragon Slayer has not a drop of CGI and doesn't need it. The Special Effects team (FX for all you young people) did a superb job of bringing a totally believable dragon to life in this movie, you cannot be disappointed. The story flows well, recounting a Sorcerer's apprentice in his awakening as a growing manipulator of magic and other worldly talents. During his apprenticeship he makes numerous mistakes, much to the annoyance of his Master. Most have a humorous tone to them, which adds a reality of it's own to the story. It is simply a realistic fantasy, crossing over from a made up story to something special that makes you look out your window to see if there is a malevolent dragon lurking in the shadows. I just wish they'd show it occasionally on TV...