Every now and again in articles about people who starred in this movie (mainly Sir Ralph Richardson and Peter MacNichol) I see it put down as being awful or silly. I have to think the people who say this never actually saw the movie. This is an intelligent, well-scripted, well-acted, well-paced film, with excitement and suspense to spare, and it makes you think. The dragon Vermithrax is beautifully realized with "go-motion" photography, giving it a fluid and realistic movement that is equal and in some ways better than any CGI you've ever seen. I haven't seen "Eragon" yet, but I have a feeling "Dragonslayer" is probably a much better movie.
The movie portrays the king and his enforcer, Tyrian, as ruthless men, but not as overtly evil ... they honestly believe they are doing the right thing by the kingdom and its people. One gets a sense that the king initiated the lottery out of sheer desperation but over time was corrupted by it as the nobles and wealthy commoners paid large sums into the royal coffers to keep their daughters' names out and as (spoiler warning) he hypocritically kept his own daughter's name off the lists.
I can't believe some people say that someone other than Peter MacNichol, such as Tom Cruise, should have been cast as Galen. They say MacNichol doesn't look heroic enough. Duh! That was the whole point of the casting. Galen is not supposed to look like you'd expect a dragonslayer to look. The other characters get a look at him and don't expect much of him, and the audience isn't supposed to either.
SPOILER: About the only problem I have with this movie is that it's impossible to believe no one would ever have realized the blacksmith's "son," Valerian, was really a girl.
The movie portrays the king and his enforcer, Tyrian, as ruthless men, but not as overtly evil ... they honestly believe they are doing the right thing by the kingdom and its people. One gets a sense that the king initiated the lottery out of sheer desperation but over time was corrupted by it as the nobles and wealthy commoners paid large sums into the royal coffers to keep their daughters' names out and as (spoiler warning) he hypocritically kept his own daughter's name off the lists.
I can't believe some people say that someone other than Peter MacNichol, such as Tom Cruise, should have been cast as Galen. They say MacNichol doesn't look heroic enough. Duh! That was the whole point of the casting. Galen is not supposed to look like you'd expect a dragonslayer to look. The other characters get a look at him and don't expect much of him, and the audience isn't supposed to either.
SPOILER: About the only problem I have with this movie is that it's impossible to believe no one would ever have realized the blacksmith's "son," Valerian, was really a girl.