Dragonslayer

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confrontation between man and beast, but the film is at its best in developing, albeit often darkly, the world and the players in it, not content to Dragonslayer also got an Oscar nomination for Best Score, and went up against, to this day, one of the most famous scores of all time, Chariots of Fire. And Stephen has delivered his in-depth take on AGFA and Something Weird Video’s nine-film, three-disc The Films of Doris Wishman: The Moonlight Years Blu-ray box set, distributed by Vinegar Syndrome.

In the world of 500 AD magic and magicians are very much real, but in decline. The kingdom of Urland is plagued by a horrible fire-breathing flying dragon known as Vermithrax Pejorative. Urland’s King Casiodorus Rex (Peter Eyre), has made a terrible bargain with Vermithrax to keep its killings to a minimum: twice a year, it is appeased with a sacrificial virgin selected by a cruel lottery system. Apprentice sorcerer Galen (Peter MacNicol) possesses a magic amulet but hasn’t much control over its use. Encouraged to oppose the monster by his new friend, a boy named Valerian (Caitlan Clarke), Galen tries to enlist the aid of his master, the eccentric wizard Ulrich of Cragganmore (Ralph Richardson). The animators manage some great shots with moving cameras, as when the creature crawls out of the hazy darkness of the cave. One spectacular shot shows the reptile rearing up and vomiting yellow flame at the cavern ceiling. Vermithrax is given just enough personality to be loathsome. It is also given a bit of motherly sympathy when it discovers that Galen has chopped its babies into ugly dragon-bits. We’re disturbed by the dead girls and the dead monsters. There was a big mob in the lobby afterwards, and I got to speak to him for like, all of 30 seconds. I introduced myself and he said, ‘Oh, Dragonslayer? Great dragon! Great dragon!’ But that was it,” Robbins laughs.Clarity/Detail: Dragonslayer debuts from Paramount with a pretty stunning 4K transfer. This is a magnificent restoration with a care that you normally see given to much more esteemed classics. Its quite crisp, with plenty of detail and looks wonderfully filmic. Colors are very lovely and there’s a nice scope of depth here on display. I don’t think you could have asked for a better transfer on this (Or really any movie you buy, its that good). The costumes were designed by Anthony Mendelson, who consulted the British Museum, the London Library, and his own reference files to evoke the designs of the early Middle Ages. They are roughly stitched and use colors that would have been possible with the vegetable dyes of the time. The costumes of Casiodorus and his court were designed of fine silk, as opposed to the coarsely woven clothes of the Urlanders. [3] Music [ edit ] You also directed literally one of my favorite movies, The Legend of Billie Jean. In the last couple years, I’ve showed that movie to probably around 10 people and they all love it. I’ve been looking forward to this one for a long time. The last time I saw Dragonslayer was on HBO when I was a kid in the 80s. (I don’t recall seeing it in the theater.) I remembered some of the story beats and the big moments, but it was fuzzy in my brain, like an old school standard def video, until now. Just the same Dragonslayer is to be commended for trying something different. It is consistent in its approach, a melding of fantasy and grit.

The final product is a big, serious ‘ancient legends’ adventure, a fairy tale with rather brutal trimmings. released every catalogue release with this level of TLC. This is one of the finest the studio has ever offered and easily one of the best looking of any It is the second joint production between Paramount and Disney, after Popeye (1980), and is more mature than most contemporary Disney films. Because the audience expected the Disney name to be solely children's entertainment, the film's violence, adult themes and brief nudity were somewhat controversial, though Disney did not hold the US distribution rights. The film was rated PG in the U.S. Alex Keneas of Newsday criticized the focus on superstition, and for being "bereft of any sense of medieval time, place and society". [13] The Slayer of All Dragons (HD, 1:03:24) –This is a rather deep dive journey into the production of Dragonslayer, a majority of it being from the ILM special effects angle of the film with bringing the dragon to life. Director Matthew Robbins and ILM legends Phil Tippett and Dennis Muren guide us through this incredible journey that features a lot of production design, sketh work, behind the scenes footage and photos as well as plenty of documented ILM stuff in the form of photos and videos. If you enjoyed the documentary from last year that was on Disney+, The 5-part “Slayer of Dragons” is a fantastic extension. The parts are titled:Moving on to Paramount, retail sources are starting to indicate that the studio is planning to release Matthew Robbins’ Dragonslayer (1981) on 4K Ultra HD in January, with at least one listing the title for release on 1/10/23. I can confirm—based upon multiple sources—that the title is indeed coming and that it may even be a Paramount Presents title with at least one or two newly-created special features. Real World War II-era flamethrowers were used for Dragonslayer’s titular beast’s fire breath, and I’m happy to report that Paramount Home Entertainment throws just as much heat at the audience with their absolutely phenomenal 2160p presentation of the film. Sourced from a brand-new restoration approved by director Matthew Robbins, this release astounds with a massive technical upgrade over previous releases that does its utmost to preserve all of the film’s effects as they were intended to be seen. Film grain looks terrific as well, even on the effects shots where grain can sometimes look shaky and unnatural. Flesh tones are tuned in just right as well, not overly red or flush with other colors. presenting textures with sharper definition and colors with deeper adherence to accuracy, but still the UHD does these things better, and that is reason First things first: Our sources continue to report that Disney is likely to release both James Cameron’s original Avatar (2009) and his long-awaited remaster of The Abyss (1989) on physical 4K Ultra HD early next year. Both titles are expected to arrive on disc at the same time as the home video release of the sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water, which debuts in theaters in just 9 days. We don’t have any details as to which version(s) of The Abyss this release may include, but when we’re able to confirm we’ll certainly post an update here.

Shoilevska, Sanya; Williams, John (2003). Alex North, film composer. McFarland. ISBN 0786414707. A biography, with musical analyses of A Streetcar Named Desire, Spartacus, The Misfits, Under the Volcano, and Prizzi's Honor.I appreciate exactly what he's talking about, but the truth is that the most difficult passages in that movie, bringing that creature to life, was the fact that it was largely impossible,” he says with candor. “We had various [built] sizes of the dragons. We had full scale pieces that were built by Disney, sent to Pinewood Studios in England. But they were almost unusable. Dragonslayer is a film that’s long deserved a fresh look by cinephiles and it’s one of those rare catalog titles that’s never even received a decent Blu-ray release until now. So it’s only fitting that this injustice has been finally corrected with a terrific 4K Ultra HD and BD debut. Hats off to Paramount for a disc that delivers both top-shelf A/V quality and great new extras. It’s highly recommended. In an age of dying magic, the sixth-century kingdom of Urland finds itself plagued by a decrepit and bitter dragon named Vermithrax Pejorative. Hoping to appease the creature and outlast it, King Casiodorus (Peter Eyre) offers Vermithrax a virgin sacrifice each year chosen by lottery. But the king’s peasants, having grown tired of this, send an expedition led by Valerian (Caitlin Clarke) to seek the help of the realm’s last sorcerer, Ulrich of Cragganmore (Ralph Richardson, of Things to Come and Doctor Zhivago fame), to defeat the creature once and for all. When Ulrich is killed by the captain of the King’s guard (John Hallam) however, the task falls to his young apprentice Galen (Peter MacNicol). But Valerian has been hiding a secret. So too have Ulrich and the king, who’s long kept his own daughter, Elspeth (Chloe Salaman), from participating in the lottery. And when Galen finally comes face to face with Vermithrax, the dragon’s wrath is far more terrible than any of them imagined. It's a gift from the movie gods. I was dazzled when the opportunity came up," Robbins enthused. "When they invited me to participate in the restoration, I was unaware of what power they would be applying. I was not prepared for it." During filming of Return of the Jedi, in which Ian McDiarmid, who portrays minor character Brother Jacopus in Dragonslayer, stars as the film's main antagonist, Emperor Palpatine, the ILM crew jokingly placed a model of Vermithrax in the arms of the Rancor model and took a picture. The picture was included in the book Star Wars: Chronicles. A creature based on the appearance of this dragon appears in one of Jabba the Hutt's creature pens in Inside the Worlds of Star Wars Trilogy. [ citation needed] Related media [ edit ]

Ulrich dies before the journey forcing his apprentice Galen (Peter McNicol in his first film role). Valerian(the late Caitlin Clarke) one of the group who sought out Ulrich believes that Galen can kill the beast and free them. Ken Ralston was assigned to the flying scenes. He built a model with an articulated aluminum skeleton for a wide range of motion. Ralston shot films of birds flying to incorporate their movements into the model. As with the walking dragon, the flying model was filmed using go-motion techniques. The camera was programmed to tilt and move at various angles to convey the sensation of flight. [3] Casting [ edit ] lean narrative may be of the straightforward adventure type, but the supporting content, particularly character growth and interaction, only serve to more visible on the UHD, a little more naturally organic, rendering the film looking about as good as it can in terms of natural film texturing and overall NEW A Long Way to Urland - Pre-production begins in England as the film takes shape. The young filmmakers seek gritty medieval realism through the production design, cinematography, and costumes.

Phil Tippett counters, “It was really a pain in the ass to do. People out there still regard it as, some say, the best dragon ever.”