bkoganbing A young apprentice magician played by Peter MacNicol in his film debut is told he's learned all that his master can teach him. Ralph Richardson expects to die soon. But maybe not at the hands of one of the King's men. All for wanting to get rid of a nasty dragon who gets fed a regular diet of virginal women in exchange for leaving his kingdom alone. But when it comes to the royal princess herself, the king thinks we ought to reexamine our policy.Dragonslayer is a charming fantasy about those things we love in our legends, fierce dragons and the heroes who slay them to save a princess. It deservedly got an Oscar nomination for Best Special Effects and also one for it's original movie score. MacNicol makes a nice debut and wins himself Caitlin Clarke, a lovely catch even if she isn't heir to the realm.One thing though, what is it about dragons and virgins? Do the women taste sweeter, do they roast better under the dragon's breath if they're virgins? One day someone will do a treatise on that.Have to give recognition to one of the UK's acting knights. Ralph Richardson is a wonderful sorcerer. A kind of Obi Wan Kenobe to MacNicol's medieval Han Solo. Dragonslayer is worth watching for him alone.And I hope you see it.

FlashCallahan A King has made a pact with a dragon where he sacrifices virgins to it, and the dragon leaves his kingdom alone. An old wizard, and his keen young apprentice volunteer to kill the dragon and attempt to save the next virgin in line.....the Kings own daughter.This is one of those movies where the poster sells it to you, and i', talking about the poster that comes with the title here on IMDb, and it was a trait that many films in the eighties had, fantastic poster, terrible film.For the most part, we have Peter MacNicol spouting silly sub-par Tolkein dialogue and getting scared when he sees lady bits.For a hero, hes a moaning little boy, and I can understand why the actor is embarrassed to put this on his CV, he isn't any good.The rest of the cast are just the typecast characters you saw in endless films like this in the eighties, Hawk The Slayer, Krull, Ladyhawke, you'd be forgiven if you think you've already seen it.But, what saves this from being a one star movie, is the Dragon, we wait a long time, but when we see it, it's brilliant. It's very impressive to look at in 2013, so heaven knows what audiences thought in 1981, it's a pity go motion wasn't used more.If for some reason, you can see just the dragon footage, see it, but it will make you want to watch the rest of the film, which just consists of old men walking through Wales.A boring film, except for the Dragon.

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...

pc95 Grew up watching this movie several times during the early/mid 80s, so my review is a little skewed/biased. Recently re-watched it and still enjoyed it for what it was: a fantasy-adventure. The set design and attention to details like spoken Latin, Costuming, Settings (Town and Castle) were very meticulous and competent and the dragon is very well done considering the dates the movie was created. I thought Ralph Richardson, John Hallam, and Caitlin Clarke had the strongest performances in the movie while Peter MacNicol, although energetic, doesn't quite fit the role. The music at times is good, but at other times out-of-place. Much of the cinematography is beautiful including backdrops of Scotland. Summarizing, the film seems a bit aloof, and sets up a standard romance - however the winning aspects of the movie are it's look and it's recreation of an Old World Society, Rulership, and melding of black arts (magic), sacrifice, and lottery (apparently mocking it). The script and dialog often is better than average and thoughtful. Fairly Recommended, and although some special effects have shown their age a bit, a good movie.