MovieChat Forums > Dragonslayer (1981) Discussion > Tyrian

Tyrian

posted 14 years ago by gordonp-1
12 replies | jump to latest

One (of many) things I really liked about this movie was that the main adversary (Tyrian) was just that, an adversary, NOT a villain.

He was a professional soldier just trying to do what he thought was best for the kingdom. ("But that's just it, Your Majesty. My first loyalty is... loyalty to the kingdom.")

That is an amazingly rare thing in movies: an opponent who is so for reasons (good reasons); not just because he apparently woke up one morning and decided to be an a**hole and a monster.

Tyrian strikes me as a guy you would really like to have on your side, if at all possible, and someone you probably enjoy having a beer (Ok, 'mead) with.

That you might have irreconcilable differences is just a damned shame.
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[–] pcqgod 14 years ago

I'd say Tyrian had a sadistic streak in him. There was no need for him to kill poor old Hodge. I wouldn't want him for a friend.

Live through the Shadow Tear at the Shadow Hate in the Shadow and Love in your Shadowy Life

[–] 14 years ago

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[–] KevinMHagerman 14 years ago

Good points. I was thinking the same thing about Helen in Bridesmaids. No, seriously! Come back!

[–] WesternEyes05 13 years ago

Tyrian was a mega-douche! He killed poor Hodge for no true reason. Just like the previous poster mentioned...sadistic.

[–] 13 years ago

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[–] WyldeGoose 13 years ago

Ummm...What difference does it make?

See there are all kinds of villains, and often the courtiers end up serving a king no matter what form it takes when they realize they can't defeat them. And that's what Tyrian has chosen. The King became the courtier of a dragon, providing favors in the form of wenches, and Tyrian is but a instrument to that end.

This is the villain that desires the status quo only because he fears failure.

[–] LemonVampire 13 years ago

My favorite thing about Tyrian, and more specifically the actor who played him, was the moment when he stabs Ulrich. He gets this surprised, and maybe kind of sorry, look in his eye, as if to say he didn't really want to kill the old man when he came here, that he just wanted to stop them from meddling and bringing the wrath of Vermithrax down on the villagers. He really expected there to be some kind of trick with the knife and seems genuinely remorseful that he had to kill Ulrich.
Of course the next time we see him he murders Hodge fairly coldly, but I take this more of an indication that he was willing and able to kill when necessary. He just wasn't expecting to kill Ulrich.

[–] kramsey20 12 years ago

Tyrion was the world's first douchebag.

[–] denham 12 years ago

I very much liked the way John Hallam played Tyrian. Shades of Peter Wyngarde and Bernard Hill (!) Good post by LemonVampire.

"I beseech ye in the bowels of Christ, think that ye may be mistaken."

[–] tmcdaniel1 11 years ago

Hardly the first....

And in defense of Tyrian, I'd say he had the outlook of the "Sheepdog". He thought of himself as a big bad dog...but, not a "Wolf" (the Dragon) and his role was to defend the "Sheep" (the people of the kingdom) by enforcing a policy that had, arguably, been successful in its way.

He had perhaps been told by the king of his plan to "wait out" the dragon and let it die of old age.

Hodge, in spite of his age, was a combatant in this dispute.

The professional soldier doesn't get many "easy choices" in a crisis or combat. Tyrian followed lawful orders from the king. Orders that embodied a terrible compromise but...were intended to protect the commonwealth, not destroy innocent lives.

[–] abrown9687 11 years ago

The thing they gave Tyrian that they don't often give antagonists with a sadistic streak is sound reason and logic behind his beliefs and actions. The things he said made sense if you remove all emotion from it.

Tell your sister, you were right..

[–] Druff 9 years ago

The way the character was portrayed, it seemed like he clearly enjoyed killing. He derived pleasure from it. Not someone I would want to have a drink with, personally.