MovieChat Forums > Dragonslayer (1981) Discussion > A real gem of a film fantasy - worthy o...

A real gem of a film fantasy - worthy of a remake?

posted 20 years ago by gerardx
76 replies | jump to latest

Dragaonslayer was a bomb commercially as we know, as early 80's audiences were a very fickle bunch, spoiled by the likes of "The Empire Strikes Back" and bored to death by the sword and sorcery films like "The Lord of the Rings" (1978).

I remember reading in an magazine (maybe American Cinematographer) that Dragonslayer suffered from some poor release prints. The prints were very dark (possibly timed this way to hide some hideous matte lines courtesy of ILM.) There were reports of viewers complaining to the theater managers that they could not see - especially in the dragons lair and the final battle sequence.

Still, the film endures as a cult classic mostly because of the astounding go-motion effects and full size dragon model photography. In addition, the film hits on some very interesting themes, especially the sub-plot related to the rise of Christianity and the death of the "dark arts" - dragons and sorcerers.

I think the film is worthy of a re-make. What would you want to see changed, added or removed altogether from the original story?

[–] anotherworld4u2002 15 years ago

heh, why to remake? It looked great althougth i saw it first time now on 2010! I really thought the movie had filmed after 2000.....

The best multiplayer internet football (soccer) game: [ulr]
http://soccer.kiekko.tk/
[/url]

[–] kobold-23 15 years ago

I've just finished watching this movie and honestly I'm against a remake.

This movie will never going to be repeated again. It has its own story, actors, effects and development.

I'm shocked to see this movie has already 20 years, lol. I watched today after almost 17 years without even hearing anything about it. It's became cult and I don't believe it's going to have a remake.

I wouldn't be against a sequel, though.

[–] kyjoe 15 years ago

I personally think this film still holds up well today. A remake could be done, but I think it would need to keep that same dark tone that the original has.

[–] filmbuff1974 15 years ago

This "re-make" mania really has to stop! How about re-releasing the movie theatrically with some minor (and I do mean MINOR) CGI improvements ?

There was a time when movies were regularly re-released in movie theaters for new generations to enjoy them on the big screen instead of on television. Walt Disney was NOT the inventor of this marketing concept!

If you love and support Michael Jackson 100%, copy & paste this into your signature. We love MJ!

[–] mjholly 15 years ago

I want a Dragonslayer remake! I would like to see Galen fight the dragon with an army of men, not by himself. I would also like the movie to have the dragon attacking villages at the beginning!

Justice for Caylee Anthony! Death penalty for Casey Anthony!

[–] sascha-17 15 years ago

While I'm not totally opposed to a remake, I seriously doubt it'd be as good as the original. First of all they'd probably skip on the violence, which - for a PG-movie - is rather intense (gnawed-off feet, an "extra crispy" friar, decapitated dragonets, etc.). Second of all I suspect they would also change the story quite a bit. Can anyone see the princess sacrificing herself like she did in a 2010-fantasy movie with a PG/PG-13-rating? I can't.

Plus I doubt they'd be able to do a better dragon. Unless they'd put lots of money into it and had someone with a great vision of the monster at the helm, it would probably end up as a lifeless, silly CGI-creature. Vermithrax (IMO) is still the greates movie-dragon ever: He looks menacing, convincing - almost like a creature that could exist in the real world. And he even has some quiet moments that actually made me feel for the monster.

And lastly, I really love the way the movie looks. It has a sort of dark, bleak realism that is totally absent in modern fantasy-films. It reminds me of the way "Excalibur" looks. My guess it that this is due to the fact it was filmed entirely (?) on location and with natural light. I can't imagine a modern filmmaker would duplicate this look.

Don't get me wrong: The original is far from perfect (the Galen-character is rather laughable IMO), but I just can't see how a modern director could improve upon it without upsetting the bean-counters. After all: This is family-entertainment we're talking about. And in my experience, movies that are specifically made as family entertainment, even though the source material isn't really fit for younger children, generally suck (see AvP and tons of other PG-13-debacles).

S.

[–] jonschaper 14 years ago

Great film. But it probably didn't help that it was released in direct competition with Raiders of the Lost Ark and the very much (over)hyped Clash of the Titans. I saw it at a drive-in as a triple feature along with Raiders (I forget what the third film was, but I remember the other screen was showing Clash of the Titans at the same time as Raiders and I'd sometimes twist my neck to check out the Harryhausen effects). It didn't help that in addition to being too dark that Dragonslayer was the third film being played (Raiders was played second) -- many people wound up leaving only a few minutes into it and, being quite young, I wound up dozing through most of it.

[–] Hobbitbabe 13 years ago

Yes, but not yet, if they did it now they'd make it all gory and up the action to a retarded extent.
But when the moment's right... HELL YES!

Fairy tales do not tell children that dragons exist, but that they can be killed.

[–] Suskis 13 years ago

This movie has a lot of flaws but it is still amazing in many aspects. I think that many characters have a promising bust shallow characterization. Also the sfx goes from wonderful to awful. the story is quite original, but, again, several sub-plots should have been treated better. I also think that this movie lacked experienced good actors (with some notable exception) and a great director. A remake could be wonderful, but as we know Hollywood has no interest in good remakes, but only in cheap, bad remakes.

'What has been affirmed without proof can also be denied without proof.' (Euclid)

[–] jayloveserin 13 years ago

No to a remake. The movie is fine as it is. I wouldn't want a remake of any of the decent 80's fantasy movies, they hold their own nostalgia for me and they still look good now.

[–] desotowright 12 years ago

Every time someone brings up a really good movie that wasn't a huge hit, they talk about how it needs a remake. I'm tired of that. People should just watch the original, it's awesome.