The code you are referring to is called the Warrior's Code of Conduct and it is very real and has been around since the Age of Arthur.
Well and good (though warrior codes of conduct around the world almost certainly predated Arthur). I still maintain that this is a fantasy film in a genre that, overall, does not demonstrate (or, indeed, require) strict adherence to such a code. Perhaps, in the realm of Dungeons and Dragons (with which I am not familiar), this code and all its prerequisite steps are deemed essential. Elsewhere? Not so much...
You must be the hero first dear wyvernkd. Then and only then will you be qualified to pull the sword from the stone!
Ah, but there's the rub! Arthur is a youth when he pulls the sword from the stone - a squire with no real social standing and untested/unproven leadership skills. It's by virtue of his bloodline, not his character, that he accomplishes this feat. Only later does he truly begin to prove himself. Countless fantasy heroes start out as awkward youths of one sort or another. MacNicol portrays that awkwardness very well, and it's part of the charm of the film - the fact that this young man has power and potential, but is still very rough around the edges. One must take the hero's journey in order to become the hero...and that is precisely what we're seeing in DRAGONSLAYER: a young man who is not a hero yet, compelled to leave home and ultimately to prove himself.
Re: Christianity in the film, you state
even though yes it was accurate for the time period in history. I still did not want to see it. It was gratiouitous and unnecessary and just so chosen and unnatural it makes me sick.
If it's "accurate for the time period," then how could it possibly be construed as "chosen and unnecessary and unnatural?" You're contradicting yourself here, and your deeply negative attitude toward Christianity doesn't help your case.
And as far as you say ""unless one chooses to believe that God was in league with the Sorcerer..."" - I find this a remarkable statement from you.
You've misread me, probably because I neglected to clarify that in context I was referring specifically to the Christian concept of God, which in the film is explicitly portrayed in opposition to the dragon (and, by extension, to the sorcerers who created dragons). If there's any truth to the accusation that the film was "hijacked by Christians," then its overall end message should be a very clear valorization of Christianity, which the film does not present at all. Is Christianity on the rise in the film? Yes. Does it demonstrate any genuine power within the context of the story line? No, not really. Do explicitly Christian figures come across as strong and righteous and capable of changing people's lives for the better? No, not really. It's the sorcerer, Ulric, with the help of his apprentice, who saves the day. If Christians did indeed try to "hijack" this film, then the filmmakers and the original storytellers had the last laugh.
I forget where I read it but this script was hijacked by Christians in Hollywood.
I've searched online and can find no evidence to support this contention. A far more likely scenario is that the theme of Christianity supplanting the old pagan ways is integral to the film's entire pseudo-historical concept. Ulric and the dragon are both very old, among the last of their kind in a world that is changing and leaving them behind. On a site called "
[email protected], a poster named Velox expresses this concept beautifully (and at some length!). I've pasted his argument here in blue:
This film, and its surprisingly well-done novelization, tell a coming-of-age story set against a background of great historical change; one of the reasons it works as well as it does is that the background is very well realized, and if one ignores the fantasy elements, surprisingly accurate historically.
Dragonslayer appears to be set in the late 5th century CE, in the period after the collapse of Roman authority in England. This was a period of vast and inexorable change - as the Romano-British system of government disintegrated, the Saxons - first brought in as mercenaries to fight the encroaching Picts and Irish - swept across the English countryside, before finally being turned back at the Battle of Mount Baden. At the same time, Christianity spread rapidly throughout the region, driven by a strengthening monastic movement. It was during this period that the legends of King Arthur appear to have been born ("Arthur" was probably a war leader instrumental in turning back the Saxon armies,) and that Romano-British civilization gave way to the new Christian, Anglo-Saxon order.
The authors of Dragonslayer appear to have done their homework; it's more obvious if you read the novellization, but it's there in the film as well. The characters have an interesting mix of old British names - Ulrich, Malkin, Greil - and "new" Christian/Roman names - Valerian, Simon, and the main character Galen. Smatterings of Latin show up throughout: all of Ulrich's and Galen's incantations, and Simon's magical lance - Sicarius Dragorum, which translates roughly to 'Dragonslayer,' of course. In the novelization, Simon recounts recalls seeing the fall of a Roman garrison during his youth; the last of the Roman soldiers stood amongst the ruins, howling a battle-cry as the locals closed in for the kill. Simon says that he decided to give the lance an "old" Latin name in honor of that lone legionary's bravery. This and other little flourishes do a good job of suggesting the fall of an older order and the transition to a new one.
The political trappings of the story are relatively authentic, too. As the central Roman government collapsed, local war chiefs rose and declared themselves king; numerous battles eventually consolidated rulership under a high king, but for a long time local lords were the sum total of government. Dragonslayer's authority figure is Casiodorus Rex; he's taken a Roman name and title (as the princes of Europe were wont to do - everyone wanted to assume the mantle of Roman rulership), but is obviously mainly a local authority with a band of lackeys to back him up. Who else would care about the fate of so small a town as Urland?
One of the strongest trends of the period was the swift ascendancy of Christianity, and the theme is very noticeable throughout Dragonslayer. An itinerant priest named Jacopus is in town at the beginning of the story; he's incinerated by the dragon Vermithrax (the name is Latin for "worm of Thrace,") but the townspeople continue to ponder the madman's words, and increasingly identify with the Christian faith. Simon gives Valerian a cross when he sends her away from Urland for safety, saying that "it can't hurt," and that the tides of history are clearly flowing in its favor. Indeed, by the end of the story, a new priest has arisen in the village and even Simon is baptised, stoically surrendering to the inevitable currents of change.
The story continually emphasizes the fact that Ulrich and Vermithrax are the last of their kind, and indeed they become symbols of the old world - in destroying one another, they bring the period to a close. In a particularly telling scene, the newly-minted Christian congregation and Casiodorus reach the dragon's corpse at the same time, and both claim credit for its destruction. In much the same way, church and state would vie for supremacy and control of the old Roman political order across Europe for centuries.
All in all, Dragonslayer does an excellent job of capturing and utilizing the darkness of an uncertain time. The fading Roman cultural influences, the obvious weakness of a feeble king who nevertheless holds the common folk under his power through force of arms, the continuous references to the crumbling and enfeebled ways of the past, and the mournful inevitability with which Simon treats the Christian fervor that subsumes the beloved traditions of the ancient world - all provide a very strong background to Galen's coming-of-age story. All of it, combined with some rather brilliant cinematography - brooding forests, ancient, decaying fortresses, and the humble hominess of Urland - produce a cohesive and compelling atmosphere. Dragonslayer is a tale about growing up while the world around you falls apart and changes forever; by building the story on truly solid fundamentals, its creators have imbued it with meaning beyond what one would expect, and produced a surprisingly moving whole. If you're into that kind of thing, I'd heartily recommend it; you won't be disappointed.
Dont' try to sell me a paper pushing work-a-day-Joe for a hero because I KNOW he could never have what it takes for a humane thought or a genuine heartbeat.
Now it's my turn to be surprised. Considering the very real heroism that is all too frequently found in the most unlikely people and places, your narrow definition of the term "hero" is disappointing. There is much, much more to the world than Dungeons and Dragons...
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