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This underrated 1981 fantasy was a co-production between Disney and Paramount, but it ranks well above most of Disney's live action from the period. It's surprisingly dark, and delivers some nice twists and turns along the way. Vermithrax Perjorative is the best dragon ever put on film (the dragons in Reign of Fire are a close second) and has the coolest dragon name as well. Ralph Richardson ranks right up there with Frank Morgan as Best Film Wizard of All Time (Until Ian McKellan Put on the Pointy Hat). I especially loved his first words when he comes back from the dead. Peter MacNichol stars as Galen, an impressively earnest, blotchy, and incompetent sorcerer's apprentice. There's also a beautiful, brave, noble princess, who gets eaten by baby dragons after making us believe she's Galen's love interest. The real love interest, Caitlin Clarke, spends most of the film pretending to be a boy, a bit of gender-bending one would never have expected from Disney. The film's bad guys are painted in shades of gray; from where they sit, they're the heroes, doing what has to be done to save the land. Even Vermithrax has believable motives. Do NOT confuse this one with the much inferior Dragonheart. (it) |
