I think Paramount has the distribution on this and it's a shame.
This Paramount/Disney co-production would be great as a 4K remaster on the Disney+ streaming service.
Anyway it's probably going to be awhile, since Dragonslayer bombed at the box office and has always been way down the list of re-released catalog titles when the new video formats establish themselves.
I remember watching Dragonslayer at the cinema when it was released and thought it was amazing. Quite dark and dismal for a Disney film. Nothing at all like I imagined it would be. I suppose it was no surprise that it bombed. Although it took me some years to finally pick up the score on CD, it was my first purchase of an Alex North score and came at a time when I figured it was time to try and get into his music. It has grown on me over time and I have gone on to pick up further Alex North scores (Spartacus, Cleopatra, 2001 among them) and don't find his music as abrasive or out of tune as my younger self used to.
I’d have to agree with those who like this score. The film is dark (perhaps the most grim film with Disney’s name on it) and as such required a bleak, modernist score. But it’s not all astringent and dissonant. There’s a boatload of terrific material that employs North’s unique harmonic sensibilities.
I’d have to agree with those who like this score. The film is dark (perhaps the most grim film with Disney’s name on it) and as such required a bleak, modernist score. But it’s not all astringent and dissonant. There’s a boatload of terrific material that employs North’s unique harmonic sensibilities.
Count me as a fan too. The recording (Abbey Road) and performance (National Philharmonic) are also outstanding.
I like the film quite a bit too -- though I felt the two leads were a bit weak. I think the filmmakers were going for "Star Wars" casting -- i.e. American leads surrounded by "Old Vic" veterans -- but for me that doesn't quite work as well in Dragonslayer's "somewhere in the British Isles" setting.
Alex North has never been like drinking a smooth light beer, he is more like a stout, or a scotch. Digesting his music is a little demanding, but it is worth it.
Count me in as being a big fan of this core. I like North's 2001 as well, which is somewhat of a companion piece to this, as both share some of the same musical DNA.
Count me in as being a big fan of this score. I like North's 2001 as well, which is somewhat of a companion piece to this, as both share some of the same musical DNA.
My dislike for the score is well documented. The film which I like, would've improved greatly tonally in the hands of Goldsmith or Horner.
Maybe for you, for many of us fans of the score, it sounds original and perfect for the setting.
For the record, I did an analysis of this score for FSM in the late 90s and in my research it seemed North himself had a hard time connecting with the film. Nonetheless, I like the medieval sonorities he achieved with the orchestra and his theme for Vermithrax was and is one of the best for any character. I love the way the film opens with North's pronouncement of the theme. It tells the audience, "this ain't like any Disney film you've ever seen before kiddie!"
I think Paramount has the distribution on this and it's a shame.
This Paramount/Disney co-production would be great as a 4K remaster on the Disney+ streaming service.
Isn't it Paramount in North America and Disney in the rest of the world?
The go-motion effects work by Phil Tippett on Vermithrax was groundbreaking. I love the score, and have since first rediscovering the film on TV in the late 80s. Unfortunately the music was hacked up a bit in the film. The bit where the clouds converge and Ralph Richardson reaches the summit of the mountain is stunning and reminds a bit of parts of the climax of CE3K.
A big plus is pre-Palpatine Ian McDiarmid getting toasted after uttering the immortal lines:
"Unclean beast! Get thee down! Be thou consumed by the fires that made thee!"
My dislike for the score is well documented. The film which I like, would've improved greatly tonally in the hands of Goldsmith or Horner.
Maybe for you, for many of us fans of the score, it sounds original and perfect for the setting.
For the record, I did an analysis of this score for FSM in the late 90s and in my research it seemed North himself had a hard time connecting with the film. Nonetheless, I like the medieval sonorities he achieved with the orchestra and his theme for Vermithrax was and is one of the best for any character. I love the way the film opens with North's pronouncement of the theme. It tells the audience, "this ain't like any Disney film you've ever seen before kiddie!"
This is great. Let's all start again from the beginning and go through the whole thing once again, step by step. I'll start off by saying for the umpteenth time that I hate the score and think it interferes with the flow of the picture. Next...
Count me in as being a big fan of this score. I like North's 2001 as well, which is somewhat of a companion piece to this, as both share some of the same musical DNA.
The same. I would also add Africa.
Actually Dragonslayer is downright recycled material from his rejected "2001"score- it's just that North being old and amidst health problems, thought he could do it, because at the time- 1981 - nobody had heard his "" 2001" score anyway.
I seem to recall there was a musicians strike when this film was made and the score was recorded in Europe. This was also the reason why the more popular composers at the time didn't do the score. But I can find no evidence of a musicians strike at that time. Am I misremembering?
I think Paramount has the distribution on this and it's a shame.
This Paramount/Disney co-production would be great as a 4K remaster on the Disney+ streaming service.
Anyway it's probably going to be awhile, since Dragonslayer bombed at the box office and has always been way down the list of re-released catalog titles when the new video formats establish themselves.
There's a very solid 1080p master that's available for sale on pretty much every digital platform (Vudu, Itunes, etc.). It's been out there for years. Hopefully someone will pick it up for Blu-Ray (Shout?) because it's ready to go.
While ultimately undone by really craptastic processing shots and the casting of a couple of Yanks in the leads this was still a highly atmospheric film experience back in '81, with the art direction, costumes, music and sound effects compensating for the incongruous lead performances and, sadly, often dodgy SFX.
As Jeff Bond asked several pages and years back as to how many actually saw this in a theatre, well, I did, and here, during the final confrontation, I very much recall going "OOOH!" when the dragon's theme broke the clouds:
Oh, and it really goes without saying that if you were ever expecting North to deliver cliché fantasy juvenilia you were rightfully disappointed.
