11 spectacular dragon films

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

These monsters are unlikely to leave you indifferent.

11. Beowulf

• USA, 2007.
• Adventure fantasy, thriller.
• Duration: 113 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 2.

The Viking king throws a lavish feast, but in the midst of the fun, Grendel, enraged by loud sounds, attacks the guests. The monster brutally kills several people and then walks away. A reward is assigned for the monster's head, and a warrior named Beowulf intends to receive it.

The film was shot based on a script by Neil Gaiman and Roger Avery, who were inspired by the famous ancient Germanic poem. At the same time, the film itself looks rather unusual: it was entirely created using motion capture technology. The action of the tape takes place entirely in a virtual environment, and the movements and facial expressions of live actors are taken as a basis.

10. Power of fire

• USA, UK, Ireland, 2002.
• Science fiction, adventure, thriller.
• Duration: 96 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 2.

In the distant future, the planet is at the mercy of fierce fire-breathing dragons. Hunter Wang Zan and the fearless warrior Quinn team up to save humanity. To do this, they need to kill the only successor of the dragon race.

Despite the obvious shortcomings of the plot, the movie turned out to be very entertaining, and the scenes of battles with dragons are still impressive to this day. Not to mention that the main roles were played by charming Christian Bale and Matthew McConaughey.

9. Dragon Heart

• USA, UK, Slovakia, 1996.
• Adventure fantasy.
• Duration: 103 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 5.

When Prince Einon is mortally wounded, the wise dragon gives him a piece of his heart on the condition that the prince becomes a good king. However, he still grows up to be a cruel, soulless despot. And then the noble knight Bowen, who all this time unsuccessfully tried to raise the prince to be merciful, vows to find and destroy all dragons. True, with the next victim, everything does not turn out the way he thought.

At one time, the film won the Saturn Film Award in the Best Fantasy Film nomination. Modern viewers will be interested in seeing the then little-known David Thewlis in the role of the evil king. Subsequently, the actor became famous for playing Professor Lupine in the Harry Potter film saga.

8. Dragon Conqueror

• USA, 1981.
• Adventure fantasy.
• Duration: 108 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 7.

The ruler of the medieval kingdom concludes a treaty with the dragon, according to which the monster leaves the kingdom alone, and in return receives a sacrifice - a young virgin. The girls are dying one by one, and the king is already ready to give up his own daughter for execution. But then the old wizard Ulrich and the young man Galen stand up to fight the monster.

The special effects in the film by Matthew Robbins are made at a very high level. In the year of its release, the picture even won Oscars for the best visual effects and original music, created by composer Alex North. The latter wrote soundtracks for the classic paintings "A Streetcar Named Desire", "Spartacus" and "Cleopatra".

7. Pete and his dragon

• USA, 2016.
• Adventure fantasy.
• Duration: 102 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 7.

An old forester often tells children about a strange creature living in the forest. His daughter Grace, who works as a ranger, considers these stories to be fairy tales, but one day she meets a street boy, Pete. He claims to be friends with the dragon.

Formally, the script of the tape is based on the 1977 Disney musical of the same name. But at the same time, there is almost nothing in common between the two pictures, and even the dragon Elliot looks completely different. The special effects masters did a great job on the new image of the beast, creating a realistic and at the same time surprisingly charming character.

6. He's a dragon

• Russia, 2015.
• Romantic fantasy, melodrama.
• Duration: 110 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 9.

Princess Miroslava is about to get married, but a dragon suddenly appears at the wedding and takes the bride away. The girl is captured on a distant island. There she meets a young man named Armand and very soon learns that this is the monster that kidnapped her.

To make the dragon's face resemble the face of the leading actor Matvey Lykov, the actor's facial features were scanned. And in general, they worked on the special effects conscientiously, and the dragon looks no worse than in foreign blockbusters.

5. Willow

• USA, 1988.
• Adventure fantasy.
• Duration: 126 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 3.

Lilliputian Willow Afgood dreams of becoming a kind wizard. Problems begin at the moment when he finds a human baby in the foliage, who is destined to become the chosen one and defeat the evil sorceress Bevmorda. In the noble mission of saving the child, Afgudu is assisted by former soldier and thief Madmurtigen and a girl named Sorsha.

As planned by producer George Lucas, the film was supposed to be the first in the failed trilogy. However, despite two nominations for "Oscar" and five nominations for "Saturn", the picture collected not very good box office. Therefore, plans for the subsequent parts had to be curtailed.

Apparently, the creators wanted to pin up the famous film critics Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel, and therefore named one of the characters in their honor - the dragon Ebersisk. In addition, the monster also looks rather strange and looks like a two-headed fire-breathing parrot.

4. Endless story

• Germany, USA, 1984.
• Adventure fantasy.
• Duration: 97 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 4.

Running away from school bullies, ten-year-old Bastian hides in an old bookstore, whose owner shows him a mysterious book called "The Endless Story." Having opened it, the boy finds himself in the land of Fantasy, which, as it turns out, is in dire danger. The kingdom can only be saved with your own imagination.

One of the most memorable characters in the film is the wingless yet flying Dragon of Fortune. To create it, a giant doll was used, which was pasted over with the wool of an angora goat and covered with 10 thousand palm-sized scales. Moreover, the creature's dog head had to be redone for a long time before director Wolfgang Petersen liked it.

3. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

• UK, USA, 2005.
• Adventure fantasy.
• Duration: 157 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 7.

At Hogwarts School, for the first time in many years, they organize a magical competition between young sorcerers from different countries, known as the Tournament of Three Wizards. Fourteen-year-old Harry Potter, against his will, turns out to be a participant in these competitions. Now he will not only have to fight with more experienced opponents, but also understand how he got to the Tournament in general, contrary to the rules.

Dragons have always been a part of the world of "Harry Potter", but for the first time viewers in all their glory were able to see these magical creatures only in the fourth part of the magical saga. According to the plot, Harry, in order to pass the test, must bypass the monster and steal the egg that it guards. Moreover, the young hero gets the most terrible enemy - the Hungarian Horntail.

The next dramatic appearance of dragons took place in the movie "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2". There the main characters tried (of course, for good purposes) to rob the underground bank "Gringotts". They managed to get out only by freeing the winged guardian lizard from its chains and flying away on its back. In the original novel, the breed of the creature was not specified, but the film explains that it was a Ukrainian iron-bellied dragon.

2. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

• New Zealand, USA, 2013.
• Adventure fantasy.
• Duration: 161 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 8.

The travelers, led by Thorin Oakenshield, continue their uneasy journey to the Lonely Mountain in the lair of the dragon Smaug. Now they have to go through the dangerous Mirkwood, where a variety of dangers and new enemies await them.

The villainous Smaug has been called one of the most convincing dragons in film history. To achieve this degree of realism, filmmakers had to combine the brilliant performance of English actor Benedict Cumberbatch with motion capture technology. Moreover, the artist really wriggled in front of the cameras like a snake and spoke in a uterine voice. All this was needed not to collect animation data, but so that the special effects specialists could figure out how to make the dragon's behavior more believable.

1. Kill the dragon

• USSR, FRG, 1988.
• Fairy tale, parable, dystopia.
• Duration: 116 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 0.

The wandering knight Lancelot finds himself in a city ruled by a cruel dragon for 400 years. Only now the inhabitants do not want to get rid of the tyranny of the monster and are quite satisfied with their position.

The film by Mark Zakharov based on the play by Yevgeny Schwartz in an allegorical form tells about the dictatorship and its consequences. The dragon in the literal sense will not be here, but the thought will sound about how important it is to defeat evil in oneself.