Back in the early 80s, adventure movies had a deadly enemy: Technology. Or, more specifically, the lack of technology necessary in order to bring some concepts to life. For a movie like 1981’sDragonslayer, for example, coming up with new and creative ways to make a scene pop was essential to make theadventureflick work, which is showcased in an exclusive featurette thatParamountMovies shared with Collider today.
The featurette will be part of the movie’s special 4K Ultra HD Limited-Edition SteelBook, which hits shelves tomorrow. It focuses onIndustrial Light & Magic, theGeorge Lucas-founded company that is a reference for visual effects to this day. Created out of the necessity of making movies look as good as they did on the storyboard, ILM worked on the visuals of classics like the originalStar Wars,Raiders of the Lost Ark, andBack to the Future. Recently, the company has worked on the visual effects of high-profile titles likeAnt-Man and the Wasp: QuantumaniaandFast X.
No One But ILM Could DoDragonslayer
Dragonslayerdirector and co-writerMatthew Robbinsalso reveals in the featurette that, ever since its inception, ILM stood tall as the best company to bringambitious visualsto life, and there was no competition when the production executives were searching for a team to handle the movie’s special effects. Visual Effects SupervisorDennis Muranalso adds the fun fact that, at the time, nobody was certain ifStar Wars: The Empire Strikes Backwould have a sequel — an unimaginable scenario nowadays — and soDragonslayerwas a welcome in-between project for them to work until there was a green light forStar Wars: Return of the Jedi.
RELATED:10 Movie Visual Effects That Are On Par With Avatar: The Way of Water
Dragonslayer’s Legacy Remains Untouched
Not by chance, the visual effects ofDragonslayerearned the movie an Academy Award nomination in the category. Even though the movie didn’t start a franchise, it still conquers new fans to this day,forty years afterits original release. The4K Ultra HD Limited SteelBook Editionmarks the very first time that the title gets released in the format, which is a heck of a present for long-time fans.
Dragonslayerwas co-written byHal Barwood(The Sugarland Express). The cast featuredPeter MacNicol(Grey’s Anatomy),Ralph Richardson(Doctor Zhivago),John Hallam(Flash Gordon),Peter Eyre(The Remains of the Day), andCaitlin Clarke(Crocodile Dundee). The standout element of the movie at the time was, of course, thefire-breathing dragonVermithrax Pejorative, which came to life at ILM through a combination of 16 massive dragon puppets and heavy use ofgo motion— a technique that made effects look more realistic through blurring of each frame.
TheDragonslayerspecial 4K UHD edition hits shelves tomorrow. You can watch the exclusive featurette below:
Check out the official synopsis here:
Set in sixth-century England, an ill-tempered, fire-breathing creature—ominously known as Vermithrax Pejorative—terrorizes its citizens until a young sorcerer’s apprentice named Galen (Peter MacNicol) is reluctantly tasked with confronting the beast. For Galen to succeed, it will take more than magic to defeat the dragon.
