1996, the best year in movie history, pt. 19: DragonHeart
1996 is still an innocent time, dragon-wise. The cynicism of Game of Thrones hasn’t yet pervaded the post-Arthurian, pre-Chaucerian world of DragonHeart.
The young Prince Einon is trained by Bowen (Dennis Quaid), a “knight of the Old Code.” Bowen teaches Einon to swordfight and to do good.
Rebellious peasants kill Einon’s tyrannical father. Einon, too, is mortally wounded. But before he can die, his mother, Queen Aislinn (Julie Christie), takes him into the lair of an old worm named Draco. The dragon has the power to heal Einon. But first, Bowen, the knight, must swear an oath to bring up Einon in line with the Old Code.
After Bowen takes the oath, Draco inserts a piece of his own heart into Einon’s chest. Not only does this restore Einon to health, it makes him invulnerable.
Years pass. It’s dismaying to see King Einon (David Thewlis) grown up worse than his father, torturing, enslaving, and killing peasants.
Bowen blames the dragon’s heart for Einon’s corruption. Bitterly, he leaves the court and takes revenge against any dragon he can find.
♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
What follows this dark prologue is a hilarious Muppet-like romp through the British countryside. I say “Muppet-like” because its protagonist, Draco, is a benevolent monster. He isn’t a puppet – at least, not in every scene; usually, he seems computer-generated. But he’s awfully cuddly for an old lizard. Some of his expressions seem almost feline. He’s lifelike and absurd.
Best of all, he’s voiced by Sean Connery.
Draco reencounters Bowen and convinces him to become his partner in con artistry. The two lapsed adherents of the Old Code traverse the countryside, swindling peasants of their money. To do the swindle, Draco pretends to die in a manner that generates considerable slapstick humor, not unlike the false hangings in such Westerns as The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.
It’s all very silly and formulaic; thankfully, the movie doesn’t aspire not to be. One particularly ripe old chestnut, served up during the opening scene, you may recall from a 1971 Wizard of Id collection:
(DragonHeart isn’t even the first movie to recycle this joke: see it done by Mel Brooks in 1981.)
A monk (Peter Postlethwaite) follows Draco and Bowen, commenting on the action like a Greek chorus.
In one scene, the monk climbs up on a large, gray rock and begins to recite obnoxiously from a scroll. Beneath his feet, a fiery eye twitches open. The rock is Draco in natural camouflage. The monk is scared out of his wits.
Later, in preparation for the obligatory battle against King Einon, the monk will become an excellent archer.
Another notable warrior is a peasant girl, Kara (Dina Meyer). Einon wishes to make her his bride. (This, too, already has been done in movies.) She’d rather kill him for his vile treatment of her father. For that matter, she’d rather kill than marry anyone. But in time she grows attracted to Bowen.
Recall that because he has a dragon’s heart in his chest, Einon is invulnerable. How this issue is resolved, I won’t tell; maybe you can guess. Also, it goes without saying that before they can defeat Einon, Bowen and Draco must remember what it is to follow the Old Code. No more may they swindle the peasants. (The movie always has been on the peasants’ side, anyway.)
Original plotting isn’t DragonHeart’s strength. That’s all right. Draco is loveable. He has a noble heart. Once he follows its promptings, the rest of his universe rights itself, too.
The young Prince Einon is trained by Bowen (Dennis Quaid), a “knight of the Old Code.” Bowen teaches Einon to swordfight and to do good.
Rebellious peasants kill Einon’s tyrannical father. Einon, too, is mortally wounded. But before he can die, his mother, Queen Aislinn (Julie Christie), takes him into the lair of an old worm named Draco. The dragon has the power to heal Einon. But first, Bowen, the knight, must swear an oath to bring up Einon in line with the Old Code.
After Bowen takes the oath, Draco inserts a piece of his own heart into Einon’s chest. Not only does this restore Einon to health, it makes him invulnerable.
Years pass. It’s dismaying to see King Einon (David Thewlis) grown up worse than his father, torturing, enslaving, and killing peasants.
Bowen blames the dragon’s heart for Einon’s corruption. Bitterly, he leaves the court and takes revenge against any dragon he can find.
♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
What follows this dark prologue is a hilarious Muppet-like romp through the British countryside. I say “Muppet-like” because its protagonist, Draco, is a benevolent monster. He isn’t a puppet – at least, not in every scene; usually, he seems computer-generated. But he’s awfully cuddly for an old lizard. Some of his expressions seem almost feline. He’s lifelike and absurd.
Best of all, he’s voiced by Sean Connery.
Draco reencounters Bowen and convinces him to become his partner in con artistry. The two lapsed adherents of the Old Code traverse the countryside, swindling peasants of their money. To do the swindle, Draco pretends to die in a manner that generates considerable slapstick humor, not unlike the false hangings in such Westerns as The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.
It’s all very silly and formulaic; thankfully, the movie doesn’t aspire not to be. One particularly ripe old chestnut, served up during the opening scene, you may recall from a 1971 Wizard of Id collection:
(DragonHeart isn’t even the first movie to recycle this joke: see it done by Mel Brooks in 1981.)
A monk (Peter Postlethwaite) follows Draco and Bowen, commenting on the action like a Greek chorus.
In one scene, the monk climbs up on a large, gray rock and begins to recite obnoxiously from a scroll. Beneath his feet, a fiery eye twitches open. The rock is Draco in natural camouflage. The monk is scared out of his wits.
Later, in preparation for the obligatory battle against King Einon, the monk will become an excellent archer.
Another notable warrior is a peasant girl, Kara (Dina Meyer). Einon wishes to make her his bride. (This, too, already has been done in movies.) She’d rather kill him for his vile treatment of her father. For that matter, she’d rather kill than marry anyone. But in time she grows attracted to Bowen.
Recall that because he has a dragon’s heart in his chest, Einon is invulnerable. How this issue is resolved, I won’t tell; maybe you can guess. Also, it goes without saying that before they can defeat Einon, Bowen and Draco must remember what it is to follow the Old Code. No more may they swindle the peasants. (The movie always has been on the peasants’ side, anyway.)
Original plotting isn’t DragonHeart’s strength. That’s all right. Draco is loveable. He has a noble heart. Once he follows its promptings, the rest of his universe rights itself, too.