Dragonheart
Original film poster
Directed by	Rob Cohen
Produced by	Raffaella De Laurentiis
Written by	Charles Edward Pogue (story/script) Patrick Read Johnson (story)
Starring	Dennis Quaid David Thewlis Pete Postlethwaite Dina Meyer Jason Isaacs Brian Thompson Sean Connery (voice)
Music by	Randy Edelman
Running time	103 min.
Language	English
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Dragonheart is a 1996 fantasy/adventure film directed by Rob Cohen, and starring Dennis Quaid, David Thewlis, Pete Postlethwaite, Dina Meyer, and the voice of Sean Connery. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 399 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (503 × 755 pixel, file size: 44 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)original movie poster source:www. ... Director Rob Cohen on the set of Stealth Rob Cohen (born March 12, 1949 in Cornwall, New York, USA) is an American film director, producer and writer. ... Dennis William Quaid (born April 9, 1954) is an American actor. ... David Thewlis in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. ... Peter William Postlethwaite OBE (born February 7, 1945)[1] is an English actor. ... Dina Meyer (born December 22, 1968 in Queens, New York) is an American film actress. ... Jason Isaacs (born 6 June 1963) is a British actor. ... Brian Thompson on the set of the feature film Tillamook Treasure. ... Sir Thomas Sean Connery (born 25 August 1930) is a Scottish actor and producer who is perhaps best known as the first actor to portray James Bond in cinema, starring in seven Bond films. ... Randy Edelman (born 10 June 1947) is a well known film and TV score composer born in Paterson, New Jersey. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Dragonheart is a Brazilian power metal band. ... DragonForce are a British power metal band formed in London, England in 1999. ... Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ... For other uses, see Fantasy (disambiguation). ... Look up adventure in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... “Moving picture” redirects here. ... Director Rob Cohen on the set of Stealth Rob Cohen (born March 12, 1949 in Cornwall, New York, USA) is an American film director, producer and writer. ... Dennis William Quaid (born April 9, 1954) is an American actor. ... David Thewlis in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. ... Peter William Postlethwaite OBE (born February 7, 1945)[1] is an English actor. ... Dina Meyer (born December 22, 1968 in Queens, New York) is an American film actress. ... Sir Thomas Sean Connery (born 25 August 1930) is a Scottish actor and producer who is perhaps best known as the first actor to portray James Bond in cinema, starring in seven Bond films. ...

The music for the film was composed by Randy Edelman, and the main theme song, "To The Stars," was used in the film Two Brothers as well as many other movie trailers, such as Mulan and Seven Years in Tibet, making it a very common film score. Randy Edelman (born 10 June 1947) is a well known film and TV score composer born in Paterson, New Jersey. ... Categories: Movie stubs | 2004 films ... Theatrical trailers are film advertisements for films that will be exhibited in the future at a cinema, on whose screen they are shown; they are commonly known as previews of coming attractions. ... This article is about the film Mulan. For the legendary person, see Hua Mulan. ... Seven Years in Tibet is the 1997 film adaptation of the adventure story written by Austrian mountaineer Heinrich Harrer based on his real life experiences in Tibet between 1944 and 1951 during the onset of the Second World War and the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army Invasion. ... A film score is a set of musical compositions written to accompany a film. ...

Dragonheart inspired a direct-to-video sequel, Dragonheart II: A New Beginning. A film that is released direct-to-video (also straight-to-video) is one which has been released to the public on home video formats first rather than first being released in movie theaters. ...

Plot

England, A.D. 932: The cruel and tyrannical Saxon King Freyne summons his young son Einon (Lee Oakes) and Einon’s mentor Bowen (Quaid) to witness the suppression of a peasant rebellion. Though the king’s troops are ultimately victorious, Freyne is killed when the rebels stage an ambush. Einon rushes into the fray to claim his crown and is accidentally stabbed through the heart before Bowen can reach him. Events Foundation of the St. ... Look up Saxon in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Lee Oakes is an actor who was discovered in an audition in Crewe, Cheshire, England and is best known for his role as Munch Wilkinson in Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps and also Kevin in the BBC One sitcom After Youve Gone. ...

Though the wound should have been fatal, the young king’s mother hopes for a miracle. Queen Aislinn (Christie) has her son taken to a cave in the mountains where she pleads with a shadowy figure to save the young man’s life. The creature removes a part of its own heart and bestows it upon the boy, cauterizing the wound with a blast of fire. Einon revives and is carried home to recover. Grateful for the dragon’s sacrifice, Bowen pledges to repay his debt at a future time.

Shortly thereafter, Einon reveals himself to be as brutal and pitiless as his father, enslaving the former rebels and forcing them to begin work rebuilding the nearby ruins of a Roman castle. As the young king gives the order to have the rebel leader blinded, Bowen intervenes and allows the man to escape. Believing that the dragon’s heart is responsible for Einon’s wickedness, Bowen returns to the cave and vows to seek vengeance for the ruin of his protégé.

Twelve years later, Einon's (Thewlis) castle is rebuilt and Bowen becomes a formidable dragon-slayer. During one dragon-hunt, the knight meets Brother Gilbert (Postlethwaite), a monk and aspiring poet. Impressed by Bowen’s prowess, the priest is determined to follow him and record his heroic exploits in epic verse. The knight stalks another dragon to its cave and engages it in battle, resulting in a stalemate. The dragon (Connery) shrewdly informs Bowen that it is the last of its kind, and that the dragon-slayer will have difficulty finding work if the two “pursue this fracas to its final stupidity.” Since their options are either Bowen kills the dragon and is out of work, or the dragon kills Bowen and has to deal with the next knight out to make a name for himself, the dragon proposes a partnership, and the two begin defrauding local villages with staged dragon-slayings; the dragon attacks a village, Bowen offers to kill him for a fee, and pretends to spear the dragon, who then falls into a nearby lake and swims out of sight underwater. Since the dragon’s name is difficult for the human tongue to pronounce, Bowen calls him “Draco”, after a constellation of stars that resembels a dragon.

Meanwhile, Einon encounters Kara (Meyer), the rebel leader’s daughter, and realizes that she was responsible for his injury years before. He has her imprisoned and attempts to seduce her, but she stabs him in the shoulder with surprisingly little effect. He leaves Kara alone to consider his offer, and Queen Aislinn helps her escape. Draco feels the pain of the wound, but continues to hide the connection between himself and Einon from Bowen.

In her home village, Kara attempts to instigate a new uprising. When Bowen and Draco arrive the villagers offer the girl as a virgin sacrifice to appease the dragon. At Draco’s lair, the dragon and knight argue about what to do with Kara as Einon approaches and demands that she be returned to him. Bowen and Einon duel, with the older man at a disadvantage because he is not truly willing to harm his former student. In the course of the fight, Bowen is heartbroken to realize that Einon never changed: he was always an evil man, and he only pretended to agree with Bowen's idealism to learn the sword. When Einon gains the upper hand, Draco intervenes and Einon flees in terror. Kara attempts to persuade Bowen to help her overthrow the oppressive king, but the disillusioned knight refuses.

The next scam attempt goes poorly when Draco lands in shallow water, preventing him from sinking to the bottom and forcing him to fly away to avoid being eaten, leaving Bowen, Kara and Brother Gilbert in danger from angry villagers. Draco rescues the three and carries them to the island of Avalon. Taking shelter from a rainstorm amongst the tombs of the fallen Knights of the Round Table, Draco reveals that the constellation he was named after is, essentially, a dragon heaven, where dragons may go to upon death if they earn a place. He attempted to gain a place there by saving Einon, hoping his heart would change the prince's nature and once again unite the races of Man and Dragon, but, although depressed by his failure, agrees to help Gilbert and Kara in the rebellion. Bowen initially remains behind, but when he experiences a vision of Arthur's knights, he remembers the high ideals he once tried to instill in Einon, and agrees to join the rebellion. The Last Sleep of Arthur by Sir Edward Burne-Jones Avalon (probably from the Celtic word abal: apple; see Etymology below) is a legendary island somewhere in the British Isles, famous for its beautiful apples. ... For the film, see Knights of the Round Table (film). ...

During the battle between the peasants and Einon’s forces- which goes far better than the last rebellion due to Draco's firepower and Bowen's tactical expertise-, the king is shot with an arrow. The resulting pain causes Draco to fall from the sky over Einon’s castle and the dragon is captured. Einon realizes that sharing the dragon’s heart renders him virtually immortal so long as no harm befalls the dragon, and determines to keep Draco alive and imprisoned indefinitely. Wanting to end her son's evil, Queen Aislinn tries to kill Draco, wanting to redeem herself for saving 'a creature not worth saving', but is stopped and killed by Einon.

When the rebels invade the castle, Bowen intends to release his friend, but Draco tells Bowen that in order for Einon’s reign to end he himself must die, and begs the knight to kill him. Reluctantly, Bowen does so, releasing Draco’s soul to the dragons’ heaven- where he becomes a new star in the constellation- and killing Einon in the process. The film concludes with an epilogue stating that Bowen and Kara go on to lead the people in an era of peace and prosperity, and that, whenever things are particularly difficult, Draco's star shines all the more brightly, for those who knew where to look.

Cast

• Sir Sean Connery as Draco (voice)
• Dennis Quaid as Bowen
• David Thewlis as King Einon
  • Lee Oakes as young Einon
• Pete Postlethwaite as Brother Gilbert of Glockenspur
• Dina Meyer as Kara
  • Sandra Kovacicova as Young Kara
• Julie Christie as Queen Aislinn
• Jason Isaacs as Lord Felton
• Brian Thompson as Brok

Connery as James Bond in Goldfinger. ... Dennis William Quaid (born April 9, 1954) is an American actor. ... David Thewlis in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. ... Lee Oakes is an actor who was discovered in an audition in Crewe, Cheshire, England and is best known for his role as Munch Wilkinson in Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps and also Kevin in the BBC One sitcom After Youve Gone. ... Peter William Postlethwaite OBE (born February 7, 1945)[1] is an English actor. ... Dina Meyer (born December 22, 1968 in Queens, New York) is an American film actress. ... Julie Frances Christie (born 14 April 1941) is an English Academy Award-winning film actress. ... Jason Isaacs (born 6 June 1963) is a British actor. ... Brian Thompson on the set of the feature film Tillamook Treasure. ...

Source material

The main conceit of the central section of the film, in which a dragon and a knight team up so that the knight can pretend to slay the dragon for profit, bears a striking resemblance to the plot of "The George Business", a 1980 story by Roger Zelazny^[1]. Though this fact is occasionally remarked upon in the science fiction fan community^[2], the Zelazny story is not credited as a source for the film. This story appears in Zelazny's collection Unicorn Variations, and was originally published in Dragons of Light. Roger Joseph Zelazny (May 13, 1937 – June 14, 1995) was an American writer of fantasy and science fiction short stories and novels. ... Unicorn Variations is a collection of stories by author Roger Zelazny. ... Dragons of Light may refer to: Dragons of Light, an anthology of fantasy stories about dragons edited by Orson Scott Card and published by Ace Books in November 1980. ...

Background

Dragonheart is set in the later half of the 10th century in Britain, after the conquest of that country by the Saxons. In the novelization, which was also completed by Charles Edward Pogue, the film's screenwriter, it is revealed that Queen Aislinn is a descendant of the native Celtic tribes, and was taken as a slave by Freyne when he destroyed her people. Thus, Aislinn reveres dragons, while Freyne has made his name by killing them (his shield bears the device of a sword severing a dragon's neck). As a means of recording the passage of time, the 10th century was that century which lasted from 901 to 1000. ... For other uses, see Saxon (disambiguation). ... This article is about the European people. ...

There are references to King Arthur and the "old code" of Camelot throughout, with Draco taking Bowen, Kara, and Brother Gilbert to the fabled island of Avalon at one point in the film. One of the film's central themes is Bowen's devotion to knightly ideals, and his disillusionment when his pupil becomes a tyrant, followed by his revival of the chivalric spirit when confronted by the spirits of Arthur and his knights. A bronze Arthur in plate armour with visor raised and with jousting shield wearing Kastenbrust armour (early 15th century) by Peter Vischer, typical of later anachronistic depictions of Arthur. ... This article is about the mythical castle. ... The Last Sleep of Arthur by Sir Edward Burne-Jones Avalon (probably from the Celtic word abal: apple; see Etymology below) is a legendary island somewhere in the British Isles, famous for its beautiful apples. ...

The movie displays the classic theme of good triumphing over evil when Einon is felled, alas at the expense of Draco's life.

The said "Old Code" is recited during the story by the Shades or animated memories of the Knights of the Round Table; it is written below. For the film, see Knights of the Round Table (film). ...

...inside the circle of the table, under the holy sword, a knight must swear he will obey to the eternal code, eternal as the table, a ring bound to honour.

A knight is sworn to valor, his heart knows only virtue, his blade defends the helpless, his might upholds the weak, his word speaks only truth, his wrath undoes the wicked.

The right can never die, if a man still remembers him. Words are not forgotten, if a voice pronounce them clearly, The Code always shines, if a heart preserves it brightly...

The Old Code....

In the film's commentary, Director Rob Cohen said he tried to make a movie about what he himself believes in: living your life according to a set of ideals. Director Rob Cohen on the set of Stealth Rob Cohen (born March 12, 1949 in Cornwall, New York, USA) is an American film director, producer and writer. ...

Trivia

• During the making of the film, over 200 images of Sean Connery's facial expressions were taken along with voice clips to make Draco more like him.
• It is said in the film that the dragon's heaven is a field of stars in a dragon's shape and that each star is a dragon's soul. The Draco constellation is a real constellation.
• Many scenes were filmed in the ruins of a real medieval Spiš Castle in Slovakia.
• The dragon slayers are all played by Czech and Slovakian stuntmen.
• Draco has become revered by fans of dragons since the movie's debut and thus has become the theme of many fan art works and fan clubs.
• About the same amount of data as four T-Rexes from Jurassic Park made up the data for Draco's wing.
• Charles Edward Pogue, the screenwriter, released a novelization of the film which included many details that he was unable to fit into the script.
• When her father dies, Kara takes his red leather headband and wraps it around her hand. Later, during the battle scene, Bowen is seen wearing it tied around his arm. This is explained in the novelization, in a scene that takes place on the morning of the battle. Bowen tells Kara that he loves her, and asks for a token of her favor, as is customary for a knight from his lady.
• The novel is much darker than the actual movie, particularly in the scenes concerning Einon and Kara. In particular, there is a suggestion that Einon rapes Kara while holding her prisoner in his bedroom. In the above-mentioned scene, when Bowen asks for a gift, Kara looks down in shame and says she is a peasant and has nothing. “The one thing that was mine to give, Einon stole forever.” By this she presumably means her virginity.
• In the scene of Draco's first fake attack, the boy who sees him first and calls to the others is played by Director Rob Cohen’s son, Kyle.
• The two scenes in which Draco sings - at the start of the movie when the mortally wounded Einon is taken to his cave, and again after Draco takes Kara as a "sacrifice" and quickly befriends her - Draco's singing voice is actually director Rob Cohen.

Sir Thomas Sean Connery (born 25 August 1930) is a Scottish actor and producer who is perhaps best known as the first actor to portray James Bond in cinema, starring in seven Bond films. ... Draco (Latin for Dragon) is a far northern constellation that is circumpolar for many northern hemisphere observers. ... The ruins of Spiš Castle (Slovak: Spišský hrad) in Eastern Slovakia form one of the largest castle sites in Central Europe. ... Fan art or fanart is artwork that is based on a character, costume, item, or story that was created by someone other than the artist. ... Jurassic Park is a 1993 science fiction film directed by Steven Spielberg, based on the novel of the same name by Michael Crichton. ... “Virgin” redirects here. ... Director Rob Cohen on the set of Stealth Rob Cohen (born March 12, 1949 in Cornwall, New York, USA) is an American film director, producer and writer. ...

Other media

After its release, Dragonheart spawned a spin-off 2-D hack and slash game for the Sony PlayStation called Dragonheart: Fire & Steel, made by Acclaim Entertainment, which was met with mostly negative reviews due to bad gameplay, poor quality graphics, and a generally unimaginative design. In late 1996, Acclaim ported a PC version of the game, which received similar criticism. There was also an original Game Boy game based on this film. [1] In common usage, the dimensions (from Latin measured out) of an object are the parameters or measurements required to define its shape and size, that is, usually, its height, width, and length. ... HACK/slash is the name of a graphic novel from Devils Due Publishing. ... The original PlayStation was produced in a light grey colour; the more recent PSOne redesign sports a smaller more rounded case. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A personal computer (PC) is a computer whose price, size, and capabilities make it useful for individuals. ... For the entire Game Boy series of handheld consoles, see Game Boy line. ...

References

1. ^ noted on the page literature for Dragonheart on IMDb, accessed July 17 2007.
2. ^ Usenet posts on this topic