DragonHeart **** (1996, Dennis Quaid, Julie Christie, David Thewlis, Dina Meyer, Pete Postlethwaite, Jason Isaacs, voice of Sean Connery) – Classic Movie Review 2214

Director Rob Cohen’s 1996 is Arthurian legend adventure film doesn’t quite star Sean Connery – only his inimitable voice and a computer-generated dragon based on his movements.

It really is a performance that an actor could have phoned in but it proves quite the outstanding star turn. And both the dragon and the movie prove to be the hugest fun. A real-live Dennis Quaid also does well in an ideal role as Bowen, a loyal but disillusioned dragon-slaying knight who must cooperate with the world’s last dragon in a quest to stop an evil king and save a wounded prince.

Connery’s Draco really is the star, though. And John Gielgud’s equally inimitable tones provide the voice of King Arthur. Also in the cast are Julie Christie, David Thewlis (as King Einon), Dina Meyer, Pete Postlethwaite (as Gilbert of Glockenspur), Jason Isaacs (as Lord Felton), Brian Thompson, Lee Oakes, Wolf Christian, Terry O’Neill, Eva Vejmelková, Milan Bahúl, Peter Hric, Sandra Kovacicova, Kyle Cohen, Thom Baker and Buddy Quaid.

Charles Edward Pogue’s screenplay is based on a story by him and Patrick Read Johnson, who produced the film with Rafaella De Laurentiis. The then impressive visual effects were nominated for a Best Visual Effects Oscar (Scott Squires, Phil Tippett, Kit West, James Straus).

It is followed by Dragonheart: A New Beginning (2000) and Dragonheart 3: The Sorcerer’s Curse (2015).

© Derek Winnert 2015 Classic Movie Review 2214

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