Dragonheart

Dragonheart
File:Dragonheart-DVD.jpg
Directed by	Rob Cohen
Starring	Dennis Quaid David Thewlis Pete Postlethwaite Dina Meyer Jason Isaacs Brian Thompson Lee Oakes Wolf Christian Terry O'Neill Eva Vejmelková Milan Bahúl Peter Hric Sandra Kovacicova Bill Maynard Kyle Cohen Sean Connery (voice)
Music by	Randy Edelman
Running time	103 minutes
Language	English

For the English speed/power metal band formerly called DragonHeart, see DragonForce.

Dragonheart is a 1996 film directed by Rob Cohen and starring Dennis Quaid, David Thewlis, Pete Postlethwaite, Dina Meyer and the voice of Sean Connery.

The music for Dragonheart was composed by Randy Edelman, and the main theme song "To The Stars" was used in the film Two Brothers (2004) as well as many other movie trailers, such as Mulan (1998) and Seven Years in Tibet (1997), making it a very common film score. Dragonheart inspired a direct-to-video sequel, Dragonheart II: A New Beginning.

Plot

A brave but disillusioned knight, Sir Bowen (Quaid), joins forces with Draco, the last surviving dragon (voiced by Connery), to defeat the tyrant King Einon (Thewlis), with whom both Dragon and knight are linked by fate. Also tagging along for Bowen's quest is the monk Brother Gilbert of Glockenspur (Postlethwaite), and a young village girl Kara (Dina Meyer), whose father fell victim to Einon's tyranny.

In the story, Einon is gravely wounded. The prince's mother took his body to Draco, who split his own heart so the prince could live. However, after his resurrection, the prince became a cruel tyrant. Sir Bowen, the former mentor of Einon, decided that the dragon's heart made Einon evil, and set out to destroy Draco. The heart was connected; if Draco's half was destroyed, Einon would die as well. However, difficulties arrive when Sir Bowen happens to befriend Draco, not knowing who he is. Draco is the last dragon, and, for a time, he and Bowen attempt to scam villagers by having Draco pretend to attack the villages and then get 'killed' by Bowen, really just diving into a nearby lake to escape.

Eventually, they are encouraged by various acquantainces to fight against Einon's tyranny, but things are further complicated when Draco is captured and Einon realises the nature of their link. Despite the odds, Bowen and a group of allies break into the castle, only to learn that Draco must die in order for Einon to fall. Despite his initial refusal to kill his friend, Bowen is forced to do so in the end. However, as he stands by Draco's fallen body, Draco's spirit ascends into the constellation of Draco, the dragon-heaven, his 'mistake' in allowing Einon to live redeemed by his noble sacrifice to save his friends.

Background

Dragonheart is set in the later half of the 10th century in Britain. There are references to King Arthur and the "old code" of Camelot throughout, with Draco taking Bowen, Kara (A young woman they rescue) and Brother Gilbert (A monk who takes to chronicling Bowen's adventures) to the fabled island of Avalon at one point in the film. In this, the movie seems to center around the disillusionment of Bowen from his knightly ideals after Einon became a tyrant when his father died, and his eventual revival of the chivalric spirit, as it were, when confronted by the spirits of Arthur and his knights. 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.

"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!

Inside the table's circle, Under the sacred sword, A knight must vow to follow The code that is unending, Unending as the table-- A ring by honour bound.

The right can never die, If one man still recalls.

The words are not forgot, If one voice speaks them clear.

The code forever shines, If one heart holds it bright."

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 has never widely regarded to be the first film to incorporate a computer generated "actor". Even though the dragon, Draco, is considered to be one of the main (of not the main) characters in the film. For one reasaon or another, it has not been popularly stated that the film had any historical value.

Other media

After its release, Dragonheart spawned a spin-off 2D hack and slash game on 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. [1]

External links

• Dragonheart at IMDb