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Dragonheart 3: The Sorcerer's Curse

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Dragonheart 3: The Sorcerer's Curse
Promotional Poster
Directed byColin Teague
Written byMatthew Feitshans
Based oncharacters by Patrick Read Johnson & Charles Edward Pogue
Produced byRaffaella De Laurentiis
StarringJulian Morris
Tamzin Merchant
Jassa Ahluwalia
Jonjo O'Neill
Dominic Mafham
Roger Ashton-Griffiths
Jake Curran
Duncan Preston
Ozana Oancea
Serban Celea
Daniel Everitt-Lock
Harry Lister Smith
and Ben Kingsley as Drago
CinematographyDavid Luther
Edited byFiona Colbeck
Charlene Short
Eric Strand
Music byMark McKenzie
Production
companies
Raffaella Productions
Universal 1440 Entertainment
Distributed byUniversal Studios Home Entertainment
Release date
  • February 10, 2015 (2015-02-10)
Running time
97 minutes
CountriesUnited States
United Kingdom
Romania
LanguageEnglish
Box office$2,140,832[1]

Dragonheart 3: The Sorcerer's Curse is a 2015 American-British-Romanian fantasy adventure film directed by Colin Teague. It is a direct-to-video release that was released on February 10, 2015 for a Digital HD release and was released on February 24, 2015 for the North American DVD and Blu-ray release. It is the prequel to the original 1996 film and the third (chronologically, the first) film in the Dragonheart franchise, preceded by the 1996 film of the same name and its direct-to-video sequel in 2000, Dragonheart: A New Beginning.

Plot

In the 9th century in the north of Britain, a druid circle foresees a "falling star" from the constellation Draco, with Brude - one of the druids - summoning a Pict clan known as the "Painted tribe" to slaughter the druids and lead the clans to war against the southern kingdoms over Hadrian's Wall. A druid apprentice called Lorne escapes the slaughter of the druids.

On the Southern side of the wall, Gareth and a group of squires undergo their final tests to prove that they should be knighted. Gareth proves to be the best fighter, but fails to collect enough money from the peasants. Disappointed, his superior Sir Horsa refuses to knight him and tells Gareth that he owes him 100 crowns - after which Gareth will be given his knighthood. With nowhere to go, Gareth is taken in by a peasant couple who couldn't pay him. That night, a meteor falls to Earth on the North side of the wall - with Gareth stealing a sword from one of the knighted squires and going over the wall to find the meteor after being told by the couple that it would contain riches.

Eventually, Gareth finds the meteor - only for it to burst open and reveal a dragon with nine eggs. The dragon proceeds to attack the Painted tribe members that also tracked down the meteor, with Gareth saving one of the dragon's eggs despite been badly wounded by the clan warriors. Impressed by Gareth's mercy, the dragon shares its heart with him, saving Gareth's life. However, before claiming the eggs, Brude uses a slavery spell called the Sorcerer's Curse on the dragon - rendering the creature powerless during daylight or by the light of a flame and meaning the dragon will be under Brude's control by the full moon.

Gareth is rescued by Lorne - who explains to Gareth about dragons and the bond he now shares with the dragon - before Gareth is introduced to the rebel leader Rhonu and the clans who oppose Brude, with the hope Gareth will get the dragon to fight for them. Meeting the dragon again, the dragon, who Gareth names Drago, explains his purpose to raise the young dragons he has brought as friends to mankind. However, he also states that he needs help to retrieve the eggs as he cannot do it himself due to the curse. Gareth's first attempt fails, with him getting captured by the clan. Brude intends to kill him, but stops upon learning about Gareth's connection with Drago. With help from Rhonu and Lorne, he successfully escapes with the eggs.

Gareth convinces the group to head towards the wall, with Rhonu telling her uncle Traevor to gather the clans who oppose Brude. Travelling with Rhonu and Lorne, the trio are forced to go on foot after one of the eggs is accidentally destroyed. Along their journey, Drago tries to teach Gareth how to shadow-jump, although apparently fails. However, while trying to free a group of people captured by the painted clan, Gareth shows an act of valour – temporarily freeing Drago from the curse before Brude recasts it. The trio escapes from Brude and the clan after Gareth sacrifices one of the dragon eggs and shadow-jumps to safety.

Before the group reaches the wall, Gareth confesses to Drago that he isn't a knight and that the Southern side of the wall is a cruel place with no respect for the Old Code of King Arthur – although Drago still sees Gareth as a friend. Upon reaching the gate, Gareth, Lorne and Rhonu are arrested and the dragon eggs seized upon learning of the Painted clan heading towards the wall. At the full moon, Drago, now fully under Brude's control, and the Painted tribe attack, although Gareth and Rhonu escape with help from Lorne's magic. As Gareth interrupts the sale of the dragon eggs and battles Sir Horsa to protect them, his act of valor frees Drago – who aids both the soldiers and the northern clans led by Traevor. Gareth slays Sir Horsa, while Rhonu battles and kills Brude – although is fatally wounded herself. With Brude dead and Drago free, the remainder of the Painted tribe retreats.

Following the battle, Gareth tends to Rhonu, who is saved as one of the unhatched dragons shares its heart with her. Gareth becomes a knight and leader of the settlement, with peace achieved between the North and South as Hadrian's Wall is renamed the Dragon's Gate. Gareth and Rhonu finally express their love for each other as the baby dragon that saved Rhonu begins to hatch.

Cast

Production

Development

Although a third installment in the Dragonheart franchise has been long rumored and speculated by fans of the previous two films, it was officially announced by Universal Studios Home Entertainment during the summer of 2014 that a third film was in the works. The budget for the CGI effects work for Drago alone was done on a budget of $7,000,000.

Raffaella De Laurentiis, who previously produced the first two films, reprised her role in development as a producer for the third installment of the trilogy. Her stepson Matthew Feitshans is a screenwriter and development executive regarding storytelling and was chosen as the writer for the film. In addition, this was the first film that he wrote for.

Casting

On August 28, 2014, it was announced that Julian Morris had been chosen for the main lead character Gareth.

Filming

The filming began around 2013 with filming locations taking place in Romania.

Music

The score was composed by Mark McKenzie, who previously composed the score for Dragonheart: A New Beginning. The film also contains the original themes by Randy Edelman from the first movie.

Visual effects

The visual effects were done by Terminal FX.

Release

It was released for a Digital HD release and was released on DVD and Blu-ray in Spain, Portugal and France on February 10, 2015. It was also released in India on February 17, 2015 in English and included a Hindi audio dub track. It was released on DVD and Blu-ray in North America on February 24, 2015, which also comes with Latin Spanish and European French audio dub tracks. In the United Kingdom, it was released on DVD and Blu-ray on March 30, 2015. As of February 10, the film has been available for viewing on Netflix in the United States. A Japanese DVD and Blu-ray release was released on June 3, 2015, and it contained the original English audio with Japanese subtitles and a Japanese audio dub track.

Reception

After its digital release, the film received mixed but generally positive reception, with reviews noting impressive CGI for a direct-to-video release, the film being a vast improvement over Dragonheart 2, and being on par with the original film.[5]

Sequel

A direct-to-video sequel called Dragonheart: Battle for the Heartfire, directed by Patrik Syversen, was released on June 13, 2017.[6] The budget of DragonHeart 4 is reportedly doubled that of The Sorcerer's Curse following its surprise success. Matthew Feitshans stated that Universal wants to keep momentum with the film series, mentioning the possibility of a Dragonheart 5, and stating that he hopes the series will one day lead into a remake of the first film.[7]

References

  1. ^ "Dragonheart 3: The Sorcerer's Curse - Box Office Data, Movie News, Cast Information". The Numbers. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
  2. ^ "Dragonheart 3: The Sorcerer's Curse trailer". julian-morris.net. 2014-09-25. Retrieved 2014-09-28.
  3. ^ "Sir Ben Kingsley explores his animated side in 'The Boxtrolls'". winnipegsun.com. 2014-09-21. Retrieved 2014-09-28.
  4. ^ "'The Boxtrolls': Ben Kingsley Talks Voicing a Villain; Will Trevor Slattery Return?". screenrant.com. 2014-09-25. Retrieved 2014-09-28.
  5. ^ "'Dragonheart 3' pack a lot of heart and heat". moviemavericks.com. 2015-02-10. Retrieved 2015-02-10.
  6. ^ "Dragonheart". Facebook. 2017-01-25.
  7. ^ "Matthew Feitshans". Twitter. 2016-04-17.
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