Director:Rob Cohen
Producer:Raffaella De Laurentiis
Screenwriter: Charles Edward Poole
Stars:Dennis Quaid, David Thewlis, Pete Postlethwaite, Dina Meyer, Julie Christie, Sean Connery
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Dragonheart von Universal Pictures
Release Date: May 31
MPAA rating: 'PG-13' for action/violence
Long ago, when man was young and the dragon already old, the wisest of
our race took pity on man, so he gathered together all the dragons,
making them vow to watch over man always. And at the moment of his
death, the night became alive with those stars.
And thus was born the Dragons' Heaven. But when we die, not all
dragons are admitted to this shining place. No, we have to earn it! And if
we don't, our spirit disappears as if we never were.
-Draco, the last of the dragons
A knight is sworn to valor. His heart knows only virtue. His blade
defends the helpless. His word speaks only truth. His wrath undoes the
wicked.
-The Old Code of Bowen,
the last of the dragonslayers
An action-packed blend of adventure, romance, humor and visual effects spectacle, Dragonheart is the story ofan incredible alliance between a man of honor and a creature of legend-the very last dragon.
Dragonheart portrays the relationship between a brave and once beneficent knight, Bowen (Dennis Quaid), and his companion, the 18-foot-high, 43-foot-long dragon he names Draco (Sean Connery), the last of his species, who join in a heroic battle to free a country held in an iron grip by its tyrannical ruler, Einon (David Thewlis), to whom both knight and dragon are connected in fateful ways.
Set in the war-torn 1Oth century, the tale begins with a 14-year- old prince (Lee Oakes) stepping into the bloody fray of a peasant revolt after witnessing his father, a vengeful and violent king, killed in battle. An eager pupil, Prince Einon has been well trained in the way of the sword by his protector, Bowen (Dennis Quaid), a powerful, noble knight dedicated to the lofty ideals of The Old Code-the creed of honor in the Arthurian tradition. But on this day, Bowen's watchful eye is not enough to protect his young charge, who is seriously wounded in the revolt.
Einon's desperate mother, Queen Aislinn (Julie Christie) leads the dying prince, in Bowen's arms, to a darkcave. Here she invokes the Celtic religious belief in the divine omniscient power of dragons, as she pleads for the supernatural intervention of one particular flying, fire-breathing creature to heal her son's wounds and save his life. It is not until Einon swears that he will rule with mercy, that tyranny and bloodlust will be forever buried with his father, that the dragon severs his chest and gives half his life force to Einon so he might live to fulfill this promise.
Einon does live, but emerges as a far more evil despot than his late father. Bowen, believing it was the dragon's heart that poisoned his young charge, vows to spend the rest of his life ridding the land of dragons.
Twelve years later, accompanied by Gilbert (Pete Postlethwaite), a kindly monk with literary ambitions, Bowen has become a bitter, cynical nomad consumed by his obsession with dragonslaying, and apathetic to the misery and suffering caused by the older and more ruthless King Einon (David Thewlis). Turning his back on The Old Code he once embodied, he's transformed his mission into money, slaying dragons simply for gold. After his many conquests, he finally encounters the only dragon left for him to slay.
But this last remaining dragon has a collection of knights' skeletons to rival Bowen's own pile of dragons' horns. Equal in cunning and skills, neither dragon nor dragonslayer is able to vanquish the other and their epic confrontation end is in stalemate-and a bargain: the last dragon and the last dragonslayer go into business for mutual benefit.
They travel the land together, with the dragon ferociously poised to "attack" the various villages, with Bowen always on the spot, offering to "slay" the dragon and save the village-for a price. This way, Bowen can sustain his line of work and earn his living, and the dragon, by pretending to be slain, can remain alive. Inspired by a constellation in the sky, Bowen gives his new companion the name Draco. Together, they survive on nothing more than their faded glory and the easy lure of getting by until they encounter Kara (Dina Meyer), daughter of the leader of the peasant revolt against Einon's father, a lovely, feisty girl hell-bent on destroying the king.
Eventually Bowen discovers that Draco is the same dragon who years earlier gave half his heart to save Einon, but that it wasn't the dragon's heart that poisoned the young man' s soul. Guided by Draco, Bowen is forced to finally reconcile himself to the fundamentals of The Old Code.
Moved to restore the kingdom to the days when truth and honor prevailed, Bowen and Draco resolve to join Kara and take on the overwhelming forces of Einon himself. However, they soon discover that a complete victory over Einon comes with its own heavy price, as the fate of the king is inextricably bound with the fate of the dragon.
The Main Cast
Bowen................................... DENNIS QUAID
Draco................................... SEAN CONNERY
Einon................................... DAVID THEWLIS
Gilbert................................. PETE POSTLETHWAITE
Queen Aislinn........................... JULIE CHRISTIE
Kara.................................... DINA MEYER
Lord Felton............................. JASON ISAACS
Broc.................................... BRIAN THOMPSON
Young Einon............................. LEE OAKES
Directed by............................. ROB COHEN
