Dragonheart - a new beginning
| Movie | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| German title | Dragonheart - a new beginning | ||
| Original title | Dragonheart: A New Beginning | ||
| Country of production | United States | ||
| original language | English | ||
| Publishing year | 2000 | ||
| length | 81 minutes | ||
| Age rating | FSK 6 | ||
| Rod | |||
| Director | Doug Lefler | ||
| script | Shari Goodhartz | ||
| production | Raffaella De Laurentiis , Hester Hargett | ||
| music | Mark McKenzie | ||
| camera | Buzz Feitshans IV | ||
| cut | John M. Taylor | ||
| occupation | |||
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| chronology | |||
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Dragonheart is a 2000 American fantasy film and a sequel to the 1996 film Dragonheart, directed by Doug Lefler. 2015 followed with Dragonheart 3: The Curse of the Druid another part of the series. In 2017 Dragonheart - The Power of Fire was created .
action
The prologue of the film is narrated by the monk Mansel, who at the time of the main story was a novice in the monastery founded by the monk Brother Gilbert from the first film. There was once a prophecy that when a two-tailed comet appears in the sky, a dragon's heart will bring great misfortune. The dragon Draco, killed in the first film, was contrary to expectations not the last dragon. Sir Bowen from the first film finds a dragon egg in Draco's cave when he is old. He brings it to the said monastery , where the dragon that hatches later grows up hidden.
The actual plot begins twenty years later: The orphan boy Geoffrey lives in the monastery and works as a stable boy , but dreams of one day becoming a knight. In his spare time he trains sword fighting on a self-made training manikin and watches the knights ride past the monastery, where he is once seen by a young knight named Roland. Meanwhile, the Chinese master Quan and his son (who is actually the disguised Princess Lian) pay a visit to the monastery, as he knows about Gilbert's recordings about Draco and the comet mentioned in the prophecy has already appeared in the sky is. Geoffrey later meets Roland on a river, who challenges him to swordfight. Although Geoffrey is holding up well, he is defeated.
Meanwhile, a Lord Osric von Crossley is appointed advisor and deputy to the king, because the latter is holding back with his peculiar behavior. He evidently has the well-being of the people in mind, but introduces a series of strict laws, including a strict dress code for subjects, which they must adhere to under threat of flogging. Brother Peter, the head of the monastery, has just passed away. Geoffrey watches as Mansel enters the monastery dungeon and asks him about it. Geoffrey received only vague hints from Mansel, but tricked him into doing his job and sneaked into the dungeon, where he was seen by Lian. He eventually finds the dragon called Drake and befriends him. Master Quan and Lian meanwhile also pay a visit to Lord Osric, but are obviously not welcome. When she leaves, he lets her pursue. Geoffrey and Drake have meanwhile secretly left the monastery and are in the forest. There Geoffrey is picked up by Osric's soldiers who want to punish him for disregarding the dress code. Quan and Lian appear on time and use their martial arts and weapons to incapacitate the soldiers. In doing so, however, Lian's hat falls off and Geoffrey recognizes her as a woman. When they later get into trouble again, Drake dares the first flight of his life, which is seen by farmers, the monks, and Lord Osric. The latter is very interested in Drake, asks him to live in the king's castle and also wants to give Geoffrey, as Drake's friend, the opportunity to become a knight. In return, Geoffrey and Drake demand that Quan and Lian be safe.
Mansel is furious with Geoffrey for freeing Drake a week before the comet left Earth, and thus Drake's heart could fulfill the prophecy. Quan and Lian meanwhile put Drake to the test. There is a dragon heart in Lian's amulet. They offer it to Drake, telling him that it promises him more power, ready to kill him should he accept it. Drake passes the test, however, and so Quan and Lian try to teach him to breathe fire. However, he shoots his first burst of flame from his bottom and thus destroys a mill. Later he eats a farmer's cow, and Lord Osric, now heir to the throne, pays the damage on both occasions. Drake also learns about Draco and that a dragon can give half of his heart to a person. Meanwhile, Geoffrey enjoys the fact that he is a budding knight, but he worries Drake with his passion, since the latter has read how cruel many knights were to dragons.
When Quan tries to teach him to spit ice, it ends with Mansel being spat full of him. Quan borrows his coat to Mansel to return to the monastery. Osric's men mistake him for Quan and kidnap him. When Lord Osric realizes the mistake of his troops, he has Mansel locked up. Meanwhile, Lian tells Geoffrey the story of the dragon heart she wears: many years ago, when her great-grandfather ruled China, a dragon named Griffin incited the dragons of the east against humanity. The dragons, loyal to humans, overpowered him and, as a traitor, tore his heart from him. This they handed over to the ruler, but the latter continued to fear the danger posed by dragons and killed all dragons of the east. Drake is definitely the last dragon in the world.
The next day, Osric's troops, led by Roland, storm the monastery and want to arrest Quan and Lian. Together with Geoffrey they take up the fight in which Geoffrey defeats Roland with the help of his training dummy. Lord Osric arrives to ask Geoffrey and Drake to help fight a neighboring people. He supposedly settles the conflict and assures Geoffrey to let Quan and Lian go unharmed. However, he breaks his word and has the two locked up. They are locked in the same dungeon as Mansel, who is just as strange as the king. Meanwhile, Drake and Geoffrey arrive at a bridge where they find slain border guards. Enemy warriors suddenly appear from hiding and a fight ensues in which Lord Osric is apparently critically injured. Geoffrey first asks Drake to share his heart with Osric, but then realizes that Osric is only simulating. The enemy warriors turn out to be Osric's men, and the supposedly dead border guards also stand up again. They overpower Geoffrey and want to blackmail Drake to share his heart with Osric, but Drake incapacitates them with his first successful burst and flees with Drake. Osric yells that he wants Drake's heart that night when the comet will disappear.
Quan, Lian and Mansel were able to escape from the dungeon by a trick and found Lord Osric's laboratory. It becomes apparent that he poisoned his king with oriental herbs and so triggered his strange behavior. Quan immediately brews an antidote, which they give the king after they have fought their way to him. Lord Osric and his men appear. Osric recognizes the amulet of the meanwhile revealed Lian, and knows what is inside. Quan recognizes that Osric is in truth the believed dead dragon Griffin in human form. Lian throws the amulet into fire, but Osric can save his heart. Then he throws his sword at Lian to get revenge on her great-grandfather. However, Quan throws himself in front of her and dies. Geoffrey and Drake end up in the courtyard. Griffin says he once fled to China from Sir Bowen. When his heart was torn from him, he was cursed to go on living as a human being - the being he hated most. Then he puts his heart back in his chest and thereby regains his true dragon form. Lian realizes that the prophecy meant Griffin's heart.
Griffin addresses Drake as "brother" and offers him to subjugate humanity at his side. However, Drake remembers Griffin's attempt at deception that Geoffrey saved him from and takes up the fight against him. Griffin turns out to be stronger, but Drake manages to keep him at bay. Finally Drake spits ice on Griffin, who freezes completely, falls to the ground and breaks into a thousand splinters. Drake sees with horror that one of the splinters has pierced Geoffrey. He saves his life by sharing his heart with him. Everyone sees that the comet is disappearing from the sky. In the end, old Menzel tells how Lian returns to China and Geoffrey and Drake now have what they have longed for all their lives - a family.
Reviews
The lexicon of international films criticized the “quite simple tricks”. The film is "acceptable entertainment" that is heavily commercialized.
Awards
The film received five nominations for the DVD Exclusive Award in 2001, one of them for Harry Van Gorkum. Shari Goodhartz was nominated for the 2002 Writers Guild of America Award.
Web links
- Dragonheart - A New Beginning in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Dragonheart - A New Beginning at Rotten Tomatoes (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Dragonheart - A New Beginning. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .