POLL: Best Movie Dragons?

[Yutyrannus]

As I've said before, dragons are supposed to talk, they're supposed to have character, they should never be mindless monsters. That's why Smaug and Draco are the best picks.

That's a little unfair dragons traditionally don't talk, unless they happen to be a particularly talented ones that can turn into a human and even then they don't always talk, dragons in myth are representative of the forces of nature or chaos, European dragons especially are an amalgamation of ancient dangers, snakes, bigs cats, birds of prey and fire, they don't need to be smarter than us the point is they are far more powerful than us and we tend to triumph over them.  Your idea of dragons is very much post Tolkien and highly mccaffrey inspired and while that's not a bad thing it's not really good to go around saying how imaginary things "should be."

A major paper of mine was the functionalist interpretation of dragons and other monsters in culture, so sorry if I also just took an imaginary creature too seriously heh.

Actually, up until a certain time dragons were seen as benevolent in Europe.

[Gwangi]

Yes, a giant, golden three-headed Dragon! As opposed to Godzilla, who is a Dinosaur.  The crest of the House Targaryan also kind looks like him.

So yes, he is portrayed by a man in a suit ( actually it is a bit more complicated to operate him ), what about it?

Interesting, I hadn't made that connection but I can see the similarity.

[brandem]

Actually, up until a certain time dragons were seen as benevolent in Europe.

I would have to know what you were referencing of coarse but even in pre-Christian time European dragons were a destructive force a majority of the time, Niohoggr, Beowulf's dragon, fafnir, azdaja.  That's not to say they were never depicted as beneficent but when they were they were usually representative of something such as national pride, like y ddraig goch representing the spirit of the Britons, however in the oldest story of y ddraig goch his battle with the white dragon destroyed crops and killed newborns and both had to be put to sleep.

[tyrantqueen]

As I've said before, dragons are supposed to talk, they're supposed to have character, they should never be mindless monsters. That's why Smaug and Draco are the best picks.

That's a little unfair dragons traditionally don't talk, unless they happen to be a particularly talented ones that can turn into a human and even then they don't always talk, dragons in myth are representative of the forces of nature or chaos, European dragons especially are an amalgamation of ancient dangers, snakes, bigs cats, birds of prey and fire, they don't need to be smarter than us the point is they are far more powerful than us and we tend to triumph over them.  Your idea of dragons is very much post Tolkien and highly mccaffrey inspired and while that's not a bad thing it's not really good to go around saying how imaginary things "should be."

A major paper of mine was the functionalist interpretation of dragons and other monsters in culture, so sorry if I also just took an imaginary creature too seriously heh.

Actually, up until a certain time dragons were seen as benevolent in Europe.

No...most early European dragons were evil creatures. Unless you're referring to Welsh dragons.

[Yutyrannus]

As I've said before, dragons are supposed to talk, they're supposed to have character, they should never be mindless monsters. That's why Smaug and Draco are the best picks.

That's a little unfair dragons traditionally don't talk, unless they happen to be a particularly talented ones that can turn into a human and even then they don't always talk, dragons in myth are representative of the forces of nature or chaos, European dragons especially are an amalgamation of ancient dangers, snakes, bigs cats, birds of prey and fire, they don't need to be smarter than us the point is they are far more powerful than us and we tend to triumph over them.  Your idea of dragons is very much post Tolkien and highly mccaffrey inspired and while that's not a bad thing it's not really good to go around saying how imaginary things "should be."

A major paper of mine was the functionalist interpretation of dragons and other monsters in culture, so sorry if I also just took an imaginary creature too seriously heh.

Actually, up until a certain time dragons were seen as benevolent in Europe.

No...most early European dragons were evil creatures. Unless you're referring to Welsh dragons.

Yes, I am. Here is what is said about European dragons: "European dragons are usually depicted as malevolent under Christianity; pre-Christian dragons, such as Y Ddraig Goch, the Red Dragon of Wales, are seen as benevolent." I plan to feature this prominently in my book about Merlin. Also, I am aware of Fafnir and the dragon in Beowulf (in fact they are among my favorite legends), but Norse dragons seem to be quite different from those in other parts of Europe.

On a different note, who else would like to see Fafnir in a movie?

UPDATE: Also, before anyone says that the white dragon that Y Ddraig Goch battled was malevolent, that wasn't really a dragon but a wyvern.

[Gwangi]

Just got done watching "Dragonslayer", can't believe it took me this long to see it. Good movie, fantastic creature effects. I think if I were to re-vote I would be hard pressed not to include Vermithrax.

[Yutyrannus]

Just got done watching "Dragonslayer", can't believe it took me this long to see it. Good movie, fantastic creature effects. I think if I were to re-vote I would be hard pressed not to include Vermithrax.

I think I set it so you can change your vote if you want.

[SpartanSquat]

I cant decided to vote Smaug or Vemithrax. But I voted Vermithrax, my favourite dragon from my childhood, also she inspired the look of Smaug in the Hobbit Trilogy

[Yutyrannus]

I cant decided to vote Smaug or Vemithrax. But I voted Vermithrax, my favourite dragon from my childhood, also she inspired the look of Smaug in the Hobbit Trilogy

You can vote for three dragons.

[brandem]

Vermithrax rises! I can kinda understand wanting to vote for smaug because of how great the book was but draco? I mean he was pretty prissy and of terrible judgement

[Yutyrannus]

Now should I close voting?

[Gwangi]

Vermithrax rises! I can kinda understand wanting to vote for smaug because of how great the book was but draco? I mean he was pretty prissy and of terrible judgement

You didn't like Smaug in the movie? I think I agree with you on Draco but it has been a long time since I've seen "Dragon Heart".

Yutyrannus, why do you want to close the poll so badly? Is there anything wrong with just leaving it alone?

[brandem]

You didn't like Smaug in the movie? I think I agree with you on Draco but it has been a long time since I've seen "Dragon Heart".

Ehhhhh, I think my main problem with the movie was how bored I got during the barrel riding scene, but I thought smaug was unique. I may not remember the book perfectly but smaug came off kinda insane in this, which wasn't bad but then it was followed by another chase scene, there have been so many chase scenes in those two movies.

[Yutyrannus]

Vermithrax rises! I can kinda understand wanting to vote for smaug because of how great the book was but draco? I mean he was pretty prissy and of terrible judgement

You didn't like Smaug in the movie? I think I agree with you on Draco but it has been a long time since I've seen "Dragon Heart".

Yutyrannus, why do you want to close the poll so badly? Is there anything wrong with just leaving it alone?

I just think there is no point to leave the poll open now. The votes probably won't change if I leave it unlocked, but if you think I should leave it then I will.

[Crackington]

I think you should leave it open, its a great thread!

Besides, there's also two movie dragons which haven't had a mention yet, both from films by two maverick (flawed?) genius film directors, in turn based on the work of two classic authors: "Jabberwocky" and "The Lair of the White Worm".

Gilliam's has a knack of making something simultaneously silly-looking and disturbing, like the killer rabbit in the Holy Grail and the Jabberwocky doesn't disappoint. The film does capture the quirkiness if not the spirit of Lewis Carroll's poem. Ken Russell's film,  based on the Bram Stoker novel is fun but very much a b-movie. The main problem is that you only see the worm for a few moments and Russell (over?) compensates by showing a lot Amanda Donohoe in the rest of the film, including a bizarre finale! There's also a young Hugh Grant and Peter Capaldi, the new Dr Who.

They've probably been missed so far as neither film is the Terry Gilliam or Ken Russell's best work. Nonetheless, they both add something different to the movie dragons listed so far.

[brandem]

I almost forgot about q the winged serpent, not a great movie but it's definitely a dragon

[tyrantqueen]

I think you should leave it open, its a great thread!

Besides, there's also two movie dragons which haven't had a mention yet, both from films by two maverick (flawed?) genius film directors, in turn based on the work of two classic authors: "Jabberwocky" and "The Lair of the White Worm".

Gilliam's has a knack of making something simultaneously silly-looking and disturbing, like the killer rabbit in the Holy Grail and the Jabberwocky doesn't disappoint. The film does capture the quirkiness if not the spirit of Lewis Carroll's poem. Ken Russell's film,  based on the Bram Stoker novel is fun but very much a b-movie. The main problem is that you only see the worm for a few moments and Russell (over?) compensates by showing a lot Amanda Donohoe in the rest of the film, including a bizarre finale! There's also a young Hugh Grant and Peter Capaldi, the new Dr Who.

They've probably been missed so far as neither film is the Terry Gilliam or Ken Russell's best work. Nonetheless, they both add something different to the movie dragons listed so far.

I like your thinking outside of the box Lair of the White Worm isn't a kids movie though, so I'm not sure if it would be appropriate to suggest it. Bram Stoker is my favourite "bad" author.

[Yutyrannus]

I think you should leave it open, its a great thread!

Besides, there's also two movie dragons which haven't had a mention yet, both from films by two maverick (flawed?) genius film directors, in turn based on the work of two classic authors: "Jabberwocky" and "The Lair of the White Worm".

Gilliam's has a knack of making something simultaneously silly-looking and disturbing, like the killer rabbit in the Holy Grail and the Jabberwocky doesn't disappoint. The film does capture the quirkiness if not the spirit of Lewis Carroll's poem. Ken Russell's film,  based on the Bram Stoker novel is fun but very much a b-movie. The main problem is that you only see the worm for a few moments and Russell (over?) compensates by showing a lot Amanda Donohoe in the rest of the film, including a bizarre finale! There's also a young Hugh Grant and Peter Capaldi, the new Dr Who.

They've probably been missed so far as neither film is the Terry Gilliam or Ken Russell's best work. Nonetheless, they both add something different to the movie dragons listed so far.

I forgot about the Jabberwocky and I never heard of the other one before, I'll add those to the poll. And yes, I've ecided to leave it open.

And remember everyone, since I'm tired of constantly having to say this, you have THREE options in the poll (no, I'm not yelling, I'm just annoyed that I constantly have to say this).

[Yutyrannus]

I think you should leave it open, its a great thread!

Besides, there's also two movie dragons which haven't had a mention yet, both from films by two maverick (flawed?) genius film directors, in turn based on the work of two classic authors: "Jabberwocky" and "The Lair of the White Worm".

Gilliam's has a knack of making something simultaneously silly-looking and disturbing, like the killer rabbit in the Holy Grail and the Jabberwocky doesn't disappoint. The film does capture the quirkiness if not the spirit of Lewis Carroll's poem. Ken Russell's film,  based on the Bram Stoker novel is fun but very much a b-movie. The main problem is that you only see the worm for a few moments and Russell (over?) compensates by showing a lot Amanda Donohoe in the rest of the film, including a bizarre finale! There's also a young Hugh Grant and Peter Capaldi, the new Dr Who.

They've probably been missed so far as neither film is the Terry Gilliam or Ken Russell's best work. Nonetheless, they both add something different to the movie dragons listed so far.

I like your thinking outside of the box Lair of the White Worm isn't a kids movie though, so I'm not sure if it would be appropriate to suggest it. Bram Stoker is my favourite "bad" author.

I just looked up Lair of the White Worm, and I'm not entirely sure if I should add it. Should I?

[tyrantqueen]

I think you should leave it open, its a great thread!

Besides, there's also two movie dragons which haven't had a mention yet, both from films by two maverick (flawed?) genius film directors, in turn based on the work of two classic authors: "Jabberwocky" and "The Lair of the White Worm".

Gilliam's has a knack of making something simultaneously silly-looking and disturbing, like the killer rabbit in the Holy Grail and the Jabberwocky doesn't disappoint. The film does capture the quirkiness if not the spirit of Lewis Carroll's poem. Ken Russell's film,  based on the Bram Stoker novel is fun but very much a b-movie. The main problem is that you only see the worm for a few moments and Russell (over?) compensates by showing a lot Amanda Donohoe in the rest of the film, including a bizarre finale! There's also a young Hugh Grant and Peter Capaldi, the new Dr Who.

They've probably been missed so far as neither film is the Terry Gilliam or Ken Russell's best work. Nonetheless, they both add something different to the movie dragons listed so far.

I like your thinking outside of the box Lair of the White Worm isn't a kids movie though, so I'm not sure if it would be appropriate to suggest it. Bram Stoker is my favourite "bad" author.

I just looked up Lair of the White Worm, and I'm not entirely sure if I should add it. Should I?

Probably not..it's too obscure to be worth adding, to be honest.