Ubit Drakona aka Kill the Dragon 1988 - ★★★★
REVIEWED
Beguiling Russian fable that uses the age old theme of an Hero vs Dragon as its backdrop to study human nature and why society will always be governed by one system or another and never be truly free. A traveler who claims to be a descendant of Lancelot walks into a city to find it under the grip of the tyrannical Mr Dragon. Our hero learns that anyone has a right to challenge the Dragon, only do the backward nations people really need or want their freedom back.
The movies all over the damn place, theres musical numbers and science fiction thrown in among its more dramatic moments. But even though its absurd its got an extremely sharp plot and makes great points. I'll be honest, a touch of the more political aspects flew gleefully over my head, outside of the Cold War and Stalin I'm very ignorant to Soviet Union politics. The structure of 'Ubit Drakona aka Kill the Dragon' reminded me most of Jack Arnold's anti war/establishment classic 'The Mouse That Roared', in that its really a comedy about the little man making a stand. Hell Oleg Yankovskiy as Mr Dragon hops into several persona's equally as well as Sellers managed to do. In fact the acting is solid throughout especially from Yankovskiey and Aleksandr Abdulov as our hero. Like most Russian fantasy movies its visually sumptuous, the locations used and peculiar architecture really add to the other world & time feel.
[PRFR]
Some of the crazy policys used like boarding up every window in the city so its populus can't see the truth. And the clever ending with children watching a man flying a dragon kite, open to being taught an alternative way of life.
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Originally taken from Letterboxd
REVIEWED
"The only way to get rid of a dragon, is to have ones own dragon."
The Archivist
The movies all over the damn place, theres musical numbers and science fiction thrown in among its more dramatic moments. But even though its absurd its got an extremely sharp plot and makes great points. I'll be honest, a touch of the more political aspects flew gleefully over my head, outside of the Cold War and Stalin I'm very ignorant to Soviet Union politics. The structure of 'Ubit Drakona aka Kill the Dragon' reminded me most of Jack Arnold's anti war/establishment classic 'The Mouse That Roared', in that its really a comedy about the little man making a stand. Hell Oleg Yankovskiy as Mr Dragon hops into several persona's equally as well as Sellers managed to do. In fact the acting is solid throughout especially from Yankovskiey and Aleksandr Abdulov as our hero. Like most Russian fantasy movies its visually sumptuous, the locations used and peculiar architecture really add to the other world & time feel.
[PRFR]
Some of the crazy policys used like boarding up every window in the city so its populus can't see the truth. And the clever ending with children watching a man flying a dragon kite, open to being taught an alternative way of life.
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