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Dragons in Film - Before Year 2000

Updated: Jan 18, 2022




Die Nibelungen ("The Nibelungs") is a two-part series of silent fantasy films created by Austrian director Fritz Lang in 1924, consisting of Die Nibelungen: Siegfried and Die Nibelungen: Kriemhild's Revenge. Name of dragon is Fafnir.


After Siegfried (Paul Richter), a nearly invulnerable warrior prince, hears of the beauty of Princess Kriemhild (Margarethe Schon), he travels to Burgundy to meet her. To impress her brother, King Gunther (Hanna Ralph), Siegfried ventures to Iceland with him, where he helps Gunther win over Brunhild (Theodor Loos). The appreciative Gunther approves of Siegfried's marriage to Kriemhild. However, hungry for more power, Brunhild spreads lies about Siegfried, leading to a fateful clash.


After her husband is killed by Hagen (Hans von Schlettow), Kriemhild (Margarethe Schon) develops an intricate revenge plot. But Kriemhild also has to overcome her brothers, who long ago swore allegiance to Hagen. She flees to Burgundy to marry Etzel (Rudolf Klein-Rogge), king of the Huns. When she bears a child, she invites her brothers for a party, which soon turns deadly as the Huns attack Kriemhild's brothers and Hagen. War is declared, and Kriemhild loses more than she bargained for.


Ilya Muromets (Russia, 1956) also known as The Sword and the Dragon (1956) in the US

Name of dragon is Gorynych

A mythical knight goes on an epic journey and fights barbarian hordes in an ancient land.


Name of dragon is Taro

Sailing to Baghdad after a narrow escape from the monster island of Colossa, the wedding plans of legendary hero Sinbad (Kerwin Mathews) and Princess Parisa (Kathryn Grant) are spoiled by the scheming sorcerer Sokurah (Torin Thatcher). In return for his previous help with the cyclops on Colossa, Sokurah demands that Sinbad retrieve a lamp he lost on the island. When Sinbad refuses, the conjurer shrinks Parisa, forcing the sailor and his crew back to the high seas in order to save her.


The Three Treasures (Japan, 1959)

Name of dragon is Orochi

Retells the story of the Yamato Takeru legend, and features a recounting of the great battle between Susanoo and the legendary dragon Orochi, when his aunt presents him with the sword found within.


Reptilicus (Denmark/US, 1961)

Name of dragon is Reptilicus

Copenhagen is terrorized by a prehistoric beast that has regenerated itself from a recently discovered tail segment.



The Magic Sword (US, 1962)

Name of dragon is unknown

A good witch's son uses his mother's magic to rescue a princess from an evil sorcerer.


Name of dragon is Pendragon

Desiring control of the kingdom, an evil wizard, Pendragon (Torin Thatcher), devises a cunning machination to usurp the throne. By abducting Princess Elaine (Judi Meredith) and forcing her to marry him, Pendragon will coerce the king (Dayton Lummis) into abdicating his power. When Pendragon sends a giant to kidnap Elaine, a simple farmer, Jack (Kerwin Mathews), witnesses the abduction, and bravely slays the beast. Undeterred, Pendragon has more power and creatures at his disposal.


Jason and the Argonauts (US/UK, 1963)

Name of dragon is Hydra

On Mount Olympus, Zeus and Hera witness Pelias' murder of his half-brother, King Aeson of Thessaly, and the maturation of Aeson's son, Jason. To overcome his nephew's assertion of right to the throne, Pelias sends Jason on a treacherous journey, the quest for the Golden Fleece. Undeterred by danger, the youth immediately sets sail in the Argo with a crew of close friends. En route to Colchis, site of their prize, the Argonauts surmount diverse obstacles, braving the attacks of a colossal bronze Talos, rescuing the prophet Phineas from the Harpies, and escaping death, through Hera's intervention, between the Symplegades. Despite the opposition of Colchis' King Aeëtes, to whom Jason's purpose is betrayed by Pelias' son Acastus, Jason, guided by Aeëtes' daughter Medea, kills the seven-headed Hydra guarding the Golden Fleece and vanquishes a skeletal army sown by Aeëtes from the monster's teeth. The Argonauts then return to Thessaly, bearing on board both Medea and the Golden Fleece.


Godzilla (Japan, 1954)

Name of dragon is King Ghidorah

American nuclear weapons testing results in the creation of a seemingly unstoppable, dinosaur-like beast.


Atragon (Japan, 1963)

Name of dragon is Manda

When an ancient underground civilization and their snake-like guardian plots to reclaim the surface world, those of the surface fights back.




Jabberwocky (UK, 1977)

Name of dragon is Jabberwocky

A medieval simpleton (Michael Palin) slays a monster dragon in the kingdom of Bruno the Questionable (Max Wall).


Name of dragon is Krayt

In a distant galaxy, a long time ago, young Luke Skywalker assembles his motley crew of allies including space rogue Han Solo and two droids, C3PO and R2D2, to rescue Princess Leia, the rebel leader of her planet from the clutches of the evil Empire as embodied by its enforcer Darth Vader.


Dragonslayer (US, 1981)

Name of dragon is Vermithrax Pejorative

A terrible dragon is terrorizing the medieval land of Urland in the 6th century. Representatives from the kingdom seek the assistance of the wizard Ulrich (Ralph Richardson) to defeat the dragon immediately -- Urland has been delivering virgins to appease the dragon, and their princess (Chloe Salaman) has rigged the lottery system they use in order to sacrifice herself next. But when Ulrich is killed, the task to confront the dragon falls to the wizard's apprentice, Galen (Peter MacNicol).


The name of the dragon is Quetzalcoatl

NYPD detectives Shepard and Powell are working on a bizarre case of a ritualistic Aztec murder. Meanwhile, something big is attacking people of New York and only greedy small time crook Jimmy Quinn knows where its lair is.


The Dungeonmaster (US, 1984)

The name of the dragon is unnamed

Geeky computer whiz Paul (Jeffrey Byron) is not happy to discover that his long-suffering girlfriend, Gwen (Leslie Wing), has been abducted by villainous sorcerer Mestema (Richard Moll). Mestema promises to release Gwen if Paul can complete seven different challenges in seven different realms. Paul consents, and Mestema equips him with a computerized wristband capable of firing las)ers and transports him to face the perils he must survive if he ever wants to see Gwen again.




Ewoks: The Battle for Endor (US, 1985)

The name of the dragon is Condor

Marauders raid the Ewok village and steal a power supply they believe to be magical. Wicket helps Cindel escape the evil witch Charal, and they befriend a hermit who may help them save the village.


The name of the dragon is Jabberwocky

Alice (Natalie Gregory) is in Looking Glass Land, where she meets many Looking Glass creatures and attempts to avoid the Jabberwocky (Tom McLoughlin), a monster that appears due to her being afraid.


Willow (US, 1988)

The name of the dragon is Eborsisk

When a good-hearted farmer named Willow Ufgood discovers a baby girl prophesized to end the rule of the evil queen Bavmorda, he sets out on an adventure to return the child to her people. Encountering all manner of creatures and characters, Willow finds both companionship and villainy along with a newfound skill as a sorcerer.


Stanley's Dragon (UK, 1994)

The name of the dragon is Olly

A dragon grows into a public nuisance after being hatched from an egg found by an American student (Judd Trichter) in England.


Orochi, the Eight-Headed Dragon (Japan, 1994)

The name of the dragon is Orochi

After killing his brother, Prince Yamato is banished from his father's kingdom until he can bring his dangerous powers under control. On his journey, he meets and joins with the magical priestess Oto, and together they go to fight against an evil god that has been ravaging the Earth in the form of an enormous hydra.




Dragonworld (US/UK/Romania, 1994)

The name of the dragon is Yowler

After the death of his parents, young John McGowan goes to stay at the castle of his uncle Angus, a Scottish laird. At a supposedly magical wishing tree, he wishes for a friend and is startled when a dragon appears. John befriends the dragon, naming it Yeller. Fifteen years later, American filmmaker Bob Armstrong arrives in the area to shoot an episode of a tv series. His daughter Beth and the now adult John become attracted to one another. Armstrong captures Yeller on tape while filming. He shows the film to local entrepreneur Lester MacIntyre who financially pressures the unworldwise John into signing a contract to allow him to display Yeller at an amusement park he calls Dragonworld. However, once John signs, MacIntyre manipulates the fine print and refuses to return Yeller.


Rebirth of Mothra (Japan, 1996)

The name of the dragon is Desghidorah

Millions of years ago, a titanic terror from another realm arrived to destroy the planet Earth. Named Desghidorah, this three-headed dragon was forced to deal with resistance in the form of a species of highly advanced, enormous moths. These monsters were the protectors of the Elias, a race of tiny, human-like, beings who inhabited the planet. After the ensuing battle, Desghidorah was defeated and sealed within the Earth, although a great deal of life on the planet Earth was lost. Three Elias: Moll, Lora, and Belvera, were all who were left of their once prosperous civilization. Though the benevolence of Moll and Lora was undeterred, Belvera became twisted and vengeful due to the mass extinction of her race. These tiny fairies, along with one final guardian named Mothra, lingered on for thousands of millennia.


The name of the dragon is Liu Kang

A group of martial arts warriors have only six days to save the Earth from an extra-dimensional invasion.


Merlin - Mini Series (UK/US, 1998)

The name of the dragon is unnamed

Legendary wizard Merlin tells his story of his war against Queen Mab of the Sidhe and his creation of Camelot.




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