Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #13367 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-04-16
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 100 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
While it owes much of its appeal and appearance to the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Eragon can stand on its own as an enjoyable fantasy for younger viewers. Faithfully adapted from the bestselling novel by teenage author Christopher Paolini, this boy-and-his-dragon tale offers clean, fast-paced family entertainment without compromising the darker qualities of Paolini's novel (the first in what is known as the "Inheritance" trilogy). The plot centers on 17-year-old peasant farmboy Eragon (played by appealing newcomer Ed Speleers) who discovers a mysterious blue object that turns out to be an egg that eventually hatches to reveal Saphira, a blue-scaled dragon that quickly grows to full-size. According to prophecy, Eragon is destined to be a dragon-rider like those who once protected a benevolent kingdom, thus reviving an ancient conflict against the army of King Galbatorix (John Malkovich), a former dragon rider who turned to evil, now in alliance with a dark-magic "Shade" sorcerer named Durza (Robert Carlyle).

While the movie serves up familiar fantasy elements and offers little if anything new to fans of the genre (or anyone who's read the books of Anne McCaffrey and Ursula K. Le Guin), it's visually impressive (especially the dragon scenes, with Rachel Weisz providing the telepathic "voice" of Saphira) and full of timeless wisdom, much of it delivered by Eragon's heroic mentor Brom (Jeremy Irons), himself a former dragon rider with memories of past battles and hope for Eragon's future. Add a fair warrior-maiden named Arya (Sienna Guillory) and you've got all the ingredients for a worthwhile (if not particularly original) fantasy that points directly to a sequel. Whether that's a good or a bad thing is up to individual viewers to decide. --Jeff Shannon

Synopsis
Based on the first novel in Christopher Paolini’s popular INHERITANCE trilogy, ERAGON is a fantastical adventure in a vein similar to that of the LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy and THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA. A classic story of a quest driven by destiny and set in a land where elves, magicians, and humans live side by side, the battle between good and evil, innocence and cynicism, is taken up once again. John Malkovitch camps it up as the evil King Galbatorix, a former guardian of peace who long ago went over to the dark side. He now rules over a land from which dragons have all but disappeared, until humble farm boy Eragon (newcomer Edward Speelers) happens upon a mysterious blue object that turns out to be a dragon egg. Eragon befriends the charming dragon cub, Saphira (voiced with aplomb by Rachel Weisz), and becomes her rider, designating him as the principal warrior in the fight against evil. Jeremy Irons steals the show as the wise and mysterious old man who becomes Eragon’s mentor, guiding him through the tasks of saving a princess (Sienna Guillory) battling an evil sorcerer (Robert Carlyle, TRAINSPOTTING), and fending off hordes of the hideous Urgals. All of this will strike the seasoned fantasy viewer as familiar territory, but the formula is given life by veterans Malkovitch and Irons, as well as the young Speelers. The film was shot mostly in Hungary, whose breathtaking landscape combines to great effect with excellent cinematography. The special effects, created by LORD OF THE RINGS’ Digital Magic and STAR WARS’ Industrial Light and Magic, more than live up to the precedent set by those films, while the dragon is film’s true star.

Customer Reviews

Special effects cannot make up for the screenplay
I am a huge fan of the eragon books. I am currently reading the two books (eragon and eldest) for the 3rd time and still enjoying them as much as I did the first time(can't wait for Brisingr, coming out in America September 20th). When I heard about a film for these books I was very excited. I would have seen the film in the cinema but the poor reviews put me off. When the DvDs came out I decided to review the film for myself.

Good points
I thought this film is technically accomplished, the special effects are brilliant. Saphria is amazing, the best dragon I have ever seen. The battle of farthen Dur at the end is also very good. The actors do a reasonable job, with Jeremoy Irons (Brom) and Ed Speelers (eragon) a cut above the others

Bad points
The screenplay is aboustloutly terrible. It feels like the script was rushed and couldn't be checked over. There is almost nothing from the book. I can understand that they will cut down some parts from the book when making movies but this was just an abomination. They missed out solemnbum's advice and Angela's prophecy, which are some of the most important bits in the first book.

Overall I would have this film. Not the best film in this genre but undeserving of the brutal reviews it got. Good for a night in but if you're looking for the real eragon, stick to the book.

The worst book adaptation I have ever witnessed.
This film was a complete atrocity. Not only were key storylines altered and some of the most interesting and developable characters missed out (Sonnenbum, anyone?), the acting was poor and, in my opinion, many of the actors were terribly unsuitable.
For one, Eragon was supposed to be a simple country lad. He shouldn't speak posh! His uncle didn't speak posh, did he? Just because we all know he's going to become a hero and save the day doesn't mean you have to give him a completely illogical accent. And what was the deal with the way Saphira just suddenly grew to about ten times her size? Were the filmakers incapable of representing the passage of time? This is an epic story and they made it appear as if it took place over a matter of days.
In addition, why did they try to develop a romance between Arya and Eragon? In the book, it is made very clear that although Eragon pursues Arya, she is completely out of his league and has no romantic interest in him. Why did they feel a need to try to turn this fantasy into a completely cheesy romantic mush?
I can hardly bear anticipate the disaster that Eldest will no doubt be.

Although Murtagh was awesome.

mtm
While this film does not follow the book as closly as it could and some of the acting was poor, the special effects were great, and the story while it may be a bit repative of some other storylines, how much these days is completly orginal. This film is my favoirte film, and I have now watched it 10 times in the last 6 months. The sound track is also amazing.