The Knight of the Dragon

The Knight of the Dragon (Spanish: El caballero del dragón), a.k.a. Star Knight, is a 1985 Spanish adventure film directed by Fernando Colomo and starring Miguel Bosé.[1] In this film, a knight sets out to rescue a princess from a dragon, but the dragon turns out to really be an alien spacecraft.

The Knight of the Dragon
Vidmark Entertainment VHS Cover
Directed byFernando Colomo
Produced byFernando Colomo
José Esteban Lasala
Written byFernando Colomo
Andreu Martín
Miguel Ángel Nieto
StarringKlaus Kinski
Harvey Keitel
CinematographyJosé Luis Alcaine
Edited byMiguel Ángel Santamaría
Distributed byCineTel Films
Release date
  • 20 December 1985 (1985-12-20)
Running time
90 minutes
CountrySpain
LanguageSpanish

Production

The film had initially a 200 million pesetas budget, and received an additional 50% subsidy. Eventually the budget had to be raised to 300 million, making for a 400 million total, the highest in Spanish cinema at the time.[2]

Casting

Imanol Arias was initially chosen for the alien's role, and the actor liked the idea, but it was eventually decided that he wasn't suitable for the character. Looking for a more androgynous profile, he was replaced by Miguel Bosé.[2]

For alchemist Boecius the staff was interested in signing a former Hollywood star. The producers successively tried to sign Burt Lancaster, Charlton Heston, Kirk Douglas and Robert Mitchum. An agreement with Vincent Price was prevented by a cirugy, and his agent offered them Klaus Kinski instead.[2]

Filming

The film was shot through the province of Girona. The crew was set in Roses, and the Requesens Castle and the volcanic landscape around Olot were used.[3] The shooting is mostly remembered for the tense relationship between Kinski and most of the cast and crew. According to Fernando Colomo, having to wait on a horse for a while angered him for the entire production and he was disrespectful to everyone except for Miguel Bosé and the gipsies that took care of the animals used in the film.[2]

Release

After the film's theatrical run in its native Spain, CineTel Films picked up the film for a U.S. theatrical release in the summer of 1986. However, the film was not released on videocassette in the U.S. until 1992, when it was released by Vidmark Entertainment.

Reception

The film was the seventh most attended Spanish film in 1985, far from the box office performance expected to make up for its record budget. The production also resulted in a dispute with the American distributors, which broke off their contract following a delay. Colomo was left with a 50 million pesetas debt that he covered with the gains from his next film, La vida alegre.[2]

Cast

References
  1. "New York Times: The Knight of the Dragon". NY Times. Archived from the original on 12 October 2012. Retrieved 26 October 2008.
  2. "Klaus Kinski era un mierdecilla". Así se arruinó la gran marcianada del cine español. El Confidencial, 18 January 2021
  3. Una mostra recorda el rodatge de «El caballero del dragón». Diari de Gerona, 7 May 2010
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