DESIDERIA E L’ANELIO
DEL DRAGO (1994)
Australian SBS cable
title: The Dragon Ring
Reviewed By: Jay Slater
Director: Lamberto Bava
Starring: Franco Nero. Anna Falchi. Sophie Von Kessel. Joel Beeson. Billie
Zockler. Ute Christensen. Stefania Sandrelli.
This is a high-spirited, swashbuckling, goblin-toothed, Middle-Earth adventure.
Directed by the somewhat prolific Lamberto Bava during the run of his Fantaghiro’
tele-series (1991-1996), Desideria e l’anelio del drago/The Dragon Ring, a
jaunty jape set in the fantasy realms of J. R. Tolkien and Terry Pratchett, is
an engaging epic which clocks in at over three hours. Featuring Franco Nero as
the chief villain, Desideria… is also graced with Anna Falchi, Italian
super-model cum actress. Falchi, the busty blonde who was Rupert Everett’s
love interest in Michele Soavi’s Dellamorte dellamore (1993), is delightful
eyeball candy but it is Nero who steals the show. Nero, with his awesome
charisma, towering frame, and bearded good looks hams his part considerably, and
he is one of these rare actors who can overshadow his supporting cast while
lurking in the background. Nero could release a video cassette of himself
preparing pasta; chopping vegetables, sipping vino, sprinkling diced parsley and
still captivate his viewers from the first minute.
Re (Nero) plays a hard ruling but fair king who owes his fearsome reputation to
the dark magical powers of the Dragon Ring. Re conquers peaceful kingdoms while
Regina (Christensen), his queen resides at their palace with daughter Desideria
and scatty maid Nutrice (Zocker). In the aftermath of battle, Re stumbles across
a den of wolves who are tending a baby girl. Re takes the baby and promises to
care for the child who he wishes to adopt and raise together with Desideria.
Years pass and Desideria (Falchi) and Selvaggia (Kessel) have grown into
beautiful women. Both princesses have the birth-right to the Dragon Ring if
their father should die and Selvaggia suddenly takes an interest in the throne.
Fearing the worst, Desideria runs away from the palace where she falls in love
with Victor (Beeson), a charming prince. After a handful of adventures that are
routine for a film such as this, Victor and Desideria return to the palace and
inform the king of Selvaggia’s intentions. Rumbled, Selvaggia turns herself
into a huge dragon but is slain by Victor with an ice sword which was given to
him by the ‘lady of the lake’ (Sandrelli) – very handy. With the evil
daughter feeling cheated after having a blade run through her, the king
announces that Desideria and Victor can marry. Everyone lives happily ever
after.
Complemented by Romano Albani’s excellent cinematography and a magnificent
score composed by Amedeo Minghi, a rich and detailed work with romantic and
heroic traits, it must be said that Bava’s direction is far superior to that
of his Fantaghiro’ movies. The only disappointing element that hampers the
flow of Desideria… are the appalling special effects which are designed and
executed by Sergio Stivaletti. As seen in the appalling La sindrome di Stendhal/The
Stendhal Syndrome (1996), Stivaletti has been let loose on a high-end PC with
the latest morphing effects at his disposal. For those who thought the scene
where Asia Argento swallows a few pills in her father’s movie was totally
inappropriate, Stivaletti has done it again in Desideria… And although
Stivaletti went hyperbole with computer effects, he manages to make a mess of
the creature designs which are a far cry from his mechanical efforts seen in
Bava’s Demoni/Demons (1985) and Soavi’s La Chiesa/ The Church (1989). The
dragon seems to have been constructed from old rag and wire coat-hangers and is
perhaps best suited to a children’s school pantomime. And as for the talking
wolves, they resemble badly made hand-puppets with golf-balls for eyes… A
class of primary school pupils armed with linen, tinsel and fish-glue could have
produced far more satisfactory results. But to be fair, Stivaletti constructed
the dragon in 15 days, and in that time, you get no Jurassic Park.
But this is a children’s film, and at heart, innocent family nonsense with no
bad language and little violence. Saying that, Bava’s representation of
Falchi’s character is a sensual one - hardly erotic but enough to cast doubt
on films such as Phenomena (1984) where Jennifer Connelly’s role in the
Argento film has been described as porno for children. Bava may have made some
unwatchable dross in his career, Graveyard Disturbance (1987) and The Ogre
(1988) for example, but Desideria… is an enjoyable absurdity that requires
little concentration to appreciate its Italian panto flavour. Comparable to of
Giacomo Battiato’s Hearts and Armour (1982) where Barbara De Rossi and Tanya
Roberts tease and thrill with their low-cut chainmail, Desideria e l’anelio
del drago is recommended viewing for parent and child alike, even if Falchi is
the deciding vote of confidence for this reviewer.
2 Bitch Slaps
- for the casual viewer.
5/10 Bitch Slaps-for
those who enjoy oogling at Falchi's heaving breasts in this
children's movie.