Eragon (movie)
From Inheriwiki, the ever-growing Inheritance database
Eragon is a 2006 motion picture loosely based upon Eragon, the first book of the Inheritance cycle.
Eragon was directed by Stefen Fangmeier, who has worked on such critically-acclaimed films as The Bourne Identity, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, and Galaxy Quest. Eragon combines a number of recognizable actors, such as Jeremy Irons and Djimon Hounsou, with relative unknowns.
Christopher Paolini originally asked for a small role in the film; according to rumor, he was supposed to be a Varden soldier who is beheaded during the Battle under Farthen Dûr. The timing of his European book tour created a conflict, however, and he was unable to fulfill his wish.
The release of the movie was accompanied by the release of a video-game. The movie was released to DVD March 20th 2007.
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[edit] Trailer
The official trailer for the film was originally rumored to have been attached to X-Men: The Last Stand, released on May 26, 2006; later, however, execs announced that the release date for the trailer would be pushed back, due to unfinished special effects work. After multiple delays, the trailer was finally released September 15, 2006 with Gridiron Gang, a film by Columbia Pictures. The trailer can be viewed online at Moviefone. An international trailer was also released and can be viewed at [1]
An unofficial trailer was accidentally leaked on the internet late in 2005.
Several other trailers have been released. A complete list can be found at Shur'tugal.
[edit] Trailer from YouTube
[edit] Posters
A total of ten Eragon posters have been released to date. They are below, in chronological order.
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[edit] Rating
Eragon was rated PG (for "fantasy violence, intense battle sequences, and some frightening images") by the MPAA. [1] It was also rated PG by it's British equivelent, the BBFC. The Australian OFLC rated it an M, the OFLC version of a PG-13.
[edit] Reception
[edit] Fans
Many fans have expressed anger at the movie and Stefen Fangmeier for cutting out too many important characters, places, and events. (Some fans have even started signing petitions to remake the film.)
Most fans of the novel have pointed out that nearly none of the characters in the film fit their descriptions at all in the book (except probably Roran and Katrina, the Twins, and Elva in the deleted scenes.)
A lot have blamed the film for making some changes that will hinder the possible production of the sequel. For example, Roran leaves Palancar Valley just because he doesn't want to be drafted into the army, rather than to earn money to start his own family with Katrina (who did not appear in the film).
Some fans, however, have praised the film for staying true to the spirit of the book. The part of the film that took most of the berating was the running time.
Many people also say that it would be very difficult for those who have not read the book to follow the plotline. Although this may not be entirely true, a lot was cut from the book which would make it less of a complete story than the book. It was also not cut very well - fans could point out exactly what was missing.
[edit] Critics
Most critical reviews have bashed the film; Eragon got a "Tomatometer" rating of only 16%[2] and a Metacritic rating of 39%[3]. The movie was also listed as the 10th worst film of 2006.
According to rottentomatoes.com, the critical consensus is "Eragon presents nothing new to the "hero’s journey" story archetype. In movie terms, this movie looks and sounds like Lord of the Rings and plays out like a bad Star Wars rip-off."[4]
The film did, however, get some good or lukewarn reviews. Claudia Puig of USA Today called it a "moderately diverting escapism that will appeal to fans of the fantasy genre"[5]. Tribune film critic Michael Philipps gave it two and a half out of four stars [6] and called it "cheesy, but sincere cheese" and heavily praised Jeremy Irons in his role as Brom.
Michael A. Smith of crazedfanboy.com gave it three out of four stars, saying the film "is a fun film that is certain to join the ranks of Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings in the world of fantasy films."[7]
[edit] The Author
Christopher Paolini has stated that he enjoyed the film[8].
[edit] Differences between the book and movie
There are many differences between the book and the film, in which many fans of the books have complained about (one fan in a cinema cried because of it). Some of these include:
- Eragon is described having brown hair/eyes in the book.
- In the book, Eragon is fifteen, not seventeen.
- In the book, the gedwëy ignasia scar which Eragon receives on his hand is not in the shape of an 'E'; it is oval-shaped and silver.
- In the book, the jewel on Zar'roc's pommel is a ruby. In the film, it is a sapphire. The pommel of the sword also appears silver while it is gold in the book. And the handle of the sword is wrapped with wire, in the film it appears to be wrapped in leather; and neither the blade nor the sheath has Morzan's insignia.
- In the novel, the story first takes place in the middle of winter; in the film, it appears to be the middle of spring.
- Uncle Garrow has no mention of his name in the film.
- In the book, Eragon gave Saphira her name. In the movie, dragons seem to name themselves.
- In the novel, Saphira doesn't have a sudden growth spurt; she grows over a period of time.
- Many fans were disappointed that Saphira had what appeared to be feathers instead of membrane on her wings. Also, Saphira's described in the book with intense blue scales; while in the film, she appears a rather dull blue.
- In the movie Saphira breathes fire during the Battle under Farthen Dûr and uses it to kill many enemies. In the book, she breathes it at the battle's climax to distract Durza so Eragon can kill him. She breathes orange fire in the movie during the battle. But in the book, it is blue to match her scales.
- Brom is described having a full white beard in the book.
- Brom appears to carry no pipe or carved staff in the film.
- In the book, Brom tells of the Riders when the Traders are present and it appears that telling of such a story is against the law. In the movie, Brom tells of the Riders when soldiers are present, and Eragon has to defend him verbally.
- No such scene occurs in the novel, in which Eragon trespasses Brom's house and reads an old book about dragons.
- In the book Brom immediately gives Eragon Zar'roc and uses his own short sword, but in the movie he doesn't give Eragon Zar'roc until he is about to die.
- Instead of Brom and Eragon traveling to several different villages and cities, the film combines events from various places and puts them into one village called Daret. In the book, they journey to Therinsford, Yazuac, Teirm, Daret, and Dras-Leona.
- Brom’s merchant friend, Jeod, does not appear in the movie.
- It is revealed much earlier in the movie that Brom was a Dragon Rider. But in the book, he is revealed as a Rider shortly before he dies.
- Durza the Shade is described being tall and slim in the book and he appears to have no sharp teeth, in the film. Also, he is never described having long, black fingernails.
- Durza's eyes in the novel are described as maroon (red), while in the film they are grey.
- In the book, Durza carries a sword with a long winding scratch down its blade that Ajihad—leader of the Varden—put there. In the film, Durza appears to carry a sword, yet he almost never uses it and it probably doesn't have any scratch. Durza seems to mostly use objects he can find around him instead of using one particular weapon.
- In the book, Durza's name is unknown to Eragon until he meets Ajihad. In the movie, “Durza” is a name seemingly known by all.
- Arya has “midnight-dark” hair, green eyes, and elf ears in the book, whereas in the film she has reddish-gold hair instead and no pointy ears.
- Arya usually wears dark-colored clothing in the book, such as black leather, while in the movie her outfits were considerably lighter; perhaps to match her lighter complexion that was portrayed in the film.
- In the book, Arya has a colder, stiffer, no-nonsense personality, especially towards Eragon in certain situations. In the film adaptation, fans have described her as being "too nice" and acting too warmly towards Eragon and was nowhere near being the ice queen that she was described as in the novel. She even appears to be attracted romantically to Eragon as she tells him they might meet each other soon.
- At the beginning of the movie, it looks like Arya is just now stealing the egg, in the book it was stolen by Brom and Jeod. Though it is only said in the movie that the egg was stolen, but not by whom.
- Arya doesn’t get poisoned by a Shade in the book. She gets poisoned by the food she eats while imprisoned in Gil'ead.
- In the book, Eragon doesn’t have a dream about Arya walking around in a wood, talking to him. He dreams multiple times over and over again seeing her jailed in a prison.
- Galbatorix makes an appearance in the movie though he does not in the book. He’s only mentioned.
- In the book Galbatorix is clueless as to the whereabouts of the Dwarf and Elf cities. This doesn't change in the movie, but depicted on the map behind him in one scene is the name and location of Farthen Dûr. Ellesméra is also located on the map as well as other elf cities.
- In the movie, Galbatorix wants Eragon killed, whereas in the novel, Galbatorix wants Eragon to join him due to the fact that Saphira is the last female dragon in Alagaësia.
- Murtagh’s hair in the novel was brown, where in the film his hair is black.
- In the novel, Murtagh carries a bow, a sword, a dagger and a horn. Not just a bow.
- In the film, Murtagh lifts his shirt to reveal the scar that Morzan gave him, but the scar appears to be along his torso, other than his back like in the book.
- In the movie, Angela is portrayed as a young, blonde, ornately-garbed fortune teller who talks in the third-person and does nothing but tells Eragon his future. And Solembum, her werecat, doesn’t appear in the movie. In the book, she has brown “dark curls,” and is portrayed as a cheerful older woman (old enough to be a young mother to him). She is also in Daret in the film (while in the book she is located in Teirm) and is not present at Tronjheim or the Battle under Farthen Dûr.
- Ajihad had long black hair in the film whereas in the book, his head is shaved bare.
- In the book, Ajihad recognizes Murtagh as Morzan's son by his voice; in the film, he recognizes by just staring at him.
- Nasuada’s name is never mentioned in the movie.
- Hrothgar (King of the Dwarves) doesn't even like like a short dwarf in the movie at all. He just looks like an ordinary human; and his hair was supposed to be white.
- In the movie Brom already has Snowfire and Cadoc; in the book, Brom and Eragon buy them in Therinsford.
- Brom’s horse (Snowfire) was black in the film, instead of white.
- The Ra’zac have a different appearance in the movie than in the book: they are described as tall, hunched, beaked creatures, with big, black, lidless eyes (the size of fists), carry swords, and wear dark-hooded cloaks and gloves to hide their “twisted hideous bodies” (a lot like the Nazgûl—Ringwraiths from the Lord of the Rings.) But in the film, they have a much smaller role and are killed (but are not even killed until further on.) Instead, they are creatures summoned by Durza—from insects and dirt—and have the appearance of a mummy or a three-month old dead ninja.
- In the book, Eragon comes home to find his house almost completely destroyed by the Ra’zac, whereas in the film, Eragon comes home and his hut is still there. Also, Uncle Garrow is dead in the movie when Eragon finds him, although he dies later in the book. He is also not cremated (burnt up) by Brom like in the film. And Eragon is supposed to stay at Horst’s house for a day.
- In the film, Sloan (Carvahall’s butcher) easily demands Eragon to get out of his shop, after refusing to trade the 'stone' for meat; but in the book, Horst and Katrina intervene, in which they criticize Sloan for his grumpy behavior, and Horst pays Sloan money, to give Eragon meat. Sloan is also described in the book as lean and scrawny (a lot like actor Donald Pleasence), while he appears large in the film.
- In the novel, Sloan rejects the 'stone' because he dispises the Spine, from where Eragon found it; while in the movie, Sloan rejects it with fear saying it belongs to the king. In the book, Sloan doesn't have a clue to whom the 'stone' belongs; it doesn't make sense in the film for Sloan to know about the 'stone's background at all, if it just came out of a forest.
- In the film, Sloan gets tortured by the Ra'zac and it seems that they kill him, while in the book he tells them by his own free-will and is allowed to leave their presence.
- Brom and Eragon do not kill the Ra'zac in the book.
- In the book, Brom, Eragon, and Saphira are temporarily captured by the Ra'zac.
- Brom gets killed by the Ra’zac in the book, not Durza. This is really important for the story in Eldest.
- The Urgals are described as tall, monstrous-horned beasts in the book. But in the movie, they don’t have horns, but look like bald, stocky, savage cave men, (more human-like) in war paint, with red cat-like eyes and wear dirty ragged clothes. They are supposed to be more like Orcs or Goblins.
- When Brom and Eragon visit Daret in the movie, the small town rests on stilts set in some gloomy body of water; whereas in the book, the area in which Daret exists is on land.
- In the book, the first time Eragon uses magic is in Yazuac. In the book, Brom and Eragon notice something is wrong (especially when they see the pile of dead villagers). In the movie, they are in Daret, where at first, all seems well, but after Angela's fortune telling, the villagers disappear and Eragon gets attacked by Urgals where he then uses magic to kill them. There are also more Urgals than the two mentioned in the book.
- Only the Urgals and Kull were supposed to fight the Varden in the book. But the movie deletes the Kull and adds Empire soldiers.
- As stated in several differences above, all of the non-human races lose their key characteristics (the Elves don't have pointed ears, the Dwarves aren't short, and the Urgals don't have horns). And although the existence of the other races is mentioned, no character is in fact labeled as an elf or a dwarf.
- In the movie, Carvahall is swarming with soldiers of the Empire. But in the book, no such *soldiers* are present.
- While the physical appearance of Carvahall may not have changed, a lot of other characters who dwelt there do not appear in the film or have very brief appearances, like Horst, his two sons, Albriech and Baldor, his wife Elain, etc, who all play an important role in Eldest.
- In the book, Roran leaves home to work at Dempton’s mill in Therinsford in order to raise enough money so he can marry Katrina. In the movie, he leaves home just to avoid being drafted into the army.
- In the novel, Horst's sons are never recruited by the army. Also, in the movie the Traders never come to Carvahall.
- Orik the Dwarf makes no appearance in the movie.
- Several characters are deleted like Katrina (Roran’s lover) Elva (the child whom Eragon ‘blesses’) and the Twins (the bald magicians), all who play an important role in the book.
- In the book, before Brom’s death, Murtagh scares off the Ra'zac, encountering Eragon, and helps him journey to Gil’ead. Eragon is then captured by a band of Urgals and imprisoned there, after Brom’s death. He later gets rescued by Murtagh and is able to escape with the unconscious Arya. But in the movie, Eragon abandons Brom and goes to Gil’ead himself, where he does not get captured but escapes with Arya, who isn’t unconscious, but aware of everything. Murtagh then appears after Brom dies. Eragon and Murtagh’s journey to the Varden is shortened to only a few minutes.
- In the film, Eragon temporarily defeats Durza by shooting him in the head with an arrow, while in the novel; Murtagh is the one who delays Durza in this manner. Also, in the book, Durza feels immense pain when this occurs, whereas he happens to feel no pain in the film.
- Murtagh never has a clue about the Varden’s locality, in the book. Eragon is still able to find the Varden himself by following directions of a map in his mind, from Arya.
- In the book, Farthen Dûr is a tall, hollow, almost invincible mountain with a hole in the top. And Tronjheim is a marble mountain city built inside the mountain. In the film, Tronjheim is instead made of wood and stone, and looks more like Tarnag, a dwarf city visited in Eldest. There are also no scenes including Hrothgar's throne room or the Isidar Mithrim (star sapphire).
- In the film, Durza flies into battle against Eragon and Saphira on a beast of dark smoke or vapor. No such battle takes place in the book, and no 'beast' is mentioned—Durza is always on foot. Also, this "beast" doesn’t go by the rules of magic, because not even a Shade has enough strength to create a dragon-like monster.
- In the book, Eragon attacks Durza with his mind and sees the Shade’s past as a human named, Carsaib, who lost control of his mind when evil spirits entered his body. In the film, no such scene occurs.
- During the final battle between Durza and Eragon, they fight in midair; Eragon climbs on to Saphira's tail. She then flings him at Durza's beast and he effectively stabs the Shade in the heart while flying. In the book, the battle takes place on the ground, inside Tronjheim; Durza gets distracted by Arya and Saphira by dropping the Isidar Mithrim (star sapphire). He was about to use powerful magic against them, but Eragon took the opportunity to stab him through the heart.
- When Eragon blacks out in the book, after killing Durza, the-Cripple-Who-Is-Whole (Oromis) appears to him in a vision and advises him about Ellesméra; in the film, no such scene occurs.
- Arya returned to Ellesméra in the movie, but she does not until the second book, and she leaves with Eragon and Orik.
- The movie takes place over a much shorter time than the book. It is had been mentioned in several "different" sections that the film took place of about three days, while the story in the novel takes place over months. However, due to confusing editing techniques (as well as not keeping to the plot) it is difficult to differentiate between the days. Also, a quote by Arya ("Yesterday, you were a farm boy. Today, you are a hero."), is very misleading. She says "yesterday" and "today" as figures of speech, not actual time periods.
[edit] Cast
[edit] Leading roles
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Edward Speleers | Eragon |
| Chris Egan | Roran |
| Jeremy Irons | Brom |
| John Malkovich | Galbatorix |
| Djimon Hounsou | Ajihad |
| Sienna Guillory | Arya |
| Robert Carlyle | Durza |
| Garrett Hedlund | Murtagh |
| Gary Lewis | Hrothgar |
| Alun Armstrong | Garrow |
| Joss Stone | Angela |
| Caroline Chikezie | Nasuada |
| Tamsin Egerton | Katrina (Cut in the final edit) |
| Rachel Weisz | Voice of Saphira |
| Ralph Brown | The Twins (Cut in the final edit) |
[edit] Hungarian hired actors
- Ágnes Bánfalvy - Old Woman, Mother/Guardian of Elva
- Máté Haumann
- Matt Devere
- Richard Rifkin
- Michael Mehlman
- Tamás Deák
- Pál Makrai
[edit] Crew
Directed by
Stefen Fangmeier
Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Christopher Paolini, novel
Peter Buchman, screenplay
Lawrence Konner
Mark Rosenthal
Produced by
John Davis
Wyck Godfrey
Original Music by
Patrick Doyle
Casting by
Mindy Marin
Costume Design by
Kym Barrett
Carlo Poggioli
Production Management
Gergö Balika, unit manager
Ravi Dube, unit manager
Vaclav Mottl, unit manager: Slovakia
Peter Seres, production manager: pre-production
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
James Chasey, third assistant director
Bogi Móricz, second assistant director
Art Department
David J. Aldred, storyboard artist
Tracey Wilson, storyboard artist
Patrick Tatopoulos, dragon concept artist
Special Effects by
Kinga Baranyai, special effects buyer
Herbert Blank, special effects senior technician
Visual Effects by
Natalie Lovatt, visual effects assistant coordinator
Glenn Marsh, visual effects modeler
Scott McGinley, previsualization artist
Karen M. Murphy, visual effects
Other crew
Csaba Bagossy, production assistant
Giovanni Casalnuovo, assistant costume designer
Mel Churcher, acting coach
Geoff Freeman, unit publicist
Tamás Kertész, extras casting
Billy Merrell, truck driver
Steve Mortimore, unit location manager
Emoke Vagasi, assistant: Stefen Fangmeier
[edit] Notes
- ↑ Official movie site
- ↑ http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/eragon/
- ↑ http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/eragon?part=rss
- ↑ http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/eragon/about.php
- ↑ http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/reviews/2006-12-14-eragon-review_x.htm
- ↑ http://metromix.chicagotribune.com/movies/mmx-061215-movies-review-eragon,0,230200.story?coll=mmx-movies_top_heds
- ↑ http://www.crazedfanboy.com/npcr06/moviereviewpcr351.shtml
- ↑ http://media.shurtugal.com/movieviewer.php?type=rev&id=119486
[edit] External links
- Alagaesia.com, the official book site
- Shurtugal.com - Fan site USA
- Eragon1.net - Fan site CZ/SK
- Shadeslayer.com - Fan site USA
- Eragons.com - Fan site spain
- Saphira.pl - Fan site PL
- Eragon.atw.hu - Fan site HU
