Attack of the Gryphon

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

After 300 years of conflict between the rival kingdoms of Delphi and Lockland, Lockland's king, Phillip (Adrian Pintea), entrusts the fate of his land to a sorcerer named Armand (Larry Drake). Using the king's blood, Armand bring an enormous statue of a terrifying gryphon to life. Almost immediately, the treacherous magician and his en changed pet turn on the king and attempt to take over both Lockland and Delphi. Soon, Princess Amelia of Lockland (Amber Benson) and Prince Seth of Delphi (Jonathan LaPaglia) must forge an unlikely alliance to find the only weapon powerful enough destroy the gryphon. Unfortunately for them, the fabled Drakonian Pike has been broken into two pieces -- and both are lost to antiquity. After premiering in the Sci-Fi Channel cable network on January 27, 2007, Gryphon was released on DVD as Attack of the Gryphon. Like many original Sci-Fi productions, the film was shot on location in Bulgaria. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 1
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 (Theatre Wide Screen)
• Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Jonathan LaPaglia - Prince Seth of Delphi
       Larry Drake - Armand
       Amber Benson - Princess Amelia of Lockland

• Director:

  Andrew J. Prowse

• Producer:

  Ken Badish

• Screen Story:

  Boaz Davidson, Tim Cox

• Screenwriter:

  Tim Cox

• Screen Story:

  Ken Badish, T.M. Van Orstrand

• Screenwriter:

  T.M. Van Orstrand

• Cinematographer:

  Viorel Sergovici

• Musical Direction/Supervision:

  Ashley Miller

• Composer (Music Score):

  John Dickson

• Editor:

  John Lafferty

• Production Designer:

  Ioana Corciova

• Associate Producer:

  Paul Laurens

• Executive Producer:

  Boaz Davidson, Avi Lerner, John Thompson, Danny Dimbort, Trevor Short

• Costume Designer:

  Eli Calin

• Casting:

  Rosemary Welden

• Visual Effects Producer:

  Scott Coulter

• Line Producer:

  Amy Krell

REVIEW:

• Poor Amber Benson. After a credible career as a child actress in films such as Imaginary Crimes and King of the Hill, Benson had the good/bad luck to land a gig on television's Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as fan-favorite sapphic sorceress Tara Maclay. The role lasted three seasons, but by the time Benson left, her career had become the property of the sci-fi/fantasy community. And so an actress who once worked with Steven Soderburgh is reduced to headlining this kind of made-for-cable trash. Gryphon has it all: shockingly bad CGI, cheapie Eastern European locations, tired medieval costumes, cheesy S&M imagery and cut-rate sword-and-sorcery babes. Amidst this flotsam and jetsom of adolescent fantasy imagery, Benson is forced to trade dialogue along these lines: "You'll never succeed, sorcerer!" "Too late, princess, I've already won!" One can only hope poor Benson is still receiving some halfway decent Buffy residuals. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi