''Desideria e l'Anello del Drago'' (also known as ''Desideria and The Dragon Ring'') is an Italian fantasy mini-series directed by

Lamberto Bava Lamberto Bava (born 3 April 1944) is an Italian film director. Born in Rome, Bava began working as an assistant director for his director father Mario Bava. Lamberto co-directed the 1979 television film ''La Venere d'Ille'' with his father and in ...

and starring

Anna Falchi Anna Falchi (; born Anna Kristiina Palomäki; 22 April 1972) is a Finnish-Italian model and film actress. Career Anna Kristiina Palomäki was born in Tampere, Finland, the daughter of an Italian father, Benito (Tito) Falchi, and Finnish mothe ...

. The story is similar in style and direction as

's more successful '' Fantaghirò'' series.

Plot

The Dragon King and Queen, rulers of a powerful kingdom, have two daughters. Desideria, the eldest daughter and Selvaggia, a sorceress they adopted. Although she is constantly playing tricks to get her elder sister in trouble, she is frequently praised as being the smarter and better daughter. As the eldest birth daughter of the Dragon King, Desideria is due to inherit the Dragon Ring, the highest symbol of power in the kingdom, but she can only do so once she has chosen a husband. Unfortunately, the prince that finally catches her attention is Prince Victor, a rebel prince who has fought against her father and is to be sentenced to death for his treachery. Desideria helps Victor escape from the castle dungeons, but her father catches her in the act and she is punished. The Dragon King decides to let all the princes in his conquered kingdoms fight in a tournament for her hand in marriage, but when Desideria sees that all the princes are selfish, cruel men, she runs away. When the Dragon King discovers that she has fled, he declares that Desideria has forfeited her right to the throne and Selvaggia will become the new prize. But unknown to him, the jealous Selvaggia wants to destroy her elder sister completely. Desideria eventually ends up in the desert, where she is saved from the Witches of the Sand by none other than Prince Victor himself. She learns from him and other rebels in his camp that her beloved father is in actuality a cruel and vicious ruler. Just as she agrees to fight at Victor's side, Selvaggia casts a spell from the castle, causing Victor to fall in love with her and rush to join the tournament to win Selvaggia's hand.

Cast

Similarity to ''Fantaghirò''

The film has a few similarities with the more successful '' Fantaghirò'' franchise also directed by

, including but not limited to filming style and special effects. In this film, Victor falls in love with Desideria without ever seeing her face, and he can only recognise her by her voice. In '' Fantaghirò, or The Cave of the Golden Rose'', Prince Romualdo falls in love with Fantaghirò without properly seeing her face, and he can only recognise her by her eyes. Another similarity is that the wicked Selvaggia casts a spell to make Victor fall in love with her, to hurt Desideria. In ''

Fantaghirò 2 ''Fantaghirò 2'' (also known as ''The Cave of the Golden Rose 2'') is the second television film in the ''Fantaghirò series'', directed by Lamberto Bava and originally aired in 1992 as a two-parter (and so is known in certain releases as ''Fant ...

'', the wicked Black Witch casts a spell to make Romualdo fall in love with her, to hurt Fantaghirò. One more similarity is that both Desideria and Fantaghirò dress up as men so that they can fight in a tournament without anyone knowing that they are women.

Reception

The film received generally favorable reviews from critics.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dragon Ring 1994 films 1994 television films Italian-language television shows Italian television films Italian fantasy films High fantasy films Films directed by Lamberto Bava Films about dragons

Plot

Cast

Similarity to ''Fantaghirò''

Reception

See also

External links