Epic films over Vikings are I think less common than epics about the Roman empire , but they have been always there. An example is "The Vikings" (1958, Richard Fleischer). Although "The Lord of the rings" (2001 - 2003, Peter Jackson) is not strictly Viking, the Tolkien story is undeniably based on Nordic mythology and has given an impetus to the genre.
In the films over the Roman empire their civilisation and their military might are equally emphasized most of the time. In Viking films on the other hand the violence dominates. I hoped that a director like Robert Eggers would change that emphasis. In "The Northman" he did so less drastically than I hoped for. Yes there are some scenes with Nordic religious rituals, but the emphasis is still on the action scenes. I am afraid that to learn more about the Viking culture I have to read the book "Children of Ash and Elm" (2020, Neil Price), what I'm definitely planning.
After "The Witch" (2015) and "The Lighthouse" (2019), "The Northman" (2022) is the first Eggers film with a big budget. The film remains vintage Eggers, but on the other hand it is clear that, compared to his earlier films, Eggers feeled obliged to make the film commercially more attractive by adding some action scenes. The iconic ending scene makes however very clear that "The Northman" in no way glorifies violence.
With vintage Eggers I am not so much reffering to the rituals included but much more to the state of mind of the lead character Amleth (Alexander Skarsgard). In all of his previous films the lead characters had or got a twisted mind. In "The Witch" this is due to a gloomy, stern and depressing religious belief, in "The lighthouse" due to loneliness and in "The Northman" due to all-consuming vengeance. The character of Olga (Anya Taylor Joy) gives Amleth the opportunity to broaden his mind. The opportunity is however not taken.
As already mentioned, Alexander Skarsgard plays the lead character prince Amleth. One might think that this character is based in the Shakespearian Hamlet, but in reality it is the other way around. Amleth is a folkloric character from the writings of the 13th century historian Saxo Grammaticus.
In one of the most cruel scenes Amleth and his fellow warriors conquer and then burn down a Slavic village. This scene also draws attention to the extent of the area in which the influence of the Vikings was felt. In a recent podcast about Russian history I learned that Kiev (the city is once mentioned in the dialogue of "The Northman") is a city with strong Viking influences while Moscow is more influenced by the Mogul culture of Ghengis Kahn.
In the films over the Roman empire their civilisation and their military might are equally emphasized most of the time. In Viking films on the other hand the violence dominates. I hoped that a director like Robert Eggers would change that emphasis. In "The Northman" he did so less drastically than I hoped for. Yes there are some scenes with Nordic religious rituals, but the emphasis is still on the action scenes. I am afraid that to learn more about the Viking culture I have to read the book "Children of Ash and Elm" (2020, Neil Price), what I'm definitely planning.
After "The Witch" (2015) and "The Lighthouse" (2019), "The Northman" (2022) is the first Eggers film with a big budget. The film remains vintage Eggers, but on the other hand it is clear that, compared to his earlier films, Eggers feeled obliged to make the film commercially more attractive by adding some action scenes. The iconic ending scene makes however very clear that "The Northman" in no way glorifies violence.
With vintage Eggers I am not so much reffering to the rituals included but much more to the state of mind of the lead character Amleth (Alexander Skarsgard). In all of his previous films the lead characters had or got a twisted mind. In "The Witch" this is due to a gloomy, stern and depressing religious belief, in "The lighthouse" due to loneliness and in "The Northman" due to all-consuming vengeance. The character of Olga (Anya Taylor Joy) gives Amleth the opportunity to broaden his mind. The opportunity is however not taken.
As already mentioned, Alexander Skarsgard plays the lead character prince Amleth. One might think that this character is based in the Shakespearian Hamlet, but in reality it is the other way around. Amleth is a folkloric character from the writings of the 13th century historian Saxo Grammaticus.
In one of the most cruel scenes Amleth and his fellow warriors conquer and then burn down a Slavic village. This scene also draws attention to the extent of the area in which the influence of the Vikings was felt. In a recent podcast about Russian history I learned that Kiev (the city is once mentioned in the dialogue of "The Northman") is a city with strong Viking influences while Moscow is more influenced by the Mogul culture of Ghengis Kahn.