Bröderna Lejonhjärta (1977)

Director:

Olle Hellbom

Writers:

Astrid Lindgren (novel)
Astrid Lindgren (screenplay)

Release Date:

23 September 1977 (Sweden)

Genre:

Adventure | Family | Fantasy

Tagline:

Från vår värld. Till sagornas och lägereldarnas värld.

Plot:

9-year old Karl Lejon, 'Skorpan' is suffering from tuberculosis and knows that he will die soon. But...

Plot Keywords:

Brother | Oppression | Dragon | Fire | Legend

Awards:

3 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Staffan Götestam	...	Jonatan
Lars Söderdahl	...	Skorpan
Allan Edwall	...	Mattias
Gunn Wållgren	...	Sofia
Folke Hjort	...	Jossi
Per Oscarsson	...	Orvar
Tommy Johnson	...	Hubert
Jan Nygren	...	Veder
Micha Gabay	...	Kader
Georg Årlin	...	Tengil
Bertil Norström	...	Pjuke
Mats Andersson	...	Tengil's Soldier
Aksel Erhardtsen	...	Tengil's Soldier (as Aksel Erhardsen)
Ulf Håkan Jansson	...	Tengil's Soldier
Bodil Lindorff	...	Mother

Also Known As:

The Brothers Lionheart

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

Sweden

Language:

Swedish

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:LH | Finland:K-10 (re-rating) (1978) | Finland:K-12 (original rating) (1978) | Denmark:7 | Sweden:7 (re-rating) (1989) | Germany:6 | Norway:7 (1984) | Germany:o.Al. | Norway:11 | Sweden:11

Filming Locations:

Iceland

Company:

Artfilm

Trivia:

In the big fighting scene in the end, the two armies are shown on either side of a big valley. They are actually the same men, filmed different days on different sides of the valley.

Quotes:

Skorpan: Why do you have to go away to do such dangerous things?
Jonatan: Because you see, sometimes you have to do things that are dangerous, because otherwise you're not a man, just a piece of dirt.

Movie Connections:

Edited into "Bröderna Lejonhjärta" (1985)

One of the most important films in swedish history about death, loss, love and oppression.

Maybe it's hard for people outside of Sweden to fully understand what this movie has meant to Swedes through the years. You would especially think so after reading the other comment which compares "Bröderna Lejonhjärta" to Ingmar Bergman - HELLO?!? We do have other directors than Bergman and to compare him to "Bröderna Lejonhjärta" is like comparing "American Pie" to Spike Lee or something. Please don't think you know EVERYTHING about swedish moviehistory just because you've heard of Bergman, there is so much more to it and this movie has virtually nothing in common with Bergman's work.

I am also sorry if people are too destroyed by American blockbusters and can't handle the fact that this movie is for an audience of youngsters and that it's about death. I must also say that grown-ups as well as kids can enjoy this movie. It's very good to see with your children to then discuss it afterwards.

Astrid Lindgren was without comparison Swedish literature's queen and when she died last year it seemed like we couldn't stop mourning. "Bröderna Lejonhjärta" ("The Lionheart Brothers") was maybe one of her most important books, because it handles such heavy subjects in such a great way. When Olle Hellbom's movie came in 1977 it caused a mediastorm Sweden had never seen before. First of all it had a completely new way of speaking to kids about death; a movie that took children seriously and didn't treat them like they could handle only joy and happiness.

Second of all, back in those days the only agelimits on cinemas were 15, 11 and under. They made "Bröderna Lejonhjärta" available only to people over 11 and this caused such a storm that they actually changed the swedish law so that a new agelimit came at 7! All this over one movie.

You can't understand how many kids have found comfort in this story. To children that are about to die you read this novel or show this movie and I don't know how often you read the inscription "We'll see eachother in Nangijala" on gravestones in Swedish cemeteries.

This movie was groundbreaking and it's often wrongfully accused of being too dark and strange. Children can handle a lot more than you think when it comes to strong emotions like love and loss. The only thing that scared me as a kid was the sometimes graphic violence in the end. See this if you have a chance!