IMDb > Erik the Viking (1989)
Erik the Viking
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Erik the Viking (1989) More at IMDbPro »

Videos (see all 2)
Erik the Viking (1989) -- US Home Video Trailer from Orion
Erik the Viking (1989) -- MyMovieScripts.com - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
5.8/10   5,401 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 7% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writer:
Terry Jones (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for Erik the Viking on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
22 September 1989 (USA) more
Tagline:
Be there... or beheaded!
Plot:
Erik the Viking gathers warriors from his village and sets out on a dangerous journey to Valhalla, to... more | add synopsis
User Comments:
A Nice Sense of Period and One or Two Moments of Interesting Logic more (35 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Tim Robbins ... Erik

Mickey Rooney ... Erik's Grandfather

Eartha Kitt ... Freya
Terry Jones ... King Arnulf
Imogen Stubbs ... Princess Aud

John Cleese ... Halfdan the Black
Tsutomu Sekine ... Slavemaster
Antony Sher ... Loki
Gary Cady ... Keitel Blacksmith
Charles McKeown ... Sven's Dad

Tim McInnerny ... Sven the Berserk
John Gordon Sinclair ... Ivar the Boneless
Richard Ridings ... Thorfinn Skullsplitter
Freddie Jones ... Harald the Missionary
Samantha Bond ... Helga
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Erik viking (Sweden)
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Runtime:
107 min | 79 min (director's cut)
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Iceland:14 (original rating) | Iceland:16 (video rating) | USA:PG-13 (certificate #29792) | Singapore:PG | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-12/9 | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | West Germany:12 | UK:15 (video rating) | UK:12 (original rating) | Finland:S (cut version) (video release)

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Tom Hulce, star of Amadeus (1984), was originally intended to play the lead part of Erik. However, by the time that funding was secured, Hulce had decided to take a break from films to concentrate on his stage career. more
Goofs:
Continuity: Erik runs through waist-deep water to get on shore to get the Cloak Invisible. When he arrives in Aud's bedchamber minutes later, his pants are completely dry. more
Quotes:
King Arnulf: [Hy-Brasil is sinking, everything is collapsing and exploding] Everyone stay calm! This is not happening! more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Behind the Director's Son's Cut (2007) (V) more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
3 out of 4 people found the following comment useful.
A Nice Sense of Period and One or Two Moments of Interesting Logic, 9 August 2005
8/10
Author: theowinthrop from United States

Terry Jones wonderful examination of the mess of Viking life and legend is a funny film - almost as good as MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL. His intelligence is at work here. Jones wrote a book version of the story first, and in it examined some of the odd concepts of that remarkable period of rapine and violence. Jones is an expert on the Middle Ages (he did a very amusing and informative multi-episode series on the people of the Middle Ages for the history channel). So his grasp on detail is marvelous.

To date, this is the only film to look at the Vikings and their religious/spiritual beliefs. What was their idea of heaven and hell. Well, we finally see Valhalla for what it was supposed to be. And the fallacy of it is brought home in the conclusion when Erik and his crew realize what garbage their culture embraces.

This is the only movie I know that also deals with the lost island of Hy-Brazil. Not to be confused with the huge country in South America, Hy-Brazil was one of many fictitious islands that were believed to be in the Atlantic Ocean in the Middle Ages - in some cases to the 19th Century. Hy-Brazil was supposed to sink every now and then, as it does in this film. But it sinks due to a violation of the moral purity of the island, for an act of violence occurs there that is against the state of the island. And the King of Hy-Brazil (Jones) is so self-centered that he can imagine that everything is fine, that he refuses to accept that the island is sinking and his subjects are drowning.

The King is also one of the examples of the marvelous twisted logic of the film - he has gotten a piece of cloth that he is told makes the wearer invisible. Nobody else but the king believes this. Erik, caught in the rooms of the King's daughter, puts the cloth on him. The King comes in to see who is there, and can't see him, although everyone else can see him.

There is a similar piece of logic at the end of the film, when the crew has reached Valhalla, and found it not as they wanted to find it. They are trapped there because their belief and religion makes them seek Valhalla. Only the one Christian among them (Freddie Jones, in a nice performance) can't see what they see - he is a Christian, not a Viking Pagan. So he is able to return to their boat and free the others because he is not trapped by their mindset.

The performances are good, especially John Cleese as an expert in extortion and torture, who is treated like the benevolent laird of the manor (he willingly changes the dates of torments and tortures he schedules). Eartha Kitt as a priestess, and Mickey Rooney as a feisty grandfather of Erik, give good performances too. It is an interesting, odd, but successful period comedy.

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Funniest scenes? mrs_cutout
fantasy novel about Loki leamond-allen
Australian DVD listed at 99 minutes hetstadium-1
Maybe too smart? serenata67-1
The Directors Son's Cut Coming Soon but..... mylundon
US DVD !!! mylundon
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