The Brothers Lionheart (1977)

Brothers Jonatan and Skorpan lead a revolution against the tyrant Tengil in the magical afterlife land of Nangijala.

Director:

Olle Hellbom

Writers:

Astrid Lindgren (novel), Astrid Lindgren (screenplay)

Stars:

Staffan Götestam, Lars Söderdahl, Allan Edwall

3 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

9-year old Karl Lejon, 'Skorpan' is suffering from tuberculosis and knows that he will die soon. But his older brother Jonathan tries to comfort him by promising that they one day will meet in Nangijala, a magic country beyond the stars. Jonathan dies soon after in a house fire and Skorpan also passes away not long after. They meet in Nangijala, a country divided into the Cherry Blossom Valley and the Briar-Bush Valley. The people in the later are oppressed by the black knight Tengil and his dragon Katla. The two brothers, who now call themselves Jonathan and Karl Lion Heart, decide to help the freedom fighters against the oppression.

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Plot Keywords:

house fire | dragon | fire | afterlife | oppression | 

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Taglines:

From our world. To the world of the tales and the camp fires.

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Family | Fantasy

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Details

Country:

Sweden Iceland

Language:

Swedish

Release Date:

23 September 1977 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

The Brothers Lionheart

Filming Locations:

Iceland

Company Credits

Production Co:

Artfilm, Svensk Filmindustri (SF)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the last fighting scene, the villagers run from Katla down the hill and pass a lot of junipers. The junipers are actually burned down already, before Katla's fire hit them. They were accidentally burned down in other takes before the "right" one.

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Quotes

Veder: A disobedient old grandpa, that's what you are.

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Connections

Edited into Bröderna Lejonhjärta (1980)

User Reviews

Adult themes for children

This was a favourite of mine when I was a kid and it's still a haunting and beautiful story. This adaption of Lindgren's story (which I owned too) has to be considered a success (if not wholly a triumph). In our sanitised world, a children's film that contains death, loss, pain, illness, treachery and sacrifice seems strangely out of place. It takes a heart of stone not to tear up not even 5 minutes into the film, and again at the end. In my opinion, children are very well capable of bearing the weight of death, in story as well as in real life. Maybe they have to be accompanied, but keeping such themes from them makes for a poorer education. The film itself still holds up remarkably well. The sets, the horses and the outdoor scenes are beautiful. The costumes are rather laughable and the monster looks as if escaped from Spectro-Man, but at the point where we first see it you're so deep inside the story it really doesn't matter much. The camera-work is simple, but effective. The acting is so-so, but mostly adequate. The music isn't good except for a few moments where it's really gripping.

I heard that there's a new adaption of this book in development, and while I'm curious as to what better production values and a professional soundtrack can do for the story, I wish they'll stay with the dark and haunting mood and maybe even incorporate more of the book.