When the Raven Flies (1984)

An Irish man seeks vengeance against the vikings who killed his parents.

Director:

Hrafn Gunnlaugsson

Writers:

Edda Andrésdóttir (additional), Hrafn Gunnlaugsson

Stars:

Jakob Þór Einarsson, Edda Björgvinsdóttir, Helgi Skúlason

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jakob Þór Einarsson	...	Gest
Edda Björgvinsdóttir	...	Gest's Sister
Helgi Skúlason	...	Thord
Gotti Sigurdarson	...	Einar (as Gottskálk D. Sigurdarson)
Flosi Ólafsson	...	Erik
Egill Ólafsson	...	Thord's Brother
Sveinn M. Eiðsson	...	Guard
Gunnar Jónsson	...	Erik's Retainer
Þráinn Karlsson	...	Olaf the Childlover
Anna S. Karlsdóttir	...	(as Anna Karlsdóttir)
Abba M. Jóhannsdóttir
Anna Reynisdóttir
Arnaldur Friðgeirsson
Ármann Ingason
Birgir Guðjónsson

Storyline

Ireland: Vikings pillage the land, seeking silver and slaves, slaying men and women in the process. A young boy is spared when a Viking takes pity on him instead of killing him. Iceland 20 years later: The boy returns to take his revenge on the killers, the Norwegian foster brothers; Thord and Eirik, by cunning and hidden weapons.

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Plot Keywords:

dark ages | iceland | viking | revenge | sword and shield | 

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Taglines:

To him the vengeance was all that mattered - to her forgiveness (Swedish theatrical tagline)

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Genres:

Action | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

All the actors did their own stunts and fighting.

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Quotes

Slaver with heavy knife: This knife is meant to be heavy!

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Connections

References Knives of the Avenger (1966)

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Soundtracks

Á Sprengisandi
Written by Sigvaldi Kaldalóns

User Reviews

The greatest action film ever made in Iceland

Being Icelandic I'm of course proud of most films made in Iceland, and they do get better every year. The only thing I sometimes criticise is that we, Icelanders, try to be TOO clever. We don't allow ourselves to just make pure action or pure comedy, but it seems we have to try to add some artistic flair to all our films. Hrafninn flygur is a viking-action film, which keeps your interest from beginning to end. The costumes and surroundings are beautiful, and the story is a good old revenge-your-parents tale, but with enough twists and side stories to keep ones interest fully. I have many friends around the globe, and Hrafninn flygur is one of the few films that I would recommend to anyone for pure entertainment value. Sadly, this film is not available any more, so we will just have to hope that one of these days they will re-release it.

Details

Country:

Iceland Sweden

Language:

Icelandic

Release Date:

25 April 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

When the Raven Flies

Filming Locations:

Kleifarvatn, Iceland

Company Credits

Production Co:

Film, Viking Film, Svenska Filminstitutet (SFI)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Fujicolor)