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

The line "thungur hnifur" (heavy knifer) became a popular buzzword in Sweden during the 80's after the film's premiere.

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Quotes

Thord's Brother: Guest took the silver from Björn. He probably followed him all the way to Rome. Then he goes all the way to Iceland to put it on Erik's table. Strange man that steals from the poor to give to the rich. I would enjoy meeting such a man. Who was the man who said Björn stole the silver? Was it not Erik?

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Connections

References A Fistful of Dollars (1964)

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Soundtracks

Á Sprengisandi
Written by Sigvaldi Kaldalóns

User Reviews

Good story, low production values

The thing that shines most out of this film is the plot. The avenging son doesn't just come and kill people, he uses cunning to make them trust him and distrust each other, he separates them and then kills them when he has the upper hand.

The problem, though, is the amateurish directing and acting, something that I know well enough from my own country's productions. The fact that the language is Icelandic (and the horses, too, that's funny) doesn't help much, nor does the clearly minute budget.

In a way, I agree with many of the people that reviewed this positively: this felt like a real life Viking saga, with normal folk being dressed in animal fur and fighting with bow and knife in a dreary land. However, too much realism is bad as well, and I imagine the film would be liked only by a minority of viewers because of it. In fact, it feels like old Spaghetti westerns at times, with the bad sound and silly music added after the filming.

Now, I can imagine this done by Hollywood. They would definitely remove what was good with the script, because their heroes must always be moral and trustworthy, either white or black. The role of the woman would be relegated to something helpless, begging for assistance, rather than the courageous stance the Icelandic character takes. The fights would be epic, touching steampunk, with weird contraptions that mass murder tens of people (but without blood). When I compare this projection to the actual film, the Icelandic version wins, however I can't help think of what this could have been with just a little more resources at their disposal.

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)