Valhalla Rising (2009)

Forced for some time to be a fighting slave, a pagan warrior escapes his captors with a boy and joins a group of Crusaders on their quest to the Holy Land.

Director:

Nicolas Winding Refn

Writers:

Nicolas Winding Refn, Roy Jacobsen

Stars:

Mads Mikkelsen, Maarten Stevenson, Alexander Morton

4 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mads Mikkelsen	...	One Eye
Alexander Morton	...	Barde - Pagan
Stewart Porter	...	Kenneth - Pagan
Maarten Stevenson	...	The Boy - Pagan
Matthew Zajac	...	Malkolm - Pagan (as Mathew Zajac)
Gordon Brown	...	Hagen - Christian Viking
Gary McCormack	...	Hauk - Christian Viking
Andrew Flanagan	...	Gudmond - Christian Viking
James Ramsey	...	Gudmund - Christian Viking
Gary Lewis	...	Kare - Christian Viking
Jamie Sives	...	Gorm - Christian Viking
Ewan Stewart	...	Eirik - Christian Viking
Rony Bridges	...	Magnus - Christian Viking
Robert Harrison	...	Roger - Christian Viking
Andy Nicolson	...	Christian Viking

Storyline

1000 AD, for years, One Eye, a mute warrior of supernatural strength, has been held prisoner by the Norse chieftain Barde. Aided by Are, a boy slave, One Eye slays his captor and together he and Are escape, beginning a journey into the heart of darkness. On their flight, One Eye and Are board a Viking vessel, but the ship is soon engulfed by an endless fog that clears only as the crew sights an unknown land. As the new world reveals its secrets and the Vikings confront their terrible and bloody fate, One Eye discovers his true self.

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Plot Keywords:

viking | axe | fog | mute | chained to a post | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Fantasy

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Denmark UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 March 2010 (Denmark)

Also Known As:

Buđenje Valhale

Filming Locations:

Scotland, UK

Box Office

Budget:

£4,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$7,905, 18 July 2010, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$17,546, 25 July 2010

Company Credits

Production Co:

BBC Films,Belle Allee Productions, La,La Belle Allee

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min 90 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Nicolas Winding Refn originally wanted Mogwai to provide the music for the film but scheduling conflicts prevented that.

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Goofs

When 'One Eye' is carrying Bardes decapitated head the headband on it is white in color, but when he puts it on the spike it's black.

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Quotes

Eirik: God brought us out of that mist for a reason. We claim this land in His name.
Kare: How do we do that? We're half starved. Three men dead, one missing.

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Crazy Credits

"In the beginning there was only man and nature. Men came bearing crosses and drove the heathen to the fringes of the earth."

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Connections

Featured in NWR (Nicolas Winding Refn) (2012)

User Reviews

The Valhalla Gates are open, but the Gods are sleeping …

Damn! This was, like, the most frustrating kind of cinematic disappointment you can imagine. On one hand you expect a completely different and much more virulent kind of action movie, but on the other hand you totally can't claim that this was a terrible movie. Okay, admittedly, I expected non-stop swashbuckling, blood-dripping Viking spectacle and relentless violence from "Valhalla Rising", but can you blame me? The title and the awesome film poster, depicting a chained warrior with only one eye and war symbols painted on his muscular chest, alone were enough to make my mouth water. There are far too few genuine Viking movies out there, and since this is a local Scandinavian product, I honestly assumed it would have been a kick-ass movie. Instead, "Valhalla Rising" is a slowly unfolding and brooding epic with melancholic themes and unimaginably beautiful photography. Mads Mikkelsen, Denmark most talented actor even though he doesn't speak a single word in this film, stars as the charismatic and fierce warrior One-Eye (aptly baptized by his 10-year-old travel companion) who lives the miserable life in captivity. Viking tribes use him as their deadliest weapon in random gladiator games until, one day; he breaks his chains and regains freedom. Followed around by the one boy who treated him somewhat decently, One-Eye joins a clan of self-acclaimed crusaders intending to travel to Jerusalem with a vessel and re-conquer the holy land of God. The pacing is incredibly (at times even intolerably) slow and there's hardly any dialog in the film at all. More than once, "Valhalla Rising" actually reminded me of the legendary spaghetti westerns directed by Sergio Leone, and particularly "Once Upon A Time in the West". That movie – one of the greatest ones ever made, by the way – is also very slow and seemingly purposeless, but simultaneously boosts an atmosphere that is consistently ominous and unsettling. "Valhalla Rising" exists of multiple chapters, seven in total if I remember correctly, but nevertheless maintains a simple and chronological narrative. The crusade to Jerusalem is a marvelous symbolic criticism towards warfare in the name of religion; although I remain convinced the journey could have used action & bloodshed instead of hints at supernaturalism. Mikkelsen (the bad dude in Casino Royale) is terrific and it's remarkable how he must trained to get a body like that, but his character could have been so much more fascinating. Writer/director Nicolas Winding Refn ("Fear X", "Bronson") is definitely courageous and visionary, but I just hope that his film won't be misinterpreted or inaccurately promoted. If sold as a wildly exciting and blood-soaked Viking spectacle in Hollywood or so, "Valhalla Rising" is bound to become very unpopular.