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 & 10 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.

---

Plot Keywords:

viking | axe | fog | mute | mud | 

---

Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Fantasy

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Nicolas Winding Refn cites El Topo (1970) as another influence on this film.

---

Goofs

The closing credit for "Technical Support" has a typo error "Techincal".

---

Quotes

Viking chief: They only have one God. We have many.

---

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."

---

Connections

Referenced in Midnight Movie Review: Valhalla Rising (2010)

User Reviews

An intense, visceral piece of film making.

"The Big Sleep" with Humphrey Bogart is famous for being more about the parts themselves than the sum. Valhalla rising in my opinion is very similar. The cinematography and the sound editing trump all the other aspects of the film. It does indeed deal heavily in ambiguous symbolism and I am sure one could draw parallels with a number of sources. The story is really not as complicated as has been made out on these message boards. There is no clear answer to this film but at the same time you will not feel robbed by the this, there is a definite beginning, middle and end. It's best just to sit back and enjoy the menace that permeates the entire film, even having known the ending from some careless commentator I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of watching this. I would not however have enjoyed 3 hours of it, but it is only 90 minutes long so is perfect. The violence is really not that bad, there are so many worse films for this...'irreversible, brave-heart and any gore porn movie doing the rounds.' Go see this film, enjoy for it's stunningly visuals, startling audio and general intensity. Oh, and I did not enjoy his previous film 'Bronson' art house British movies just look horrible, this is beautiful. Similar to the thin red line but not as long and tedious.

Details

Country:

Denmark UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 March 2010 (Denmark)

Also Known As:

Valhalla Rising

Filming Locations:

UK

Box Office

Budget:

GBP4,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$7,905, 18 July 2010

Gross USA:

$30,638

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$282,737

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