The viewing of ‘The man from the north’ may leave you charged with epic or it may have left you with more desire for viking action. Whatever the case, there are alternatives that can satisfy you, such as ‘The Warrior No. 13’ that we told you about recently. Although today we prefer to go a little further back in time, rescuing three pieces of classic cinema from the fifties and sixties that addressed the Viking theme in an impressive way. It is not advisable to let them pass.
‘The Vikings’ (‘The Vikings’, 1958)
director: Richard Fleischer. Distribution: Kirk Douglas, Tony Curtis, Ernest Borgnine, Janet Leigh, Alexander Knox.
Possibly the quintessential Viking movie of classic Hollywood. Richard Fleischer directs to Kirk Douglas -which wasted no time in leading any period production, especially if it showed foreign regions-, Tony Curtis, Ernest Borgnine and Janet Leigh show us with vintage charm the story of the same heroes who starred in the Vikings series.
Two brothers, sons of the Viking king Ragnar, show a deep and intense rivalry that they must put aside to rescue Princess Morgana from the hands of the King of England. She has all the tics of a 1950s blockbusterwith an efficient staging on a remarkable production design, telling the story with that sense of classic epic.
See in Filmin | Criticism in Espinof
‘The Fury of the Vikings’ (‘Gli Invasori’, 1961)
director: Mario Bava. Distribution: Cameron Mitchell, Alice Kessler, Ellen Kessler, Giorgio Ardisson, Andrea Checchi.
It’s hard to resist putting in a movie mario bava in a selection of whatever. We could also use ‘The Avenger’s Knives’, from 1966, but the really remarkable one is ‘The Fury of the Vikings’, a brave and great Italian-French co-production that wanted to compete in epic with the Hollywood studio system.
King Harald dies in combat against the Britons, and his children are separated. Eron (Cameron Mitchell) manages to escape, while Erik (Giorgio Ardisson) is adopted by the queen of Britannia. Both will grow up and end up facing each other on opposite sides of the battlefield, displayed in great detail with its impressive visual strengthexquisite use of colors, and powerful sense of adventure.
See in Filmin | Criticism in Espinof
‘The Invaders’ (‘The Long Ships’, 1963)
director: Jack Cardiff. Distribution: Richard Widmark, Sidney Poitier, Rosanna Schiaffino, Oskar Homolka, Russ Tamblyn.
A classic adventure on the high seas, where our characters launch into the hunt for the legendary treasure of the golden bell of Saint James. In their hunt are the Viking adventurer Rolfe (Richard Widmark) and the Moroccan monarch Shiekn el Mansuh (Sidney Poitier), who will try to reach the coveted treasure before the other.
Jack Cardiff, who worked as director of photography on the previously mentioned ‘The Vikings’, directs this Anglo-Yugoslav production, with a final result that is less resounding than Fleischer’s film, but highly estimable. get to have enough production value and visual work to be worth seeingin addition to having the charm of the classic adventure to be entertained.
See in Filmin.