The Vikings (film)
The Vikings is a 1958 American epic[5] historical fiction swashbuckling film directed by Richard Fleischer, filmed in Technirama, and printed in Technicolor. It was produced by Jerry Bresler and Kirk Douglas (who also starred in the film), through Douglas' Brynaprod company. It is based on the 1951 novel The Viking by Edison Marshall, which in turn is based on material from the sagas of Ragnar Lodbrok and his sons. Other starring roles were taken by then husband-and-wife Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh as well as Ernest Borgnine. The film made notable use of natural locations in Norway. It was mostly filmed in Maurangerfjorden and Maurangsnes, captured on film by cinematographer Jack Cardiff, although Aella's castle was the real Fort-la-Latte in north-east Brittany in France.
The Vikings
Calder Willingham (screenplay)
Dale Wasserman (adaptation)
The Viking
by Edison Marshall
- June 11, 1958 (New York)[1]
116 minutes
United States
English
$3.5 million[2]
Despite being derisively called a "Norse Opera" by New York Times critic Bosley Crowther, the film proved a major box office success and spawned the television series Tales of the Vikings, directed by the film's editor, Elmo Williams, which included none of the original cast or characters.
Release[edit]
The film had a dual premiere at the Astor Theatre and Victoria Theatre on Broadway in New York City on June 11, 1958.[1][6]
Reception[edit]
The film was a hit in the US and overseas, earning $6.2 million in the US and Canada[3] (from a gross of $15 million[7]) and $7 million overseas,[4] including being the 3rd most popular film at the British box office in 1958.[8] Kirk Douglas took no salary for the film in return for 60% of the profits, and was estimated to have earned $3 million from the film.[4]
Bosley Crowther of The New York Times wrote, "The sight of those sleek Viking barges sweeping across the slate gray seas, loaded with bearded, brawny oarsmen, is something exciting to see, particularly in the wide-screen and color that are used very well in this film." However, Crowther was disappointed "that it follows a frank commercial format without any evident attempt to break new ground. Given the story of the Norsemen and the majestic adventures they surely had in carrying their explorations and colonizing the empty northern seas, it does seem that something more heroic and impressive could have been conceived than this copy of a Western, with standard varmints dressed up in shaggy skins."[9] Variety called it "spectacular, rousing and colorful," adding, "Douglas, doing a bangup, free-wheeling job as the ferocious and disfigured Viking fighter, fits the part splendidly."[10] Philip K. Scheuer of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "As drama and in emotional content the picture is so elementary, so exaggerated, that it can hardly be taken seriously by the discriminating cinemagoer. A kind of 'Prince Valiant' without the prince, it is filled with pell-mell action that the adult eye will follow with a mixture of amusement and disbelief." Scheuer also thought the film's "assorted beatings, brutalities and beheadings" made it too violent for children.[11] Leo Sullivan of The Washington Post stated, "Produced lavishly and filmed with magnificent beauty by that master, Jack Cardiff, 'The Vikings' is so splendid it can't be classed as a dud. But the picture's simple storyline can't escape being a bore."[12] John McCarten of The New Yorker wrote, "It's terrible stuff, but some of the views of the fiords are impressive."[13] The Monthly Film Bulletin said, "There is nothing here to take seriously; yet, in its straightforward sentimental way, concentrating on some of the oldest elements in story-telling, this film creates a colourful fairy-tale world which is often entrancing, and suffers only from a rather wandering middle section."[14]
The film holds a score of 77% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 22 reviews. The consensus summarizes: "Despite moments of excess, The Vikings has enough balance in its larger-than-life action sequences and characters to entertain."[15]
Legacy[edit]
Soundtrack[edit]
Mario Nascimbene's score was the first music published through Kirk Douglas' music publishing company, Peter Vincent Music Corporation (named after his son Peter Vincent Douglas), a subsidiary of Bryna Productions.[16] The soundtrack long play was initially announced for release by Dot Records, but was ultimately released by United Artists Records in a double-fold (gatefold) cover packaging in early June 1958.[16][17]
Television series[edit]
Kirk Douglas's Bryna Productions produced a 1959 television series Tales of the Vikings. This picture is considered the "trigger film" for other contemporary Viking films including Mario Bava's Erik the Conqueror and several other Italian made Viking films as well as Jack Cardiff's (cinematographer on The Vikings) The Long Ships.[18]