Hollywood legends Kirk Douglas, Tony Curtis, Ernest Borgnine and Janet Leigh dazzle in this epic chronicle of brutal rivalry and bloodthirsty ambition. Roaring through the 9th century with powerful performances and "brilliant visual drama" (Cue), The Vikings is a riveting "spectacle of have-at-'em action" (Los Angeles Examiner)! Bitter hatred divides two brothers. Prince Einar (Douglas) is the son and heir of a savage Viking chieftain. Prince Eric (Curtis) is his unknowing half-brother, the bastard offspring of Einar's father and an English queen. When the Vikings kidnap a princess (Leigh), her beauty inflames the desires of both men, forcing a bloody duel thatdecides their fate and the future of the English throne.
Kirk Douglas produced the trendsetting barbarian epic The Vikings and took the showiest, most aggressive role: lusty Viking prince Einar, the "only son in wedlock" of King Ragnar (a cackling, wild-eyed Ernest Borgnine). With jagged scars down his face and a milky-white blind eye that almost glows in his skull, Douglas has a rowdy time battling defiant slave Tony Curtis (the long-lost heir to the British throne) for the hand of the beautiful princess Janet Leigh. It's pure Hollywood hokum, sure, but spectacular hokum: the great cinematographer Jack Cardiff turns his Norway locations into a lush Valhalla on earth. Faced with an absurd story, journeyman director Richard Fleischer goes for the gusto in brawling Viking parties, furious sieges, and clanging broadsword battles. An enormous hit, the film spawned a huge wave of Viking movies, some perhaps smarter but none as much fun. --Sean Axmaker
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
Scandinavian Delight:
I saw this film as a jr. high schooler and thought it was great. It still is! Director Richard Fleischer and Kirk Douglas were a great combo (also another of my favorites, Disney's "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea". The picture quality is superb showing off the beautiful Norweigian fjords and the DVD has a very comprehensive 'making of' bonus feature.
could have been a classic epic:
This film exhibits a curious blend of meticulous attention to detail in presenting historical accuracy and gross historical inaccuracies and anachronisms. According to the director commentory on my DVD, the Viking ships were constructed as authentically as possible. The horses were genuine fjordland horses, distinctively small to survive in that habitat.
The Viking village was built according to our information. The bounding from oar to oar as the ship entered home port was said to be a real Viking... more info
Excellent transfer to DVD--anamorphic widescreen:
This review refers to the 2002 DVD edition of "The Vikings". In addition to being a well crafted and engaging epic, the transfer of the movie to DVD is surprisingly good. This 1958 film looks fantastic! The picture is sharp and clear and the colors are vivid and accurate. The picture and sound viewed on my 46-inch Samsung high definition LCD television (played on a Toshiba 1080p HD DVD player) are simply stunning. The picture is nearly high-definition in quality. A nice surprise for a 50-year old movie! The... more info
Not that great:
The whole plot revolves around two brothers who don't know they're brothers. As is with many movies of this sort, the plot has some real weaknesses to it (ex-slave becomes Viking commander!?) but the acting talent behind the film pulls it off... almost.
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