Valhalla Rising [DVD]

Any film featuring Mads Mikkelsen in a lead role is likely to be good, and this is no exception. As the title says, this isnt your usual viking hack and slash fare and I dont know of another film I might compare it to. It has a very reserved use of dialogue and instrumental music, which adds quite a lot of depth to the story in a strange way. You might use a term like haunting, spiritual, or thoughtful to describe the general feel of it, but that probably depends a lot on the viewer and thier expectations. Some people might well find the film rather boring. The storyline/ plot is good but again very much paced to the style of the movie. I would probably liken it most to the german sci fi film The Wall in its overall feel and delivery, but with vikings. Anyway, I loved it and if you like that film or the original Excalibur then you might well realy enjoy Valhalla Rising.

This film has suffered dreadfully from the fact that the cover designer for the DVD appears not to have seen it. This is not a splatterfest for a takeaway after the pub, nor a lusty historical romp. It has entirely other purposes and it is for those who will sit through three hours of Tarkovsky mesmerised and talk about the meaning for days afterwards. As other reviewers have pointed out, if you love Aguirre, Wrath of God and Stalker then this is your kind of film - if you have never heard of either film, then this is absolutely not for you. If you are looking for strict historical accuracy (although there were Scottish Viking Christians and Vikings did get involved in Crusades, though rather more in Northern Europe; the view of Viking slavery is as unrealistic as the central premiss of Gladiator; does anyone need literal calculations whether the boat could actually sail to an actual destination through the fog?) then this is not for you but you have again missed the point and misunderstood the nature of metaphor.The story is set in a version of the Viking period in order to show the darker possibilities of life in hard times (and most of us should surely know by now that viking is a verb but most so-called Vikings were actually traders and farmers, it was just very, very bad luck to meet the scary ones that were out on the lookout for territory and booty).In order to create the existential exploration of the film, the characters have to be on the edge of life, comfort, possibility, hope. As One-Eye/Odin walks through them leading to a version of Gotterdamerung (or Aguirre on his raft), we and they take time to stop and experience the bleakness that may lie at the heart of man, against a backdrop of astonishing beauty. The message appears to chime with Virgil's devastating subversion of his own apparently laudatory epic: sunt lacrimae rerum, there are tears in things - life is tragedy. In fact life is not all tragedy and we do not have to subside into Nordic angst in real life, but there is a place for considering the dark reality that will consume those who allow it through the medium of art, and art is artifice, i.e. go with the vision and see where it leads you.The director, although gifted, does not have the genius of Herzog and Tarkovsky - or at least not yet - but this is an intelligent film with ideas to chew over. It has been very ill-served, unfortunately, by the careless marketing. I would implore those who have reacted so negatively to turn their ire on the failure of the graphic designer and blurb writer and not the film itself for being what it set out to be.

The film was great, but the DVD cover could be misleading, it has little bearing on the film content

Well i am a Warrior-phile it must be said, it can be the cannons of 'lucky jack' destroying the french in Master and Commander or the killing strokes of Kyuzo's sword in the Seven Samurai! i Love these films and i was looking forward to this greatly...and i was MASSIVELY let down. I admit there is a margin in which this film will be appreciated, you will have the art-house critics who will say (between masturbating their own sense of self-worth and understanding of all things on the big screen) this is a treasure that is not for the masses...well they are wrong because as a man who has watched many smaller, independant films i just simply found this boring.The Good- Mads does have a good look and way about him, the action involving him in the first 5 minutes promise that this might be an interesting film (dont be fooled)It is shot in an interesting way and is quite viceral and arthouse in its style which i didnt mind at all...and thats all.The Bad- The cover and the back of the case make you think you are buying Beowulf meets 300...epic fail!The timeline seems a little confusing? are they saxons? scots? vikings? what crusade? why and how? The plot is hollow and uninteresting and ultimately turns into a budget, medieval version of some apocalypse now/ aguirre- wrath of godi know it was a budget movie but it started to feel a little like a cheap play, set outdoors with little in the way of sets or actors to key you into the era? everyone apparently lives on open hillsides or forests? it literally felt that 5 people dressed in some old clothes and filmed themselves in the woods looking haunted.You sit waiting for something to happen...you wait for viking hordes, then you wait for the boat to get out of the mist then you wait to see an indian village, then you see indians and wait for a fight...and bang...you are looking at credits?!? with a girlfriends looking at you with a 'nice choice d*ckhead' look on her face.summary- dont buy it. watch it just to see how unenjoyable it is by all means...but dont waste a penny on it.

A captive Viking warrior One Eye (Mads Mikklesen)frees himself of his pagan captors and hitches a lift with a group of Christian warriors bound for the holy land.Only problem is they get lost ,end up in North America and proceed to go crackers.Director Nicholas Winding Refn(Pusher,Bleeder,Fear X)creates a vivid sense of hostility through savage combat and an unforgiving natural environment(makes Braveheart look like an historical soap opera -which of course it was)and although Mikklesen is brilliant without speaking one word and the first twenty minutes are utterly spellbinding,Valhalla Rising loses it's way not because Refn goes all Heart Of Darkness and shifts the film's tone completely but because the dialogue spouted by these "lost"warriors is too pretentious for words.Stunningly beautiful,indifferently realised.Still Refn is a talent and I will happily watch anything he does.

This is one crazy movie, and I imagine many viewers will find it too slow, or too graphic, or too obtuse or any combination of the three. Yet, it is also mesmerizing, gorgeous and somehow hypnotic.The ever gripping (and in this film, completely silent) Mads Mikkelsen plays a Nordic/Viking warrior-type in the early middle ages who is being held as a slave by a group of pagan Vikings. He is used to fight battles to the death, perhaps for money, and his brutally effective and creative in staying alive. His only “friend” is a young boy who is also a slave and seems to be incredibly devoted to Mikkelsen, whom the boy dubs One-Eye, and that’s the only name he has.Eventually, the two escape and end up on the crew of a Viking boat, manned by converted Christians who are determined to go to the Holy Lands and fight in the crusade. These guys are fanatics: their credo appears to be “convert or die” as they are first encountered at the scene of a slaughter of their own doing.Things don’t go well, and their journey becomes hopelessly lost and ever more cryptic. The men are consumed by greed or religious fervor, yet tormented by personal demons and driven to the brink of madness by what I can only call the “alien-ess” of the land they’ve encountered. We may have an inkling of where they are, but eventually, they believe they are literally in hell. Imagine thinking you’ve just sailed to hell. You’re maddened by fear, or by desire to leave or for some, the opportunity to claim even this land for God.Meanwhile, One-Eye soldiers on to his own drum. Sometimes helpful, sometimes a team player and sometimes brutally cutting down his compatriots, he is a deeply inscrutable character.The movie looks terrific. No doubt director/co-writer Nicholas Winding Refn had a low budget for this singular film. And he takes advantage of it. Landscapes are sometimes sweeping, but for the most part, he stays tight on his people. Lots of closeups and many early moments in particular are filmed on hillsides (so that the mise en scene can be contained more easily). Many scenes at night or dusk or in the fog. It all feels contained, and yet very specific. The idea of being in 11th century Europe is convincingly conveyed.The music in the film is extremely effective and forward. It’s a fairly modern score, but works well with the portentous goings-on. It’ll give your sub-woofer a spin if you have a good sound system.And the costumes and makeup are great; everyone looks suitably muddy and unaccustomed to bathing. And in the midst of it all is the wonderful Mikkelsen, who (aided, I’ll admit by some great makeup) is always riveting. His is a performance of complete physicality, and it’s amazing to watch.But I’ll conclude by circling back to what I said at the beginning. The film is very slow. Despite the fight scenes, there are MANY moments of men walking, sitting or staring. It’s tough. And the fight scenes are quite graphic. I found them very in keeping with the tone of the film, but many will certainly cringe. And the film clearly grapples with many themes: religion, fervor, imperialism, faith and man’s inhumanity to man (to name a few). And it’s tough to say it all ties together. Yes, it seems really full of meaning, but good luck feeling like you’ve understood the film. I think everyone CAN come up with a meaning and underlying theme. But it’s doubtful there is one “right” answer, and you’ll never feel you’ve fully grasped it. If you can live with that, and if you’re up for a challenge, I think VALHALLA RISING is a fantastically creative and original film, unlike anything you’ve seen before.

Si eres admirador del director William Winding Refn, esta película no debe faltar en tu colección.Además, para quienes compramos productos originales cada vez es más difícil de conseguirlos en cualquier formato, y además esta cinta no he visto que figure en plataformas digitales. Hay que aprovechar.

A small masterpiece of cinema. Beautifully framed and shot. Slow paced, thoughtful, then explosive. Raw and gorgeous. It captures the cruelty, kindness, madness of the transition from paganism to Christianity in the Viking world. Brooding, metaphorical, mythological - a view into a fighting slave's drive to rise up from meaningless survival toward spiritual redemption and purpose. Very much more than a standard action movie. Watch the movie extra on the making of the film to better understand the director's intent. This is an art house film.

Alors là, je vous préviens : si vous souhaitez l'action pure, la furie des dialogues et un rythme haché, passez votre chemin. Ce film est incompris : j'ai visualisé quelques milliers de metrages, toutes nationalités confondues, je suis un fanatique de cinéma. Et pourtant... j'ai catégorié Valhalla dans ma liste des 10 plus grands films de l'histoire du cinéma ! Hommage ultime à 2001 de Kubrick, à Kurosawa, à Sergio Corbucci (Le grand Silence, personnage muet). Le charme du film est justement son atmosphère lente, le silence, l'ambiance de mystère et le contemplatif. Les personnages ignorent vers quelle contrée ils vont, et nous avec, c'est voulu. Le sens philosophique est intact. CE N'EST PAS UN FILM D'ACTION. Et ça aussi c'est voulu. J'ai eu l'impression de découvrir 2001 L'Odyssée de l'Espace pour la première fois, quelle sensation, j'étais cloué sur mon fauteuil, hypnotisé. Un chef d'oeuvre est toujours mal compris, rejeté, ignoré, critiqué dans son intellectualisme même. Kubrick reçut les pires affronts pour la majorité de ses films... Et Van Gogh ne vendait aucune de ses toiles... Merci Mr Mikkelsen, enfin un vrai film, loin d'Hollywood, loin de tout, si proche du Valhalla....

Blu-ray 3D-Version:Vorweg. Der Film ist nicht in 3D gedreht, sondern im nachhinein dilettantisch in ein Pseudo-3D kompromitiert ... äh, konvertiert wollte ich schreiben, aber "kompromitiert" habe ich trotzdem gemeint.Da haben die Darsteller Augen wie Brunnenlöcher, Haare im Gesicht wachsen in den Zuschauerraum, Nasen sind irgendwo im Raum verteilt, Gewänder und Stickmuster sind lebendig und bedrohen mich mit Plopups. Ich mußte 3D abschalten um nicht durchzudrehen. Welcher Pfuscher hat sich daran verbrochen? Inzwischen muß doch jedem bekannt sein, dass ein Film, der nicht in 3D gedreht wurde, auch nicht in 3D sein kann. Dass dieses wunderbare 3D-System kaputtkommerzialisiert wurde ist zum Großteil die Schuld der Pseudo-3D-Releases im nachhinein.Zur Handlung:Es gibt keine.Zum Hauptdarsteller:Er spricht nicht, schaut nur sinnlos rum. So leicht möcht ich auch mein Geld verdienen.Zur Musik:Nur Gedüdel, sinnlos, unkünstlerisch, tut im Kopf weh nach 5 Minuten.Sounddesign:War da was?Maske:Dem Hauptdarsteller wurde ein Auge zugepickt. Es sollte ein ausgestochenes Auge sein. Wie eine Faschingsmaske. In jedem Gschnas-Fest gibt's bessere Wikingerkostüme und Masken.Zusammenfassend:Der Film war eine Qual, endlose langweilige Einstellungen von nichtssagenden Landschaften.Ohne Flair, ohne Atmosphäre, ohne gar nix.Von vorne bis hinten voll in die Hose.Schade um die Zeit, das Ende war dann wirklich ein Highlight, ein Aufatmen.