The Vikings [1958] | ![The Vikings [1958]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51DYR90NRPL._SL160_.jpg)
 enlarge | Director: Richard Fleischer
Actors: Kirk Douglas, Tony Curtis, Ernest Borgnine, Janet Leigh, James Donald
Studio: MGM/UA Home Video
Category: Video
List Price: £12.99
Buy Used: £0.17
You Save: £12.82 (99%)
New (6) Used (10) Collectible (2) from £0.17
Avg. Customer Rating:  16 reviews
Sales Rank: 13145
Format: Hifi Sound, Pal, Special Edition, Widescreen
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: Parental Guidance
Media: VHS Tape
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 111
Discs: 1
EAN: 5024165408025
ASIN: B00004RS1Z
Theatrical Release Date: June 28, 1958
Release Date: June 17, 1996
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: good condiition no damage but will have signs of age Sent within 1 working day by UK seller, available by email for queries.
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Amazon.co.uk Review
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
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| Customer Reviews: Read 11 more reviews...
 Widescreen August 13, 2008
This DVD isn't 1:66 (although it does say that on the box) it's anamorphic 2:35, & the picture looks just great.
An awsome spectacular. August 1, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I saw this for the first time about a year ago. It matches and excels most modern action films.
From Ragnar dying with a sword in his hand in the wolf pit (so he can go to Valhalla) to Douglas and Curtis fighting on top of the battlements of the Northumbrian castle. The whole film is pure entertainment, as Douglas takes his motorcycle club (sorry, Vikings) across the North Sea to lay seige to the English coastline.
I'm English and even I was rooting for the Vikings to win.
A joyous romp that offers everything you could ask for in an adventure movie February 1, 2008
The title sequence sets the tone of The Vikings perfectly: the Bayeaux Tapestry as animated by UPA with narration by Orson Welles. Whereas a lot of Sixties epics became so introspective and glum that the genre ended up disappearing up its own backside, this 1958 romp makes no claims to be taken seriously and, consequently, is terrific fun. This is no saga of angst on an epic scale but a joyous romp that offers everything you could ask for in an adventure movie.
A huge battle, a Viking funeral and Frank Thring doing his epic thing as the wicked imposter king Aella - not to mention dialogue like "Love and hate are horns on the same goat" - this has got it all. Producer-star Kirk Douglas has a whale of a time, dancing on oars, smashing through stained glass windows and doing all manner of manly things. Tony Curtis is on good form as the slave who is, unknown to him, his brother, Ernest Borgnine is suitably unrestrained as their Viking dad and Janet Leigh - my, but she was a healthy girl in those days - a heroine worth losing your left hand for. Just as well, really, because Curtis does just that. Douglas also gets in on the act, indulging his cinematic penchant for mutilation (a finger in The Big Sky, and ear in Lust For Life) to lose an eye to a falcon.
James Donald has some wonderfully uncomfortable comic moments, but the rest of the casting is pure Hollywood (Janet Leigh as a WELSH princess?), with one truly surreal exception: Leigh's maid is played by Alf Garnett's late, lamented other half, bringing to mind the splendid picture of Kirk Douglas phoning up Central Casting and demanding "We're making a Viking picture - get me Dandy Nichols!"
Technically, the movie is first-rate, with Mario Nascimbene's hum-along music, Jack Cardiff's varied Scope photography and Harper Goff's production design all especially praiseworthy while the under-rated Richard Fleischer's direction is top-notch, ensuring that the film always looks good and keeps moving. The final swordfight atop a tower overlooking the sea is a particularly well handled bit of mayhem and swagger. As long as you're not Welsh (Wales is referred to as a slag heap not worth one day's raiding), you'll love it.
The Region 1 NTSC DVD includes an excellent 28-minute interview with Fleischer (though this is unforgiveably not included on the PAL DVD) and theatrical trailer.
 Odin would want you to enjoy this Viking tale September 20, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This 1958 adventure period piece features big names (Kirk Douglas as Einar, Tony Curtis as Eric, Ernest Borgnine as Ragnar, and Janet Leigh as Morgana) is based upon a book, "The Viking" by Edison Marshall. In a way, the story was just a good Hollywood vehicle to make a fun, high-action adventure film that was not set during World War Two, the Wild West, ancient Rome or ancient Egypt.
Story: In the opening scene, the Viking chieftain Ragnar raids a small English kingdom, kills the King, and rapes Queen Enid (Maxine Audley), who hides her resulting pregnancy. With no direct heir, the kingship passes to the sneering, haughty Aella (Frank Thring), who allows Enid to live. When Enid secretly gives birth, the baby is sent off into exile, safe from the jealous King Aella.
Years later, Aella arranges a political marriage to the beautiful young Princess of Wales, Morgana (Janet Leigh). He also banishes one of his lords (James Donald as Lord Egbert) out of suspicion that Egbert is collaborating with Viking raiders, in exchange for the Vikings ignoring Egbert's domain. Aella is actually right, but Egbert escapes, and seeks refuge with Ragnar, who is now a Viking king, and Ragnar's son, Einar. In a convoluted, and somewhat forced plot, Einar and Egbert go to kidnap Morgana, before she marries Aella. This leads to lots of fighting with swords, spears, bows, and arrows. And, there is a lot of yelling (Odin!). Einar (Kirk Douglas) and the slave Eric (Tony Curtis) both fall in love with Morgana, and despise each other. Several main characters end up dead, one loses an eye, one loses a hand, and the wolves gets some choice food.
There are some definite flaws in the film. I have already mentioned that the plot seems contrived and forced at times. In addition, during the big sword fights, you can tell, from the sounds, that some of the swords are quite fake. There is also a scene, where the Vikings are storming Aella's castle, wherein a Viking shoots an arrow up at an English defender, and the arrow ends up going horizontal and sideways through the Englishman's throat. And, when the Vikings go to make their big move on Aella, you only see three longboats crossing, yet an awful lot of Vikings end up on the English shores. The fights seems are not well-orchestrated, with the Vikings looking disorganized and the Brits looking hapless.
While I like Tony Curtis in many of his roles (e.g., Operation Petticoat), he never seemed to fit here. He did not speak or act like an angry slave. While Janet Leigh made a beautiful Morgana, she also seemed stiff and out of place. I think she is much better at portraying a city girl.
But, I gave this film four stars. Why? Well, both Kirk Douglas and Ernest Borgnine look like their having the time of their lives portraying father-and-son barbarians. Douglas's performance reminds me of how Johnny Depp immersed himself in the Captain Jack Sparrow character of Pirates of the Caribbean. Kirk Douglas looks like he started off with the attitude of "Let's see how much fun I can have being Einar the Viking!" Borgnine was not far behind.
There are not many different locales used in this film: Aella's castle, boats at sea, and a fjord in Norway, with a Viking village. Despite the lack of variety, the beauty of that fjord gives us some truly stunning shots. I also enjoyed the glimpse we got into the Viking way of life, especially as it might have even had some bits and pieces of accuracy to it.
By the way, I have not read the book upon which this movie is based, but I have read a few versions of this tale. So far, the best variation that I have found is Harry Harrison's alternate history fantasy, collectively known as "Warriors of the Way", and individually known as "One King's Way (Hammer and the Cross)" and "King and Emperor (Hammer and the Cross)".
A RATTLING GOOD YARN March 2, 2007
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
What a rattling good yarn this is. And not just that - a rattlingly well-made yarn, too. What the plot lacks in originality, it makes up for in detail. It was a pet project of Kirk Douglas who produced and made room for friends, Mr. and Mrs. Curtis is the cast. Stunning location photography from the great Jack Cardiff makes the most of locations in Norway (Geiranger Fjord?) for the Vikings home village, Brittany for the anachronistic castle used for the siege at the end of the film, and Germany. Richard Fleischer is the excellent director who keeps things moving at a cracking pace and makes the most of the set pieces. He spent more than a year on pre-production, seeking to get historical authenticity into the film (at least by Hollywood standards). They even built three 'authentic' longboats and these almost become extra starring members of the cast. Fleischer had worked with Douglas before on 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and was to work with Curtis later on the Boston Strangler
Kirk Douglas and Ernie Borgnine give rip-roaring, scenery-chewing performances as the Viking royalty. Douglas looks inordinately pleased with himself, doing his own stunts like running along the oars of the longboat. Tony Curtis has the slightly more thankless role of Erik, but acquits himself well without any resorts to the likes of his famous "Yonder lies the cassle of my fadder"! His wife, Janet Leigh, has little to do but to look pretty (successful) and Welsh (less successful). The Australian actor, Frank Thring, is wonderfully oily and cowardly as the English King, Aella. The upright Senior British Officer from the Great Escape, James Donald, is here the duplicitous Saxon, Egbert. Was this movie an early example of Hollywood finding the English the easiest people to make the villains of a piece?
The film, though discreet about blood, is actually pretty violent for its time. It's all in the direction and the editing, but eyes being ripped out, hands lopped off, etc. are quite strong stuff. The set-piece battles, particularly the vertiginous climactic sword-fight at the end, are classics. The top-shot of Einar's body being walked round the ramparts of the castle seems like a homage to the finale of Olivier's Hamlet, but none the less effective for that. And his traditional Viking funeral as the burning longboat sails into the sunset was surely at the back of John Boorman's mind when he shot the end of Excalibur.
There are many worse ways to while away a couple of hours than this classic 50's swashbuckler.
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