Wasn't Kirk Douglas Oscar worthy in the Vikings? This performance kept me engrossed in the movie, i think your supposed to end up routing for Tony Curtis but i was with Kirk from the start. That sword fight atop the Castle Tower between the two of them was one of the best duels and struggles i have ever seen, and the Viking funeral at the end was mind blowing.
'If i can't have your Love, then i'll take your hate.'
Kirk was great but it was truly an ensemble cast. Every character was strong and had their good points and bad. Ernest Borgnine(who is, in reality only a few months different in age from Kirk Douglas) gave a classic portrayal of a Viking chief, the best I have ever seen. The movie portrays "pagans" with some dignity, not just mindless killers as in Conan (a movie which I love as well.) People have made fun of Tony Curtis's accent as a "jewish viking from Brooklyn" but I thought he did a wonderful job as well as his then wife, Janet Leigh. I also liked some of the motley crew that made up the Viking warriors.
The movie has a lot of subplots going on: father and son, pagan and christian, the lost baby who is really the king, rivalry for the love of the princess, etc. I think the film won an Oscar for Best Screenply. It was such a well written film, check out the dialogue and the narration (by Orson Wells). But I think back in 1958, not enough people took the film seriously enough to award the actors with any awards. I must say though, it is the only movie from 1958 that I bought the DVD and would buy again if I lost it. It is one of my favorite films ever.
Maybe. I thought his performance in Paths of Glory was his best, although admittedly, I haven't seen many Douglas films. The best thing about him is that he has such a cool character to work with. He is perhaps the most sympathetic "villian" I have ever seen in a movie. He was the kind of guy you wanted to be your friend. Arrogent? Sure, but he is also funny and "cool." I thought the oar running scene perfectly summed up his character. Then the director almost blew it by the incredibly stupid idea of having him kill the priest. Luckily, that wasn't a very memorable scene, but still grating.
shareI love this film, and have done since i was tiny. i think it is great, only two thing get on my nerves with this film.
1. eric kills einar. never should have happened. i know einar is the bad guy but c'mon, he's just a true viking.
2. sparticus is seen as better than this film. how? Compared to the vikings sparticus is boring, and far too long.
I think this is kirk douglas's best role, and i love the theme tune. in fact everything in this film is total class.
Your making me angry, you wouldn't like me when I'm angry!
Kirk Douglas is one of my favorite actors of all time. His performance in Vikings is what made that movie one of the greatest action/adventure films of the 1950's. Douglas always had a knack of being in great movies. Spartacus, Paths of Flory, Seven Days in May and Lust for life just to name a few.
shareGood to see im not alone in thinking that of the great man.
shareI always rooted for Kirk in this movie. I disliked Erik throughout the movie. In my view, the movie didn't give me any reason to like Erik at all. It's hard to say who was the hero and who was the villian in this movie. It just seemed like a clash of cultures.
shareWituckius ... I agree with you. I remember supporting Erik when I saw this film as a child, but rewatching it as an adult I find Erik to be a poor hero and someone I wouldn't particularly like. Why drag Ragnar to the English ... was their nowhere they could have dropped him off! Mind you, that would have stolen my favourite scene from the movie ... the leap into the wolf pit!
Check out my drawingshttp://greystrangebear.deviantart.com/
In the real story of Ragnar, it was actually a snake pit and not wolves. And when the snakes finally bit him he uttered the fameous words - "How piglets would grunt if they know the plight of the boar!".
Also Ragnars sons and daughter was actually named, Björn Ironside, Ivar Boneless, Sigurd Snake-eye, Hvitsärk, Ubbe ragnarson, and Ragnhildir ragnardottir.
And the plot in the movie doesnt come close to the real story either. The vikings in american and foreign productions are too full of stereotypes and fantasies that doesnt correspond to the real vikings in any sense what so ever. They try, but i just really wished they would just keep to their cowboys and indians.
Einar doesn't kill father Godwin, he just gives him a shove to the floor saying: "Take your magic somewhere else holy man!" Einar was trying to get to Janet Leigh and the poor priest just happen to get in the way.
shareI didn't buy Curtis or Douglas as Vikings for even a nano-second. Poor-poor casting choices. Obviously a film made to cover the fjiord-and-sandal tangent of the sword-and-sandal phenomena of the time.
"Inside the Dusters there were 3 men... So?... Inside the men there were 3 bullets." - d{^_^}b
I thought Einar came across as the protagonist is the film. It’s his death everyone is mourning at the film’s end, after all. I found this a bit odd given that he was a thwarted rapist and murderer. I guess we are meant to excuse him because he was a product of his culture, he grew half a conscience and he died in the end.
share