Valhalla Rising [DVD]

This is a divisive film which is receiving far more bad reviews than good on the Amazon website. Whether or not you will enjoy it will depend largely on yourself and what you want out of the experience that this film offers. And it is an experience. My own personal opinion is that this is a movie which has catapulted Refn onto my list of must-watch directors. His version of the Brit gangster genre served up in Bronson was a wonderfully unexpected, colourful and peculiarly enjoyable film, and he exercises his talent for arresting visual film making to it's fullest here. Valhalla Rising is a bleak, absorbing, psychadelic, surreal, beautiful and utterly captivating film. The cinematography is incredible, the sparse dialogue imbues every word with weight, and Refn is a director who understands exactly what he wants to show and what he wants to leave out. His mastery as a director is evident here. The story is not confusing, it is in fact quite simple. Some people have felt misled, expecting a Braveheart or 300 style movie. This is not that movie. This is a deliberately paced film which reveals itself slowly. The actors all handle themselves brilliantly and the violence, when it happens, is often brief and shocking. Refn is not trying to please crowds here, he has made this movie for himself. I read that of all his movies this is his personal favourite, and I can see why. I can't fault it. But that's just me. I feel this surreal visceral experience of a movie is being somewhat unfairly reviewed, and I just wanted to speak up for it.

4 stars

This is unlike any standard adventure movie you might expect. If you are looking for noisy sword fights and lots of fun, this is not your movie. If you watch it with those expectations, you will be certainly disappointed. This is not adventure; it's a methapore. It is a journey into the darkest depths of the human spirit. The story is a pretext to dive into our inner dark. Slow rhytm, but hypnotic, if you let yourself fall into its trance. Beautiful, yet terrible images. Desolation outside to guide us into the desolation inside. As close to Terrence Malick as a movie can be without being by Terrence Malick. A sort of Apocalypse Now without the big noise and in another time, nearly in another planet. One of the best I have ever seen; I would not recommend it just to anyone, though, but I would to anyone looking for something well beyond pop-corn entertainment; looking for the Heart of Darkness, with enough courage, sensibility and patience to stand this slow, dark journey. By the way, the image and sound quality of the blu-ray are terrific, among the very best.

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.

A viking chief's pet escapes his cage and goes travelling with a band of viking~christian warmongers, attempting to storm the promised land, only to realise they've actually drifted off course, into a nightmare world of existential self discovery, with the ultimate destination being their own heart of darkness... Got this expecting a cheap, action filled gore~fest and ended up watching it on a sunday afternoon! Doh! Major mistake, I should've saved this one until about 1am before starting it, intoxicated...Surreal, violent and well shot, with hardly any talking and packed with sumptuous scenery, with only some fake looking cgi blood squirts slightly spoiling the impact. A great film, and loads better than it should have any right to be going off the cover, for me, I just wish I'd be surprised by more films in this way, but, usually it's the reverse. Yes it probably is pretentious and up its own back end. So what! I thought it was different and I liked where the director was coming from when I listened to his commentary (which he does along with Dale Winton as part of the extras!), whilst drinking absinthe from a monkey's skull! If you are a prospective buyer of this movie and you have an open mind and like all genres of cinema, I say go for it! And I wouldn't blame you if you brought some drugs to the table when watching it (not that I promote that kind of thing)! If on the other hand you enjoy more conventional, consumerist, popular cinema, stay clear, because you will no doubt hate it! 4.5/5.

Sicuramente un film non per tutti, lento e in molti punti di difficile comprensione. I dialoghi sono ridotti all'osso e a molti la cosa potrebbe far storcere il naso. Personalmente A me è piaciuto molto ma forse sono di parte perché amo il regista. Ottima qualità audio video e spedizione eccellente

OK

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.

Subtitulada solo en ingles para sordos y sin subtitular el audiocomentario del director.VALHALLA RISING es una epopeya minimalista de vikingos que recuerda vagamente a EL CORAZON DE LAS TINIEBLAS de Conrad.Hiperviolenta y contemplativa al estilo de DRIVE o ONLY GOD FORGIVES,es una de las obras mayores de la filmografia de nicolas winding refn. y mads mikkelsen esta impresionante.la recomiendo a los que odian la vacua 300:es todo lo contrario...

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.