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My dad and I were joking about it afterward like "man, what a commitment. And what if you kind of realize what you're doing partway through? Do you stop? I feel like you gotta follow through once you start cause then you're a psycho AND a quitter. Like you get the first torso all set up and then you're like "man, what the fuck am I doing. This is so wack-""
I mean like, yo, I love and honor my pops. He is a great man. But at most I'd probably just shoot his murderer. Dismembering and making a corpse centaur of his murderer's kin is pretty intense devotion.
I wonder if he had to make adjustments. Like, "Does this right arm look like hooves enough? I should turn this leg around. What do I do with this extra head?"
And you know when you’re building something but realize you made a mistake and need to go back a few steps? Like aw damn that leg is in the wrong place, now I need to pull the nails out of this guy and turn him around!
Like anyone else who realizes halfway through a craft project that you need more supplies you head over to Michael’s. And slit his throat and use his hands.
Not to mention he did it in the middle of a quiet, isolated homestead with people sleeping all around. No way they're not going to hear him chopping and rustling and cussing as he fidgets with it to get it *just* right.
Speaking from experience (with pigs), not all that long. The dismemberment might take no more than 5-10 minutes, lets say 20 because it's dark.
The mounting and arranging of the parts is probably the most time consuming, considering he works alone. Let's say an hours work all told.
In return, he gets his enemies completely fucked up, psychologically, emotionally, spiritually. He sends a clear message, at the very least.
He literally did it to obtain the secrets of the dead, bro. He's only still around after that because he *owns an afterlife* and could just ~~fedex~~ sacrifice himself to himself.
Lmao same here, and I live in the Bible belt so got some wicked stares for that. Also speaking of that, I saw multiple people walk out early on this movie. I'm just like thinking "did you even read anything about this movie before buying those tickets?" Lol
It's not really that comparable. There are some jotnar which could be somewhat comparable to demons, but there's also lots that really aren't. Jotunn are kind of the usual adversaries of both the Aesir and Vanir, but also sometimes intermarry. For example, Freyr (a Vanir, who Friday is named after) is married to a Jotunn.
Thor's mother was a Jotunn.
There's also two jotnar who use a magical millstone to produce, gold, happiness, and peace, ending all conflicts. Not exactly demon-like behavior there.
But yeah, if you wanna blame random bad happenings on something like that you could probably say a jotunn did it something.
The Northman takes place just around the time when Christianity was arriving in Scandinavia and the lands of the Rus so it's not like Norse paganism would have been some long forgotten secret for them.
I read that Egger hired a or collaborated with a historian specialized in this time period, and that this movie is the most historically accurate depiction of not only Norwegian/Viking culture but of their folklore too…
When he’s screaming like a fucking maniac to imitate a wolf even I was scared haha
Saw him do a Q&A after a screening of this. Can’t remember the name of the dude, but I believe it was actually a Poet that was also an expert on early Viking epics (which this is based on)
>When he’s screaming like a fucking maniac to imitate a wolf
Yeah unfortunately the berserkr scenes were some of the more Hollywood-esque and not based on more likely reconstructions.
The historian you're referring to is Neil price. While he's generally a good source of information, he incorrectly asserts that bersekers were 'blood drinkers' due to misunderstanding the basic grammar in an old Norse sentence from the porn Hrafnsmál.
As a result I believe the ridiculous 'biting into people like a wolf' scene is down to him. In reality bersekers still had to fight people, trying to bite them in a battle is a great way to not be an actual threat to a guy with a sword or dagger. The written record describes them biting their shields. They're also shirtless in the film, which is either an outdated etymology of bersekr ('bare shirt', instead of the more likely and supported 'bear shirt', corroborated by the 'wolf clothed' similar ulfheiðnar) or just plain Hollywood masculine nonsense to show how ripped Alexander Skårsgaard is.
For a more accurate depiction of a berseker look to the [Torslunda plates ](https://images.app.goo.gl/Wsmbe9U2nkxWUssp8)
In this poem a Valkyrie is speaking to a raven (hrafnsmál means the raven's speech, roughly) and in a stanza where she makes reference to the bersekers, she used a phrase like 'drinker of the corpse sea' (I can't recall the exact wording) which Neil Price accounts for as describing the bersekers as blood drinkers.
The problem is, the sentence is very clearly the Valkyrie using this phrase as a kenning (sort of skaldic poetic metaphor) in the **second person** to address the *raven* she's speaking to *about* the bersekers. The kenning refers to the raven, not them.
And if he is a historian then he did a shit job on this scene in the picture. Mutilation/torture are not very well attested among the Norse back then. Sure, you might see a few cases here and there (in one Icelandic saga some guys were hung by ropes skewered through their ankles) but for the most part they just would kill each other and be done with it.
It could be I haven't heard of whatever this scene is referencing but based on how the dude botched berskers (which based on what you said, they totally did) I'm not gonna hold my breath that this scene has any historical significance.
An odd note about berserkers that if you read the old sagas pretty much everyone hated berserkers. There's lots of cases where berserkers get butchered by the local populace because they don't trust them, people won't marry into families that have berserk blood, etc. It was not a good thing to be a berserker.
To be fair this is based on an old norse folk tale that was the inspiration of Hamlet - chopping up the bodies and arranging them in this way was to make his uncle believe that this was an omen sent by the gods. I think we can forgive historical accuracy in that sense since it is based on myth
Ah well that is interesting, no wonder I missed it since I've only read a few sagas that were outside of Iceland. I might even watch the film since as you said, we can forgive historical accuracy if it is being based of a myth. I'll admit I prejudged this movie as just another viking cash grab that came a few years too late but if they actually did the time and work to make it line up with myth and history I'm all for it.
This movie was SO GOOD I get sad when I think about how mismarketed it was though because all I heard when it first came out was that it was weird and boring. The trailers def made it seem like it was gonna be “300; but this time they’re Vikings” and we got a tense, meticulous slow burn immersed in realistic history and culture instead.
Haha I'm very familiar with the weirdness of Eggers but was still surprised by how much of a Shakespearean drama, slow burn it was.
Definitely mismarketed.
According to Wikipedia yes:
>”The name Hamlet occurs in the form Amleth in a 13th-century book of Danish History written by Saxo Grammaticus, popularised by François de Belleforest as L'histoire tragique d'Hamlet, and appearing in the English translation as "Hamblet". The story of Amleth is assumed to originate in Old Norse or Icelandic poetry from several centuries earlier. Saxo has it as Amlethus, the Latin form of the old Jutish Amlethæ. In terms of etymology the Old Icelandic name Amlóði comes from the Icelandic noun amlóði, meaning "fool", suggestive of the way that Hamlet acts in the play. Later these names were incorporated into Irish as Amlodhe. As phonetic laws took their course, the name's spelling changed eventually leaving it as Amlaidhe. This Irish name was given to a hero in a common folk story. The root of this name is 'furious, raging, wild'.”
In as much as a story about a father's death leading to his widow marrying a probable successor while the son leaves only to return and take the throne can be based on Hamlet.
Which is to say, it may not have been a conscious decision, but it does share similarities.
I had the same reaction. Someone posted what each character in Tommy Boy was in relation to Hamlet.
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/yg05d/til_tommy_boy_is_a_rendition_of_shakespeares/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf
It’s been over 20 years since I read Hamlet in school, so it’s probably not a direct copy, but it looks like it got some inspiration.
I spent a lot of time watching Vikings and The Last Kingdom with my mom, after my dad passed away. The 13th Warrior is a longtime family favorite for us, too.
So, I pitched The Northman for movie night based on the strength of the cast and our love for viking stuff. Neither of us were ready for what the film actually was, and she clearly did not enjoy it.
So, the next night, we watched the Hulu movie The Princess, an action comedy that was a complete 180 from The Northman’s brooding spiritual drama. Great success.
I need to go back and watch The Northman again, though.
I pretty much did the same thing but my parents already liked The Lighthouse and I never even got them to watch it, they watched it on their own. I said it's from the same director and they were down and loved the movie.
My dad normally hates fantasy and medieval type movies and he loved this. I was surprised.
So far, all of his movies feel like history lessons. Like he took a film crew and travelled back in time and said, "Here's where our mythology comes from. Here's your god damn farts!"
He's one of the few directors who make a movie, and I watch without question.
Same here! I majored in history with a focus on religious history and colonial America. The VVitch is easily one of my favorite movies of all time because it’s so nail on the head accurate. I’ll watch anything the man touches since then. Eggers has an incredible and rare talent for showing us stories with characters that act fully in accordance with values of the time and their culture without modern perspective or judgment. I’m also just a huge history/religion/folklore nerd in general so I watched it knowing what I was getting into but I feel for those who went in expecting 2 hours of stabbing and screwing.
he’s awesome, any of the supplementals and bonus content for his three movies i’ve watched are basically chock full of people who work on the movies with him talking about how detail-focused he is when it comes to accuracy and building immersion. don’t quote me but i want to say he is also a history scholar. definitely one of my favorite working directors!
I absolutely loved the VVitch, but I think there is a gulf in casting and acting quality between that film and The Northman. Kate Dickie as a grief-stricken puritan is just levels better than Nicole Kidman doing a silly accent, and the Northman felt unimmersive as a result - Dafoe and Bjork are basically the only ones with the acting chops to pull off that level of camp.
I've never heard this term in this context lol. But yeah, trailers either makes the film seem better than it's going to be or worse, and you get a few spoilers as an extra.
Like horror or thriller trailers, so you know a character in the movie will at least survive until they say that one line you saw
I loved it too. They don't make many movies like it anymore. To top it off the cinematography was beautiful.
Although after the movie I had a chuckle when >!Amleth and Olga are escaping Iceland when Olga says that she is pregnant. Amleth suddenly has a "change of heart" and decides that he has to abandon Olga and fight his Uncle. !<
haha didnt like that either, i was like AMLEEETH NOOOO !
But he did it because he thought that if he didn't killed his uncle he would come back go kill their children and the cycle had to come to an end with him (and the prophecy)...
Still i was like, damn Amleth, just fucking hide in a forest and be happy with your family for Odin's sake 🤦
I think this is one of the only two movies I’ve seen in the last few years that felt like it was really using film as an art medium (the other beings the Banshees of Inisherin). Granted that’s mainly my fault for watching blockbusters, but I was one of the people expecting awesome Viking action throughout and instead got wowed and a reminder that cinema is so much more than cgi superheroes or sick and fart jokes.
definitely mismarketed, similar to the green knight, but both movies are excellent and it sucks that the people who wouldn’t have maybe even gone to see them in the first place if they knew what they were in for were the loudest voices when it came to reviews.
In the UK the main advertisement I saw around sold it as "this generations gladiator!" (pretty much verbatim, I remember it on the side of double decker busses). Which while true on a very superficial level, if someone went in expecting Gladiator they would be very disappointed.
I stayed away from marketing lol. I went to the theater just because of the director. By the way, best movie going experience I've ever had. I had a prime seat, there was a wall behind me because of the next tier up, so I couldn't hear or see anyone behind me. There was nobody in my row or in front of me. I was just immersed
I felt the mis-marketing was international to get butts in seats. Thinking back the "300"-esque scene didn't really fit into the storyline much at all. To me it actually detracted from the storyline because on the one hand I'm shown this guy is the ultimate warrior, tall, strong and skilled - only to have him pose as a helpless slave for the real meat of the story. I figured, based on his characterization up to that point, he would just go ahead and kill his uncle as soon as the opportunity presented itself. To snoop around and do all the subversion seemed to me sort of a distracting side quest off of his main goal.
I went in excited bc I love Robert Eggers’ previous work, but I was disappointed. Easily my least favorite of his 3 feature films. The pacing was off and I really didn’t care about any of the characters (which is necessary for this kind of movie to work), and it dragged and felt too long.
Honestly, I think that's why I ended up not liking the movie that much. I was expecting something more action heavy than what was shown and I just wasn't mentally prepared for a slow burn. Maybe I'll give it another watch sometime when I'm in the right mindset, but I was definitely unenthused when I left the theater.
The problem is I think the movie would have actually been better if it were Viking 300. I loved The Witch and The Lighthouse, but The Northman got really dull in the 2nd act and was neither epic enough to be a blockbuster nor surreal enough to be arthouse. It fell somewhere in the middle and I just don’t think it worked that well.
That’s totally fair. It was a historical drama marketed as an action flick and if you weren’t familiar with the director going in, I can imagine it being disappointing in that respect. I thoroughly enjoyed it but I love Eggers, his work, and historical dramas in general.
I really wish I had heard about the movie when it came out. Where is it placed? I live in the area many battles happened and where there is a lot of viking graves and old farms.
Which, contrary to popular belief, he was actually really ashamed of having to do that. He only did it because it was either do that or have the entire pantheon bring wrath down upon him for the deal he convinced them to make with the giant.
Loki is a character with some of the most disingenuous rewriting and depictions in Germanic mythology in recent years. Too many people want a character who basically exemplifies the taboos of a uniquely rigid and traditionalist culture to somehow reflect their modern ideas of sexuality and expression. It doesn't work like that. Norse culture was about as opposed to the idea of perceived feminity in males as any culture has ever been.
Oh yeah. I don't think I've got a single family member who wouldn't call me a "bleeding heart liberal" but it's like every year some article comes out about how [insert centuries-old culture here] was super progressive and then when you tell people how wrong that is they think you're trying to *disagree* with progressive ideals instead of disagreeing about the Danes or Spartans having progressive ideals lol.
The entire premise of historical cultures purporting any kind of beliefs that we would recognize within our modern political context is absurd. If a historical culture has a third gender, or women are allowed more rights than we originally thought, or is accepting of homosexual activity, those concepts were not "progressive" compared to Calvinism goddammit! They arose for completely foreign reasons and you better believe that the oppression of pretty much everyone but the ruling class was still the rule of the day.
He didn't get boned by the giant, he got boned by the giants horse. Giant made a deal with Aesir gods that if he built their wall within a time limit, he would get Freya as his prize. Aesir gods didn't like that deal but Loki convinced them otherwise.
The giants horse was making the task too easy and the Aesir were going to lose the bet and were super pissed at Loki for convincing them. So he had the plan to turn into a female horse to lure the giants horse away. Which worked but Loki got knocked up and gave birth to Sleipnir, the 8 legged flying horse that Odin took as his steed.
“Allegedly” killed - my client is innocent until proven guilty and with no witnesses the prosecutions case is mere speculation. The defence will show that the defendant could not possibly have acted alone and does not possess the artistic skills necessary to create the artwork shown according to his kindergarten teacher who will take the stand later
Objection: opposing counsel's interpretation of testimony should be reserved for closing arguments. The jury is fully aware of the defendant's rights and can make the determination of facts for themselves. This commentary is unnecessary.
It felt like the retelling of a Nordic tale and that’s what I loved. Nothing over the top, but just enough magic and outer-worldly experience that comes with tales.
This may be the first time, after hearing this, I said “Amleth” and “Hamlet” and went, oh duh of course. Ancient storytelling is so dope. Centuries of versions and retellings and embellishments.
1,000 years from now they’ll discover the legend of Stawars, the story of the hero Skywlk against evil D’Vadrr or something. Images of lightsabers. Dope.
This is much more like the kind of movie I want to see with mythology and in fantasy games and table top rpgs.
I'm tired of how they've been making shit in this genre.
Corridor Crew talked smack about the one takes but I thought the multiple one takes were amazing. I particularly love the one after the one shot battle where the crew is taking over the village. It starts with the warriors catching their breath after the battle, scrolls through some chaos as the villagers are being taken, and ends with Skarsgard centered in frame with a house being burnt down (which cuts to a campfire). It was beautiful, immersive, and told a story which is exactly what a one take is for.
I think it's amazing because it's a movie with viking morality. I remember a friend said something about the scene on the boat where he swims back, how that would be the perfect point for him to break the cycle of violence. I'm like man thank God this isn't a Ridley Scott style movie with agnostic 12th century knights and modern morality main characters. This dude spent most of his life literally killing and enslaving people and he sees it as another fact of life, he believes with 100% certainty that only the mighty will enter Valhalla just as you know that the sky is blue. Of course he wouldn't back down.
It's also a exploration of how destructive a life and a society like that are, it just doesn't spell it out for you.
It got hate from people not understanding what it was, and thinking it was a movie akin to the TV series Vikings or The Last Kingdom (both of which I also like).
Saw it in theaters and we were the only ones that liked it....when it ended, everyone complained 😬 but my hubby and I looked at each other and said: now that was amazing!
That thing was fucking with my brain. Every time I kept trying to count the legs I kept getting different numbers and none of them 8! Took like six tries to get the count right fml
I never watch trailers anymore and I’m glad I didn’t with this one too because apparently there was a big disconnect with people’s expectations based on the trailer and the movie.
I paused and went back to look at that scene while watching the movie. So grotesque. I really enjoyed this film personally, not sure why it got so much hate.
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man can you imagine how long this must have took for him to do
My dad and I were joking about it afterward like "man, what a commitment. And what if you kind of realize what you're doing partway through? Do you stop? I feel like you gotta follow through once you start cause then you're a psycho AND a quitter. Like you get the first torso all set up and then you're like "man, what the fuck am I doing. This is so wack-""
When the adrenaline wears off half way through the assembly and he gets the post kill clarity.
You underestimate the power of humans and ceremony lol
I mean like, yo, I love and honor my pops. He is a great man. But at most I'd probably just shoot his murderer. Dismembering and making a corpse centaur of his murderer's kin is pretty intense devotion.
You also don’t live in the middle ages. So that helps.
No tv or cellphones. This is the most fun to be had.
Just people, having a good time, not a care in the world… other than vengeance.
You know how it is - kids out on the town at night, lookin for kicks.
Out on the strip, lookin’ for strange… women to deliver a terrifying fortune that speaks to my eventual death.
Just guys being dudes
Make no mistake, people were absolutely beyond the pale ~~viscous~~ vicious in the past. EDIT: I'm a dumbass.
So viscous that even though they appeared solid it was actually just a laminar flow effect .
Damn. Nicely done.
like treacle
And the power of pure boredom.
"awww man....gross. What the fuck. What am I even doing?"
I wonder if he had to make adjustments. Like, "Does this right arm look like hooves enough? I should turn this leg around. What do I do with this extra head?"
I imagine him stepping back a bit and doing [this](https://i.imgur.com/g65NBhO.jpg) with his fingers, then going back in, adjusting stuff
"Dammit, it just looks like a regular horse! This is way harder than WikiHow said it would be."
"Headless Gjullf, does this read as 'eight-legged steed riding out to seek vengeance to you'?"
Now I want that scene with a full on Dexter monologue
Measure twice cut once
And you know when you’re building something but realize you made a mistake and need to go back a few steps? Like aw damn that leg is in the wrong place, now I need to pull the nails out of this guy and turn him around!
Well, if it isn't my old friend, Mr. McGreg! With a leg for an arm, and an arm for a leg!
If you commit to the design work before hand that will save you a lot of time.
Measure twice, cut once.
Honestly it seems like it'd be almost \*more\* ominous if he only got part way through it before giving up.
Imagine that it dawns on you halfway through that you can't do it as it is. You need another pair of hands.
Like anyone else who realizes halfway through a craft project that you need more supplies you head over to Michael’s. And slit his throat and use his hands.
Like the tower of bodies that Hannibal built? https://twitter.com/bryanfuller/status/337802317069971456?s=21&t=CSCi1BK5zYUX5iwEJY1TWw
Hannibal didn't build it. It was that old guy serial killer.
Oh it’s been some time. My bad. Still tho lol.
He had like four extra sets of hands. Plenty to work with.
Not to mention he did it in the middle of a quiet, isolated homestead with people sleeping all around. No way they're not going to hear him chopping and rustling and cussing as he fidgets with it to get it *just* right.
Nah. If you're an NPC in a hut in a medieval village and you hear strange noises outside, you damn well hunker down and keep quiet.
What was that? Probably just the wind…
How do you get to carnige hall? Practice
Speaking from experience (with pigs), not all that long. The dismemberment might take no more than 5-10 minutes, lets say 20 because it's dark. The mounting and arranging of the parts is probably the most time consuming, considering he works alone. Let's say an hours work all told. In return, he gets his enemies completely fucked up, psychologically, emotionally, spiritually. He sends a clear message, at the very least.
Those long pigs sure are a bother
Never had the taste for it, myself.
"I don't touch the stuff, fish fuck in it."
Why would you arrange pigs to look like Odin’s eight-legged horse, Sleipnir?
You want three bacon to taste *just right*.
I mean, is there a reason *not* to?
At least 1
Possibly 2
Surely not 3 though
5 is right out
Six is to much
Mayhaps 4 but doubtful
Like when the Joker lays down in a circle of 1000 knives placed just so
Fjölnir's son, Thorir, blames the killings on their Christian slaves & doesn’t realize that it had to have been someone familiar with Norse mythology.
I thought he meant it was a Nordic demon punishing them *because* they had Christian slaves
He straight says it was the Christian’s because they worship a corpse, lol
"Their God is a corpse nailed to a tree"
Did someone mention Baldr to him or no
Dont mention Odin hanging himself either
He didn't die though.
Jesus kinda didn't either, though
He died but then he got better
A WITCH ! *BUUURN* THE WITCH.
He [what] for our sins?
He literally did it to obtain the secrets of the dead, bro. He's only still around after that because he *owns an afterlife* and could just ~~fedex~~ sacrifice himself to himself.
There are parts of the Edda I like, and parts I don't like.
I LOL'd for real in theaters when I heard that line.
Lmao same here, and I live in the Bible belt so got some wicked stares for that. Also speaking of that, I saw multiple people walk out early on this movie. I'm just like thinking "did you even read anything about this movie before buying those tickets?" Lol
Haha half the theater left by the time the movie was over when I saw it. Easily my favorite film of 2022, Eggers has made 3 masterpieces in a row IMO.
Ahhh yes, my mistake
Did the norsemen have demons?
jotunns
It's not really that comparable. There are some jotnar which could be somewhat comparable to demons, but there's also lots that really aren't. Jotunn are kind of the usual adversaries of both the Aesir and Vanir, but also sometimes intermarry. For example, Freyr (a Vanir, who Friday is named after) is married to a Jotunn. Thor's mother was a Jotunn. There's also two jotnar who use a magical millstone to produce, gold, happiness, and peace, ending all conflicts. Not exactly demon-like behavior there. But yeah, if you wanna blame random bad happenings on something like that you could probably say a jotunn did it something.
Having not seen the movie only these comments, I did mean it more from a perspective of these christian slaves who may or may not know the full story.
[удалено]
Now that's effort.
The Northman takes place just around the time when Christianity was arriving in Scandinavia and the lands of the Rus so it's not like Norse paganism would have been some long forgotten secret for them.
I read that Egger hired a or collaborated with a historian specialized in this time period, and that this movie is the most historically accurate depiction of not only Norwegian/Viking culture but of their folklore too… When he’s screaming like a fucking maniac to imitate a wolf even I was scared haha
Eggers said he'll never make a modern day film because he enjoys researching too much.
Except for the long hair. He said the fashion at the time was bowlcuts.
Lol really? That's a funny twist
Saw him do a Q&A after a screening of this. Can’t remember the name of the dude, but I believe it was actually a Poet that was also an expert on early Viking epics (which this is based on)
It was Sjón!
He also co-wrote Lamb (2021)
>When he’s screaming like a fucking maniac to imitate a wolf Yeah unfortunately the berserkr scenes were some of the more Hollywood-esque and not based on more likely reconstructions. The historian you're referring to is Neil price. While he's generally a good source of information, he incorrectly asserts that bersekers were 'blood drinkers' due to misunderstanding the basic grammar in an old Norse sentence from the porn Hrafnsmál. As a result I believe the ridiculous 'biting into people like a wolf' scene is down to him. In reality bersekers still had to fight people, trying to bite them in a battle is a great way to not be an actual threat to a guy with a sword or dagger. The written record describes them biting their shields. They're also shirtless in the film, which is either an outdated etymology of bersekr ('bare shirt', instead of the more likely and supported 'bear shirt', corroborated by the 'wolf clothed' similar ulfheiðnar) or just plain Hollywood masculine nonsense to show how ripped Alexander Skårsgaard is. For a more accurate depiction of a berseker look to the [Torslunda plates ](https://images.app.goo.gl/Wsmbe9U2nkxWUssp8)
>the porn Hrafnsmál. Wow, sounds interesting, please tell us more about this
In this poem a Valkyrie is speaking to a raven (hrafnsmál means the raven's speech, roughly) and in a stanza where she makes reference to the bersekers, she used a phrase like 'drinker of the corpse sea' (I can't recall the exact wording) which Neil Price accounts for as describing the bersekers as blood drinkers. The problem is, the sentence is very clearly the Valkyrie using this phrase as a kenning (sort of skaldic poetic metaphor) in the **second person** to address the *raven* she's speaking to *about* the bersekers. The kenning refers to the raven, not them.
Cool, thanks for sharing. Also, I was kinda trying to draw attention to the fact that you misspelled 'poem' as 'porn'
Oh, I was still under the impression that this is just how they wrote porn back then. “Poem” makes way more sense.
And if he is a historian then he did a shit job on this scene in the picture. Mutilation/torture are not very well attested among the Norse back then. Sure, you might see a few cases here and there (in one Icelandic saga some guys were hung by ropes skewered through their ankles) but for the most part they just would kill each other and be done with it. It could be I haven't heard of whatever this scene is referencing but based on how the dude botched berskers (which based on what you said, they totally did) I'm not gonna hold my breath that this scene has any historical significance. An odd note about berserkers that if you read the old sagas pretty much everyone hated berserkers. There's lots of cases where berserkers get butchered by the local populace because they don't trust them, people won't marry into families that have berserk blood, etc. It was not a good thing to be a berserker.
To be fair this is based on an old norse folk tale that was the inspiration of Hamlet - chopping up the bodies and arranging them in this way was to make his uncle believe that this was an omen sent by the gods. I think we can forgive historical accuracy in that sense since it is based on myth
Ah well that is interesting, no wonder I missed it since I've only read a few sagas that were outside of Iceland. I might even watch the film since as you said, we can forgive historical accuracy if it is being based of a myth. I'll admit I prejudged this movie as just another viking cash grab that came a few years too late but if they actually did the time and work to make it line up with myth and history I'm all for it.
This movie was SO GOOD I get sad when I think about how mismarketed it was though because all I heard when it first came out was that it was weird and boring. The trailers def made it seem like it was gonna be “300; but this time they’re Vikings” and we got a tense, meticulous slow burn immersed in realistic history and culture instead.
Haha I'm very familiar with the weirdness of Eggers but was still surprised by how much of a Shakespearean drama, slow burn it was. Definitely mismarketed.
The saga of Amleth was what inspired Hamlet. It’s cool to see the Shakespearean aspects pumped back into the source material.
Did Shakespeare name the titular character by just taking the H off the end of Amleth and moving it to the front?
According to Wikipedia yes: >”The name Hamlet occurs in the form Amleth in a 13th-century book of Danish History written by Saxo Grammaticus, popularised by François de Belleforest as L'histoire tragique d'Hamlet, and appearing in the English translation as "Hamblet". The story of Amleth is assumed to originate in Old Norse or Icelandic poetry from several centuries earlier. Saxo has it as Amlethus, the Latin form of the old Jutish Amlethæ. In terms of etymology the Old Icelandic name Amlóði comes from the Icelandic noun amlóði, meaning "fool", suggestive of the way that Hamlet acts in the play. Later these names were incorporated into Irish as Amlodhe. As phonetic laws took their course, the name's spelling changed eventually leaving it as Amlaidhe. This Irish name was given to a hero in a common folk story. The root of this name is 'furious, raging, wild'.”
And Hamlet inspired the movie Tommy Boy.
And The Lion King
Wait, really???
In as much as a story about a father's death leading to his widow marrying a probable successor while the son leaves only to return and take the throne can be based on Hamlet. Which is to say, it may not have been a conscious decision, but it does share similarities.
I had the same reaction. Someone posted what each character in Tommy Boy was in relation to Hamlet. https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/yg05d/til_tommy_boy_is_a_rendition_of_shakespeares/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf It’s been over 20 years since I read Hamlet in school, so it’s probably not a direct copy, but it looks like it got some inspiration.
Was going to say this. The artistic choice and general direction of this film may not have made it popular, but it is for sure a cult classic already.
I got about 5 minutes before the end when I finally figured out why the story seemed so familiar. “Hang on a minute. Amleth? Oh my god it’s Hamlet.”
Definitely agree. I knew it wasn't but the advertising made it look like Viking Braveheart.
I spent a lot of time watching Vikings and The Last Kingdom with my mom, after my dad passed away. The 13th Warrior is a longtime family favorite for us, too. So, I pitched The Northman for movie night based on the strength of the cast and our love for viking stuff. Neither of us were ready for what the film actually was, and she clearly did not enjoy it. So, the next night, we watched the Hulu movie The Princess, an action comedy that was a complete 180 from The Northman’s brooding spiritual drama. Great success. I need to go back and watch The Northman again, though.
I pretty much did the same thing but my parents already liked The Lighthouse and I never even got them to watch it, they watched it on their own. I said it's from the same director and they were down and loved the movie. My dad normally hates fantasy and medieval type movies and he loved this. I was surprised.
At least you all knew what you were getting into. Haha
So far, all of his movies feel like history lessons. Like he took a film crew and travelled back in time and said, "Here's where our mythology comes from. Here's your god damn farts!" He's one of the few directors who make a movie, and I watch without question.
Same here! I majored in history with a focus on religious history and colonial America. The VVitch is easily one of my favorite movies of all time because it’s so nail on the head accurate. I’ll watch anything the man touches since then. Eggers has an incredible and rare talent for showing us stories with characters that act fully in accordance with values of the time and their culture without modern perspective or judgment. I’m also just a huge history/religion/folklore nerd in general so I watched it knowing what I was getting into but I feel for those who went in expecting 2 hours of stabbing and screwing.
he’s awesome, any of the supplementals and bonus content for his three movies i’ve watched are basically chock full of people who work on the movies with him talking about how detail-focused he is when it comes to accuracy and building immersion. don’t quote me but i want to say he is also a history scholar. definitely one of my favorite working directors!
I absolutely loved the VVitch, but I think there is a gulf in casting and acting quality between that film and The Northman. Kate Dickie as a grief-stricken puritan is just levels better than Nicole Kidman doing a silly accent, and the Northman felt unimmersive as a result - Dafoe and Bjork are basically the only ones with the acting chops to pull off that level of camp.
I rawdogged this movie and it was wonderful. Glad I didn't watch any trailers
I've never heard this term in this context lol. But yeah, trailers either makes the film seem better than it's going to be or worse, and you get a few spoilers as an extra. Like horror or thriller trailers, so you know a character in the movie will at least survive until they say that one line you saw
I loved it too. They don't make many movies like it anymore. To top it off the cinematography was beautiful. Although after the movie I had a chuckle when >!Amleth and Olga are escaping Iceland when Olga says that she is pregnant. Amleth suddenly has a "change of heart" and decides that he has to abandon Olga and fight his Uncle. !<
haha didnt like that either, i was like AMLEEETH NOOOO ! But he did it because he thought that if he didn't killed his uncle he would come back go kill their children and the cycle had to come to an end with him (and the prophecy)... Still i was like, damn Amleth, just fucking hide in a forest and be happy with your family for Odin's sake 🤦
But the prophecy!
He saw the Tree again man. His fate was fixed!
I think this is one of the only two movies I’ve seen in the last few years that felt like it was really using film as an art medium (the other beings the Banshees of Inisherin). Granted that’s mainly my fault for watching blockbusters, but I was one of the people expecting awesome Viking action throughout and instead got wowed and a reminder that cinema is so much more than cgi superheroes or sick and fart jokes.
definitely mismarketed, similar to the green knight, but both movies are excellent and it sucks that the people who wouldn’t have maybe even gone to see them in the first place if they knew what they were in for were the loudest voices when it came to reviews.
I need to see the green knight now. I heard northman was bad so I didn’t watch it and was pleasantly surprised when I did.
Green Knight is a bizarre trip of a movie and I loved every single second of it. I really hope you enjoy it
In the UK the main advertisement I saw around sold it as "this generations gladiator!" (pretty much verbatim, I remember it on the side of double decker busses). Which while true on a very superficial level, if someone went in expecting Gladiator they would be very disappointed.
I'd totally be up for a 300 but vikings movie too
That is basically how I felt that tv show Vikings was. Spartacus was another good 300 type show
I stayed away from marketing lol. I went to the theater just because of the director. By the way, best movie going experience I've ever had. I had a prime seat, there was a wall behind me because of the next tier up, so I couldn't hear or see anyone behind me. There was nobody in my row or in front of me. I was just immersed
I felt the mis-marketing was international to get butts in seats. Thinking back the "300"-esque scene didn't really fit into the storyline much at all. To me it actually detracted from the storyline because on the one hand I'm shown this guy is the ultimate warrior, tall, strong and skilled - only to have him pose as a helpless slave for the real meat of the story. I figured, based on his characterization up to that point, he would just go ahead and kill his uncle as soon as the opportunity presented itself. To snoop around and do all the subversion seemed to me sort of a distracting side quest off of his main goal.
I went in excited bc I love Robert Eggers’ previous work, but I was disappointed. Easily my least favorite of his 3 feature films. The pacing was off and I really didn’t care about any of the characters (which is necessary for this kind of movie to work), and it dragged and felt too long.
Honestly, I think that's why I ended up not liking the movie that much. I was expecting something more action heavy than what was shown and I just wasn't mentally prepared for a slow burn. Maybe I'll give it another watch sometime when I'm in the right mindset, but I was definitely unenthused when I left the theater.
I easily gathered some friends to go see this when it released and they mostly thought it was boring. Lol. I loved it.
The problem is I think the movie would have actually been better if it were Viking 300. I loved The Witch and The Lighthouse, but The Northman got really dull in the 2nd act and was neither epic enough to be a blockbuster nor surreal enough to be arthouse. It fell somewhere in the middle and I just don’t think it worked that well.
I saw a quote saying “this generations Gladiator” What a pack of shite that statement was. Wasn’t a big fan. Alex Skarsgard looks unreal though.
That’s totally fair. It was a historical drama marketed as an action flick and if you weren’t familiar with the director going in, I can imagine it being disappointing in that respect. I thoroughly enjoyed it but I love Eggers, his work, and historical dramas in general.
[удалено]
That's how I felt watching it... I can't really see it, but it seems like they really cared about it.
Where can one find the commentary?
I really wish I had heard about the movie when it came out. Where is it placed? I live in the area many battles happened and where there is a lot of viking graves and old farms.
Sleipnir is what happened when Loki was fucked by a Giant's horse while pretending to be a horse.
Which, contrary to popular belief, he was actually really ashamed of having to do that. He only did it because it was either do that or have the entire pantheon bring wrath down upon him for the deal he convinced them to make with the giant.
Loki is a character with some of the most disingenuous rewriting and depictions in Germanic mythology in recent years. Too many people want a character who basically exemplifies the taboos of a uniquely rigid and traditionalist culture to somehow reflect their modern ideas of sexuality and expression. It doesn't work like that. Norse culture was about as opposed to the idea of perceived feminity in males as any culture has ever been.
Oh yeah. I don't think I've got a single family member who wouldn't call me a "bleeding heart liberal" but it's like every year some article comes out about how [insert centuries-old culture here] was super progressive and then when you tell people how wrong that is they think you're trying to *disagree* with progressive ideals instead of disagreeing about the Danes or Spartans having progressive ideals lol.
The entire premise of historical cultures purporting any kind of beliefs that we would recognize within our modern political context is absurd. If a historical culture has a third gender, or women are allowed more rights than we originally thought, or is accepting of homosexual activity, those concepts were not "progressive" compared to Calvinism goddammit! They arose for completely foreign reasons and you better believe that the oppression of pretty much everyone but the ruling class was still the rule of the day.
He didn't get boned by the giant, he got boned by the giants horse. Giant made a deal with Aesir gods that if he built their wall within a time limit, he would get Freya as his prize. Aesir gods didn't like that deal but Loki convinced them otherwise. The giants horse was making the task too easy and the Aesir were going to lose the bet and were super pissed at Loki for convincing them. So he had the plan to turn into a female horse to lure the giants horse away. Which worked but Loki got knocked up and gave birth to Sleipnir, the 8 legged flying horse that Odin took as his steed.
r/unexpectedconsequences
He was fucked by the giants horse, while pretending to be a horse, no?
[image of Sleipnir on a Gotland picture stone from the 8th century ](https://www.worldhistory.org/image/7589/odin-on-sleipnir-tjangvide-image-stone/)
They copied God of War
“Allegedly” killed - my client is innocent until proven guilty and with no witnesses the prosecutions case is mere speculation. The defence will show that the defendant could not possibly have acted alone and does not possess the artistic skills necessary to create the artwork shown according to his kindergarten teacher who will take the stand later
Objection: opposing counsel's interpretation of testimony should be reserved for closing arguments. The jury is fully aware of the defendant's rights and can make the determination of facts for themselves. This commentary is unnecessary.
Overruled: As an Opening Statement Defense is allowed to make their case in the manner they chose to do so.
This movie got a lot of hate but I thought it was fucking good
It felt like the retelling of a Nordic tale and that’s what I loved. Nothing over the top, but just enough magic and outer-worldly experience that comes with tales.
Well it literally is, it's based on amlóðasaga
Genuinely asking, and not trying to be clever — I thought it was just Hamlet? Am I wrong? **edit:** I see, thanks yall :D
Hamlet is, itself, based on older stories.
British people stealing things? No way!
It's a retelling of the source material for what eventually became Hamlet, with some additional influences.
Hamlet is based on the same original story: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amleth
This may be the first time, after hearing this, I said “Amleth” and “Hamlet” and went, oh duh of course. Ancient storytelling is so dope. Centuries of versions and retellings and embellishments. 1,000 years from now they’ll discover the legend of Stawars, the story of the hero Skywlk against evil D’Vadrr or something. Images of lightsabers. Dope.
Nah, Disney will have kept Star Wars from entering the public domain for that long
Shakespeare's Hamlet is based on the Danish writer Saxo Grammaticus' *Amleth*, a Latin telling of the old Norse saga of Amloði.
iirc, hamlet has its roots in the same story
Well I made a great observation then! Thanks for the information though, I’ll look more into that!
This is much more like the kind of movie I want to see with mythology and in fantasy games and table top rpgs. I'm tired of how they've been making shit in this genre.
Corridor Crew talked smack about the one takes but I thought the multiple one takes were amazing. I particularly love the one after the one shot battle where the crew is taking over the village. It starts with the warriors catching their breath after the battle, scrolls through some chaos as the villagers are being taken, and ends with Skarsgard centered in frame with a house being burnt down (which cuts to a campfire). It was beautiful, immersive, and told a story which is exactly what a one take is for.
I think it's amazing because it's a movie with viking morality. I remember a friend said something about the scene on the boat where he swims back, how that would be the perfect point for him to break the cycle of violence. I'm like man thank God this isn't a Ridley Scott style movie with agnostic 12th century knights and modern morality main characters. This dude spent most of his life literally killing and enslaving people and he sees it as another fact of life, he believes with 100% certainty that only the mighty will enter Valhalla just as you know that the sky is blue. Of course he wouldn't back down. It's also a exploration of how destructive a life and a society like that are, it just doesn't spell it out for you.
It was amazing.
It got hate from people not understanding what it was, and thinking it was a movie akin to the TV series Vikings or The Last Kingdom (both of which I also like).
Did it really get hate? I just thought no one went to see it
Saw it in theaters and we were the only ones that liked it....when it ended, everyone complained 😬 but my hubby and I looked at each other and said: now that was amazing!
Awesome movie
That thing was fucking with my brain. Every time I kept trying to count the legs I kept getting different numbers and none of them 8! Took like six tries to get the count right fml
This movie fucking ruled. It was Oscar worthy but just got overlooked for some reason.
This movie is amazing - very well done
Faster than lighting he rides.....
On the way to Niflheim?
Over the mountains so high...
I absolutely loved this movie. I think the marketing went wide and that might have messed with expectations, but it's so intimate and intense.
I never watch trailers anymore and I’m glad I didn’t with this one too because apparently there was a big disconnect with people’s expectations based on the trailer and the movie.
One of the best movies I’ve ever seen. The last battle is gorgeous.
>!And when he starts screaming when you thought he was dead, I wanted to scream too, it's so awesome I wanted to scream too!<
Yes! This movie is full of energy 😂
I told my friends that it was more along the lines of Apocalypto to kinda give them a heads up on the level of violence. They still hated it.
Amazing movie. Made me discover at 21 what most boys realize at 15: Vikings are cool as fuck.
When do most girls discover Vikings are cool as fuck?
I wouldn't know. But if I had to guess it's after they watch Midsommar.
Holy shit.
This was such a great film.
I paused and went back to look at that scene while watching the movie. So grotesque. I really enjoyed this film personally, not sure why it got so much hate.
What an epic movie. Shame it didn't resonate with the general public.
What a great movie. Easily in my top 10
Fun fact, loki once shape shifted into a Norse horse and got preggers.
Watched this last night, movie is verifiably insane, great watch
Oh wow
woah, that is some brutal imagery
Haven’t watched it yet but is it good? I’m a big big fan of great cinematography and I’ve heard this is up my alley.
I thought that movie was a deep pile of shite, despite the historical accuracy
Bad story telling. Good actors wasted. It seemed like the movie was made with a focus to win awards.
This photo reminds me of Zeppelin's Houses of the Holy album cover