When the Raven Flies (1984)

Why You Should Watch It: Vikings! Iceland! Vikings on horses! Vikings on horses that probably look pretty much like vikings on horses did (no horned helmets here).Why It's Not The Best Movie Ever Made However: It's obviously been made on a tight budget, shot in only two locations which seem to be about 3 meters apart from each other, and the cheap 80s-synth Peruvian Flute rendition of Á Sprengisandi isn't helping either (there are only two tunes in the entire movie, and they come back very, very, very regularly). I won't even mention the "omg knife!!" sound effect that accompanies EVERY shot where someone has a knife or a sword, even if there's no way in real life they would have made any kind of sound. Also, tomato-blood.As for the plot well... I'm not sure there was enough to fill almost two hours. It pretty much feels like you're watching the same thing again and again and again.

"When The Raven Flies" stands as one of the best historical Action movies, to have come out of the North. Stylistically it owes a great deal to Italian Spaghetti Westerns and Japanese Jidaigeki. In fact back in the day, some critics dubbed it a "Cod Western" because of this. The setting certainly helps. The Icelandic Sagas are full of tales of Revenge, Bloodshed, Honor that must be gained and upheld and Grudges that wont let go, all told in a laconic and ominous manner. Like his heroes Kurosawa and Leone, Gunnlaugsson has a good eye for faces. Our hero Gestur, has rugged good looks, while the Viking thugs are impressively ugly. Helgi Skúlason who plays Thord deserves a special mention. He has a terrific thousand yard stare, which he displays widely whenever he is angry or has his plans ruined.As for the plot this is a straight remake of the "Yojimbo/Fistful Of Dollars" story save for a few things. In this movie our hero is motivated by revenge, instead of monetary gain like Eastwood or unknown motives like Toshiro Mifune. There is also a moral theme running throughout the film, which questions if Gesturs really did the right thing after all. All in all "When The Raven Flies" is a great action movie, even if it didn't change the world. The only downsides i can think of is the 80's synthesizer soundtrack which can get damn annoying after a while and the crudely designed weapons (the knifes and swords resemble giant butterknives and the axes are obviously just regular woodworking axes) but other than that it is along with the Arn movies, one of the best historical action movies from the North, ever.

Lovely movie, I actually had the luck to be able to see it while i was in school. I saw it several times and was facinated. Bloodvengance in Iceland, vikings that appear as vikings,and not with the silly horns or their helmets. Just the down and dirty,realistic fighting that was so common between clans in Iceland and the rest of Scandinavia during the iron-age and the early medieval era. The tale of vengeance and killing really grips me. I recommend this movie to anyone who want to see a movie that portrais, or at least gives a glimpse of what it could have been like, and is not destroyed by Hollywood's myths about vikings. For those of you who want to see what is perhaps the best movies about vikings and see this one and if you like it see the follow up In the Shadow of the Raven.

I suggest that this movie should not be to closely associated with "Vikings". It is an artistic interpretation of a certain stage in the evolution of societies in the most northern reaches of Europe, in which the "Viking" culture is an element-inasmuch as it refers to a seafaring population. Once established in new territory, the history of evolution seems to follow the same lines as in Western Europe. I suggest background reading of the Icelandic Sagas as a start-no doubt you will find referrals to Norwegian, Swedish and Danish annals as well. This comment is placed in the hope that a great effort, and a great result, shall be remembered some more years-BECAUSE I WANT TO HAVE THIS, AND THE FOLLOWUP, IN MY LIBRARY. And I haven't the faintest where to get hold of them...BRGDS K