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The Vikings

The Vikings

Adventure · History · Action · 1958

Einar, brutal son of the viking Ragnar and future heir to his throne, tangles with clever slave Eric, for the hand of a beautiful English maiden.

Movie details

The Vikings

“Mightiest Of Men... Mightiest Of Spectacles... Mightiest Of Motion Pictures!”

1958 Adventure · History · Action 1h 55m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.0 / 10

Community rating

Einar, brutal son of the viking Ragnar and future heir to his throne, tangles with clever slave Eric, for the hand of a beautiful English maiden.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Vikings?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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A story of lost love, young love, a legendary sword and one last opportunity at redemption.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Richard Fleischer

Written by

Calder Willingham

Kirk Douglas

Kirk Douglas

Einar

Tony Curtis

Tony Curtis

Eric

Ernest Borgnine

Ernest Borgnine

Ragnar

Janet Leigh

Janet Leigh

Morgana

James Donald

James Donald

Lord Egbert

Alexander Knox

Alexander Knox

Father Godwin

Maxine Audley

Maxine Audley

Enid

Court is in session

Put The Vikings on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Adrenaline Seeker

“Momentum is a formal choice.”

The velocity sharpens instinct and tension, making every beat land before self-importance can settle in.

The prosecution The Cool Ironist

“Speed as an alibi.”

The film races past its weak spots and hopes acceleration will keep the audience from inspecting the evidence.