The Long Ships (1964)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Jack Cardiff

Writers:

Frans G. Bengtsson (novel)
Beverley Cross (screenplay)

Release Date:

24 June 1964 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure

Tagline:

The Greatest Viking Adventure Of Them All!

Plot:

There is a legend about a great bell, called "The Mother of Voices," made of pure gold, three times the size of a man, made by monks many years ago...

Plot Keywords:

Bell | Death | Gold | Viking | Brother Brother Relationship

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award.

Cast

Richard Widmark	...	Rolfe
Sidney Poitier	...	Aly Mansuh
Russ Tamblyn	...	Orm
Rosanna Schiaffino	...	Aminah
Oskar Homolka	...	Krok
Edward Judd	...	Sven
Lionel Jeffries	...	Aziz
Beba Loncar	...	Gerda
Clifford Evans	...	King Harald
Gordon Jackson	...	Vahlin
Colin Blakely	...	Rhykka
David Lodge	...	Olla
Henry Oscar	...	Auctioneer
Paul Stassino	...	Raschild
Jeanne Moody	...	Ylva

Also Known As:

Dugi brodovi (Yugoslavia: Serbian title)

Runtime:

USA:126 min

Country:

UK | Yugoslavia

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) | Australia:PG | West Germany:12 (nf) | Norway:16 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Company:

Avala Film

Trivia:

Film known for a torture contraption called the "Mare of Steel" depicted as a huge curved blade as large as a Trojan Horse, which unlucky prisoners were forced to climb and ride down on their exposed bellies, hands tied, splaying them open at it's base and impaling them on a bed of two foot steel spikes.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The devil was not part of the Vikings' religion.

Quotes:

Rolfe: If we ever had children, my lady, what princely liars they would be!

The OTHER great Viking movie.

After Kirk Douglas' THE VIKINGS, this was a close second in fun, Saturday matinée-style spectacle. Richard Widmark inhabits the role of the Viking, Rolfe, with a breezy, unstilted style that suits his character's sense of derring-do perfectly. In contrast, Sidney Poitier plays it straight, and his majestic voice and bearing make him a commanding yet sympathetic villain. The plot is lightweight, it's true, but there's much fun to be had for those of us fond of old-fashioned adventure in distant eras and exotic climes. Sit back, drink in the magnificent cinematography and Dusan Radic's powerful, melodic score and enjoy the heck out of this epic clash of Vikings and Moors. And be warned: the Mare of Steel is not for the faint-hearted!