I know this move gets a lot of criticism for being not 100% historical accurate or some other nonsense, but to me this is an awesome adventure movie. Reminding me at the time when i was playing D&D with my friends back in the 80/90s. Man, i wish Hollywood had done more movies in this spirit.
Yeah, people didn't catch that the Wendol were supposed to be Neanderthal and not Homo Sapiens, and that the movie was as much Sci-Fi as "Jurassic Park" and complaining about historical accuracy was pointless. Hell, I remember watching it with my uncle back when it came out and he caught that it was basically a Sci-Fi story and, being an engineer who specialized in metal structures, his only complaint that broke his suspension of disbelief was when "Ibn" filed down the viking sword and turned it into a middle-eastern scimitar because he said it would've taken a lot longer than that. Other than that, he was okay with everything else
Not sure why it should be expected to be historically accurate, it's based on a book that was based mostly on a legend (myth). It's accuracy only ever needed to be to the general time period, which it was.
I would put this movie into the same category like Sindbad or any other adventure story with some roots in reality and a lot of it being fiction. So, historical accuracy? To a point, yes. As long as it doesn't interrupt the adventure.
In my opinion, a completely underrated movie. The issues with editing and pacing are a result of the movies' very troubled production, including a director getting fired, resulting reshoots and scenes cut out. And Jerry Goldsmiths' soundtrack is just all kinds of epic.
My brother worked on this as a special skills extra, it was originally titled Eaters Of The Dead like the book. He spent 2 months on Vancouver Island being painted black and riding down a hillside in formation carrying a torch. He speaks of it fondly
Some trivia: the novel by Michael Chrichton, Eaters of the Dead, was based partially on a true story; Ahmad Ibn Fadlan's personal manuscript (of which no complete copy has been found) described his journeys with the Vikings, as part of several descriptions of his encounters with various peoples he met while working among a travelling embassy for the Volga Bulger King. The Viking part of that manuscript inspired Chrichton to combine Fadlan's tale with the epic poem Beowulf. I heard that once upon a time, there was a three-hour rough cut of this film. I know the studio green-lit the project expecting a 3-hour film only to get cold feet after a bad test screening, which led to McTiernan getting fired. Chrichton took over as director, reshot the ending, and edited out HALF of McTiernan's footage, taking it down from a 3-hour (200 minute) runtime to just 103 minutes now. Composer Graham Revell's work was also discarded, and Jerry Goldsmith was brought in to create a whole new score. The film ended up costing north of $150 million at a time when that wasn't common, and it only made $60 million back. It was the beginning of the end for McTiernan's moment in the sun (but what a moment!). Thanks for another great reaction/ review; can't wait to see whatever's next!
I think it's pretty dirty how the Saracen's served the vikings human meat and then accused them of being cannibals. i hope they got served their own children in a pie
The first three chapter of "Eaters of the Dead," which summarize Ibn Fahdlan's journey up the Volga through the lands of the Ghuzz (Oghuz), Bulghars, and meeting the Rus and seeing their funeral are taken from the historical work. Everything after that is pure fiction.
Very underrated movie in my opinion. It made Vikings actually seem like real people and not just brute force and mindless thugs. An Arab man, having fallen in love with the wrong woman, is sent by the sultan himself on a diplomatic mission to a distant land as an ambassador. Stopping at a Viking village port to restock on supplies, he finds himself unwittingly embroiled in a quest to banish a mysterious threat in a distant Viking land. Following 12 Viking warriors on the quest to come and help the allied king in another Viking kingdom, he will become the 13th warrior. The 13th Warrior is a 1999 American historical fiction action film based on Michael Crichton's 1976 novel Eaters of the Dead, which is a loose adaptation of the tale of Beowulf combined with Ahmad ibn Fadlan's historical account of the Volga Vikings. It stars Antonio Banderas as ibn Fadlan, as well as Diane Venora and Omar Sharif. It was directed by John McTiernan. Eaters of the Dead: The Manuscript of Ibn Fadlan Relating His Experiences with the Northmen in AD 922 (later republished as The 13th Warrior to correspond with the film adaptation of the novel) is a 1976 novel by Michael Crichton, the fourth novel under his own name and his 14th overall. The story is about a 10th-century Muslim Arab who travels with a group of Vikings to their settlement. Michael Crichton explains in an appendix that the book was based on two sources. The first three chapters are a retelling of Ahmad ibn Fadlan's personal account of his actual journey north and his experiences with and observations of Varangians. The remainder is a retelling of Beowulf.
The movie was fun enough, but not really something special. That said, I'm not a big fan of Michael Chrichton or the film versions of his books. Regarding historical accuracy - it's entertainment after all, but they could've at least kept out some nonsensical BS. Like how he learned the language or how he basically ruined the sword grinding it down. Also Scandinavians didn't needed Arabs to learn how to read and write. Already their own runic alphabet was widely used and is actually older then the Arab script.
@@thewinner7382 Fair point. I think I just quickly copy pasted some text I had send to a friend who never heard of the film, so in a hurry I did not curate it specifically for this post. Could have left out the plot synopsis, I guess.
Ibn Fadlan was a real person. He was an ambassador and religious instructor sent by the Caliph of Baghdad to the Volga Bulgars. There he met some of the Rus (Swedish Vikings who settled in what is now Russia). The funeral scene in this movie is based on his account of a funeral he witnessed.
Crichton's book reads like, well, a medieval manuscript, written by a Historian. One that took care not to make a thriller, but a protoscientific work.
a lot of crichton's books read that way, as scripts. lots of dialogue and not as much description. I give this movie kudos to the depiction of the vikings and the casting, great actor choices, and even minor characters have some key moments.
Exactly. The movie certainly feels more like an old work of fiction rather than a modern adventure movie -- one of the reasons I like it so much! It's a new take on an old story but at the same time more faithful to the original source material than any other attempt I've seen.
This IMO is a great re creation of the Epic Poem Beowulf! Had no idea what it was about whenni 1st saw it, but was blown away! Definitely a sleeper hit to me
I´ve always remembered how well done is in this movie the sequence showing the process of learning a new language just by earing it enough. Never forgot about this movie just because of this.
The story behind Ibn Fadland meeting the north men is very interesting. The History Channel did a small segment. I believe it was called The History of all of Us
"Eaters of the Dead", the novel that the movie is based upon is probably my favorite version of the Legend of Beowulf, and in that regard the film hits most of the right notes. A couple of changes are a little frustrating. For example the fact that the Wendel are supposed to be the last remnants of the Neanderthals really doesn't come across in this version. Overall I love the film, I just wish it were closer to the novel.
I'm not sure how they could work in the word 'neanderthal' into the dialogue. I think they did a good job showing that this is a mysterious thing that was only known in legend.
As one of my favorite flicks to watch back then, it's sad knowing there's a vault of material for a director's cut that could be released to potentially make this movie an epic, but it'll likely never be seen. A sadly very troubled production.
👉 _Jeremiah Johnson_ (1972) - co-written by John Milius ( _Conan The Barbarian_ ). If you dig _The 13th Warrior,_ this Robert Redford "man in the wilderness" classic is one to watch.
This was one of the biggest box-office bombs in history. Omar Sharif briefly retired from acting because of it. Critics hated it. I, on the other hand, enjoyed the film. Not perfect but nice action & humor. The kind of film I grew up watching & loving as a boy.
The movie went way over budget and and was one of the most expensive movies made up to that point . Also it went way over its run time so lots of the movie was cut to not be too long ... hence why like you say it is a little disjointed. They lost a fortune and had no money to promote it but for its faults I really liked the movie.
Learning their language and the "Grow stronger!" are two of my favorite scenes. Not just in this movie but in anything. I think more people should watch this movie. I actually remember seeing a teaser for it at the movies when it was still called Eaters of the Dead, from the novel on which it is based.
20:05 I just want to point out something regarding "wealth" in Norse culture (which the Volga Vikings shared). Material wealth was certainly important, as was class of which there were only 3 ranks (Jarls - leaders of tribes/kingdoms, Karls - free warriors and farmers, Thralls - slaves), but perhaps ABOVE ALL was reputation as a warrior and paragon of societal ideals. Someone known as a "drengr" held unsurpassed renown in society - it was the ultimate compliment. Buliwyf (Beowulf) wanted his story written down to preserve his reputation. This concept is reflected in the epic poem "Havamal" (saying of Odin), stanza 76: Cattle die, kinsman die, You too will die the same. Only one thing never dies; A great reputation, honorably earned.
I used to have this movie on VHS and I remember watching it regularly. Loved it, still watch it when I catch it on TV. You always surprise me with your movie choices Shan, in a good way of course. :) Keep it up.
This is one of my mom's and I's favorite movies. The 5th Element and Se7en are the others. Strange selection I know, but it is what it is. Also, I want the warriors prayer said at my funeral.
The plot was perhaps disjointed because it was a way to bring the audience into the perspective of The Thirteenth Warrior. He was a man who was from the desert. He came from a land of arid sands and bright light. When he became The Thirteenth Warrior, the "fish out of water", a man in a world not his own...this aspect was emphasized in his second round of his journey from home, not on camel or horse across the dune sea, but now by boat and across a sea not made of sand... A poet surrounded by a language he knows not, headed to a battle not his own, amongst others where He is now an Other. The disjointedness of the fights is because IBN, The Thirteenth Warrior, was not raised to be a warrior. He Was what he was raised to be: a poet. That Ibn was cleaver, and the lessons of his youth included some other skills that some conflicts in life require for a mind to be as sharp as the weapons The Thirteenth Warrior needed to survive in the end. As for wendu. I think the "lack of culture" was the point. These were people who had been driven out of families, clans and villages, whether for cause, or because they were thieves or just unlucky, but hunger, to desperation, to starvation to cannibalism, but one desperate meal cannot be taken back. They didn't disguise themselves as animals because they thought it clever. They did it because they thought they were animals. The difficulty is seeing was because sometimes only Hindsight is 20/20 That's what I got out of it. Watch it again sometime and see what else you perceive. Rehatha
The 'learning how to speak' scene was one of the best ways of 'bridging a language gap' ever portrayed in movies. The Eaters of the Dead book is more like a journal than a movie. Its also an ADVENTURE, so you're so supposed to be a little 'out of sorts'.
This is one of my favorite movies. Two of the actors in this movie were in the Thomas Crown Affair, Mischa Hausserman, Daniel Southern. Clive Russell played Black Fish in Game of Thrones. Tony Curran was in Gladiator and Blade 2. Richard Bremmer was in Harry Potter and Just Visiting.
This is what I like about your channel. You watch the odd and obscure movies not a lot of people know about. If I can make a suggestion for your pole. Ninth gate with johnny depp and the game with micheal doughlas.
In the book, Eaters of the Dead, it is revealed at the end, that the Wendell, were actually a group of Neanderthals, that had survived in the remote areas of Scandanavia. Michael Crichton was showing that the Beowulf saga was based on actual events.
Thank you so much for reacting to this movie. This was one of my favorite movies during the late 90s. This was post Bravehart, so most of the studios were pushing these epic hundred men battle movies and this was the only one that depicted the Muslim caliphet or the Norse Vikings. In college, i referenced the opening scenes in my communications class about how you'd have to sometimes use multiple translators.... in this case Ibn speaking Arabic, Omar's character translating to Latin and then Hoerger translating Latin to Norse. The main reason i wanted to see the reaction was because i liked the movie so much, it's hard for me to see why general audiences didn't like it.
I saw this in the theater when it came out. I loved it but for some reason it tanked. People will pick apart the costumes aren’t correct, particularly the armor some of the warriors are wearing and that it is just a retelling of Beowulf but it’s still a good movie. I think of it as a cross between Beowulf and the North American legend of the wendigo. In the movie they are afraid to speak the name of the evil. Native American legend says that speaking the name of the Wendigo will bring it’s evil into your life. There are similarities between what the eaters of the dead look like and how the Wendigo is said to look. Anyway, glad you decided to watch this. I and many other recommended after you watched The Legend of Zorro.
The movie's First battle scene is one of my favorites. Notice in the very opening the "Legendary hero" character who is Beowulf (The white haired leader of the 13 warriors if it was not obvious) Is shown in profile and slow motion, he is just as obscure as the enemy and he seems, at this point, to reside in that "mist of legend" like the enemy. Beowulf is a hero among men, he is quiet, set apart, special, because when he speaks his words have weight and meaning. The other fighters are in the shadows battling, you hear then, watch them die, and catch glimpses of them but they are not forefront. Finally we have Ahamed Eben Fahalan, who we see in clear light, our "normal person" who us just as scared and panicked as we are or would be in his situation, just barely doing his best to stand his ground and fight when he is clearly terrified. He is the character for whom this is a "horror story" and I think represents what most of us would be like if we found ourselves suddenly taken from the comforts of our lives and thrust into a legend like Beowulf. For us normal people we are scraping just to survive in such settings. For the legendary heroes of the stories, they are as comfortable and ingrained in them as we are in our happy safe lives. Yet, as the movie progresses we see those lines blur. Its a great "equalizing" as Beowulf's legend plays out, and finally just the normal people who survived it are left to recount the epic tale. (Spoiler) Then we see in his last moments, the most human part of Beowulf, this legendary figure, looks over the the normal man and asks him simple to draw the story of his deeds, so they might be remembered. A skill only Ahamed has to tell an accurate and permanent record of the legends who otherwise would slip into obscurity. I read too much into it but I love this movie.
The book is definitly worth a read. The film has its issues, mainly pacing wise but still a fun watch. A lot of people ranted about the scene when he learns their language at the time, thinking he learned over night. But it's pretty obvious he learned it over months of travelling together from Turkey to Norway. Cmon people !
I really like this movie. However I seem to recall that there were some problems during the production. I THINK there was some studio interference and due to that it had to be edited as it did. Apparently a lot of material that has been shot has been left out and may have been supposed to be arranged differently as well. I think a directors' cut of this movie might actually turn out pretty amazing.
This is a 'go to' movie for me. As a Banderas fan I recommend Desperado for a fun ride. The actors portraying the Northmen are fantastic and I was pleased to learn Vladimir Kulich/Buliwyf was the voice actor for the game Skyrim as the leader of the Rebelling Nords: Ulfrich Stormcloak.
This movie is great. It has such a D&D adventure feel to it along with the historical fictional aspects. From my understanding this movie had some big time production issues and was even put on ice for a couple years. The name of the movie was going to be different too. If someone can elaborate please do so. I cant remember.
Congratulations Shan. I've been waiting for someone to finally review this film. Technically someone else beat you to the punch a couple months ago but she's a fringe channel that focuses solely on historical films/shows. You deserve way more subscribers my friend.
I lowkey love this movie. I'm not exactly sure why, but I do. Back when I still watched TV, I was always up for watching this whenever it came on, no matter what.
One of my all time favorite movies. Story goes forward like a train and doesn't bother to explain much. Love story is handled blink and you miss it way. And soundtrack is beyond awesome.
What Shan calls his problems with the 13th warrior and the weakness of the movie, is a strenght and a highlight for me. The "arab" "ibn" is thrown into a strange world, a role he never prepared for and a fight that was not his fight. So he stumbles around trying to survive and do his best. Over the film he "grows up" and changed from a spoiled brat to a full grown man and warrior. And on this journey it does not matter what motivates the villains, it only matters that his "tribe" is threatened and attacked. Its also not important to lift "the fog of war", its just a horrific an chaotic battle and you just need to keep your head on and be alive at the end. And even the unclimactic ending of the last battle is better than a long and heroic duel between Bullwyf and that wendol leader. A poisoned, dying Bullwyf only had the strength for a last blow and he fought till his end and brought victory for his cause. For me the 13th warrior is a great film, one of my favorites!
i dig the rare angle that it's from a passenger's pov, of a smaller scale adventure, and it's a lot of the observations and details rather than only sitting in a world-ending conflict against a planet-destroying bad guy. it's able to balance tone well. just a nice lil tale.
it's not made clear in the movie, but the Wendol are meant to be a tribe of Neanderthal who managed to survive up to these "modern" times. It's also a retelling of the story of Beowulf, implying that this is the actual series of events that inspired the more fantastic version of the story that was eventually recorded in writing.
There was a bad year in the early 2000s, when I had very little money, no cable TV, no internet and only one movie on VHS - it was the 13th Warrior. A former roommate left it behind when they moved out. Though I spent way to much money at Blockbuster that year, when I wasn't reading library books (I even read Eaters of the Dead, but I liked the movie better), I was probably watching this movie. I could probably quote it to you today, and it is a go-to comfort flick for me when I'm stuck in the doldrums. For all its faults, I genuinely love this movie. It might be an obvious product of the 90s, but it's just a good-conquers-evil, fish-out-of-water action romp.
I watched this movie in high school as part of a literature study on Beowulf, since this movie (and maybe Crichton's book as well) is a loose adaptation of that story. I enjoyed the movie but didn't really watch it again until my 30's. Now it's easily one of my favorites of all time. I'm so glad to find someone reacting to it. As for it feeling a little disjointed at times, I agree. I've read that the film was heavily edited from the director's original version. If you keep that in mind while you watch it, you can definitely see and hear the places where the film was edited. I really wish they would release a director's cut. Great reaction, as always.
I love this film. I've never understood why it didn't do better at the box office. Epic soundtrack too. You might also enjoy Outlander (2008), which has a similar theme to this film but with a sci-fi twist to it. I also enjoyed the film Pathfinder (2007) starring Karl Urban and Clancy Brown, which involves Vikings and Native Americans, which is another film that didn't do well at the box office, but i think is an underrated film.
Music withcinematography wide angle scenic shots still gives me chills. I have seen this movie countles times and score and cinematography still keeps me impressed.
Shan, I don't think anyone has mentioned this yet but the premise of the movie is that this is the "real" tale of Beowulf, Grendel and the Dragon. The tribe that is doing this are supposed to be a holdout of either Neanderthal or other Stone Age culture that survived to the middle ages before dying out completely.
Haven't read all the comments yet, but in case no one has mentioned it, the enemy clan is supposed to be a remnant population of Neanderthal, which i always found pretty intriguing.
Love this movie, feel it gets overlooked. I get why because of the supernatural aspect especially in the first half, but found it to be a solid and fun film!😎👍💪💕
One of my most underated movies. Loosely based on the tale of Beowulf. I actually have a wooden plack on my wall with the quote - “Lo, there do I see my father, Lo, there do I see my mother, and my sisters, and my brothers. Lo, there do I see the line of my people, Back to the beginning! Lo, they do call to me. They bid me take my place among them, In the halls of Valhalla! Where the brave may live forever!”
Hey, Shan! The conceit of Chrichton's book was that he was writing about a possible historical basis for the "BEOWULF" epic! The lead viking played by Vladimir Kulich was named "Buliwyf". The politics of the hall where they are guests is the same. The tribe of marauders are called "Wendol" meaning GRENDEL. The matriarch is supposed to GRENDEL'S MOTHER. The FIREWYRM effect created by torch-bearing cavalry is meant to be the dragon. In the book, the tribe is an extant group of cannibalistic Neanderthals surviving into the early medieval period! The film was a modestly-budgeted international co-production which is why the Vikings are from many different European backgrounds like Tony Curran, Clive Russell, Dennis Storhoi and Vladimir Kulich. Re-shoots and behind-the-scenes drama caused the budget to skyrocket. The film did poorly at the box office but I feel it's an enjoyable blood-and-thunder adventure with a fairly innovative plot.
Yo I yelled OMG. Been wanting people to react to this movie for a while. My dad would always randomly yell. DONT WORRY LITTLE BROTHER... There are more!
One of my favorite movies and filmed right here in British Columbia. Something I always found hilarious is the old man with a myrmidon helmet from ancient Rome. Given the movies timeline that helmet is an antique nearly 700-800 years old.
One of the problems people have with this movie is they expect the "famous actor" to be the protagonist. Here, he is just our point of view, and we know the story as he sees it, but the protagonist is, at the end of the day, Beowulf. It is his story.
The film is based on a book. The author in the book described a tribe of Neanderthals who, for some reason, survived until the 9th century and lived in Europe, and Neanderthals, as you know, worshiped brown bears
The bad guys are essentially "Grendel" the first part of the movie gets them to the village, but the rest is a more or less straight re-telling of the Norse Grendel Myth (obviously with Grendel not being just one big troll).
I remember when this came out. It was really panned and not well reviewed, but I remember enjoying it. Haven't thought of this movie in many many years
The movie was based on The Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crichton, in which the enemy were actually a kind of Neanderthal, so there was still the monstrous element. It was also more clearly a retelling of Beowulf
A very good and recomandable film with a young Omar Sharif and Peter O'Toole in it, is Night of the Generals from 1967. A Crime Drama set over the backdrop ofseveral key moments of WW2.
I actually saw this in the theater, I remember I was living with a crazy woman back then and don’t remember anything about the movie but I believed I enjoyed it , thanks again Shan!
One of my favorites. I think it was important that the 13th man was an outsider. It meant he had a fresh perspective on the situation. Also the relation ship between the Arab and the Northmen was wonderful. He impressed them by picking up their language so quickly. He earned their respect. Bolvai felt that he must gain the Arab's respect by learning to write his after seeing it written only once. The Northmen fought recklessly because they believed that dieing in battle was a sure way to get to Val Halla. I was able to overlook any flaws in the moviemaling because I like the story so much. It was about interpersonal relationships between people of vastly different cultures and how they overcame them. A very positive message. I love the Viking prayer. I have some shirts with it on them. Lo there do I see......
Not a great movie as far as the story goes in my opinion, but it’s a lot of fun. I find it odd that it’s a Beowulf story where Beowulf becomes a side character in his own tale, but it makes sense considering the outsider in the story is the real draw.
