| The Vikings | |
|---|---|
&sq=Envato&lang=en&file=File:Vikings_moviep.jpg) Theatrical release poster by Reynold Brown | |
| Directed by | Richard Fleischer |
| Written by | Calder Willingham (screenplay) Dale Wasserman (adaptation) |
| Based on | The Viking by Edison Marshall |
| Produced by | Jerry Bresler |
| Starring | Kirk Douglas Tony Curtis Janet Leigh Ernest Borgnine James Donald Alexander Knox Frank Thring |
| Narrated by | Orson Welles |
| Cinematography | Jack Cardiff |
| Edited by | Elmo Williams |
| Music by | Mario Nascimbene |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
Release date |
|
Running time | 116 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $3.5 million[2] |
| Box office | $6.2 million (US and Canada rentals)[3] $7 million (overseas rentals)[4] |
The Vikings is a 1958 American epic[5] historical fiction swashbuckling film directed by Richard Fleischer, filmed in Technirama, and printed in Technicolor. It was produced by Jerry Bresler and Kirk Douglas (who also starred in the film), through Douglas' Brynaprod company. It is based on the 1951 novel The Viking by Edison Marshall, which in turn is based on material from the sagas of Ragnar Lodbrok and his sons. Other starring roles were taken by then husband-and-wife Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh as well as Ernest Borgnine. The film made notable use of natural locations in Norway. It was mostly filmed in Maurangerfjorden and Maurangsnes, captured on film by cinematographer Jack Cardiff, although Aella's castle was the real Fort-la-Latte in north-east Brittany in France.
Despite being derisively called a "Norse Opera" by New York Times critic Bosley Crowther, the film proved a major box office success and spawned the television series Tales of the Vikings, directed by the film's editor, Elmo Williams, which included none of the original cast or characters.
- ^ "The Vikings - Details". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
- ^ Tino Balio, United Artists: The Company That Changed the Film Industry, University of Wisconsin Press, 1987 p. 132
- ^ Cohn, Lawrence (October 15, 1990). "All-Time Film Rental Champs". Variety. p. M192.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Douglaswas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Halliwell, Leslie, Halliwell’s Film Guide, second edition, Granada, London, 1977 p.933