"When you think about it, berserkers were basically drug fueled real life furries of the Viking age" - Skallagrim, 2022

Also, when he killed the draugar he put the head between the buttocks, which is how you set undead spirits free in the Icelandic Sagas. I was really impressed by that.

Something to mention of the Draugr, is that he is wearing Migration Period kit. His sword is 300 years older in design, his helmet resembles more a 6th century Spangenhelm with a boar crest and cheek plates like the Beowulf poem describes. That is good attention to detail

I think the Northman hit that sweet spot between authenticity and old norse tales perfectly

Glad you enjoyed it. I like this honest quote from Eggers about it. "This movie is not 100% accurate-that’s impossible in any period, and particularly something like 1,000 years ago. And I can’t be 100% unbiased. But I’m trying my best to both represent the physical and material world as it could have been, and to articulate the Viking mindset without judgement. That is definitely what I’m trying to do."

I mean, who wouldn't want to show up to the battlefield rocking an epic "apple-pie-styled" armour, right?

Kinda disappointed by the number of people commenting that the story is "standard" or "generic" without realizing what it's an adaption of. Prince of "the Danes". Revenge quest. Protagonist's name is Amleth. Ring any bells? They even had him talk to Willem Dafoe's skull.

Since the movie was based off the legend of Amleth, which Shakespeare's Hamlet was based off on, the revenge story makes sense. Plus the director stated that in his movies, if there does seem like mythological/magical elements, it's because the characters believe in said realities. Amleth believes in Odin, Valkyries, draugrs, etc., and thus it is present in the film, though in such a way that we don't know for sure if it is real or not. But, the fact the sword was unable to be drawn during the day, but that one guard, makes me believe in this movie, it is a fact of life - and remember, this story is based on the medieval Scandinavian legend, so it's not trying to be 100% realistic. The fact this legend inspired Hamlet is interesting, a fact I did not know beforehand. When you compare the two, you can see similarities.

There was a fantastic interview with a historian who worked with the director and how he really listened and wanted to make it authentic.

This is indeed the crap I am looking for and no Jedi mind trick can tell me otherwise. As for the berserker with the shield on his back, Olaf was clearly being thoughtful and bringing a spare along if someone needed it. Always thinking of others that Olaf.

the northman is already one of my favorite movies of all time because of how immersed you get in the history and mythology of the period. Wish there were movies like this about ancient Greece, Rome, Gaul, and well everywhere and when else...

God, you’re so right about Assassin’s Creed. I loved the first several games for their well-researched, immersive settings. And the weaving of historical figures and events into each story.

The draugr scene was an amazing one, because after killing the draugr and placing the head in its arse, the camera spans back to the throne, displaying the just-now-killed draugr sitting on the throne, as it was before, only to fall apart after the sword was picked up. This gave me the impression that it was either imagination OR a test to see whether the character was worthy or not. Also the scene where the vikings dance around a bonfire the night before the raid was a nice touch to display just how the berserkers could have thrown themselves into the battle rage, by consuming drugs and surrendering to the primeval nature by howling and dancing. It was great.

I've been watching Robert Eggers for years. He's a history nerd that for some reason keeps making movies. The Witch took 5 years to research and when they built the sets he imported a period accurate roof thatcher and carpenter to build a period accurate farmhouse and just called it a film set. This surprises me not a whit.

You can interpret the scene where they charge the village differently. It seems that the very first row of the berserkers was supposed to climb the wall, kill the sentries and open the gate, so that the others could come in that way. That would explain why some of them wore shields on their back, to have them out of the way while climbing, while others, like the main character, had none, because they wanted additional agility.

About leather helmets: Here in czech republic, we actually have one artifact which we speculate might be a leather helmet, but it also could be a just a bucket. It's called "Podivenova přilba", it was found in early medieval grave and it is made of leather and what would be top of a helmet is hard wood

Bram Stoker is the father of purposefully mixing real events to a fantasy setting. Dracula is full of actual events with a slightly different explanation. A few years before the book was printed, a wolf escaped from the London Zoo and was seen all over town. Stoker made that wolf his vampire which, by all accounts, creeped the hell out of Londoners reading the book that remembered the escaped wild animal.

Skall didn't mention the Valkyrie in the film, that some have criticized as being corny and anachronistic, until historians pointed out her design was an homage to the operas of Wagner and the romantic perception of Vikings during the 19th century. The director literally picked a mythological figure that brings legendary warriors in the afterlife, and gave her a look that evokes our own legends concerning Vikings. Absolutely brilliant.

I went in with high expectations for an action movie and I found myself astonished with all the poetic scenes in it. It is meant to be the movie version of a saga, not a viking movie, and seeing it that way made me appreciate it much more.

I feel like people often overlook the impact that a dose of reality can have on fiction. Like even for something like Skyrim, a realistically proportioned warhammer is six times more terrifying than the catoon wiffle bats that the game uses.

I would love to know Skall's opinion on "A helmet has always been a good idea".

Saw it at the cinema, with my mom, who is an active Åsatru member. One of the reason we went to see it is because she knows many who have worked on clothes and jeweley for the movie. Damn intense experience, people barely spoke for the duration of the movie xD I need a to rewatch it

I think your point about real life people wearing wool hats and shorts proves the point that this guy running with the shield on his back could very well could have been a real person. Because real people do stuff that isn't smart or efficient all the time.

"someone clearly researched..." Yep, that is Robert Eggers alright... the self admitted glutton for historical research. I highly recommend keeping an eye out for his previous films, VVITCH and Lighthouse and whatever he works on next. I have repeatedly seen that he's doing a Nosferatu remake. Which would be very interesting to see him take on that era with his insistence on historical accuracy.

I liked hearing Mike Stoklasa criticize the movie for the slaves and peasants not being dirty enough. They're dirty sometimes, they're clean sometimes. It's the realistic depiction of filth.

I like about it how the supernatural parts are only supernatural because the people in the movie believe them to be and we see the plot throug their eyes. For example the sword has all the proper runes on it so the wielder believes it to be magical and awesome and probably so do the opponents he fights with it. Just look at history, if your leader conveniently finds THE HOLY LANCE right before you're about to attack the Sarazens you're all hyped up because you cannot fail. Any old iron can be magical and amazing if you convince enough people (including yourself) that it is.

The "no evidence of his cowardice" line had me dying

Ian Price was an advisor for the film, and he is probably THE expert of the Viking Age and Viking culture. There were details in the film that were just so accurate. For example...the seer (a male) was wearing women's brooches, which is absolutely accurate. Male magicians wore women's clothing items.

One thing that bothered me is that I find it incredibly hard to believe that Viking raiders could possibly maintain the caloric and exercise requirements to look like Alexander Skarsgaard did in the film. Having 9% body fat probably didn't help in the ancient Nordic winters.

The director presents the story in his movies like a tale that people of the time would tell themselves at campfires: very realistic but with magical elements like the draugr or the sword. the lighthouse and the VVITCH was similar in that regard. I personally love that kind of storytelling.

I think Eggers did a wonderful job at incorporating mythology into the film. He didn't treat it like superstition, he gave it the respect the people of that time would have.

Also worth noting is that the burial scene in the film is almost word for word portrayed as described by Ahmad ibn Fadlan, who attended a norse funeral during his travels.

If I hasn't been mentioned, the northman is based on the original story that inspired hamlet.

7:47 I totally get what you mean! I was shocked finding out that the battle in Braveheart was supposed to be 'The Battle of Stirling Bridge' ...despite there being literally no bridge, just a straight forward charge on a flat landscape and all the Scots painted with woad like stereotypical Picts. And my TV Box reccomended it to me as a "Documentary" !

Problem is, Eggers usually does lower budget movies. This movie though was a studio produced movie with a considerably larger budget. What seems to have happened was that Eggers was forced to concede on some of his own filmmaking quirks and obviously historical accuracy. With the VVITCH he could go full on with the weird dialect and very accurate costumes, yet with this movie he was forced to concede to some of the more stereotypical hollywood tropes. If a studio is gonna pump tens of millions of dollars into a movie, they really want to make sure that it wont alienate 90% of the audience because its impossible to follow or in the case of lets say VVITCH where i can be very hard to understand what they are saying. Eggers really is one of the greatest movie makers of our time and the Northman is great. As a dane, i was really impressed with how he emulates the Saga feel in the movie. We have a viking play every summer in my hometown and this movie feels like one of those plays (which are directly insipired by the sagas) but giving it a huge budget. Its not really a historical depiction as it as an interpretation of viking sagas that are put into a hollywood production. Considering the restraints he was forced into, it is very impressive that he managed to stick to relative accuracy. It may not be a documentary showing the true life of a viking, but in my opinion the director really seems to respect the feel and pace of a viking saga. Slow-paced, atmospheric, full of mystery and blending of mythology with real life, and finally the classic story of revenge and outwitting your opponent which is so common in sagas. I truly respect his try at accuracy considering how many executives was standing behind him saying, "Could we please get some horns on those helmets? It would look so much better!"

I haven't seen the film and I think you raised some good points when you were dunking on the dude with the shield on his back. I think that character elements like that are often to help the audience tell who's who. So you have the guy with no shield, a guy with his shield on his back, a guy with a shield out and long pants and a spear, a guy with shield out and short pants, a guy with a shirt on, etc. I think there also might be a thing here where that guy is in the foreground and if he had his shield in his hand while running, he be blocking the shot with his shield. Anyway, just thought I would throw out some film making possibilities that might explain the weird character choice for this scene- again, haven't seen the film so I don't know if that makes sense or not.

I enjoyed Jackson Crawford's review of the movie, though he was only analyzing it from the story side and from the runes used. He commented that although they (correctly) used younger Futhark for most of the runes, the sword was incorrectly written in elder Futhark, the runes used in the Proto-Norse or Proto-Germanic period. He argues that while you could say that the sword was created in that earlier period, the runes on the sword spell out "draugr" in Old Norse, whereas during the time that the elder Futhark runes were used, the word would have been "draugaz", so it's an anachronism either way. He commented that he appreciated that the story seemed to use Old Norse moral values instead of modern ones, but that there were certain aspects of the actions the characters took that felt out of place in the context of the society that is presented in the Sagas. Link kzfaq.info/get/bejne/bJ1poq-h38DPd6s.html&ab_channel=JacksonCrawford He also has an interview with the expert used in the movie

I have a bone to pick with you, @Skallagrim. My dissertation was just failed because I said "Berserkers were basically drug-fuelled real-life furries."

Great video like always. The leather helmet is a interpretation of the man head carving in a elk horn who is nowadays at Stockholm museum. Some people argue the man is welding a helmet maybe in leather reinforced with iron round plate. We don't know for sure, but in the movie it seem good!

I actually love Eggers' filmography. He's one of the most exciting directors of his generation. The Lighthouse still remains his best work in my eyes,but even tho I really like The VVitch I enjoyed The Northman much more,so it takes the close second place. The movie itself felt really visceral and it was just a great cinematic experience. The story was simple,of course,but that was kinda in the sheer concept of the whole movie and it's not the plot that was supposed to be its meat and potatoes

Another recent series that's really well researched, but is set in Mesoamerica (Aztec, Maya, etc) is Onyx Equinox, speaking as somebody who helps history/archeology channels on that region: It's an aduit-action animated series (with light horror elements). Onyx is more mythological, with a focus on gods and monsters, but is still very authentic to the historical societies: Of the civilizations it features (not just the Aztec and Maya, but also the Zapotec, Totonac, etc), it has real cities with their historic layouts, and even the specific architectural and garment motifs for it/the inhabitants, etc. Even more impressive then the literal authenticity is the symbolism and themes of the show's plot, characters, visual iconography, and how that ties into actual Mesoamerican art, religion philosophy, etc. For example, the Undworld Gates in the show, while fictional, use visual design from actual Maya and Epi-Olmec art of caves, pools, and mirroes, as they were all symbolically tie to underworld entrances. Even the first gate in the show appears inside a cenote (which are literally caves pooled with water), with the Izel being rescued from attempted suicd (and is tainted by underworld energy, so metaphorically entering the underworld) by Yaotl, a emissary of Tezcatlipoca, one of the things the diety is associated with being mirrors. Even Izel's arc as a main character is tied into themes from Aztec poetry, adages, and philsophy: A big part of those is life and dea being complimentary, such as with creation myths involving the gods sacrificing themselves or giving blood to create the world or humanity, which was cyclically destroyed and recreated (of course, also a plot point in the show). Sacrifice in those societies was paying that back and continuing the cosmic cycle. So the transience of life and it's wonder BECAUSE of it being temporary and fleeting is a common theme in Aztec poetry; and in their ethics, it was recgonized that life is painful and difficult, but what was just is to accept it and help others through it, living a self-sacrificing life (sometimes litterally) to help others. At the start of the show, Izel is in clearly intentionally in complete rejection of these virtues, and his arc is in part about getting past that state of mind. Even the lyrics of some of the music is sung in Nahuatl/Aztec, Kiche and Yucatec Maya, Zapotec, etc. I will say that at times the pacing and animation can be iffy, but it's easily the best I've seen Mesoamerica handled, and it does have some great music, background art, etc.

In defence of the berserk with a shield on his back. He is running just to climb on the wood palisade to enter a raiding village. To climbing you need two hands, in general. And I could bet he is using his shield properly as soon as he gets inside the walls. Anyway, I'm glad You make this video, since I've watched this movie two days ago. And to me it's one of the best "viking" movies, I've ever seen. And btw. the story in the movie is mostly based on AmlethSaga, real life north saga pretty well preserved to the modern days. And yes, Shakespear writing Hamlet was simply retelling this Saga of Prince Amleth, only more accurate to his own times (under assumption, of course, William Shakespeare ever existed, which is not clear ;) ).

I thought that the "magic" sword was a nod to the Ulberht sword and it was "magical" because it was made of steel not iron.

Robert Eggers is obsessed with historical accuracy in his films. He does loads of research and works with experts in the field to make sure he gets it right. I think in an interview, he said that fantasy and sci fi are all cool and fun, but there is so much rich history on our planet that you can easily make a captivating film grounded in reality, and there's no reason to change it up since it's already so interesting.

In defense of the shield on the back: given the reckless and disorganized fighting that could be expected of berserkers it is likely that he would have enemies on all sides of him, and wanting to avoid being mistaken as a coward by being cut down from behind he could have just chose to protect his back with the shield.

Catching the spear and throwing it back was so badass. I want to see someone test this.

Robert Eggers goes all out on his films, and he had Sjón help him with the screenplay.

To me, the fantastical elements in Robert Eggers' movies is his way of reflecting the fantastical mentalities of the people of those times, where people genuinely believed that gods or witches or spirits were at work behind the forces beyond their control.

The northman is a "movie version" of Amleth. The same story that inspired Hamlet. Which is an old Scandinavian story. So it literally is a story written by a viking made for vikings.

It's amazing how this is a very accurate historic portrayal of this period of history....and then there's a huge load of people calling it "bad" because it's "weird" and recommend you watch "Vikings" instead 🤦‍♂️

Glad to hear you talk on this! I came to your channel several times after the movie released looking for your impressions before giving up. I thought you'd like it!

I'm glad to have a breakdown by someone with a martial and historical perspective on the movie! Keep it up!

I've been watching your channel for years and years at this point. The quality of jokes and content has never faltered!!! Love the channel and the great work you do here! Thank you!

To my knowledge, the Berserkrs possessed the spirit of animals. You could tell what kind by their furs(Berserkr 'bear warrior', Ulfhednar 'wolf warrior', and Svinfylking 'boar warrior'). So it's a spiritual thing.

5:36 - He keeps the shield on his back for the stamina boost effect

I love the film a lot, but a key thing I keep in mind when considering historical accuracy vs. fantasy in this movie is this: I think that most of the exaggerations in the film are actually equivalent to exaggerations the Viking Sagas themselves would have made. Draugr, Valkyries, fighting without armor - there's a lot of "unrealism" in the film, but if the vikings themselves were making those same exaggerations and fantastical additions, then I see that as being faithful to the storytelling of the period. It's very easy for a movie to use MODERN sensibilities that don't make sense, but I personally feel like this film was made with a very dedicated mindset of telling the story how the vikings in THEIR period would have told it. That's what makes it so special to me.

I am inclined to believe that the shield on the back is indeed to avoid dishonorable wounds. They are not fighting in formation but going melee, where even the most courageous risks attacks from behind. But the divine corpse collectors for Valhöll (at least according to cliche) have such types of wound as a disqualifier, so avoiding them is a prime directive. I have no personal experience, so I have to aks: is running with the shield on one's back maybe easier than carrying it in one hand? So, could it make sense to do that until one gets into melee range? I doubt that during running one can hold the shield up in a protective manner, so its defensive value is heavily diminished anyway while doing that.

I know most of the actors lines...mhm...: "Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhrgh"

Skal great vid man, I too appreciate this Northman so much. I also appreciate your shorter uploads, as I watch them on my lunch break and unfortunately do not have time to enjoy more than about ten minutes of anything.

Wearing a woolly hat/beanie with shorts makes sense. Keeping your head warm is important, because it dissipates the most heat. Sometimes weather can be middling. I've rocked sandals and t-shirt with a beanie on this spring.

In the context of a movie set, maybe Mr. Back-Shield was just an extra that didn't have the hand eye coordination to actually run with the shield in his hand. If so he probably only ended up in the shot at all because they didn't have any more extras with the right look to replace him, so the just compromised by sticking the shield on his back.

I really liked the low fantasy aspect of this movie, much like the original Conan the Barbarian movie. The supernatural stuff feels more special when it feels tucked away and secretive.

Thanks for covering this, I loved the movie myself, love the director (the guy did the lighthouse and the witch) and the movie isn't doing well at the boxoffice so it is nice to see some recognition

I love that every times the characters go through a fantasy situation, it's always because they are *HIGH AS BALLS.*

The fact they depicted a ship burial was insanely cool and brutal.

Thanks Skallagrim for another great video. Even though you don't get alot of views as you used to. You still put in a lot of work into everything you do on KZfaq. I am grateful that your one of the most passion and authentic dudes on KZfaq.

I love that film so much. So many impressive details. Loved the berserk leader's ritual head gear and stance matching the depictions in pressblech.

06:25 - thats Robert Eggers style. He depicts everything as real that the characters believe to be real and he doesnt question it unless the characters do. I think thats brilliant because you cannot really understand a culture that is deeply religious, for example and ignore the religion. So the answer is: all this was real because it was real for Amleth

Eh, drug fueled bezerkers . You know Skall, he could have been so high he forgot he had a shield on his back. .

I enjoy these analysis videos very much, especially Skall's refusal to say something is all good or all bad and deconstructing each detail individually instead.

I'm so glad I found this channel. This will help with my Old Norse D&D campaign.

Isn't it a portrayal of the possible inspiration for Hamlet?

One element of the film that I absolutely love is how almost every single tragedy that happened in the story, happened because one of the characters performed a taboo action, and cursed themselves. Amleth's mother, accursed herself by plotting to kill her husband and son, marking herself a kinslayer, and betrayer. Amleth's uncle, on the other hand, directly killed his own half brother, and attempted to kill his nephew, cursing himself similarly. Amleth himself, of course, killed his mother and both half brothers, his younger brother in espically dishonorable circumstances. Their own actions and choices dammed them, and twisted fate into a tragedy, even while ensuring that Amleth would have his fated glorious death in an erupting volcano. Most tragically, however, is how it was all avoidable. Had Amleth's mother plotted slightly differently, everyone involved would have had a far happier outcome. The father was already mortally wounded, doomed to die slowly, in bead, and therefore denied Valhalla. He was looking to complete all the rituals Amleth required his father for, to see his son ascend to manhood. Given a few more days, and I strongly suspect that Amleth's father would have challenged his brother to a duel, stating that his wounds doomed him to a death in bed, and that he would not accept such an ignominious death, and that should his brother defeat him in a duel to the death, befor the gods, and in sight of the entire settlement, he would take over, with Amleth as his heir. That, simply put, would satisfy everyone, (except perhaps Amleth) gods, man, and woman, allowing every intrested party to achieve their goal. The mother would get rid of a husband she hated, for a new husband she liked, the father would get the glorious death he desired, and Valhalla that was promised. The Uncle would get a throne he desired, and a wife he loved, both denied by his bastardry. Amleth would see his father die in a manner considered most honorable, going to a great reward, and presumably wouldn't fuck off to become a mercenary berserker, though that's not any guarentee. Finally, the gods would see a King die honorably, and receive him to their halls, and see an auspicious family act in fatefully potent ways, echoing their concepts, and continuing their practices.

after about 5 years of watching the channel the outro music is realy starting to become nostalgic to me in a sense.

All your videos are great. Thanks for the good content.

Viking Furry is a great gamertag lol

The most surprising thing about this movie was William Defoe

Hey there my friend, I've been watching you for a long time and love how you review the weapons and armors, and if you may, it would be fun to see your weapons review on Elden Ring.

did anyone else notice how the undead fight was basicly the Sutton Hoo grave, similar ship, mirgration period sword with a ring in the pommel. And the helmet was anglo saxon in design it even had the boar at the top, it was only missing the nose guard but some could have been made without

"drug fueled furrys of the viking age" fucking KILLED me! its not often that any videos or movies actually make me belly laugh out loud especially when watching by myself but holy shit i had to pause the video for a couple minutes cause i couldnt get ahold of myself XD

Thought I'd never get to see Skall react to Northman. Glad I was wrong.

As an “Honorary Canadian”, i.e; I’ve seen the movie “Strange Brew” enough times to have written a PhD thesis on it and gone to more Rush concerts than I can remember (RIP Neil), I have seen the “toque and shorts” look far too often! Thanks for another great video, Skall!

Skall! I've been a fan for years now. How do I get you to bring us your thoughts on Buhurt and Armored Combat?

funny how the moment someone makes historically realistic movie about vikings there are suddenly dozens articles crying about "white supremacy"

I really enjoyed The Northman. I also felt that when watching it the director was giving the audience a choice as to whether it was a saga and all the mystical stuff was actually happening or just some regular dudes quest for revenge and the mystical stuff is just the main character hallucinating (or something.) The fight with the Draugr is actually a good example of this, does it really happen or does it just happen in his head?

Good review!

To be fair with how the weather works in Canada a Tuque and a pair of short kinda makes sense. Cold in the am, hot around noon, rain in the afternoon, starry skies in the evening and thunderstorm at night... I am in Ottawa and we sure get the 4 seasons in 1 day quite often...

I assumed that the guy with shield on his back needed free hands to climb the wall quickly.

Speaking about Slavs, in this movie, a lot of things are absolutely cringe. Starting with the fortification of the Slavs, shown completely incorrectly, ending with the name of the character Anya Taylor Joy (Olga ) and the Christianity of the Eastern Slavs. The name Olga comes from the Scandinavian Helga (the name of the princess of the Rurik dynasty), and began to be used among the Eastern Slavs long after the Viking Age. Also with Christianity, Christianity was adopted after the adoption of Christianity by Prince Vladimir the Great (end of the 10th century), and the common people accepted Christianity for several centuries after that. Another question, why did the Vikings from Iceland sail thousands of miles to Ruthenia to capture slaves when Ireland and England were nearby (more likely targets for the raid)?

Just subscribed, thank you for the analaysis.

I heard Eggers talk about how the hair styles weren't historically accurate. It was done to visually distinguish the Vikings from other groups. Eggers acknowledged all the groups would have had similar hairstyles. But when translating to a visual medium with a modern audience, they needed the difference.

The atmosphere in the Northman was so strong at times, I could feel like I was watching actual 10th century events, especially with all the attention to detail in the production. Also liked how they hadn't tried to make the characters relatable to modern audiences with forced "inclusion" and 21st century mindsets.

"Berserkers were basically drug fueled real life furries of the viking age." Skallagrim 2022

Thanks for the review Skall! Hope it’s a fun watch!

Watches this with my sister and mom. Although my sister and I are far from historical scholar (her specially), we were fangirling for most of the movie due to how realistic and seemingly faithful this movie was. It's also just a damn well made movie, which is absolutely great. So many amazing shots.

The story as such is pretty standard but the movie as a whole is impressively well done, yep.

"Surprisingly well done"? I'm guessing this is your first eggers movie?

Enlightening stuff! I cant wait to watch this with my brother when he finally finds the time to! I haven’t heard a single major bad thing about this movie yet!

Dude I love you! Seriously you can be so funny in such a dry way! It's great!

The director, Robert Eggers has done two other movies, The witch and the lighthouse. Both are also period pieces and both are also unprecedentedly well researched and historically accurate