The 13th Warrior (1999)

I found this movie to be quite satisfying. Combining the rich wisdom of the Persia Empire with Norse tradition when most of Europe of ravaged by Barbarian hordes allows for the audience to see the richness of cultures rarely put on screen. Arabians in that era were the keepers of incredible wisdom and this film displays that.

Loosely based on Beowolf, the Norse leader is one of the most intriguing characters I've seen in a long time. Director John McTiernan allows the viewer to see how this man truly is wise and brave.

The ending isn't as good as the rest of the film, but it doesn't destroy the film.

Fmovies: From the ancient scrolls of the Northland Vikings, comes this fantastic tale of Beowulf and Grendal the Sea Monster. However for the record the name of the legendary story, has been changed to "The Thirteenth Warrior." In this incredible epic, as narrated by the exiled lover of princess Shaharazad, the storyteller, an Arab poet, is appointed ambassador to the Nomads in the far-away Barbar country. On route, he is accepted as the thirteen warrior and invited to join a group of adventurous Vikings who are requested to return to the mother country to defend the villagers against a monstrous flesh eating peoples called the Wendol. (Also known as the Vendall or Cannibals) In the process, the fearless Vikings learn as much about the courageous Arab as he learns about them, their language, customs and their military skills. Antonio Banderas, plays Ahmed Ibn Rashid Ibn Hamad and is convincing as the curious, but knowledgeable Arabian envoy. Vladimir Kulich, plays Buliwyf, The 1st Warrior and is capable and extremely formidable in his chieftain's role. With Dennis Storhøi as Herger the Joyous and Daniel Southern as Edgtho the Silent, the group encounter the Vandall, their leader and their mother. Although they fight to protect the Viking people, they in-turn risk their very lives against hoards of bear-face savages, who use both Witchcraft and horn blaring attacks. With nail biting action and mysterious drama, the film proves exciting and memorable. A great film for Banderas' fans. ****

I feel the need to comment to a few of the reviews I read from the first page, which I must say were totally off-base.

A few notes, at random, and in no particular order.

Several reviewers are evidently confused about the relationship of the movie to a textual source. Specifically, they don't get the point, because they misunderstand what it's trying to do. The movie is based on the novel "Eaters of the Dead", by Michael Crichton. This novel is a fictionalized history, written in the form of an epic translation (which it isn't), and recounts what happens when a group of Norsemen, accompanied by an Arab observer end up at war with a remnant population of Neandertals. Yes, Neandertals. It's not completely ridiculous, though the most recent evidence for neandertals that I know of (I'm an archaeologist) in northern Europe is about 25k before present. It didn't happen -- it's just Crichton's device, and it's a fun one. Neandertals are very close to modern people, but not the same. They are in some sense Other, and to xenophobes like medieval Norse they must have seemed, well, something like Grendel is discribed in Beowulf. When Crichton wrote this, originally in the 1970s, even less was known of Neandertals than now, thus the brutish characterization, exaggerated a bit by the movie.

Once this background is adequately understood, several criticisms should disappear:

A. One reviewer complains that the movie isn't faithful enough to the original text, apparently believing in this case the text written by Ahmed ibn-Fahlan, and published a few years ago. This reviewer appears unaware that this is a literary conceit on the part of the actual author, Michael Crichton.

B. Meanwhile, a second reviewer complains that the movie is insufficiently close to the Beowulf myth. As implied by the above, this criticism goes nowhere, because it is not a simple retelling of Beowulf. "Eaters of the Dead" is Crichton's effort to fictionally historicize Beowulf by placing it in the context of a struggle of Norse against a remnant population of neandertals. "The 13th Warrior" is a pretty accurate retelling of the encounter as envisioned by Crichton, and its relationship to Beowulf is as tangential as Crichton's.

C. A review complains about the ragged mobs of bad guys, clad in bear skins for no good reason. The reason is that there is good evidence to suppose Neandertals had a ritual life oriented in some way around cave bears. They might be ragged mobs because the book, and movie, are emphasizing their primitiveness, relative to the modern humans they are fighting. I had more difficulty with Neandertal cavalry, but there isn't any particular reason to believe a remnant population of Neandertals couldn't observe the use of domesticated horses, steal some, and figure it out from there.

D. I didn't think that was the lamest love interest subplot ever by far. First, the woman was gorgeous, so it can't be a waste. (heh, okay) Second, it underscores the relatively casual attitude of the norse toward sex, especially as initiated by women. This is obviously not a universal trait in medieval western cultures, and is a nice historical touch. It would have been sappier if he'd stayed or she'd followed, but neither happens. It's a moment of comfort and connection in a hopeless situation, and works well in that context.

E. We have no idea how a complex Neandertal society might work -- there's no ev

The 13th Warrior fmovies. I have a strange feeling that the authors wanted to make a small, average movie, with no big expectations, never-mind Michael Crichton's part in it. To our great joy they failed! The film is fantastic in many ways and I think I can draw a quality parallel with another "small" movie - Mothman prophecies. To me both movies are now of a rare kind - mesmerizing, strangely unique, hypnotic. For no matter how many times they put it on some TV program I always stay there being swallowed by its charm. I mean - isn't it strange that Antonio Banderas, who in my opinion ruined a promising career after a splendid international start (Mambo Kings) raises high with his Arab part. Don't you agree it took guts and charisma to stand above all those never-before-in-film perfect and powerful Vikings? Just like Richard Gere "dancing" on an equal footing with an acting greatness of Laura Linney in the Mothman. And what about the scenery, the photography, the middle ages colours and heroic costumes, what about the extras' faces, battles on a Gladiator or LOTR levels, .... amazing. Yes, this is one of those small, but big big movies, made with heart, strength and honour. And vision.

I found myself glued to the television despite my inability to understand most of the early dialog in The 13th Warrior. Curiosity kept me from turning away and the action hooked me. Antonio Banderas' performance is intelligent and understated. He may headline, but the unknown actors take the lead with very strong performances. Omar Sharif is certainly recognizable, but of limited exposure here. It's sad that he belittled such a great movie because of it's box office failure. This movie has a LOTR feel about it without the high end production. The production here is just right for the story and cast. The main attraction over LOTR is that it only runs 103 minutes. Beware, if you are easily affected by carnage. But, if you enjoy a classic tale of good vs. evil and competitive action, you will embrace this adventure.

I guess every region has its own legends and saga's, but I've always found the Scandinavian legends about trolls, monsters and ghosts even more intriguing and interesting as ours. It's no wonder that these people have created these legends once. If you've been there and if you've seen the impressive nature with its immense forests and lakes, the fact that the sun never rises in winter and stays 24 hours a day in summer... makes it easy to understand why this is the land of such creatures.

The movie tells the story of an Arab courtier / diplomat who was sent to the barbaric North as a punishment for falling in love with the wrong woman. In AD 922, this could be seen as an execution, because there was no way he would return (it's the same reason why the Catholic Church sent people who had committed awful sins, as pilgrims from our region to Santiago De Compostella in Spain). When they are about to get robbed and killed somewhere in the fields, they manage to escape and accidentally stumble upon a group of Vikings, which saves their lives, because the Barbarians are terrified of these vicious warriors from the North. They soon get befriended and are able to stay with the Vikings, when a young boy, a messenger from the North, comes to the Vikings to ask for help. In their home country many people die because of "an evil whose name should not be pronounced". They consult an oracle who tells them that they should send 13 warriors, but that one of them shouldn't be a Viking. The Arab, however not believing that these mythical creatures from the forests really exist, joins them in their battle against the Wendol...

Normally I'm not too much of a fan of Antonio Banderas' work, but this time I really liked him as the Arab with the impressive name of Ahmed Ibn Fahdlan Ibn Al Abbas Ibn Rashid Ibn Hamad (I guess you better don't try to say that 10 times in a row). The other actors all did a very good job as well, even though I have to admit that I've never heard of most of them before.

The story is nice and well written, the way it was all shot is done properly and overall I must say that I really enjoyed watching this movie. I'm sure that many will not agree, but personally I liked it more than the "The Lord of the Rings" movies. I like legends and mystery in movies and this movie gave me both. I give it a 7.5/10.