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Thanks for the memories!

A Masterpiece!

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

There's certainly no shortage of COWBOYS vs. Indians movies, but this is the only VIKINGS vs. Indians one that I know of. Interesting idea (and not without historical basis), and actually interesting story IMO, albeit admittedly weak on the execution. Lee Majors is a stolid (and arguably wooden) Viking prince ("Lord Thorwald") with a Texas accent ("Us Norse men . . . ) who leads an expedition of frat-boy Vikings in a search for an earlier expedition that went missing. (It turns out that they were blinded and enslaved by the locals when they started to get too close to the latter's women!) Veteran actors Cornel Wilde and Mel Ferrer are on hand, as Lord Thorwald's loyal second and enslaved king/father, respectively. And even young Eric the Red is along for the ride. (In actual history, Eric the Red WAS the son of Thorwald, but neither ever made it to the North American mainland; it was ERIC's son Leif who eventually did so.) And speaking of cowboys, veteran WESTERN actor Jack Elam plays the ship's resident mystic magician, who even has a pet hawk whose claws prove capable of doing some blinding when let loose. Meanwhile, post-Cher Sonny Bono squeeze Susie Coelho is no strain on the eyeballs as a rather fetching young Indian maid who is sympathetic to the Vikings. All in all a not unenjoyable film and one I'm rather fond of. Definitely one that would not make someone feel unfortunate if they encountered it on late-night TV.

This flick goes under the Classic B Movie definition. I count a solid seven classic 1960s and 70s B-Movie actors, and outside of the apparently proper Viking ship, it stacks up well to other B Movies: culturally stereotypical protagonists, perfect hair (always clean and well-groomed), poor wigs and bad costume beards (looking scruffy but clean and poorly groomed), crappy costumes (how do you swim with armor on?), poorly scouted locations (who knew eastern Canada had palmettos, Spanish moss and short-leaf pines?), poor cinematography and camera angles, unimaginative or over-the-top dialogue, historical inaccuracies, poorly executed and tactically inept battle scenes, the one native, sexy-hot maiden (and her provocative costume) with a heart-of-gold and her evil, warrior, chieftan brother - this movie has it all!

I am sitting at home watching THE NORSEMAN on TV, trying to pick my incredulous chin up off the floor. This movie must be seen by film students so they can learn everything NOT to do in making a movie. For example: Lee Majors (THORVALD) and the boy playing his Norse son deliver arch dialog in southern American accents...The Caucasian looking Indians with perfect Herbal Essence hairstyles...and perfect teeth..(that tribe must have a really good dental plan) Lee Majors sports a late 1970's mustache and hair style...He probably was on hiatus from a series and refused to restyle his hair...The Max Factor warpaint on the Indians' faces...and the lack of "Light Egyptian" on their bodies...Irish actress, Kathleen Freeman, as an old Indian woman... The "ultra realistic" Canadian location (NOT!), complete with palm trees and Spanish Moss... How did they get the money to make this thing? Where can I get some for my films??? This film is like a train wreck....painful to watch but absolutely riveting in its awfulness. The only area that deserves praise is the cinematography...the exteriors look pretty good... the cinematographer must have picked up the gig to pay for a fishing expedition or a vacation to Hawaii... In the words of many a great Norseman, .....Oy Vey!!!

This movie was so bad it was hilarious. We are treated to a single Viking ship (have to imagine that the rest of Erikson's fleet was somewhere else) landing near Miami! We knew that the climate in Canada was historically a lot warmer in 1000 AD than now, but palmettos and palm trees? Algonquins parading through the swamps avoiding alligators? Vikings chasing over white limestone beach sands than hours before had basking beach bunnies? Gad, the Little Ice Age (1350-1850) must have been worse than we thought! The music is a repeat of a single track by the Stuttgart Symphony Orchestra and is used throughout the movie, regardless of situation. Jack Elam does the only half-way credible job in an otherwise awful film. A good laugh.