''The Viking Sagas'' is a 1995 American film directed by
Michael Chapman and starring
Ralf Möller and
Sven-Ole Thorsen
Sven-Ole Thorsen (born 24 September 1944) is a Danish actor, stuntman, bodybuilder and strongman competitor. Thorsen won Denmark's Strongest Man in 1983.
Using his stature he often plays imposing giants and villains in his films who ar ...
. It is heavily inspired by the ''
Njáls saga
''Njáls saga'' ( ), also ''Njála'' ( ), ''Brennu-Njáls saga'' ( ) or ''"The Story of Burnt Njáll"'', is a thirteenth-century Icelandic saga that describes events between 960 and 1020.
The saga deals with a process of blood feuds in the I ...
'', through it features an original plot. It was largely shot on Iceland with a mostly Icelandic cast.
Plot
The story takes place in
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
around the height of the
Viking Age
The Viking Age () was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonizing, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. It followed the Migration Period and the Germ ...
, where a young man, Kjartan (
Ralf Möller), must defeat a horde of evil Vikings, intent on taking over his father's land and stealing his girlfriend
Gudrun (
Ingibjörg Stefánsdóttir) from him too. To help him in this task, Kjartan seeks help from the older Viking Warrior
Gunnar (
Sven-Ole Thorsen
Sven-Ole Thorsen (born 24 September 1944) is a Danish actor, stuntman, bodybuilder and strongman competitor. Thorsen won Denmark's Strongest Man in 1983.
Using his stature he often plays imposing giants and villains in his films who ar ...
), who trains him to become a fierce fighter, and later aids him in his quest against his
archenemy
In literature, an archenemy (sometimes spelled as arch-enemy) is the main enemy of someone. In fiction, it is a character who is the protagonist's, commonly a hero
A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional cha ...
Ketil (
Hinrik Ólafsson).
Cast
*
Ralf Möller as Kjartan
*
Ingibjörg Stefánsdóttir as
Gudrun
*
Sven-Ole Thorsen
Sven-Ole Thorsen (born 24 September 1944) is a Danish actor, stuntman, bodybuilder and strongman competitor. Thorsen won Denmark's Strongest Man in 1983.
Using his stature he often plays imposing giants and villains in his films who ar ...
as
Gunnar
*
Þórir Waagfjörð as Bolli
*
Hinrik Ólafsson as Ketil (as Hinrik Ólafson)
*
Jón Baldvinsson as Thord the Strong
*
Gunnar Eyjólfsson
Gunnar Eyjólfsson (24 February 1926 - 21 November 2016) was an Icelandic actor.
Gunnar began his career with the Reykjavík Theatre Company in 1945. In 1961, he joined the National Theatre of Iceland; in 1963 he won the Silver Lamp Award for t ...
as Eirik the White
*
Rúrik Haraldsson as Magnus the lawgiver
*
Bjørn Floberg as Sighvat
*
Raimund Harmstorf
Raimund Harmstorf (7 October 1939 – 3 May 1998) was a German actor. He became famous as the protagonist of a German TV mini series based on Jack London's the Sea-Wolf (which was sold into many countries) and starred later on successfully in an ...
as Valgard
*
Egill Ólafsson
Egill Ólafsson (born 9 February 1953) is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, and actor. He is married to the actress Tinna Gunnlaugsdóttir.
Education
Egill Ólafsson studied playing guitar and piano when he was young and was part of a boys' bras ...
as Hrut the bowman
*
Magnús Ólafsson as Bjorn
See also
*
List of historical drama films This is an index of lists of historical films.
By country of origin
* List of Estonian war films
* List of Polish war films
* List of Romanian historical films
* List of Russian historical films
* List of Vietnamese historical films
By era ...
* ''
Njal's Saga''
External links
*
*
1990s action films
1995 films
American historical action films
Icelandic action drama films
English-language Icelandic films
Films based on European myths and legends
Films directed by Michael Chapman
Films scored by George S. Clinton
Films set in the Middle Ages
Films set in the Viking Age
Films set in Iceland
1990s English-language films
1990s American films
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