Die Rache der Wikinger

Mario Bava really outdoes himself with this story of two brothers separated in infancy, who grow to be rival leaders in a battle between Scandanavia and Britian.

This yarn, replete with monumental battle sequences on both land and sea, magnificent coastal and interior castle settings, and bravura use of color simply amazes in its ambitious achievements.

The film opens with a battle sequence on the seashore, by turns both thrilling and horrifying as the soldiers meet with death by spear while the nearby coastal village is burned, with women and children scattering to their doom.

With this breathless sequence, Mr. Bava introduces the audience to a breakneck pace that never lets up.

The story such as it is, is played engagingly on the level of an Errol Flynn film, intelligent enough for adults, but close enough to a comic book for whatever youngsters may be in the audience.

It is, however, the visuals that linger in the mind: a grotto with an enormous twisted tree upon which are bound two captured adulterers, bathed in that phosphorescent green light that Mr. Bava was so adept at casting; a stunning vista of the seashore at twilight with two women in billowing robes silhouetted against a sky banked with tempestuous cloud formations, Georges Ardisson and his mother flanked by flaming braziers, amidst tall stalagmites, in a setting that might be from Dante's Inferno, (and recalls a similar setting in Orson Welle's "Macbeth" and countless others.

Mr. Bava painted his masterpieces not on canvas but on celluloid.

The cast is both attractive and serviceable, with Mr. Ardisson and the luscious Kessler Twins deserving of special commendation. Indeed the Misses Kessler, (as Vestal Virgins) perform a sword dance with such delicacy and intricate footwork that it is easy to see why their cabaret act was once the toast of Europe.

Highly enjoyable for fans of the genre.

In the 9th Century, two Viking children, separated since their early childhood with one raised by the British and the other by Vikings, meet after nearly 20 years as rivals as war breaks out between Britain and the Vikings for control of England.

The film is a loose remake of the American film "The Vikings" (1958), starring Kirk Douglas. Credit was not given at the time, which really is not out of the ordinary for Italian productions. Just look at the endless string of "Jaws" ripoffs. Bava's film borrows the estranged twins idea, the duel alongside the castle, and the showing of a viking funeral. Interestingly, to get around his lack of budget, the biggest change is setting much of "Erik" underground because on-location (Norwegian) settings were just not possible. "Erik" also has a similar plot to Sergio Corbucci's "Duel of the Titans" (1961), though that setting was Rome rather than northern Europe. Most likely, Corbucci was ripping off the same source.

As far as casting goes, Cameron Mitchell is the definitive American "star" of Italian films. During the 1960s, Mitchell starred in numerous Italian sword and sandal, horror, fantasy and thriller films, several of which were directed by Mario Bava, including "Blood and Black Lace" (1964) and "Knives of the Avenger" (1966). He also participated in Spaghetti Westerns, like Corbucci's "Minnesota Clay". (In Hollywood lore, Mitchell's claim to fame was introducing Marilyn Monroe to Arthur Miller.)

Then we have the German-born Kessler Twins, who were big hits in Europe at the time. In the States, the Kessler Twins were not as popular as they were in Europe but soon appeared in Robert Aldrich's "Sodom and Gomorrah" (1962, while Aldrich was in exile) as dancers and appeared on the cover of Life Magazine in that year. Did "Erik" help get them the part in the Aldrich film?

Anyway, "Erik the Conqueror" is a fine film in its own right, even if we acknowledge its lack of originality. There is an epic ship battle that rivals anything in the more contemporary Disney "Pirates" franchise, for example, and the various techniques to create a big-looking film are admirable. Bava knew how to push the limits of budget, and this paid off. The film made back two or three times its production cost. Oddly, though we know Bava for his horror work, in Italy the horror genre was not terribly popular and the "sword and sandal" theme was a bigger draw. (Mitchell claims that Bava never had an unprofitable film. Whether this is true or not I don't know, but none come immediately to mind.)

The Arrow Video Blu-ray offers a brand new 2K restoration of the film from the original camera negative. Viewers are given the choice between the original Italian and dubbed English mono audio. There is a new audio commentary by Bava expert Tim Lucas, who reveals some of the interesting matte techniques used and declares this Bava's "most underrated film". Heck, we even get "Gli imitatori", a comparison between "Erik the Conqueror" and "The Vikings", as well as the film's original ending. This release is bursting with love.

Mario Bava's first credited viking movie (after he worked as an uncredited director on LAST OF THE VIKINGS, made in the same year and also starring Mitchell and Ardisson), is an above average entry for the genre enlivened by stylish direction from Bava which makes it a cut above the rest. The plot is different and involving and the characters fleshed out enough to make you interested in their actions. Primarily noted as a horror director, Bava can't resist inserting a scene involving a girl chained in a dank dungeon being terrorised by a tarantula held over her face in a glass tank towards the end of the movie, a macabre treat for his loyal horror fans. Elsewhere, he shoots imaginative scenes involving men climbing up ladders made out of freshly-shot arrows and the like which make for entertaining and surprising viewing.

Cameron Mitchell stars as Aaron, a just and noble viking warrior. George Ardisson is his younger brother Erik (after having also played Mitchell's brother in LAST OF THE VIKINGS), the film's real hero character, and is surprisingly good in the role. Meanwhile Andrea Checchi makes for a convincing but underused villain and the addition of real-life twins Alice and Ellen Kessler to the cast makes for novelty value. Bits parts come from the muscular Joe Robinson (TAUR THE MIGHTY) as a viking rival of Aaron's, and Tony Kendall - later a Euro action man appearing in all kinds of genres - amusingly showing up before he was famous, acting and looking very odd.

The photography is as good as ever, the movie is ambitiously made on a low budget and often cuts back and forth between England and Norway, and the music effective. What makes this film work, though, is the inventive plot - as involved as you're going to get with this viking sub-genre - and the characterisation, which combined with the strong cast helps to make an intelligent, straightforward, and largely entertaining action-adventure yarn, offering up just about everything you could want from the genre without ever resorting to silliness. Bava's final viking movie was 1965's KNIVES OF THE AVENGER, which throws a unique spaghetti western slant on the genre.

The first peplum to be officially directed by Bava (and his first collaboration with Hollywood actor Cameron Mitchell) is, as can be expected, a virtual clone of the classic spectacle THE VIKINGS (1958) – if, obviously, done on a much smaller budget. That said, unlike the later KNIVES OF THE AVENGER (1966), the film does feature a few sweeping action sequences (many of them replicated practically wholesale in the following year's ATTACK OF THE NORMANS [1962]; see above).

The plot concerns a couple of Viking brothers separated at birth during a vicious attack: one of them is raised by the British Queen and, therefore, becomes his sibling's sworn enemy. Also involved are a couple of identical vestal virgins – played by the then-popular singing duo, the Kessler Twins – who, obviously, both go against their vows (and thus risking death if caught) by falling for the brothers. The Viking community, largely confined to living as cave-dwellers, provides plenty of opportunity for Bava's trademark atmospherics and flair for composition and, as was the norm for him at this stage in his career, he officially acted as his own cinematographer!

The typically jovial, uncouth and heavy-set Viking leader is played here by Folco Lulli (though he is killed in the very opening sequence!), while Andrea Checchi – from Bava's own BLACK Sunday [1960] – fills in for the role of chief villain (his death via a succession of arrows may well have been inspired by the unforgettable demise of the "Macbeth" character in Akira Kurosawa's superb Shakespearean adaptation THRONE OF BLOOD [1957]). Though a decent actor, Mitchell comes across as a generally glum presence in these type of pictures; here, he ends up by sacrificing himself for his brother and, consequently, receives the requisite fiery viking burial (even if the film's budget apparently didn't afford this spectacular effect – since it cuts abruptly to a two-shot of the lifeless Mitchell and his grieving intended for the fade-out)! Curiously enough, while Mitchell is the nominal male lead, the English title of the film makes it sound like the younger brother is the conquering hero of the piece!

While I already owned the film, taped off Italian TV, this second viewing came via a rental of the bare-bones Italian DVD; given the picture's lack of exposure in R1 land, I wonder whether it will eventually be included in Anchor Bay's hopefully-not-long-in-coming "The Mario Bava Collection Vol. 2"...

Erik the Conqueror (1961)

*** (out of 4)

Eron (Cameron Mitchell) and Erik (George Ardisson), as children, witness their father brutally murdered during a Viking massacre. After the massacre Erik is taken in by the Queen while Eron grows up as a viking. Twenty-years later the two are on a collision course.

ERIK THE CONQUEROR is quite the action picture as director Mario Bava certainly made the film look like a much bigger budget than I'm sure it had. There's no question that this film was riding on the success of THE VIKINGS but obviously the Italian production didn't have the big stars, the big budget or an unlimited amount of resources. That's what made Bava so special. He could take a small budget and make the picture look like something from a major studio.

I think the weakest thing here is the actual story since it's really nothing original and there's really nothing here that we haven't seen countless times before. Where the film succeeds is on every other level and we can start with the wonderful cinematography. This is certainly a beautiful picture to look at with the camera-work really bringing the settings to life. You've got the wonderful use of color that adds to the picture and just take a look at the camera work during the opening battle. This battle sequence was perfectly shot and it manages to grab you and throw you right into the action.

The action scenes are all handled with extreme craft and perfection. The movie certainly contains some rather violent moments to add to the fun and I'm sure the kiddies watching this during a matinée were quite shocked. The film also benefits from some nice performances with Mitchell leading the way. He was very strong in the lead role and managed to really sell the character. Ardisson isn't quite as good but he's at least fun as is Alice Kessler and Ellen Kessler as the love interest.

ERIK THE CONQUEROR isn't a masterpiece but it's certainly a highly entertaining action film.