La ruée des Vikings

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.

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.

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.

ERIK THE CONQUEROR (aka THE INVADERS) was Mario Bava's second directorial assignment after his meteoric success with BLACK SUNDAY (aka MASK OF THE DEMON/LA MASCHERA DEL DEMONIO (1960). ERIK THE CONQUEROR is a tale of intrigue and treachery between Viking forces and the Anglo-Saxon defenders of the British Isles in the year 786 A.D. The story begins as two children are separated from each other during a fierce battle. One of the two is taken and raised by Queen Alice (the stately & beautiful Francoise Christophe) and the other child remains with his Viking people. Both bear tatoos which identify them as brothers. They grow up to face each other in battle but have been tricked by Rutford (a deliciously evil portrayal by Andrea Checchi), a scheming English noble who intends to take the throne he covets for himself. Art direction alone is dazzling with phospherescent hues of crimson, gold, emerald & cobalt blue. There are many macabre touches courtesy of Bava, and in an interview with noted film historian David Del Valle, Cameron Mitchell marvelled at Bava's mastery of trick photography and flawless cinematographic style. Mitchell gives one of his finest performances here as Aaron, the Viking and Giorgio Ardisson is splendid as Erik, his brother and King/defender of Britain. The golden, flaxen beauty of Alice & Ellen Kessler is used o good effect here as the eventual lovers of Erik and Aaron. A must-see for Bava worshippers and required viewing for epic aficionados!

Virtuoso filmmaker Mario Bava turns his attention to the Viking adventure genre with generally engaging results. It's set in the 9th century when Viking aggressors are bloodily invading Britain. Two Viking brothers are separated during a battle, and are raised by opposing forces. Eron (American star Cameron Mitchell) grows up to be a fierce Viking warrior, while Erik (George Ardisson) is adopted by a young British queen (Francoise Christophe). Eron loves a vestal virgin named Daya (Ellen Kessler), while Erik takes a shine to her twin sister Rama (Alice Kessler).

All in all, this is good fun, and worthy viewing for folks who enjoy a good period adventure. It's bloody, it's colourful (it ought to be - Bava photographed it himself), it benefits from obviously impressive production values, and it works as a combination of intense action, melodrama, sexiness (there are plenty of lovely ladies on hand), and even a little dose of humour. The action sequences are definitely well executed, and look especially good given that Bava actually shot this in the 2.35:1 aspect ratio, which he usually didn't do. One highlight is a wall scaling sequence that would make Spider-Man proud. The music helps immensely in making this a rousing bit of business.

The performances are solid right down the line. Mitchell does fine, even if he is dubbed, and embraces the physicality of his role. Hunky Ardisson is his match as his long-lost brother. The real-life Kessler twins are positively ravishing, and Andrea Checchi is an enjoyably odious villain as the devious Sir Rutford.

Fun to watch for Bava admirers, and the first of his three pictures with Mitchell - the others being "Blood and Black Lace" and "Knives of the Avenger".

Eight out of 10.