The Top 10 Best Viking Movies
The Best Viking Movies to Pillage the Big Screen!
This week, I’m focusing on some of the most feared and respected warriors of old by pulling together a list of the best Viking movies of all time. Some might know them as vicious and unstoppable conquerors that took whatever they wanted whenever they wanted. Others see them as noble warriors with a code of honor that rivaled or even exceeded the one used by knights. Either way you look at them, Vikings are larger than life figures from history with a rich culture and feats that make for pretty epic big-screen adventures. The surprising thing is that there really aren’t that many Viking movies out there. At least, there aren’t a lot of “good” ones. Still, I’ve never been one to back down from a challenge, and in order to do this list justice, I expanded this list to include some films featuring Scandanavian warriors from around the same time frame (roughly 8th to 11th century). So, hide your valuables and fortify your defenses, because these Viking movies are ready for some plundering!
10. The Long Ships
Just like pirates, Vikings often found themselves at home on the high seas. That’s partly why I thought it was so appropriate that the first of the Viking movies on this list was named after their iconic seafaring vessels. The Long Ships centers around a trio that decide to steal a longship, hire a crew of inebriated Vikings, and set out on a quest to find the mythical Mother of Voices. The thing is that the guy who owns the boat is actually a Danish King and was planning to use it as his funeral vessel. Furious to get it back, he sends every longship he can after them. The Long Ships is pretty much everything you might expect from adventure epics of the 1960s. That means it’s as cheesy as it is fantastical, but still oddly fulfilling if you don’t take it too seriously. That’s why I thought it was the perfect flick to kick off this list.
9. Erik the Viking
It’s not easy being a Viking. I mean, their economy was essentially built around raping and pillaging. So, if you happened to be a sensitive soul like Erik (Tim Robbins), then it can be a little rough finding a way to fit in. Erik the Viking is the brainchild of Monty Python alum, Terry Jones, who both wrote and produced the film. So it goes without saying that Erik the Viking is very much a goofy comedy. Yet, like so many of these Viking movies, it’s also a pretty epic adventure. In it, Erik learns that the world is on the verge of ending as Ragnarök (AKA the Viking apocalypse) gets ready to kick off. Determined to save humanity, Erik puts together an expedition to Asgard to stop it. Erik the Viking not only stars Robbins in the lead role but also features the likes of Mickey Rooney, John Cleese, and Eartha Kitt (as Freya herself!), making this one of the funniest Viking movies of all time, but still not the number one flick on this list.
8. Pathfinder
I can understand some people not liking Pathfinder due to the whole “white savior” aspect. However, because it’s one of the few films out there featuring Norsemen as terrifying villains, I felt it deserved a spot on this list of Viking movies. Pathfinder centers around the discovery of North America by the Vikings hundreds of years before Christopher Columbus. In it, a young Norse boy is left behind after Native Americans are able to drive the first wave of invaders from their shores. Taking pity on the boy, they raise him as one of their own, which doesn’t make many members of the tribe happy. That all changes when the Vikings return and the Native Americans realize they’ve got an enormous Norseman of their own to help fight back against these armored brutes. I’m not saying that Vikings are better warriors than Native Americans, but weight classes exist for a reason, and having a heavyweight of their own definitely helped in this fight.
7. Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King
Do Viking movies by any other name smell just as sweet? I only ask because Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King goes by a ton of names. That doesn’t change the fact that it’s still a film well worthy of a spot on this list. It tackles the legendary tale of Siegfried the Dragon Slayer (someone you’d definitely want to keep away from your favorite movie dragons). As Christianity began its slow conquest of Western civilization, not everyone was excited to have their culture stripped from them thanks to the Romans, especially the so-called Pagans of the north. That’s where the characters in this film come in as they face the political turmoil that the new religion is having in Europe, even as a literal Dragon Slayer is walking around town. The two prove to be star crossed lovers in the changing world, but that doesn’t make their tale any less deserving a spot among these Viking movies.
6. Outlander
It’s time to add a dash of science fiction to this list of Viking movies. Up next is the pretty crazy tale of Norse warriors squaring off against an alien. Outlander (not to be confused with the Starz series) stars with an intergalactic prison transport crashing in Scandinavia in the 8th century. Onboard is a human-like alien named Kainan (Jim Caviezel) who was transporting a creature that looks an awful lot like a dragon. So, despite being captured by a bunch of Vikings, he’s able to convince them to help kill the beast before it can wreak too much havoc on the planet. Despite being limited by the technology of the time, Kainan soon finds that he’s in the company of truly great warriors as they take up their arms and join the fight. Is Outlander a good film? No, but it’s a really fun one with enough of a twist to earn a respectable spot on this list of flicks.