Legendary television and film dramas about the Vikings
There’s recently been a trend of Vikings being portrayed on screen. So, which film and TV dramas about these Norse adventurers are the most notable?
Image: Ivar the Boneless was portrayed by Alex Høgh Andersen for three seasons of 'Vikings' | Vikings
Whenever the Vikings are mentioned, you probably picture Scandinavian warriors wearing horned helmets, sailing in longboats, raiding, and pillaging land.
It all sounds like great material for action-packed films and TV dramas. Indeed, quite a few have already been made, even if Vikings continue to feel somewhat underrepresented on screen compared to, say, the Tudors.
One problem is that, due to the lack of reliable historical records about the Vikings, depicting these supposed savages accurately can be a struggle. So, how do the following films and television series about the Vikings fare on this front (and in the entertainment stakes)?
The Vikings (1958)
It took a while for Hollywood to start paying serious attention to Vikings. So, it’s no wonder that the film credited with finally sparking that interest wasn’t given the most imaginative title.
Kirk Douglas produced and starred in The Vikings, taking the role of a Viking prince called Einar. The legendary Viking hero Ragnar Lodbrok — here portrayed by Ernest Borgnine — features prominently in the script, while the Northumbrian kings Ecgberht and Aella also appear.
However, as with many Hollywood films of the era, there’s a much bigger focus on swashbuckling rather than historical accuracy. The Washington Post’s Leo Sullivan described The Vikings as 'so splendid it can’t be classed as a dud', despite a boringly 'simple storyline'.
Tales of the Vikings (1959)
In the wake of The Vikings’ box-office success, some kind of follow-up must have seemed inevitable. It arrived the following year with a TV series titled Tales of the Vikings, which Kirk Douglas also produced.
This time, he didn’t take the starring role, which was saved instead for Stefan Schnabel as Viking chieftain Firebeard.
Made on a small budget, Tales of the Vikings reused props, costumes, sets, and even footage from the 1958 film. However, restrictions on what TV could show in the 1950s compromised the series’ ability to depict Viking life authentically.
The 13th Warrior (1998)
Want to watch some Viking violence meatier than what Tales of the Vikings could show in its day? The 13th Warrior was filmed about four decades after that series, and it shows.
Antonio Banderas stars as Ahmad ibn Fadlan, a real-life 10th-century Muslim ambassador to the Volga Bulgars. The film’s story is adapted somewhat from Ahmed’s historical account of Volga Vikings.
Despite this historical influence, the film’s focus is very much on bloody battle scenes rather than faithfully replicating the context of the period. Unfortunately, this might have been at the expense of The 13th Warrior’s critical reception.
The film currently has an approval rating of just 33% on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes. There, the consensus among critics is summed up as thus: 'Atmospheric, great sets and costumes, but thin plot.'
How to Train Your Dragon (2010)
Contrary to popular belief, there is no evidence of Vikings wearing horned helmets. This erroneous representation of Viking attire has been traced to contemporary European Christians, who spread the myth to exaggerate the perceived barbarity of the Vikings.
So, modern-day depictions of Vikings with this headwear tend to be deliberately comedic. The Vikings in the 2010 animated film How to Train Your Dragon are an excellent case in point. Unsurprisingly for a film where Vikings own fire-breathing dragons, realism isn’t exactly a major priority here. Still, How to Train Your Dragon attracted so many plaudits for its script, animation, and voice acting that it launched a major franchise.
Vikings (2013)
Like The 13th Warrior, the TV drama series Vikings uses Ahmad ibn Fadlan’s account of the Volga Vikings as a source of inspiration. As early as the second episode, we see the Vikings raiding Lindisfarne in 793 AD. History deems this real-life incident off England’s northeast coast to mark the beginning of the Viking Age.
Vikings (which ran until 2020) initially puts Ragnar Lothbrok (yes, him again — this time played by Travis Fimmel) front and centre. Meanwhile, fan-favourite character (and shield-maiden) Lagertha (portrayed by Katheryn Winnock) stays the course for all six seasons and eventually becomes Queen of Kattegat.
Over its seven-year run, Vikings garnered consistently high critical acclaim. Nonetheless, some observers have taken issue with historical inaccuracies (or implausibilities) in the screenwriting.
Debate still surrounds whether Lagertha ever genuinely existed or was instead simply a fictional character used by Viking storytellers. Despite some compelling evidence for their existence, even the historical reality of shield-maidens is in doubt. In 2017, some remains long thought to be of a male Viking warrior were apparently confirmed, through DNA testing, to belong to a woman.
