Erik the Viking Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

Erik the Viking Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman May 26, 2015

By the 1980s, the members of Monty Python's Flying Circus had begun moving on to projects not associated exclusively with the comedy troupe. 1983’s Monty Python's The Meaning of Life was the only official new feature film the group put out in the decade as an aggregation, but starting with 1981’s Time Bandits various members of Monty Python’s Flying Circus could be found working together both in front of and behind the camera. Some of those outings, notably 1988’s A Fish Called Wanda, were substantial successes, offering bright, funny screenplays and very appealing performances. Others, like 1983’s Yellowbeard and 1989’s Erik the Viking, offer less consistent hilarity and some unevenness in tone and performance style, but for diehard Python aficionados each has certain pleasures in store, at least in dribs and drabs.

1983 saw the ignominous debut of Yellowbeard, a film which was savagely disparaged (but enough about its co-stars) and then which more or less quickly disappeared, at least until cable started resurrecting it. While Yellowbeard offered parts for Python alums Graham Chapman, Eric Idle and John Cleese, a certain Terry Jones was nowhere to be found, perhaps because he had been busy working on his 1983 opus, in this case a charming children’s book called The Saga of Erik the Viking. Reportedly written for his children, Jones’ tome provided the inspiration if not the actual plot points for Erik the Viking, which trundled down the cinematic path some six years after the book’s release.

The film opens cleverly enough, with Erik (Tim Robbins) discovering he may not be cut out for such typical Viking time killers as raping and pillaging. In the hut of comely but spunky Helga (Samantha Bond), Erik has a bit of an existential crisis, something the fiesty Helga reacts to with a bit of a raised eyebrow. Erik inadvertently does manage to off the poor young woman, only provoking even more of a psychological crisis in the young “warrior.”

Back in his own village, Erik just doesn’t fit it in with the hard partying Vikings, which include Erik’s somewhat daft Grandfather (Mickey Rooney). On a bit of a quest to “find himself,” Erik instead finds local witch Freya (Eartha Kitt), who informs him the current Age of Ragnarök, an era marked by, well, raping and pillaging and other acts of conflict, can be ended if Erik can complete some tasks a la Jason and the Argonauts. That cinematic referent is perhaps particularly apt since Erik then recruits a motley crew of sailors to join him on a seabound trek to retrieve the magical Horn Resounding, a cosmic instrument which must be blown three times at various junctures in order to bring about what amounts to a medieval Age of Aquarius, with “harmony and love abounding.”

Erik ends up with what amounts to the Viking version of the Seven Dwarves, with a number of fancifully named cohorts joining the quest. Among these are local blacksmiths Keitel (Gary Cady) and Loki (Antony Sher), who are in fact there as potential saboteurs, since they have come to the reasonable conclusion that an era of peace and love will mean fewer people needing swords and other metal based weaponry. Loki also tips off nearby warlord Halfdan the Black (John Cleese), who is similarly distraught at the thought of a warless society and who sets off in pursuit of Erik and his men to try to forestall the procession of the equinoxes.

The longest sequence in this string of vignettes takes place on the magical island of Hy-Basil, where Erik almost instantly falls in love with Princess Aud (Imogen Stubbs), the beautiful daughter of the island’s ruler, King Arnulf (Terry Jones). A number of relatively amusing bits play out here, including the best one, where Arnulf interrupts a romantic interlude between Erik and Aud and Erik has to utilize something like a Harry Potter-esque cloak of invisibility to escape detection. While Erik does succeed in getting the Horn Resounding, a skirmish ends up fulfilling a prophecy which unfortunately leads to the destruction of the island and its inhabitants, who pretty much go “glug, glug, glug” as a hapless Erik looks on.

There are a number of cute ideas running rampant throughout Erik the Viking (my favorite is that the Gods are in fact bratty little kids who couldn’t care less about Mankind), but overall the comedic energy here is hit or miss at best. While the supporting cast is largely quite winning, Robbins just doesn’t quite have the deadpan, dry if slightly goofy humor that is required for a film like this. Instead he plays Erik like something of a Valley Boy, a slightly confused hippie who wanders through a series of adventures without really understanding what’s going on. The film is probably hampered by less than effective special effects, especially since it relies on concepts like the Vikings falling off the edge of the earth and similar conceits in order to complete Erik’s quest.

While certainly nowhere near as consistently funny as the best of the “official” Monty Python films, Erik the Viking at least wins one war (ironic as that may be), namely the “showdown” between it and the similarly seabound Yellowbeard. Both films have moments of decent comedy, interspersed with rather longish sequences that don’t provide much in the way of punchlines, but Erik the Viking’s whimsical elements tend to lift it, however slightly, above this putative competition.

Erik the Viking Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Erik the Viking is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Olive Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Generally speaking, this shares many of the same virtues (and vices) as the simultaneously released Yellowbeard, though Erik the Viking perhaps suffers by comparison due to its increased amount of optical effects, some of which look fairly ragged in this high definition presentation. As with Yellowbeard, in non-effects sequences, colors are quite convincing, offering nice pops of hue especially in the long island sequence. Close-ups reveal at least adequate fine detail, though the presentation struggles at times to overcome murky lighting conditions (see screenshot 3). There are some slightly peculiar looking changes in color timing that afflict various moments in the film, adding to a somewhat patchwork ambience at times. Grain is generally organic looking, though occasionally in (again) effects sequences, it can spike and clump at times. This is a decent looking if modest transfer that has a number of "warts and all" elements with regard to both built in issues like opticals as well as some noticeable age related wear and tear. As with Olive's continuing tradition, this is a "no frills" presentation that shows signs of no restoration but also no signs of excessive digital intrusion.

Note: Erik the Viking has been released in a variety of running lengths. This release preserves the original theatrical exhibition running time.

Erik the Viking Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Erik the Viking features a spritely DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mix which capably supports the film's dialogue, at times playful sound effects (including the great Horn Resounding) and score. Fidelity is fine and dynamic range is somewhat more extended than in a typical comedy. There are no problems of any kind to warrant concern.

Erik the Viking Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer (480p; 2:06)

Erik the Viking Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Erik the Viking is a bit more consistently amusing than Yellowbeard, but it also has some pacing issues and performance style imbalances which keep it from capturing the brass ring (or whatever the Viking equivalent of that prize might be). Robbins just doesn't quite gel adequately with some of the more lunatic cast members (am I the only person to have noticed this once iconic actor seems to be essaying a cameo in a recent Allstate commercial with Dennis Haysbert?), but Jones' mischievous demeanor helps the film to stay afloat despite some treacherous cosmic waters. Technical merits are good (video) to very good (audio), and Erik the Viking comes Recommended.