Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		1.5
Audio		2.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		2.5

The Long Ships Blu-ray Movie Review

Valhalla awaits.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III August 15, 2022

Jack Cardiff's The Long Ships, a sweeping Viking epic produced by Irving Allen and originally meant for director José Ferrer, is very loosely based on Frans G. Bengtsson eponymous Swedish novel and, upon its 1964 theatrical release, was roundly condemned by the American Legion as being "immoral, deceptive, unethical and detrimental to the best interests of the United States and the free world." That alone makes it worth watching in my book, but don't be fooled: it performed poorly with audiences and critics, and hasn't managed to build any kind of real legacy in recent decades. Messy, overcrowded, and sporadically kind of thrilling, The Long Ships doesn't serve its surprisingly strong cast very well and surviving members still recall its production as a mostly grueling, unpleasant experience.

The story is almost secondary, as The Long Ships aims for broad spectacle and visual distraction rather than any kind of nuanced, engaging narrative. It largely revolves around the possible existence of a massive golden bell nicknamed "The Mother of Voices"; Moorish king Aly Mansuh (Sidney Poitier) is its most ambitious seeker and he's not above kidnapping a shipwrecked Norseman named Rolfe (Richard Widmark), who apparently knows its location. After insisting golden bell is most likely a myth, Rolfe escapes captivity... but as revealed to several family members later, the Norseman knows more about its existence that he initially claimed. Soon enough, Rolfe and his brother Orm (Russ Tamblyn) are able to hijack a ship built by their father for the Danish king Harald (Clifford Evans), getting a two-for-one when they persuade drunken Vikings to serve as their unwitting crew. But Rolfe's earlier escape won't be his last run-in with the Moors, who still stand in they way of a glorious treasure that may or may not exist. (Spoiler alert: yes, it exists.)

The Long Ships packs a bit too much into what should be a breezy and adventure-packed 126 minutes, which saps its much-needed momentum during key stretches. Luckily, the cast keeps things afloat more capably than its stop-and-start story, with the film's notably solid cinematography and a strong original score by Dušan Radić adding their own degrees of much-needed support. It's worth at least a once-over for genre fans, but The Long Ships can't compete with more well-known and fundamentally enduring epics from this era because it doesn't really succeed on anything deeper than occasional surface-level thrills and the connect-the-dots appearance of its higher-profile cast members.

I'll admit that parts of this obviously unenthusiastic overview are entirely due to The Long Ships' extremely lackluster A/V presentation as seen on Imprint's new Blu-ray edition, which apparently ports over a very rough master used on several semi-recent international home video releases. Not surprisingly, it's tough to get past numerous problems with this transfer and audio mix when some of The Long Ships' most amiable strengths are its cinematography and original score, so perhaps seeing the film in better condition may yield more enjoyable results. Even so, The Long Ships does have some merit and, at the very least, Imprint's Blu-ray at least features a number of well-meaning bonus features that established fans are sure to enjoy. Newcomers, however, should proceed with extreme caution.

The Long Ships Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Before the main feature begins, viewers are greeted with the following ominous disclaimer: "Due to the original source materials, viewers may notice some imperfections in the presentation of this film. The best available master from the copyright owner has been used." This turns out to be the understatement of the year, as The Long Ships features what might be the most lackluster 1080p transfer I've seen in recent memory. Of course, knowing the potential state of the film's current master (which has looked very rough on earlier international home video releases) -- combined with the knowledge that Imprint does not do any in-house restoration -- still may not explain exactly why and how far this Blu-ray trails behind most catalog releases. (Speaking as someone who regularly reviews Warner Archive's restorations of similar Technicolor epics, you can imagine my bar is set higher than most, but Imprint's disc falls short of even modest expectations in some areas.) The cons are almost too numerous to name and can be easily spotted in any or all of this review's accompanying screenshots: a distracting gauzy layer of haze over almost everything, a near-complete lack of fine detail and texture, muddy colors, poor black levels, macro-blocking, and sporadic ringing / edge enhancement are but a few glaring scars this Technicolor epic. Even its brightly-lit daytime scenes barely reach the "heights" of a non-anamorphic DVD that might have been released 25 years ago, not a dual-layered Blu-ray in 2022.

The only olive branch I can offer Imprint's Blu-ray is that it possibly, maybe meets or exceeds the very low bar set by previous discs and, from that perspective, can be described as a straight port of a mostly terrible picture.

The Long Ships Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The PCM 2.0 audio mix doesn't fare much better, although the modest expectations of this era's sonic source material makes certain elements a little easier to stomach. Of course, the raw soundtrack has likewise not been subjected to any sort of restoration and this means that decades worth of damage can be heard such as occasional hiss, pops, crackle, and even sibilance issues during a number of conversations. Composer Dušan Radić's solid original score doesn't make it through unscathed either, as the mix's slim dynamic range makes it sound somewhat shrill and harsh on the high end. But for the most part it's at least a lightly passable effort under the circumstances, even though it's tracks like this that make me appreciate the subtle and often underappreciated art of a clean, unobtrusive mono mix.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are included during the main feature, and you might need them.

The Long Ships Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Imprint's Blu-ray features the studio's trademark deluxe packaging, as this one-disc release ships in a clear keepcase with attractive cover artwork, an inner print, and a glossy slipsleeve with alternate poster-themed artwork. On-disc extras are numerous and easily serve as the biggest draw for established fans and newcomers too.

• Audio Commentary - Film historian Philippa Berry guides us through this feature-length track, which turns out to be a fairly enjoyable mix of fun trivia and more informative facts about its production. Highlights include its troubled launch under the direction of director-turned-producer Irving Allen, backlash from The American Legion, casting and production design, set decorations and costumes, historical fact vs. fiction, on-set drama, the film's obvious strengths and weaknesses, tax breaks, the cast's and crew's other film projects, Sidney Poitier's defense of his character, Dušan Radić's great original score, the film's recovering legacy, and more.

• "The Long Shoot" - Interview with actress Jeanne Moody (16:22) - This semi-recent interview with the actress, who portrays "Yiva", speaks candidly about her interest in the project and memories from the set, such as working with an international cast and bits and pieces of production drama, filming in Yugoslavia, playing chess with Russ Tamblyn, a number of personal opinions about the finished product, and much more.

• "The Long Wigs" - Interview with actress Julie Samuel (3:53) - A much shorter and obviously less consequential piece considering her tiny role in the film as "Serving Wench / Harem Girl" (quite the resume builder!), this nonetheless valuable little interview finds the actress explaining, among other things, her on-screen history of hitting men over the head with urns (she also did it in The Avengers).

• Film Critic Kim Newman on "The Long Ships" (20:18) - The Imprint regular returns for an enthusiastic chat about The Long Ships' development, production, and history, including a brief overview of Viking-themed films and other entertainment. Pretty entertaining stuff, especially if you're a fan of the genre.

• Film Historian Sheldon Hall on "The Long Ships" (16:26) - A like-minded and but more serious chat about many of the same topics, though shifting more towards studio business, casting, and background info.

• Theatrical Trailer (3:23) - This rare promotional piece can also be seen here.

The Long Ships Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Jack Cardiff's The Long Ships isn't exactly some kind of unheralded masterpiece, as its status as a troubled production combined with a lukewarm critical reception have still not gradually blossomed into genuine cult status during the past six decades. Yet a small flurry of international home video releases in recent years, most recently this region-free Blu-ray from Imprint, at least suggest something of a potential second wind for this attempted historical epic. I can't say I agree with this sudden wave of boutique label confidence, but what still hurts The Long Ships more than anything is the state of its "best available master", which is again presented here as a drab, disappointing mess of a 1080p transfer... and the audio's pretty damn rough, too. Only the knowledge that it probably won't look better anytime soon, combined with a decent collection of bonus features, make Imprint's Blu-ray worth considering for die-hard fans.