The Vikings Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

The Vikings Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf February 20, 2016

Director Richard Fleischer captures a true event movie with 1958’s “The Vikings,” which strives to be the most enormous film of the year. Draped in authenticity and carried by star power, the feature mostly succeeds with its mammoth plans, delivering wide swings of action and drama as the helmer aims to maintain widescreen power while keeping its tale of love and war approachable, even intimate when time allows.

Stars Kirk Douglas and Ernest Borgnine are ideal warriors from the titular culture, bruising the screen with acts of masculinity and excess, while Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh handle more delicate matters, creating a pleasing thespian balance that keeps “The Vikings” engaging. Fleischer stages substantial battle scenes and extended tests of brawn, and the screenplay skillfully builds community unrest as power plays unfold with a cast of supporting characters. However, the big draw here is scale, watching the production visit gorgeous lands on authentic ships, viewing 100 extras swarming in the background, with substantial effort put into the visual appeal of the picture. It’s truly eye-opening work at times.

The Vikings Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Bringing breathtaking vistas to HD, "The Vikings" Blu-ray preserves the bigness of the effort. The AVC encoded image (2.35:1 aspect ratio) presentation is generally detailed to satisfaction, working with a crisp viewing experience that pushes to the natural limitations of the original cinematography, keeping textures open for inspection throughout, which is especially valuable with period fabrics and interiors. Facial particulars aren't unnaturally softened either. Colors retain their integrity, making costuming appealing, while greenery delivers necessary pop, supplying an appreciation for the land, and skintones are true. Delineation isn't a problem, handling evening sequences with care. Scenes with mist and fog hit a few pockets of noise. The source remains free of major damage, offering only mild patches of speckling.

The Vikings Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix is also tasked with bringing the enormity of "The Vikings" to life. Range limitations are present, finding the track overwhelmed with combat sequences, offering shrill highs, but dialogue exchanges aren't problematic, handling accents and intensity comfortably. Scoring is clear, providing passable instrumentation, blended well with action and dramatics. Sound effects are memorable but not always ideally defined. Hiss and pops are present throughout the listening experience.

The Vikings Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• "A Tale of Norway" (28:16, SD) is a 2002 featurette that sits down with director Richard Fleischer, who walks through the production achievements of "The Vikings" with help from film clips and behind-the-scenes photographs. While he doesn't have an extended length of time to delve into the specifics of the shoot, Fleischer provides a meaningful overview of on-set camaraderie (forged on dormitory ships, keeping cast and crew on water after spending the day in the wilds of Norway) and the struggle to maintain authenticity, hoping the make the movie as realistic as possible. It's a satisfying collection of memories and visual evidence.

• And a Theatrical Trailer (3:26, SD) is included.

The Vikings Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"The Vikings" is violent and rough with its characters, sustaining attention through acts of protection and defense, with enough clanging swords and flaming arrows to preserve excitement. It's also a warm reminder of classic Hollywood enormity and raw performance energy, finding full-scale war sequences almost as harrowing as an extended Kirk Douglas close-up.