Valhalla Rising Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Valhalla Rising Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov May 24, 2010

Screened at the Venice Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival, Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn's "Valhalla Rising" (2009) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Momentum Pictures. The supplemental features on the disc include an audio commentary with director Nicolas Winding Refn and journalist Alan Jones, making of featurette, and theatrical trailer. In English, with optional English subtitles. Region-B "locked".

In the North

Give Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn a lot of credit -- and wish him luck. His latest film, Valhalla Rising, is a brutal masterpiece which, I am convinced, will be passionately criticized by religious fanatics in this country after IFC Films release it in theaters across the nation this summer.

The film opens up in pagan Scotland where a mute warrior, One-Eye (Mads Mikkelsen, Open Hearts; Casino Royal), is held prisoner by a cruel Viking Chief and his men. He manages to break free and kills everyone but a young boy named Are (Maarten Stevenson). Together, they join a group of Christian crusaders heading to Jerusalem to reconquer the Holy Land from the infidels.

But the crusaders get lost at sea and instead of reaching the Promised Land arrive at a savage paradise, where they slowly begin to lose their minds. Some of the crusaders question God, as they don’t understand why he has betrayed them, and quickly get killed by their leader; others are murdered by the unseen natives. Eventually, One-Eye, Are, and the last two of the crusaders leave the dead behind and head deep into the heart of the unknown land.

Valhalla Rising is an intense, brutal and seriously disturbing film. However, it is also beautiful to look at. Most of the footage from the first half of the film, for example, was apparently shot in Scotland, at locations where no film crew has previously visited, though it really feels as if it was shot somewhere in Scandinavia.

The film is formally divided into six chapters -- Wrath, Silent Warrior, Men of God, The Holy Land, Hell, and The Sacrifice -- each marking a change in tone and direction within the narrative. All six chapters, however, share an identical rhythm.

The dialog is extremely limited. One-Eye, for example, does not utter a single word, but this seems to have worked to his advantage. Some of the most powerful scenes in the entire film are the ones where the camera simply studies his scarred face.

I have a difficult time summing up what the message of the film is, though I feel that it shares a lot with Carlos Saura's El Dorado. Certainly the manner in which Refn questions man’s dependence on religion seems quite similar to the way in which Saura analyzes religion's relationship with culture.

Admittedly, though, what makes this film so fascinating to behold is precisely the fact that it manages to confuse and ultimately seriously disturb its audience, without ever feeling trivial. In other words, this isn’t a film that needs to be understood; rather, it has to be experienced.

Refn’s direction is assured and his preferences for color and light very effective. He was assisted by cinematographer Morten Søborg, who collaborated with Susanne Bier on the Oscar-nominated Danish drama After the Wedding.

*According to TheFilmConsumer.com, Refn was inspired to shoot Valhalla Rising after he saw Mario Bava's cult classic The Planet of the Vampires and a runestone in Delaware, and read an unnamed 1950s sci-fi novel and comic.

Valhalla Rising Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Nicolas Winding Refn's Valhalla Rising arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Momentum Pictures.

This is a good but somewhat inconsistent high-definition transfer. Generally speaking, the outdoor scenes look very strong. When the warriors arrive at what they believe is the Promised Land, there are some unbelievably beautiful shots. Here, fine object detail is pleasing and clarity excellent. Earlier in the film, however, I noticed some mild background flicker, as well as soft halo-like effects. However, because of the unique use of light and color in the film (Refn shot it with the Red One camera), many of these issues are quite difficult to spot. Still, when blown through a digital projector the high-definition transfer conveys wonderful depth and vibrancy. There are no stability issues to report either. All in all, there is certainly some room for improvement but overall Valhalla Rising looks very strong. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Valhalla Rising Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English (Descriptive Audio) 2.0. For the record, Momentum Pictures have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature. When turned on, they split the image frame and the black bar below it.

The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is very strong. In fact, I would argue that it is one of the key reasons why Valhalla Rising will stay with you for days after you see it. To be clear, the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track would not test the muscles of your audio system, but the intense atmosphere it maintains - enhancing the variety of ambient effects used in the film - is indeed quite remarkable. Furthermore, the dialog is crisp, clean and exceptionally easy to follow. While viewing the film, I also did not detect any disturbing pops, cracks, or hissings to report in this review.

Valhalla Rising Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Making of - a standard featurette with raw footage from the absolutely amazing locations that are seen in the film, as well as comments from director Nicolas Winding Refn, his assistant Saskia Pomeroy, and other cast and crew members. In English, not subtitled (23 min, 720p).

Trailer - the original theatrical trailer for the film. (2 min, 720p).

Commentary - an audio commentary with director Nicolas Winding Refn and journalist Alan Jones. I listened to the entire commentary, from start to finish, and found it to be incredibly informative. Director Refn discusses the unique look of his film, the shocking violence, Mads Mikkelsen's stunning performance, etc. In English.

Valhalla Rising Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I loved everything about Nicolas Winding Refn's Valhalla Rising. It is brutal, it is disturbing, it is beautiful to look at. It is absolutely brilliant! The Blu-ray disc herein reviewed, courtesy of British distributors Momentum Pictures, looks and sounds good. It is, however, Region-B "locked". VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.