Valhalla Rising Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.5

Valhalla Rising Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov June 19, 2020

Nicolas Winding Refn's "Valhalla Rising" (2009) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of IFC Films. The only bonus feature on the disc is an original theatrical trailer for the film. In English, with optional English SDH and Spanish subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

One-Eye

The text below was initially used for our review of Momentum Pictures' European release of the film.

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, Valhalla Rising arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of IFC Films.

Valhalla Rising is a fairly recent film, but I think that it could have benefited from a new master. I also think that in an ideal world the film should have received a 4K Blu-ray release because it is pretty easy to tell that in 1080p quite a bit just does not look as impressive as it could. This is actually one of the frustrating limitations of the current master, which is the exact same master that a decade ago was used to produce this European release and this Canadian release. Indeed, while the majority of the film looks very strong some areas with nuanced light reveal less than optimal delineation that can be rather easy to spot on a larger screen (see screencapture #13). Blacks and grays can become quite thick and actually collapse existing detail, which by default also affects depth, especially in darker/nighttime footage. While already very good, fluidity can be better as well. Colors look impressive. However, this is another area where a 4K Blu-ray release will almost certainly introduce meaningful improvements. Image stability is optimal. In summary, the current presentation is good, but it just feels like there is still room for important improvements that can ensure an even better viewing experience. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Valhalla Rising Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English LPCM 2.0. Optional English SDH and Spanish subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I revisited the film with the 5.1 track and I can confirm that it is free of technical anomalies. Depth, clarity, and dynamic nuances are excellent. However, just as I speculated in the video section of our review, I have to say here that a 4K Blu-ray release with a Dolby Atmos track will almost certainly be something very special. Why? Because the film's soundtrack does a lot of very interesting things to enhance the unique atmosphere.

Valhalla Rising Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Trailer - the original theatrical trailer for the film. (2 min, 1080p).

Valhalla Rising Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It is great to finally have a local Blu-ray release of Valhalla Rising. I don't know why it took so long for IFC Films to produce their release, but at least now the film is easy to acquire at an affordable price from domestic retailers. However, this release does not have the audio commentary with Nicolas Winding Refn that was included on the Momentum Pictures European release that emerged a decade ago. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.