The Northman (2022) on Netflix
NR20222h 17mActionAdventureDrama
Prince Amleth is on the verge of manhood on Hrafnsey when his uncle Fjölnir stages a coup, kills King Aurvandill and carries off Queen Gudrún. Amleth escapes by boat, swearing vengeance.
- Netflix4.0/5
- IMDb7.0/10306,431 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes89%
Trailer
Plot summary
Years later Amleth is an ulfhéðinn, a berserker in a band of Vikings. In a temple a Seeress tells him to remember the oath he swore as a boy and that his fate is tied to a Maiden-King. He learns that Harald of Norway has taken Fjölnir's throne and that his uncle now farms sheep in Iceland. Calling himself a thrall, Amleth takes ship for that country, where he meets Olga, a Slavic woman held as a slave who claims to be a sorceress. At the farm his mother is now Fjölnir's wife and has a son named Gunnar. Amleth shows his strength and rage so that Fjölnir will keep him close.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Northman (2022)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- The story was based primarily on the legend of Amleth as written by the Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus, known as the direct inspiration for William Shakespeare's Hamlet.
- The advertising campaign briefly attracted notoriety over a series of posters commissioned for the New York subway system that did not include the film's title. Within a day of the subject going viral on Twitter, the posters were removed.
- Test screening feedback said the first act was too slow, and audiences found the Old Norse dialogue difficult to understand, which resulted in most of it being replaced in ADR sessions.
- Composers Robin Carolan and Vessel researched the history of Viking music, including discussions with ethnographer Poul Høxbro, and used instruments based on Nordic folk music such as the tagelharpa, langspil and kravik lyre, plus a 40-member string ensemble mimicking the sound of an archaic instrument called bullroarer.
