Mounting a large-scale Viking epic was new territory for director Robert Eggers, whose “The Northman” opened in theaters in April. Among the film’s most ambitiously cinematic sequences are a brutal raid on a village that plays out in a single seemingly unbroken take and a jaw-dropping finale set atop an erupting volcano as the film’s primary adversaries strip down for a nude sword fight with ash and smoke and lava surrounding them.
Known for paying obsessive attention to detail and striving for historical accuracy, Eggers accomplished his vision by reuniting with a close-knit team of collaborators who also worked with him on his previous features, “The Witch” and “The Lighthouse.” Production designer Craig Lathrop, costume designer Linda Muir, cinematographer Jarin Blaschke and editor Louise Ford all made the leap to a significantly higher-budgeted film with multiple locations, battle sequences, sailing ships and more.
In the film, co-written by Eggers and Icelandic writer Sjón, Alexander Skarsgard plays Amleth, an exiled prince who has grown into a fearsome Viking fighter. He is determined to avenge the death of his father, King Aurvandil (Ethan Hawke), at the hands of his Uncle Fjölnir (Claes Bang) and to save his mother, Queen Gudrún (Nicole Kidman), who was taken by Fjölnir. (The ancient Scandinavian story of Amleth was a precursor to Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,” if that all sounds a bit familiar.)
