10 Things You Didn’t Know About The Northman
The year of 2022 closed with me in a very Viking mood as I drank from my horn and pounded my chest to the raucous sounds of clattering swords and screaming women. Okay, most of that was just in my mind but I did spend a couple of hours listening to the Director’s commentary over the 2022 hit The Northman. To each his own, I guess….Here is some of what I learned:
1). Narration – The beginning of the film might remind you very much of the 1982 film Conan the Barbarian and that is because Eggers watched Conan the Barbarian too many times as a kid and wanted to emulate its opening here.
2). The Details – There were an incredible amount of details in all of the rooms and on the costumes. Sadly, you can’t make out much of it because it was shot so darkly with natural lighting. They had multiple Viking historians on set to try to make it as close to the real thing as possible. Based on the amount of historians and consultants on set, it’s safe to say that this is probably the most historically accurate Viking film of all time.
3). The Raid – Most of what was in the film about the raid in the Land of the Rus comes from a Viking Saga. From the spear catch to the come down period after the battle for the berserkers, all of it was adapted from actual literary works.
4). Family Effects – In the scene where Amleth acquires the sword in which he’s fated to his get his revenge with, the corpse falls to pieces when he removes it from its clutches. That effect was done by Sam Conway. There is a similar scene in John Milius’ Conan the Barbarian where an old decrepit body falls to pieces when Conan takes the sword away. That effect was done by Sam Conway’s father.
5). Big, strong boi – The big, tough guy playing the sport against Amleth and the others was none other than former World’s Strongest Man Hafthor Bjornsson. He also played The Mountain on HBO’s Game of Thrones.
6). Red wings – It was Anya Taylor-Joy’s idea to wipe her period blood on the face of Fjölnir .
7). Nicole – Lines were sometimes re-written on the day of and in the case of Nicole Kidman, lines were written for her to say. She was so immersed in the role that entire lighting strategies were created to go along with her performance.
8). Music – Icelandic singer Bjork plays Seeress in the film and her daughter also has a role. Only the daughter has a singing role.
9). Dentistry – The Valkyrie didn’t have braces when she appears on screen. What we see in her teeth were grooves which have been found in multiple burial sites throughout the Viking world.
10). Preparation – Alexander Skarsgård trained for more than 5 months to pack on enough muscle for the shirtless scenes. Filming was set to start in March 2020 but was delayed once again for several months because of Covid. It gave Alex time to continue his bulk prep and also gave the actors time to grow out their hair and beards.
