VALHALLA RISING
Year: 2009
USA: IFC Films
UK: Vertigo Distribution
UK DVD: Momentum Pictures
Cast: Mads Mikkelsen, Jamie Sives, Gary Lewis, Callum Mitchell, Andrew Flanagan, Douglas Russell, Ewan Stewart, Alexander Morton, Maarten Stevenson, Gary McCormack, Robert Harrison, Gordon Brown, Mathew Zajac, Stewart Porter
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn
Country: Denmark
USA & UK: 92 mins
USA Rated: U
UK Certificate: 15 contains strong bloody violence
USA Release Date: 23 July 2010 (Limited Release - New York)
UK Release Date: 30 April 2010 (Limited Release)
UK DVD Release Date: 17 May 2010
Synopsis
Momentum Pictures delivers the brutal, medieval epic VALHALLA RISING to DVD and Blu-ray following its theatrical run from Vertigo Films.
From the producers of THE FOOTBALL FACTORY and the director of the critically acclaimed PUSHER trilogy and controversial biopic BRONSON, Nicolas Winding Refn’s film depicts the unflinching violence and uncompromising brutality of the Viking Age period. Countering this harshness are the intense and thought provoking themes that raise the bar to what the director calls “science fiction for the mind”. VALHALLA RISING is visually stunning and contains an atmosphere that echoes WRATH OF GOD and APOCALYPSE NOW.
From slave to warrior, from man to god…
He is driven by hate. It is how he survives, why he never loses. For years, One-Eye (Mads Mikkelsen " CASINO ROYALE), a mute warrior of supernatural strength, has been held prisoner by the chieftain Barde (Alexander Morton " I’LL SLEEP WHEN I’M DEAD). Aided by a boy, Are (Maarten Stevenson), he kills his captor and together they escape, beginning a journey into the heart of darkness. On their flight, One-Eye and Are board a Viking vessel but the ship is soon engulfed by an endless fog that first disintegrates as they sight an unknown land. As the new land reveals its secrets and the Vikings meet a ghastly fate, One-Eye discovers his true self.
A breathtaking backdrop across the Scottish hills and valleys acts as the battleground where the slave will become a hero and in turn, the most revered and feared man in the land.
VALHALLA RISING is essential viewing for fans of bloodied swords and fantasy epics like 300, OUTLANDER, and LAST LEGION. The DVD will also include an insightful audio commentary with director Nicolas Winding Refn and journalist Alan Jones.