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Erik the Viking

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Erik the Viking

PG-13

1989

1h 43m

Comedy

Fantasy

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Popcornmeter

50%

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20 Reviews

58%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

A Viking with a conscience, Erik (Tim Robbins) tires of pillaging and decides to set out on a quest. When the wise Freya (Eartha Kitt) informs Erik that a great mythic wolf has eaten the sun, the warrior resolves to venture to Asgard, home of the Norse gods, to set things right. Before Erik can reach Asgard, he and his allies must first find a magical horn that resides in the land of King Arnulf (Terry Jones), who, luckily for the hero, has a lovely daughter, Princess Aud (Imogen Stubbs).

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Chris Willman

Los Angeles Times

A stillborn comedy in which minutes sometimes mysteriously go by between even attempted gags, and in which virtually no comic scene works up to any kind of viable punch line or payoff.

Rated: 1/5

Apr 24, 2011

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Variety Staff

Variety

The idea of telling the story of a Viking warrior who thought there must be more to life than rape and pillage is an amusing one, and for the most part Erik the Viking is an enjoyable film.

Mar 26, 2009

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Time Out

Not a funny film, and neither well-directed nor exciting.

Jan 26, 2006

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Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

...there’s tantalising evidence of a potentially great Python film that never came to fruition...

Rated: 3/5

Jan 9, 2024

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Tom Cassidy

Common Sense Media

A handful of jokes land but on the whole, Erik is best left to see out his days in Valhalla, undisturbed by new viewers.

Rated: 2/5

Apr 6, 2021

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Grant Watson

Fiction Machine

Taken as a whole it is a minor disappointment, but taken as a series of comic sketches it is regularly superb.

Rated: 7/10

Feb 3, 2021

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Alan M

Haven't seen this for over 30 years and I appreciate it more now, decent performances from a young Tim Robbins, Eartha Kitt, Mickey Rooney & Tim Mcinerny. Nicely put together by Terry Jones and well worth giving it a look, I'm glad I did.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/25/23

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Audience Member

It's one of the best movies I watched as a kid, it made me think a lot about what people believe and how it affects their life, how the gods have nothing to do with human behavior and how we live in a circle between working and spending money so we can work and spend more money, it truly is a brilliant film that everyone should see.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/23/23

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Audience Member

Nothing to see here. Some slightly humorous moments, but overall pretty dull for a Terry Gillaim product. Storyline is always secondary to an alleged comedy. It's all about the sight gages and great jokes, a la The Holy Grail. This is a no show no go.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/03/23

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Audience Member

A prequel to the MCU.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/24/23

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Audience Member

I waited forever for the US DVD release having loved the original. The DVD was reedited by Terry Jones' son and all the flow and timing of humor was significantly diminished by cutting 21 minutes and reordering some scenes. The original release is much better and a classic.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/15/23

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Audience Member

A silly Monty Python-esque take on vikings and Norse mythology - definitely would've benefited with more Pythons, as Jones only gives himself two scenes and Cleese not much more. Robbins is good as the dim-witted do-gooder Erik and the plot is pretty much just them going on a voyage to please the gods & restore the sun. Some stupid moments (the sinking of the island, the dragon, etc.) but for a low-budget history/comedy, it's not bad. If it were a proper full-scale epic, then it definitely failed, but it's OK for what it is.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

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Terry Jones

Director

Tim Robbins

Erik

Terry Jones

King Arnulf

Eartha Kitt

Freya

Mickey Rooney

Erik's Grandfather

Tsutomu Sekine

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Synopsis

A Viking with a conscience, Erik (Tim Robbins) tires of pillaging and decides to set out on a quest. When the wise Freya (Eartha Kitt) informs Erik that a great mythic wolf has eaten the sun, the warrior resolves to venture to Asgard, home of the Norse gods, to set things right. Before Erik can reach Asgard, he and his allies must first find a magical horn that resides in the land of King Arnulf (Terry Jones), who, luckily for the hero, has a lovely daughter, Princess Aud (Imogen Stubbs).

Director: Terry Jones
Producer: John Goldstone
Screenwriter: Terry Jones
Production Co: Svensk Filmindustri
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy, Fantasy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 16, 2008
Box Office (Gross USA): $656.7K
Runtime: 1h 43m
Sound Mix: Surround

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