Diagonaldi Very well executed

Supelice Dreadfully Boring

Majorthebys Charming and brutal

ShangLuda Admirable film.

pkirkr An absolute dud. It's a silly story filled with awkward performances, terrible music and stagey action scenes. Imagine giddy vikings raping their way through a room filled with women being played for laughs or Sidney Poitier as a Moorish king surrounded by blackfaced subjects: the film hasn't aged well and it's not fun enough or good enough to make up for that. Who thought Richard Widmark would make a good viking anyways? Oskar Homolka's laugh and the occasional gorgeous shot are the film's only saving graces. Stick to The Vikings, Spartacus, Ivanhoe or any number of other swashbucklers from the day.

HotToastyRag In this Viking epic, Richard Widmark plays a Norseman with a talent for telling tall tales. There's a flaw in that plot description, however. Richard Widmark sounds like a cowboy, not a Viking, so how can he convincingly pull off his schemes? He can't. But, for some unknown reason, no one questions his supposed heritage; when he's captured by Prince Sidney Poitier's guards, he tells a tale of a giant golden bell, supposedly worth millions. Sidney agrees to spare his life if he helps him find the bell. Meanwhile, Sidney's wife, Rosanna Schiaffino, is more than frustrated with her husband's lack of intimate interest in her, and with another good-looking man in the picture, she might look elsewhere to get her needs met.While you're busy scratching your head wondering why anyone cast Dick Widmark in a period piece, you'll find out he's not the only unconvincing Viking in the movie. Russ Tamblyn plays his younger brother, who's in love with Bebe Loncar, and both of them are painfully contemporary. The Long Ships gives period pieces a bad name. It's full of expensive sets and costumes, action scenes and supposedly dramatic dialogue, but it's just too ridiculous to be taken seriously. Russ gets to demonstrate his famous acrobatic talents in some of the fight scenes, but you're better off watching Tom Thumb.The only realistic part of the film is actually quite disturbing. In the middle of the night, the Vikings break into the safety of palace. They see dozens of scantily-clad sleeping women and absolutely lose their minds and attack them. The women are screaming, and the men grab incessantly, pulling them offscreen, dragging them to the floor or wherever they can exert their force and have their way. Since the film was made in 1964, nothing besides forced kisses are shown, but it's an extremely upsetting scene since that's probably exactly what happened back then.Even though 1964 was a more liberated film-making era than the previous decade, certain restrictions were still in place. The women's costumes bared their bellybuttons—which was previously a no-no—but their torsos were covered with a flesh-colored mesh so as to not shock the audience. Actually, the men's costumes were much more risqué than the women's! The Vikings were clad in leather tunics, with extremely short shorts underneath. Russ and Dick seemed to be in constant competition as to who could show off their biceps more often and who could wear the shortest Speedo.The bottom line is yes, Richard Widmark is incredibly good-looking, but this is a pretty terrible movie. You don't need to watch it, unless you're having serious beefcake withdrawals.

Blueghost Someone at Amazon already took the title line I wanted to use; "Viking ... where is the bell."I saw this film with a bunch of friends many many years ago, and it was one of the most memorable experiences I ever had. This film is nothing but pure fun the old fashioned way. The preamble mixes and contorts historical periods of all sorts, and makes no apologies for it.Richard Widmark, an interesting choice to play a Viking, plays Rolfe, the wayward Viking master in search of adventure and riches. He is not a hero by any means, but, in my opinion, the quintessential and original anti-hero of the silver screen.The costumes are terrific, the art direction is excellent, the script is nothing but adventure wrapped in old fashioned Hollywood film making. The dialog isn't bad, but it's memorable, again in a Golden-Era Hollywood kind of way. Feats of daring, obsession, religious fanaticism, collision of societies; the rugged boorish barbaric Norse bring their Nordic ways to the civilized and technologically advanced Moorish coast of North Africa.We go from the streets of Islam to the fjords of a thawed north, back to the sea, the beach and beyond.This is high adventure. One could call it "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" during the so called dark ages. Sword and steel, sail and sailors, guile and wit and military prowess, sprinkled in with wit and a desire on everyone's part to get the ultimate prize.And that's the real charm of the film. Everyone wants one thing. They're obsessed with it, and will stop at nothing to gain it. In the meantime we're with Rolfe as he dares one escape to the next.The sets are impressive, as are the overall production values. This is grand film making at its absolute classic best.Again, no deep messages. No angst ridden characters. No one is hiding any secrets here. Oh sure, they play fast and loose with the rules when dealing with one another. They fight, they drink, they have let their spirits soar as they challenge one another, fight, laugh and play.There's not much more to say about this film. It truly is my favorite. Watch it and have fun as you revel in classic commercial film making :)Enjoy!

mstomaso The entertaining if somewhat protracted interest in spectacular pseudo- and quasi-classical myths, legends, histories and fantasies has been a healthy undercurrent in popular film from right around the time when Jack Cardiff's The Long Ships was released. While more of a Viking romp set in 'ye olden tymes' than a grand classical spectacle like Jason and Argonauts, The Long Ships has just enough class to keep you entertained and just enough spoof to make you chuckle. Forget history, ignore reality, and enjoy.Richard Widmark, surprisingly, makes for a convincing Viking adventurer. Rolfe (Widmark) is an extremely ambiguous character around which the entire story revolves. Is he a pathological liar, a loyal son, a dreamer, or a visionary? Perhaps he is all of the above. Rolfe loses his ship and crew in a maelstrom somewhere in the lands of the Moors. He tells stories for spare change in a Moorish market and catches the ear of one of the local ruler's guards when he tells a story concerning a solid gold bell the size of three tall men.The ruler - Aly Mansur - is played by the always excellent Sidney Poitier. Mansur is obsessed with the symbols of wealth and power and has been seeking this very same bell for years. His wife, played by the beautiful and talented Rosanna Schiaffino, is his more rational half. She plays an important role in the development of all three of the central characters. Claiming that he was just telling a story, Rolfe finally escapes Mansur's torture by making a spectacular dive from the ruler's prison tower into the sea. Apparently, he then swims home to Scandinavia, arriving at his home town only to find that his father has been made destitute by the king's wheeling and dealing. So he makes his pitch and recruits the aid of his naive younger brother, a new crew, and a hostage (the king's maiden daughter) to steal the king's best ship and pursue the mythical bell. For the sake of brevity, I'll stop my description of the plot here, though I could easily go on for several pages without a spoiler. A lot happens. Director Cardiff was well known for his cinematography (winning several awards, including a pair of Oscars). Although The Long Ships was not one of his more memorable efforts, the camera work is solid. The special effects, even for its time, however, are nothing special. Some of the maritime scenes are, frankly, not very good. And unfortunately, the editor chose to use the same scenes twice in order to save a few pennies.Widmark shows his versatility nicely here. While playing shady characters is no stretch for this great actor, he manages to play up the comedic elements of the story - which are plenty - without losing Rolfe's dangerous ambiguity, upon which the entire story turns. The supporting cast is generally very good. And the stunt team should be legendary. The Long Ships incorporates a surprising amount of wild slapstick silliness into its highly choreographed fight scenes. I imagine that the film resulted in many bruised backs, sore shins and twisted ankles.Although replete with violence, most of the gore remains implied, and The Long Ships succeeds as a goofy adventure primarily for young and young-old boys.