Films inspired by Norse myths and legends"Pathfinder", "Beowulf" are based on Norse hero legends, while the "Thor" series combines mythology and superheroes.
The Vikings (1958)
The film is based on the novel The Viking by Edison Marshall. A literary work inspired by a famous Nordic epic about the hero Ragnar Lodbrok and his sons. The main character of the film is the son of a Viking leader who has been lost since childhood. He became a slave, going through many challenges to assert himself and win the love of his life.
With a budget of $3.5 million, The Vikings grossed $7.6 million (about $68 million today after accounting for inflation). The film gathered the star cast of then including Kirk Douglas, Tony Curtis and mens skull sweaterJanet Leigh. The success of The Vikings led to the birth of the television series Tales of The Vikings, which was produced by Kirk Douglas' own company.
Pathfinder (1987)
Films inspired by Norse myths and legends
Norwegian film work based on an ancient legend of the Sami people - a people living in northern Europe since ancient times. The film is set in the year 1000, and revolves around a young man named Aigin - who becomes a brave warrior to avenge his village being murdered by the enemy.
In order to faithfully recreate the context, many scenes in Pathfinder were taken in cold conditions, sometimes down to -47 degrees Celsius. Most of the actors participating in the film are descendants of the Sami people - people with ability to withstand these cold conditions. Pathfinder made a big splash when it received a nomination for "Best Foreign Language Film" at the Oscars in 1988.
The 13 Warriors (1999)
In this film, star Antonio Banderas plays Ahmad - who was banished from his homeland because he fell in love with the wife of a powerful figure. He was exiled to the North and had almost no chance to return to his homeland. Here, when the Viking village where Ahmad resides is attacked by the monster Wendol, he is chosen to become the 13th warrior in the army to destroy the monsters.
The 13 Warriors is based on the novel Eaters of the Dead by author Michael Crichton and the Norse legend of Beowulf. Initially, the film had a production budget of 85 million USD. But then, the reshoots of some scenes and the increased promotional costs cost the project up to 160 million USD. However, The 13 Warriors only grossed $61.7 million at the box office, leaving the studio with a heavy loss,
Son of the Mask (2005)
This work is considered an unofficial sequel to The Mask - the 1994 hit movie starring Jim Carrey and Cameron Diaz. In addition to the magic mask, Son of the Mask has independent content, not affiliated with the previous film. Unlike The Mask, Son of the Mask is an underrated film, with an audience rating of only 2.2 on IMDb. The film also failed at the box office with a revenue of only 57.6 million USD, while the p
roduction budget was 84 million USD.
In the movie, Loki is sent by his father Odin to Earth to find the lost magic mask. This task seems easy when the mask is in the hands of a young couple and a young child. However, the baby was conceived by accident when the father was wearing a mask that made him possess the same strength as Loki, causing many confusing situations.
Beowulf (2007)
The work is based on an old poem in English literature, praising the Norse hero Beowulf - who defeated the monster Grendel to save a kingdom. This 3,182-line poem is considered one of the oldest and most important works of English literature.
Beowulf is impressive when it is performed by motion-capture technique and then post-processed by computer effects. This is the technique that director Robert Zemeckis used in his previous film The Polar Express. Beowulf brings together a talented cast including Angelina Jolie, Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, Robin Wright, Brendan Gleeson and John Malkovich. The film was critically acclaimed for its content and images, but only earned $196.4 million in revenue while the Skull 3D budget was up to $150 million (excluding promotional costs).
Outlander (2008)
Also inspired by the legend of Beowulf, Outlander is a film that blends the genres of fiction, mythology and action. The main character of the film is an alien who fell to the Nordic region in the Iron Age after the spacecraft crashed. Here, he and the natives fight against a monster of space origin, with only bows and spears in hand.
Outlander is a major project of Weinstein in 2008 with a budget of 47 million USD. However, the work failed at the box office with a revenue of only 7 million USD.