The 13th Warrior

Director: John McTiernan John McTiernan

Overview

"The 13th Warrior, a rousing adventure tale that uses the ""stranger in a strange land"" theme by placing a Moor courtesan amongst a pack of Viking raiders in the European Dark Ages, looks and sounds great on DVD, with a widescreen presentation and 5.1 Surround Sound that replicates the big-screen experience. It is disappointing, however, that the DVD contains few extras, just the standard trailer and language subtitles. An epic like this begs for some deleted scenes and production notes, while a commentary by director John McTiernan on a reportedly rocky production that took years to finish would have been a welcome addition. A sleeper, The 13th Warrior provides lots of swashbuckling adventure that is scarce in today's action genre."

Product Details

Release Date:	01/18/2000
UPC:	0717951004659
Original Release:	1999
Rating:	R
Source:	Walt Disney Video
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[stereo, Dolby Digital]
Language:	English
Time:	1:43:00
Sales rank:	8,689

Special Features

Theatrical trailer; French-language track; 5.1 Surround; Widescreen (2.35:1), enhanced for 16x9 televisions

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Antonio Banderas	Ahmad Ibn Fadlan
Diane Venora	Queen Weilew
Omar Sharif	Melchisidek
Dennis Storhoi	Herger the Joyous,Sacrificial Woman
Vladimir Kulich	Buliwyf
Anders T. Andersen	Wiglif
Richard Bremmer	Skeld the Superstitious
Tony Curran	Weath the Musician
Mischa Hausserman	Rethel the Archer
Neil Maffin	Roneth the Horseman
Asbjorn Riis	Halga the Wise,Halga - Wise
Clive Russell	Helfdane the Large
Daniel Southern	Edgtho the Silent
Oliver Sveinall	Haltaf the Boy
Sven Wollter	King Rothgar
Albie Woodington	Hyglak the Quarrelsome
Marie Bonnevie	Olga,Olga
John DeSantis	Ragnar
Turid Balke	Old Woman (Oracle)
Sven-Ole Thorsen	Would-Be King
Eric Avari	Caravan Leader,Caravan Leader
Richard Ooms	One-Eyed Old Man
Dylan Gray Woodley	Screaming Boy
Bjorn Ove Pedersen	Wulfgar (Boy Messenger),Wulfgar - The Boy-Messenger
Scott Elam	Herald
Ghoncheh Tazmini	Shaharazhad/Arabian Beauty
Joe Bulatti	Shaharazhad's Husband
Mina Erian Mina	The Caliph
Suzanne Bertish	Hulda
Susan Willis	Wendol Mother
Yolande Bavan	Wendol Mother Companion
Claire Lapinski	Freyda
Tarik Batal	Arab Page
Brett Reyez	Caravan Lieutenant
Akesh Gill	Serving Girl
Natalia Mohammed Macleod	Serving Girl
Kaaren De Zilva	Serving Girl
Layla Alizada	Serving Girl
Alaina Lander	Sleeping Girl
Jeremy Van Der Driesen	Arab General
Al Hachlaf	Arab General
Brian Jensen	Norseman
Michael Brynjolfson	Norseman
Mark Acheson	Norseman
John Bear Curtis	Norseman
Andrew A. Kavadas	Norseman
Gunnar Skjavestad	Norseman on Ship
Malcolm Jolly	Wulfgar Retainer
Owen Walstrom	Wendol Guard
Dennis Storhøi	Herger
Jerry Goldsmith	Composer

Technical Credits

Michael Crichton

William Wisher

Warren Lewis

John McTiernan	Director,Producer
Michael Crichton	Producer,Screenwriter
Ned Dowd	Producer
Ethan Dubrow	Executive Producer
Thomas L. Fisher	Special Effects
Pat McCorkle	Casting
Andrew G. Vajna	Executive Producer
Brent Woolsey	Stunts
William Wisher	Screenwriter
Warren Lewis	Screenwriter
Lou Arkoff	Producer
Jonathan Alvord	Special Effects
Mary Andrews	Sound Effects
James Ashwill	Sound Effects
Steve Boeddeker	Sound Effects
Beau Borders	Sound Effects
Christopher Boyes	Sound Effects,Sound/Sound Designer
Robert Eber	Sound/Sound Designer
Alan Murray	Sound Editor

Editorial Reviews

With the director of Die Hard and a star of Antonio Banderas' drawing power, it's hard to understand why The 13th Warrior never found an audience, other than being overlooked by critics. Maybe it should have kept the cooler original title Eaters of the Dead, the name of Michael Crichton's novel-as-historical-document about an Arab courtier (Banderas) who joins the 10th century Vikings in fighting an army of cannibalistic mist creatures. While not as exciting as Braveheart (1995), and without the thematic import of The Seven Samurai (1954), The 13th Warrior earns favorable comparisons to both films. It's a subtle historical epic -- if there is such a thing -- though its first half-hour belongs solely to Banderas adjusting to the gruff Vikings. Yet the passages are riveting, and the film earns kudos for a variety of smart details that set the scene, notably how it deals with communication difficulties. First up is Omar Sharif as Banderas' translator, who has a Viking translator of his own; events are related in duplicate or triplicate, as would have really happened. The film gets everyone speaking the same language in a captivating montage in which English words steadily blend with Norse, as Banderas absorbs their fireside bragging over weeks of travel. Among its other attributes are the most darkly lit and confusing battle scenes caught on film -- beautiful shots of the Viking vessel at sea, Banderas humorously displaying his increased battle finesse once given an appropriate-sized weapon, and a dozen Vikings painted with vivid individuality, even though their names are unknown. Don't let this overlooked gem slip through the cracks.