The 13th Warrior Film Review: Done by Rancel

The 13th Warrior DVD

Description

The 13th Warrior is a 1999 American historical fiction adventure film starring Antonio Banderas as Ahmad ibn Fadlan and Vladimir Kulich as Buliwyf; it is based on the novel “Eaters of the Dead” by Michael Crichton. It was directed by John McTiernan.

Summary

This film takes place in the 10th century both in Arabia and Scandinavia. Antonio Banderas stars as Ahmad ibn Fadlan an Arab emissary who is banished from his homeland. He comes across Viking warriors and they recruit him to fight a mysterious group of beings that have been killing and eating their people. He is quickly disgusted by their ways of living and customs. But he goes along with them because he sees honor in what they are doing, because these mysterious beings do horrific acts that he soon discovers.

Antonio Banderas as Ahmad ibn Fadlan in The 13th Warrior

He is enlisted as the 13th Warrior. The others are their leader Buliwyf (Vladimir Kulich), Herger (Dennis Storhøi), Helfdane (Clive Russell), Ragnar (John DeSantis), Edgtho (Daniel Southern), Haltaf (Oliver Sveinall), Rethel (Mischa Hausserman), Weath (Tony Curran), Skeld (Richard Bremmer), Hyglak (Albie Woodington), Roneth (Neil Maffin), and Halga (Asbjørn ‘Bear’ Riis). The warriors are now chosen and they set out on an adventure together where they will learn to accept their new comrade in Ahmad ibn Fadlan (Antonio Banderas) and learn about each other where it will take them to the heart of the cave of the ‘Wendol’ tribe. There are casualties along the way including Buliwyf who is poisoned by the witch in the cave. This leads to a critically wounded Buliwyf and the others in one final battle to vanquish the ‘Wendol’ tribe after which Buliwyf dies.

The 13th Warrior: The Review

This was a big budget film that undeservedly failed at the box office when it was released. It does have a big following now that it is on DVD and gets the appreciation it deserved at the time of release. Why the film failed at the box office I don’t know. Maybe not enough stars with only really Antonio Banderas as the star or perhaps bad timing and delays in production? It is a really well put together film by the director and the producers. The acting by all the actors is really good. The set designs are authentic and bring your mind into the world back then. It is a very enjoyable film to watch especially on a rainy or slow day with nothing to do. I would compare watching this film to the peaceful feeling you get when you go fishing. Some may not feel this way because there is some violence and blood in this film, but I like how it lets your mind be drawn into an ancient world that existed before your time.

Buliwyf (Vladimir Kulich): Lo, there do I see my father (The 13th Warrior)

The final battle could have been a little longer but I guess they ran out of time at a 1 hour 38 minutes. It is a short film but it is plenty long enough to get your enjoyment out of it. The music done by Jerry Goldsmith is excellent and fits the mood of the movie well, making it kind of epic like. The costumes for the Vikings and Antonio Banderas look really good. The plot is a bit thin but it isn’t a problem for me nor should it be for most people. This is a very atmospheric film. A lot of great movies came out in the year 1999 and this was one of them.
The 13th Warrior-Buliwyf: Lo there do I see my father scene