VeteranLight I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Claysaba Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Stellead Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

Robert Joyner The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

MartinHafer Cameron Mitchell stars in this Viking film that essentially is a traditional western plot but set in the Middle Ages. Mitchell plays the hero--a guy who comes to town and finds that a local baddie is tormenting folks. So, being a noble sort of guy, he comes to the aid of a woman and her son--not realizing that she is a queen living in hiding. While all this sounds pretty exciting, it really isn't. Despite Mitchell tossing knives about and acting manly, it's pretty dull. BUT, I really expected much worse. Considering the zillions of Samson/Hercules/Machiste Italian films (most of which were terrible), I assumed this dubbed film would be just horrible. Perhaps having the talented director Mario Bava (known for horror films) helped a bit. Still, it's far from a must-see film and is easy to skip or see if you've got nothing better to do.

morganmpoet This is a good film, Bava & Cameron Mitchell both do good work imo, the soundtrack is excellent & there are a couple real gems in this film regarding Bava's visual strengths. One such scene shows the bad guy galloping off linearly away from the screen zig zagging through hills descending into a valley as the soundtrack thunders & his descent has a strange visual extrapolation to it that I'm still not sure how Bava achieved, you have to see it.Another such scene is when Mitchell reveals his face from under his helmet with the burning village surrounding him, very impressive visuals! Again, the music & Bava's commanding sense of visual style come together for a moment of perfection.This is really Shane redone as a Viking film & it's actually quite good. I recommend it however not to neophytes of Bava, there are other obviously more well known titles in his filmography that one should start with.At some point every Bava fan should see this film. I need to see Eric the Conqueror, that one I still have not seen, I think Bava did 3 Viking themed films. BTW he was the special effects director for Steve Reeves original 'Hercules' film!

gavin6942 A mysterious knife-throwing viking warrior protects a young peasant woman and her young son from the clutches of a evil regent bent on claiming the title of king and the woman for himself.Although a certified fan of Mario Bava's work (particularly his horror films), what actually got me interested in watching this was Giacomo Rossi-Stuart. For American audiences, non-American (or at least non-English speaking) actors rarely get noticed. The number of Italians famous in America can be counted on one hand. And this is a shame -- Italy has its share of stars, and Rossi-Stuart is one of them.He is not top billed here (Cameron Mitchell is), but still attracts notice. His look is so distinctive, I just really appreciate him for the presence he brings to the screen.I have nothing to say about the actual movie... it is pretty good, but not a genre I feel confident making strong judgments about.

MARIO GAUCI The last of Mario Bava's various peplums for the silver screen – although he would still have a couple more stabs at the genre for Italian TV – is also the last of four films (one of them in an uncredited capacity) he made with second-tier Hollywood star Cameron Mitchell. It seems rather incredible to me now that Italian producers were still trying, at this late stage, to emulate the commercially successful formula of THE VIKINGS (1958) – even down to dyeing their leading man's hair blonde like Kirk Douglas'.The film starts atmospherically enough with a witch on a sandy beach waxing metaphysically about the doom-laden future lying in wait for a vanquished Queen (the rather wooden Lisa Wagner) and her treacherous pursuer (Fausto Tozzi, a forceful if decidedly one-note portrayal). Despite the expected bouts of lively action, the film is surprisingly intimate for this director and genre; in fact, an even stronger influence is that of SHANE (1953), complete with adulating kid – an aspect which is further reinforced by the various scenes of horsemanship and showdowns in dark taverns. Besides, even the action sequences rarely involve more than a couple of characters (including the climax set inside a cave), and the fact that it employs flashbacks (which help render the two male leads – the stoic and, decidedly, ambivalent Mitchell and the rugged Giacomo Rossi Stuart – more rounded than is par for the course) is largely a departure for this kind of film.On the debit side, one must certainly note the sluggish pace. All in all, even if still perhaps his best peplum, this is a lesser Bava film – which I rather enjoyed more the first time around (ironically, watched via a pan-and-scan print on Italian TV!).