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The thirteenth warrior

Threat advisory: High - High risk of entertaining activities

Movie propaganda

The thirteenth warrior is an exciting and unforgettable adventure thriller. When an important emissary (Antonio Banderas as Ahmed ibn Fahdlan) is abducted by a band of Viking warriors, he's forced to join their quest to battle cannibal creatures legendary for consuming every living thing in their path.

Theatrical propaganda posters

Target demographic movie keyword propaganda

Fantasy adventure myth horror thriller supernatural Viking cannibal monster

Persons of interest

Diane Verona .... Queen Weilew
Dennis Storhoi .... Herger the joyous
Vladimir Kulich .... Buliwyf
Omar Sharif .... Melchisidek
Michael Chrichton .... Author: Eaters of the dead
William Wisher .... Screenwriter
Warren Lewis .... Screenwriter
John McTiernan .... Director

Cinematic intelligence sources

See also Pathfinder
Studios and distributors:

Touchstone

Intelligence analyst

Special Agent Matti

Theatrical report

Warriors in the mist.

This is a big-time blood and guts story for the Viking in all of you. Mighty battles, drunken carryings on, unwashed bodies: the lot. About the only thing that doesn't make an appearance is magic, but there's more than enough general spookiness to make up for that. The thirteenth warrior is a gruesomely dark tale of life before digital watches.

Antonio Banderas is an odd choice to play an Arab, him being Spanish and all, but he almost manages to get away with it. The accent slips a bit every now and then, too; not a hard thing to do when you're surrounded by vicious Viking warriors who don't believe in bathing (unless it's in an enemy's blood, of course). His character is not an Arnie-type hero of a thousand weapons, he's a poet who gets into trouble for loving the wrong woman. Oh, those wacky poets! That's a nice change for an action film, and it makes the other characters stand out more; twelve sword wielding northmen are not to be argued with.

Dennis Storhoi's cheerful Scandinavian warrior is cheerful indeed, whether it's drinking, wenching or cutting off someone's head. It's great to see a fighter who's more than just some wacko with a sword. Likewise the eleven others who follow the quest to save Hrothgar's kingdom: they're as disparate a bunch as you can get in one team. Well cast and well performed.

The tale itself? Well, it's not much more than your average "dispossessed Arab goes on a quest with mighty Viking warriors to do battle with supernatural creatures in distant land" kind of film. one sub-plot, that of the smarmy crown prince disappears beneath the overwhelming need to kill baddies, which was very annoying, but if you are at all familiar with fantasy gaming you will recognise and enjoy the elements that make up The thirteenth warrior.

Worth watching? Sure, if you like this sort of thing and you don't mind bodies being hacked to pieces (and who does these days?). Get out your best chain mail and go to town!

Media intelligence (DVD)

Languages: English, Italian, Spanish
Subtitles: Dutch, Italian, Norwegian, Swedish

Security censorship classification

MA 15+ (Medium level violence)

Surveillance time

103 minutes (1:43 hours)

Not for public release in Australia before date

DVD rental: 21 June 2000