Erik the Conqueror (Italian: Gli invasori, lit. "The invaders") is a 1961 Italian-French epicswashbuckling film directed by Mario Bava and starring George Ardisson and Cameron Mitchell as long-lost Viking brothers in the 9th century, one of whom is raised in England, the other in Scandinavia. They finally meet after almost 20 years, as rivals on opposite sides of an English–Viking war. It is a loose remake of the American film The Vikings.
In 786 A.D., three Viking ships land in England. King Harald, the only Viking chieftain interested in maintaining peace, makes a plea to King Loter. The English king sends Sir Rutford to work out a deal with the Vikings. Rutford stages a surprise attack on the Vikings. King Harald is felled by an arrow fired by Rutford's chief assassin. During the battle, Harald's two young sons, Erik and Eron, are whisked away by one of his chiefs. Eron is rescued, but Erik is left behind in the chaos.
Later, King Loter appears and threatens to strip Rutford of his title. Rutford retaliates by having his assassin kill Loter with an arrow. Loter's wife, Queen Alice, flees and, after finding Erik hiding on the beach, decides to raise him as her son.
Twenty years later, the Vikings once again wage war against England. The adult Eron has fallen in love with a vestal virgin named Daya, the identical twin sister of the vestal Rama. They hide their love out of fear of being executed. Eron tells Daya that a king is permitted to marry a vestal. Viking leader King Olaf makes a pact with the kingdoms of Iceland, Norway, and Sweden to invade England again. Due to his age, Olaf appoints a younger to lead the attack. Olaf chooses Eron, but his choice is contested by Garian, who wishes to be elected leader. A vote by 100 warriors is taken. Olaf declares that they will have to fight to the death. Eron is victorious but refuses to kill Garian, asking him to serve as his right-hand man.
In England, the adult Erik is appointed Duke of Helford and leader of the English sea forces, replacing Sir Rutford. Rutford plants an agent on board to set fire to Erik's ship while at sea.
The Viking and English fleets meet in the North Sea, and a battle begins. Vikings board Erik's flagship just as the agent sets fire to it. In the battle, Erik and Eron fight. Erik's ship catches fire. Erik jumps overboard and washes ashore in Viking land. Rama finds him. He points Erik in the direction of a fishing village, where the Vikings accept him as a shipwrecked fisherman.
In England, Sir Rutford proposes marriage to the queen, who rebuffs him. Eron and his men arrive. Eron then appoints Rutford as Regent and takes Queen Alice as a hostage back to Viking land. There, Rama is assigned to look after Queen Alice. Rama notices that the queen also wears a cross and mentions this to Erik. Demanding to know the prisoner's name, Erik is shocked to find that it is his 'mother'.
The next day, Eron and Daya are to be married. As Erik watches the wedding ceremony, he mistakenly believes that it is Rama who is being married. Enraged, Erik confronts Daya, who does not know him. Erik is then locked away by King Olaf to be executed the following morning.
Rama drugs Erik's guards, explains that the woman he saw married was her twin sister, and cuts him free. While they flee, Eron and a horde of Vikings give pursuit. Eron nearly falls to his death, but Erik, urged by Rama, saves him. Eron continues to pursue Erik and Rama, who meet up with Queen Alice and safely sail to England.
Erik gathers a combined English-Scottish force to attack Rutford's castle but finds that Eron and the Vikings have arrived before him. Erik challenges Eron to a duel. Eron accepts, leaving Daya in Rutford's care. In the ensuing swordfight, Eron sees the tattoo on Erik's chest and recognises him as his brother. He declares a ceasefire, upsetting Rutford, who responds by having his henchman fire an arrow at Erik. Eron throws himself in the path of the arrow and is fatally wounded. The enraged Vikings attempt to storm the castle, but Rutford raises the drawbridge and threatens to kill Daya by the next morning if the Vikings do not disband.
Before dying, Eron names Erik as his successor. He becomes delirious and asks to see Daya again. To accomplish this, Erik scales the castle wall. Meanwhile, Rama realizes that the dying Eron will not last much longer and poses as her sister to him. Oblivious to the deception, Eron dies upon declaring his love for her.
Erik makes his way into the castle and rescues Daya. The combined Viking, English, and Scottish armies attack the castle at dawn, scaling the walls and slaughtering the defenders. Rutford's men are killed, with Rutford himself being the last to fall when he attempts to throw a spear at the escaping Eron but is pierced with several Viking arrows.
With peace restored, Queen Alice reclaims her throne and allows Erik to leave England to claim his title as King of the Vikings. Erik returns to Viking land with Rama while Daya sails alone with the dead Eron.
Erik the Conqueror was released theatrically in Italy on 7 December 1961 with a 98 minute running time.[2] It was released in the United States on 12 June 1963 with an 81 minute running time.[2]
Reception
In a contemporary review, reviewing an English-dubbed 88 minutes version, the Monthly Film Bulletin stated that the film is "enhanced by Mario Bava's luridly filtered photography and fluid camera technique, and his effortlessly eclectic direction"[1] The review concluded that apart from the soundtrack which was described as "shattering", the technical credits were "above average, as is some of the acting", specifically pointing out Giorgio Ardisson and Andrea Checchi.[1]
Due to the "effective" acting of Cameron Mitchell and the "full-sized Viking ships" this film has been named the best Viking picture made in Italy.[3][by whom?]
Related Research Articles
Sweyn Forkbeard was King of Denmark from 986 until his death, King of England for five weeks from December 1013 until his death, and King of Norway from 999/1000 until 1013/14. He was the father of King Harald II of Denmark, King Cnut the Great, and Queen Estrid Svendsdatter.
Cnut, also known as Canute and with the epithet the Great, was King of England from 1016, King of Denmark from 1018, and King of Norway from 1028 until his death in 1035. The three kingdoms united under Cnut's rule are referred to together as the North Sea Empire.
Harald Sigurdsson, also known as Harald III of Norway and given the epithet Hardrada in the sagas, was King of Norway from 1046 to 1066. Additionally, he unsuccessfully claimed both the Danish throne until 1064 and the English throne in 1066. Before becoming king, Harald had spent around fifteen years in exile as a mercenary and military commander in Kievan Rus' and as a chief of the Varangian Guard in the Byzantine Empire. In his chronicle, Adam of Bremen called him the "Thunderbolt of the North".
Olaf II Haraldsson, later known as Saint Olaf and Olaf the Holy, was King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. Son of Harald Grenske, a petty king in Vestfold, Norway, he was posthumously given the title Rex Perpetuus Norvegiae and canonised at Nidaros (Trondheim) by Bishop Grimketel, one year after his death in the Battle of Stiklestad on 29 July 1030. His remains were enshrined in Nidaros Cathedral, built over his burial site. His sainthood encouraged the widespread adoption of Christianity by Scandinavia's Vikings/Norsemen.
Sigrid the Haughty, also known as Sigrid Storråda (Swedish), is a Scandinavian queen appearing in Norse sagas. Sigrid is named in several late and sometimes contradictory Icelandic sagas composed generations after the events they describe, but there is no reliable historical evidence correlating to her story as they describe her. She is reported by Heimskringla to have been wife of Eric the Victorious of Sweden, sought as wife by Olaf Tryggvasson, then married to Sweyn Forkbeard of Denmark, but elsewhere author Snorri Sturluson says that Sweyn was married to a different woman.
Ator 2 – L'invincibile Orion, a.k.a. English title: The Blade Master) is a 1982 Italian sword-and-sandal film directed by Joe D'Amato, and starring Miles O'Keeffe as Ator, Charles Borromel as Akronos, Lisa Foster as Mila, the daughter of Akronos, and David Brandon as Zor.
Hercules Against the Moon Men is a 1964 Franco-Italian international co-production sword and sandal film. It was directed by Giacomo Gentilomo in his final film and stars Alan Steel and Jany Clair. The English version of the film runs for 90 minutes and is dubbed.
Bruno Mattei was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and editor who directed exploitation films in many genres, including women in prison, nunsploitation, zombie, mondo, cannibal, and Nazisploitation films. Mattei's films often followed popular genre trends of the era. Mattei continued work as a director primarily in the Philippines until his death in 2007, just before he was to enter production on his fifth Zombie film.
Hercules in the Haunted World is a 1961 Italian sword-and-sandal film directed by Mario Bava. British bodybuilder Reg Park plays Hercules while British actor Christopher Lee appears as Hercules' nemesis Lico. Shooting at Cinecittà, director Mario Bava used some of the same sets from the earlier Hercules and the Conquest of Atlantis which also stars Park.
Morgan the Pirate is a 1960 Italian-French international co-production historical adventure film, directed by André de Toth and Primo Zeglio, and starring Steve Reeves as Sir Henry Morgan, the pirate who became the Lieutenant-Governor of Jamaica.
The Loves of Hercules is a 1960 international co-production film starring Jayne Mansfield and her then husband Mickey Hargitay. The film was distributed internationally as Hercules vs. the Hydra.
Gunnhildr konungamóðir or Gunnhildr Gormsdóttir, whose name is often Anglicised as Gunnhild is a quasi-historical figure who appears in the Icelandic Sagas, according to which she was the wife of Eric Bloodaxe. She appears prominently in sagas such as Fagrskinna, Egils saga, Njáls saga, and Heimskringla.
Hercules and the Conquest of Atlantis is a 1961 film directed by Vittorio Cottafavi and starring Reg Park in his film debut as Ercole/Hercules. It was originally released in Super Technirama 70.
Goliath and the Dragon is a 1960 international co-production sword-and-sandal film starring Mark Forest and Broderick Crawford. The name of the main character was changed from Hercules to Emilius for release in North America by American International Pictures to sell it as a sequel to their earlier Goliath and the Barbarians (1959).
The North Sea Empire, also known as the Anglo-Scandinavian Empire, was the personal union of the kingdoms of England, Denmark and Norway for most of the period between 1013 and 1042 towards the end of the Viking Age. This ephemeral Norse-ruled empire was a thalassocracy, its components only connected by and dependent upon the sea.
The Golden Arrow is a 1962 Italian peplum film directed by Antonio Margheriti.
The Dragon's Blood is a 1957 Italian fantasy film co-written and directed by Giacomo Gentilomo. It is based on Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen.
The Throne of Fire is a 1983 Italian film directed by Franco Prosperi, starring Sabrina Siani and Pietro Torrisi. The film is among the peplums of the 1980s to feature a woman as the central character, along with Red Sonja, Hundra and Barbarian Queen.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
