Le vol du corbeau

Being Icelandic I'm of course proud of most films made in Iceland, and they do get better every year. The only thing I sometimes criticise is that we, Icelanders, try to be TOO clever. We don't allow ourselves to just make pure action or pure comedy, but it seems we have to try to add some artistic flair to all our films. Hrafninn flygur is a viking-action film, which keeps your interest from beginning to end. The costumes and surroundings are beautiful, and the story is a good old revenge-your-parents tale, but with enough twists and side stories to keep ones interest fully. I have many friends around the globe, and Hrafninn flygur is one of the few films that I would recommend to anyone for pure entertainment value. Sadly, this film is not available any more, so we will just have to hope that one of these days they will re-release it.

This is for me a very memorable movie. First of all it has a good story with morale in it. It deals with vengeance which can probably be among the hardest things for a man to deal with. Which is greatly illustrated at the end of the movie (without revealing too much...).

Also the story with the lone crusader seeking vengeance for the slaying of his family is very strong. And the atmosphere of the movie really helps as well. The music is very good and helps the atmosphere as does the photo. It´s dirty, grey and cold just like it should be in a relentless, unforgiving, viking movie.

This is probably the best viking movie so far, not that it has too many contenders sadly enough. I recommend this movie to anyone wanting to see a very special movie with a special atmosphere and a few nice touches. And also, the movie is almost worth seeing only to hear the wonderful icelandic language!

I rate this 7/10, one extra star for originality!

Powerful viking movie shot on Iceland, using a cowboy manuscript for sure! The mowie portrays the cruelty, tenderness, pride and extreme violence of that era, with great reality. Still there is that bit of the lone gunman out on the prairie,(here knife-thrower on the island Iceland) which just adds to the magnificent story of revenge. Gest (main character) comes to Iceland seeking revenge over the men who slaughtered his parents and kidnapped his sister in a viking raid in Ireland. Here he finds that his sister has married one of them.

Psychologically fast paced, as is the chain of events. Daring new use of music for this genre of movie, at times not all that successful.

"When the Raven Flies" death is coming....in this stark, brutal and gloomy tale of unrelenting vengeance. A Celtic Christian boy's family in Ireland is wiped out in a Viking raid, with his older sister carried off into sexual bondage. When he becomes a man, he tracks down the band of exiles all the way to Iceland where they await the death of their enemy, King Harald of Norway. One by one he patiently stalks each member of the band and cunningly turns their barbaric superstitions and brutish natures against them. The authenticity of the Icelandic setting and the grubbiness of the actors lend veracity to this depiction of this dark period in Scandinavian history in which the blood feuds lasted for generations. This film has a strangely compelling beauty threaded through its dominant theme of violence begetting violence in a self-perpetuating cycle.

I don't know if you've ever seen a movie about vikings, but as far as i know they are few. Of those I've seen this and it's predecessor are the only "true" viking movies.

This movie has pretty bad image and sound quality which is understandable since its old. But it wins my heart for it's story, it follows a kind of norm in viking tales, basically an eye for an eye.

I am no expert in vikings or history but i have read a lot about them and many sagas (if not all) from the "Edda", anyways i liked this movie because it feels natural and real.

Some warnings though:

1. It may not be so interesting for you if you're not interested in vikings.

2. They speak Icelandic and the one i saw had Swedish subtitles only, so beware, you may not understand a word.