The White Viking

Hrafn Gunnlaugsson still keeps Gudbrandur's statue of Freyr and Hallbera's image of Freyja in his house.

There are three different versions of the film: a five-hour mini-series, the theatrical cut and Embla, the director's cut. Embla changes the order in which the scenes appear and focuses on the character of Embla. Askur's adventures in Iceland and all Icelandic characters are cut out, safe for some shots of Askur trekking the Icelandic wilderness. Several scenes featuring Embla and an entire plot line about Embla birthing Askur's son has been reinserted. Most of these scenes were included in the mini-series. The mini-series and Embla clarifies that the character of Gudbrandur likely suffers from some sort of mental disorder which he has passed on to his daughter Embla, which is the explanation for their visions, much like king Olaf. The television series also featured additional plot lines about Askur's previous life as a Viking and his descent from Egill Skallagrímsson. The mini-series also includes scenes of sacrificing real animals in pagan rituals. The first episode features the on-screen killing of a pig as a sacrifice to the god Freyr. The last episode features a real butchered calf which has been sacrificed to Odin. The theatrical cut has released on VHS, while the mini-series and Embla are available on DVD.

Featured in Sven Uslings Bio: The White Viking (2024)