The historic Ahmed Ibn Fadlan traveled as an emissary to the land of the Volga Bulgars to convert them to Islam. On his way he encountered Turks in Central Asia and Russian and Varangians (Volga Vikings). He returned in 923, and no record after this date refers to him.
The Vikings' disparate armor can be explained by the Norse tradition of taking the armor of a vanquished foe. It was also a display of status in Norse society; the nicer the armor the higher the position. Halga appears to have a Roman gladiator's helmet and Heather a scale mail suit which were popular in eastern Roman Empire.
Furthermore, the Vikings Warriors who went abroad did not always do so in order to raid. Often they went to seek employment as mercenaries with whatever Lord would hire them. This would inevitably lead to the warriors picking up pieces of armor from wherever they were stationed and did their fighting. One such mercenary outfit that earned lasting fame was the Varangian guard of Constantinople comprising of warriors from all over Scandinavia and later from England.
Dennis Storhøi almost drowned during the underwater section. Antonio Banderas jumped into the water and pulled him out of the water and saved his life.
Although rumors persist that this was one of the most expensive movie flops ever, with a budget of $160 million, the producers claimed it cost $90 million before marketing. The movie grossed $32,698,900 in the U.S., and $61,702,600 worldwide.
In accordance with the book, John McTiernan's version of the Wendol's mother was an old woman, played by veteran actress Susan Willis. After Michael Crichton took over and did the re-shoots, he decided that brutally killing off an old lady did not reflect very well on the heroes. Crichton decided to make her younger, sleeker, and tougher. In the final release, Wendol's mother is played by Kristen Cloke (uncredited), but the final credits still list Susan Willis.