westyrcp

Based on a noted event, the Anglo-Saxon Abbey on Lindisfarne Is. off the coast of Northumbria, England is attacked and ransacked by Scandinavian marauders. It reflects the Norse transition from the Vendel era to the Viking era. The case cover depicts a horned helmeted, leather strapped, bulked up warrior -- none of that is actually true.

The cinematography is really quite good, the period dress and appearances quite accurate, and the absence of any real bling for modern viewers is understandable in a film where realism is intended. Real Vikings, after long ocean voyages, were quite filthy with mostly poor diets and just not always the clean blondes people have been raised to expect.

A point that another mentioned is doubt the Vikings wore chain-mail as depicted but actually they did, even before the Viking era, and it's always been a point of contention between historians as to how that came to be. Possibilities including contact with remote people like the Romans or Sarmatians who were already wearing it.

The film is more of a human interest story as we follow the few actors almost like a documentary. I don't recall hardly any special effects and the military action people might expect from the cover is limited.

Before you view or purchase perhaps have a look at some of the trailers on YouTube. As a history nut I really enjoyed it

I had already developed an interest in the US Civil War - my family was on both sides of the conflict - and my family often visited Civil War battlefields from our home in Western Pennsylvania. I was 9 years old and immediately latched on to this brief TV show which I thought was fantastic. I was very disappointed that it was gone after a season and was my first introduction into how fickle the networks could be -- up until then I though TV shows always lasted for years. To this day I never understood why they cancelled the program. For some odd reason I remember the artwork always portrayed in the opening of each show plus the theme song -- both lost to time and memory I suppose.

Historically extraordinarily inaccurate - it is honestly not representative of the real Hugh Glass, the mountain men and the Indians. Even the landscapes are inaccurate based on where the real Hugh Glass was. As an fictional action-adventure piece for the masses I think it does pretty well even though it stretches incredibility to impossibility in many of the scenes.

My greatest worry is it sets up for the next generation silly Indian/trapper stereotypes. For example, the depiction of mountain men and/or trappers as being totally helpless and defenseless in the great outdoors - nothing could be further from the truth. A muzzle loading single shot hand gun cannot be fired several times in rapid succession from horseback. And in that era the Indians never attacked a trapper camp of that size - they didn't have the manpower and they couldn't afford the casualties. Otherwise -- enjoy the movie.