Worth watching several times!

Rating: Null/10 (19 June 2002)

In 922 C.E. (Common Era), a small band of Northmen is recruited to aid another band beset by a `Nameless Terror, a Terror that cannot, must not, be named!' Good look into Norse religion, customs, battle tactics and personal attitudes toward courage and life in general. Some Christians may be offended! Excellent action/adventure tale told from the perspective of an `outsider' Ahmed Ibn Fahdlan (Antonio Banderas). The only `difficultly' is how Ahmed Ibn Fahdlan acquires the ability to speak their language, obviously, a vehicle to facilitate the movie.
The actual scroll, by Ahmed Ibn Fahdlan, tell a different story as to his language ability. In that document he is taken under the `wing' of the leader, Buliwyf (Vladimir Kulich), and converses with him in Latin. All in all it is a close rendering of the original text, albeit `Hollywoodized' of course!