10 Movies About Vikings To Check Out Before The Northman

Where to Watch: Streaming on AMC+

Before he played Hannibal Lecter on the NBC "Hannibal" series or starred in "Indiana Jones 5," Mads Mikkelsen did several films with director Nicolas Winding Refn, including the "Pusher" trilogy and a brutally violent Viking epic, "Valhalla Rising." "Valhalla Rising" is as close to a Viking art film as you'll find outside of "The Northman," following a one-eyed pagan warrior (Mikkelsen) who is forced to be a fighting slave, escapes, and ends up joining one of the Crusades in search of the holy land. Instead, they find themselves in some foreign, frightening land, and must battle to survive. "Valhalla Rising" was shot entirely in Scotland, and takes advantage of the rolling hills and foggy vistas, creating a world that's almost outside of time. The movie is one of very few that demonstrate the immense brutality of battle during the Middle Ages, with loads of blood and gore. While this film is much too violent for younger audiences and may prove to be too existential for some, it's a haunting and gorgeous tale that gives us insight into the harshness of Viking life. 

Where to Watch: Streaming on Prime Video, Tubi, and Kanopy

"Game of Thrones" star Kristofer Hivju spent plenty of time in the snow as the wilding Tormund Giantsbane, but it was nothing like what he would endure playing Torstein in "The Last King." Inspired by historical events, "The Last King" follows two men as they travel across Norway in order to bring an infant heir to the throne to his seat of power. While it takes place in 1206, just slightly after the Viking era, it's close enough to feel like a Viking film. Hivju even described the movie as being "Vikings on skis," and it represents an important moment in Norway's history. If Torstein had not succeeded in his mission, the crown would have fallen to Danish or British rulers, changing the course of the nation's history forever. "The Last King" isn't quite as violent or action-packed as some of the other movies on this list, but it does feature beautiful shots of the Norwegian landscape and plenty of Hivju's gorgeous ginger beard, so it's worth checking out. 

Where to Watch: Streaming on Hoopla

The Anglo-Saxon epic poem "Beowulf" is hugely important to the study of English-language literature because it was the longest work ever written in Old English, and it tells the tale of a Scandinavian ruler named Beowulf who must fight against a series of monsters before eventually being slain by a dragon. Author Michael Crichton imagined a more realistic version of the story with his 1976 novel "Eaters of the Dead," which follows an Arab diplomat who ends up joining a group of Vikings as they battle against feral cave people. The 1999 movie "The 13th Warrior" was in turn based on Crichton's novel, and starred Antonio Banderas as Ahmad ibn Fadlan, a lone Muslim among an entire clan of pagans. "The 13th Warrior" has some brutal action sequences and an interesting take on the monster Grendel, but its most interesting sequence comes early on when Ahmad slowly learns the Old Norse language by listening to chatter around the campfire night after night. 

Audiences at the time weren't enthralled with "The 13th Warrior," but time has been kind to this delightfully dorky little action film. It's probably the best "Beowulf" movie that exists, though it's not the only one on our list. 

Where to Watch: Streaming on Hoopla

The 1958 movie "The Vikings," directed by Richard Fleischer, is one of the earliest films about Vikings, and it's a vivid, violent period piece with performances by some of the era's biggest stars. Half brothers Einar (Kirk Douglas) and Eric (Tony Curtis) don't know one another but both end up vying for the throne of Northumbria and the associated prize of the captured princess Morgana (Janet Leigh). Ernest Borgnine plays Ragnar, Einar's father, who cheers him on from the sidelines. There are some deeply problematic elements with traditional customs and a fair amount of rape and pillaging, but if you want to see Old Hollywood's take on Vikings, this is your best shot. On the upside, the sets and costumes are incredible, and the film was shot on location in Norway, so there are some beautiful backgrounds to gaze upon. 

Where to Watch: Streaming on Hoopla and PlutoTV.

The 2008 sci-fi/action film "Pathfinder" is very loosely based on "Beowulf," though I'm pretty sure that the scribes who copied it down from the oral tradition all those years ago would have included an alien crash-landing from outer space and bringing advanced technology with him. Co-written and directed by Howard McCain ("Underworld: Rise of the Lycans"), "Outlander" is a hot mess of a movie, but it still has a lot of great Viking action, some fun costumes, and great production design that helps bring the early Viking era to life. Jim Caviezel ("Passion of the Christ") stars as the alien who finds himself in ancient Scandinavia, and is joined by a cast that includes Sophia Myles ("Thunderbirds"), Jack Huston ("Ben-Hur"), John Hurt ("1984"), and Ron Perlman ("Hellboy"). Instead of the white savior problem of "Pathfinder," "Outlander" got itself an alien savior, so that's gotta count for something.