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Arriving at last more than a year after it was completed, "The 13th Warrior" shows every sign of a production run amok. With a budget said to be more than $100 million, it displays a lot of cash on the screen, but little thought. To extract the story from the endless scenes of action and carnage is more effort than it's worth. The film seems to have been conceived from the special effects on down. Instead of beginning with a good story and then adding f/x as needed, it apparently began with f/x and then the story was shoehorned into the pauses in the action.

It could have been different. This could, indeed, have been a fascinating tale. Based on Eaters of the Dead, a 1974 novel by Michael Crichton , the story combines two intriguing sources. One is the real-life adventure of Ahmed Ibn Fahdlan, an Arab poet who traveled north to the Viking lands in the 10th century. The other is the Old English epic poem Beowulf. At some point early in the production, it was apparently determined that endless scenes of long-haired Vikings in sword fights would be more interesting than the telling of these stories.

Antonio Banderas , perhaps hoping for another swashbuckling success like "The Mask Of Zorro," stars as Ahmed, a poet who has the misfortune to fall in love with his king's wife. Threatened with dire consequences, Ahmed, advised by a veteran courtier ( Omar Sharif in a cameo), prudently travels north as an ambassador to the Vikings, where he is seen as a curiosity and a challenge. The Norsemen cheerfully insult him, confident he doesn't understand them, but a montage shows him learning the language and startling them with his reply. Soon he's called upon to recite a poem at a funeral, a scene that develops inadvertently into a hilarious version of history's first poetry slam.

Times are tough for the Vikings. A mysterious tribe of enemies, who believe they possess the spirits of bears, present a flesh-eating threat. They have returned, as I recall, from ancient times. Thirteen warriors must be chosen to fight the evil. Ahmed is of course destined to be the 13th. He's a poet, not a fighter, but quickly learns to wield a broadsword.

And that's about it, except for miles and miles of carnage. (It's a little unsettling to sit through nonstop slaughter and then witness a pious conclusion that celebrates "a useful servant of God.") The movie's director of record is John McTiernan (" Die Hard ," " The Thomas Crown Affair "), although after an earlier version of the film performed badly in sneak previews, new scenes were reportedly shot under the direction of Crichton. It's all to no avail: "The 13th Warrior" is another example of f/x run wild, lumbering from one expensive set-piece to the next without taking the time to tell a story that might make us care.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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The 13th Warrior (1999)

Rated R For Bloody Battles and Carnage

103 minutes

Vladimir Kulich as Buliwyf

Antonio Banderas as Ahmed Ibn Fahdlan

Diane Venora as Queen Weilew

Omar Sharif as Melchisidek

Dennis Storhoi as Herger The Joyous

Directed by

John McTiernan
William Wisher
Warren Lewis

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The 13th Warrior Reviews

On paper, that description undoubtedly seems ridiculous. But remember -- what The 13th Warrior does best is make the ridiculous seem (for lack of a better word) "cool."

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Oct 26, 2023

All in all it proved to be a cinematic outing that was definitely unlucky for some.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Jun 21, 2021

Akira Kurosawa's brilliant samurai movies -- especially 1957's Throne of Blood -- are a visual influence. But the script lacks the dignity that infuses Kurosawa's equally blood-thirsty characters.

Full Review | Feb 6, 2018

Exciting battle sequences, intriguing period costumes, fascinating cinematography, and stirring background music contribute to the epic nature of 'The 13th Warrior.'

Full Review | Jul 10, 2011

"The 13th Warrior" is a brazen attempt to brand Antonio Banderas as an A-lister with a C-grade script. Failure attends.

Full Review | Original Score: D+ | Nov 28, 2009

Jerry Goldsmith's rousing score exhibits more personality than any of the actors--or anything else in the film, for that matter.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/4 | Nov 24, 2009

Michael Crichton's story is underdeveloped and narrow in range, resulting in a tale more curious for its odd confluence of elements than for their edifying deployment.

Full Review | Jun 17, 2008

Mr. Crichton may have found the perfect venue for his particular brand of character underdevelopment.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Jul 14, 2007

Shelved for over a year and probably heavily edited, it's better than it could have been.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | May 26, 2006

At its best, this achieves the beauty and grandeur of a Kurosawa epic -- at its worst, however, it feels like a Python remake of The Vikings.

Full Review | Feb 9, 2006

If you're in the mood to watch heads, arms and other appendages getting chopped off, this movie is for you.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Dec 6, 2005

The film is fascinating to watch, but I can hardly say what it's about, other than people killing each other.

Full Review | Jul 21, 2005

It harks back to the late 1950s when people actually made movies about Vikings and other seafaring heroes named Sinbad and Jason.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | May 30, 2003

An entertaining and serviceable adaptation. Dennis Storhoi delivers an awesome performance. Weak aspects of story made up for by great action.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Mar 23, 2003

Although the subject matter is not too pleasant and the gore is turned up to 11, Crichton's film is an excellent Nordic war story.

Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/5 | Feb 8, 2003

The film is based on Eaters of the Dead, possibly the worst novel Michael Crichton has ever written, and this film isn't even a passable adaptation.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/4 | Nov 30, 2002

For fans of the genre, it's an inexorably primal exercise almost like cinematic steroids: qualitatively lacking, if not harmful, yet superficially irresistible.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Jun 5, 2002

A sensao que fica, ao final da projeo, a de que vimos um filme vazio - e sobre o personagem errado. E o que pior: no qual nada acontece.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | May 31, 2002

A big cathartic blast.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Mar 22, 2002

The screenplay effectively communicates the cross-cultural tensions between the Arabs, the Vikings, and the pagan Wendols.

Full Review | Mar 5, 2002

August 27, 1999 FILM REVIEW 'The 13th Warrior': Tearing Off a Head or Two? What Fun! Related Articles The New York Times on the Web: Current Film Video View a Trailer From the Film 'The 13th Warrior' Forum Join a Discussion on Current Film By STEPHEN HOLDEN runt, Aargh. Aieeee! If the juiciest bouts of professional wrestling on television leave you feeling unfulfilled and pining for the primal howls of fight-to-the-death combat, "The 13th Warrior" just might be the answer to your prayers. And unlike professional wrestling, it is saturated in purgative gore. More than once, the movie gives you the delirious thrill of ripping off your enemy's head and watching the blood gush by providing a ringside seat. Sanctified by Jerry Goldsmith's pounding score -- the symphonic equivalent of heavy metal -- such feats of carnage seem almost heroic when carried out in a misty mountain landscape redolent of pure myth (the movie was filmed in British Columbia) by warriors who resemble the hair-band rock gladiators of the 1970s and '80s. Bob McEwan/Touchstone Pictures Antonio Banderas as Ahmed Ibn Fahdlan in "The 13th Warrior," which was directed by John McTiernan. Beneath the roars and growls and surging fanfares, there's a tale to be told, although I dare you to piece it together given the monosyllabic screenplay, much of which is swallowed up by the engulfing noise. The story, adapted from Michael Crichton's 1976 novel "Eaters of the Dead," is inspired by Ahmed Ibn Fahdlan's historical account of his adventures in Central Asia in the 10th century. Exiled from Baghdad for a politically unwise sexual liaison, Ahmed (Antonio Banderas), a poet, is appointed ambassador to a distant northern land. His loyal manservant, Melchisidek (Omar Sharif), accompanies him on his journey. The connection between the two actors is oddly resonant, since the camera lingers over Banderas' sad, poetic (heavily outlined) eyes the way it used to hover over Sharif's baby browns in his "Dr. Zhivago" days. While traveling by caravan they run into a band of Norse warriors who describe a demon army that has been terrorizing their homeland in nighttime raids. A friendly soothsayer warns that the enemy can't be defeated unless the attacking force includes a foreigner. Ahmed, who is effete and urbane compared with his rowdy road mates, finds himself summarily drafted into the elite killing squad. In these early scenes, the movie makes much of the fact that Ahmed, who speaks English, can't understand the language of his fellow warriors. But once he masters it, presto: everyone suddenly speaks English, and Banderas, with his heavy Spanish accent, becomes the movie's least articulate character. The rest of the film consists of a series of ferocious skirmishes with the enemy, an equestrian tribe who rides into battle dressed as bears, carrying torches and who may or may not have supernatural powers. Ahmed, who becomes the chief strategist, figures out that these human flesh-eaters dwell inside a cave. He arranges a raid in which they hunt down the tribal matriarch, a Theda Bara look-alike, who is a source of their power. From here on, the movie is a slaughter-by-numbers swashbuckler whose climactic battle seems almost perfunctory compared with what has come before. "The 13th Warrior" is rated R (Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian). It is steeped in gore. PRODUCTION NOTES: 'THE 13th WARRIOR' Directed by John McTiernan; written by William Wisher and Warren Lewis, based on the novel "Eaters of the Dead," by Michael Crichton; director of photography, Peter Menzies Jr.; edited by John Wright; music by Jerry Goldsmith; production designer, Wolf Kroeger; produced by McTiernan, Crichton and Ned Dowd; released by Touchstone Pictures. Running time: 103 minutes. WITH: Antonio Banderas (Ahmed Ibn Fahdlan), Omar Sharif (Melchisidek), Diane Venora (Queen Weilew), Dennis Storhoi (Herger the Joyous), Vladimir Kulich (Buliwyf), Anders T. Andersen (Wigliff), Richard Bremmer (Skeld the Superstitious), Tony Curran (Weath the Musician), Mischa Hausserman (Rethel the Archer), Neil Maffin (Roneth the Horseman) and Asbjorn Riis (Halga the Wise).

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Movie Review: 'The 13th Warrior'

The most unexpectedly audacious, exhilarating, and wildly creative adventure thriller I have seen in ages features 10th-century Norse warriors and stars Antonio Banderas as an Arab playboy. The 13th Warrior arrives trailing talk that director John McTiernan — who made this restless beaut before The Thomas Crown Affair — is unhappy with the final cut wrangled by Michael Crichton, upon whose 1976 novel Eaters of the Dead it’s based. Yet this richly blood- and mud-splattered film prowls and leaps with such unfettered, unself-consciously propulsive energy and style that it’s hard to imagine just what McTiernan objects to except, perhaps, that anyone is left standing after the last glorious battle sequence.

Banderas plays Ahmed Ibn Fahdlan, a refined fellow banished from Baghdad because he looked funny at the wife of an important nobleman. Wandering abroad with his mentor (Omar Sharif), he meets a boatload of blond, blocky, uncultured Norsemen — played predominantly by European actors unknown to Americans — who enlist him in the battle against terrifying enemy troops so murderous, they eat their victims. (A soothsayer encourages the Men from the North to take a 13th warrior who isn’t one of them.)

That’s it for exposition. The power of The 13th Warrior lies in the almost pointillistic, nearly word-free way in which McTiernan paints each man’s personality and brings the band together, all the while conveying the horrors of combat that haven’t changed much since the old days when fantastical ursine hordes spooked the populace. Once Ahmed sets off, nervously, with his new colleagues, there’s not a moment when the camera isn’t swinging, slicing, and revealing glimpses of visually mesmerizing mysteries, and paring each character to its dramatic essentials. (In the company of Scandinavians, Banderas’ liquid intensity has been smelted to its purest state.) That this cut, despite rumored directorial objections, conveys heroism, brutality, and the indelible mark of superior filmmaking leaves open the question: What would The 13th Warrior have been had McTiernan won the war?

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The 13th warrior.

Directed by John McTiernan

Prey for the living.

A Muslim ambassador exiled from his homeland, Ahmad ibn Fadlan finds himself in the company of Vikings. While the behavior of the Norsemen initially offends ibn Fadlan, the more cultured outsider grows to respect the tough, if uncouth, warriors. During their travels together, ibn Fadlan and the Vikings get word of an evil presence closing in, and they must fight the frightening and formidable force, which was previously thought to exist only in legend.

Antonio Banderas Diane Venora Dennis Storhøi Vladimir Kulich Omar Sharif Anders T. Andersen Richard Bremmer Tony Curran Mischa Hausserman Neil Maffin Asbjørn 'Bear' Riis Clive Russell Daniel Southern Oliver Sveinall Sven Wollter Albie Woodington John DeSantis Erick Avari Maria Bonnevie Richard Ooms Dylan Gray Woodley Bjørn Ove Pedersen Scott Elam Ghoncheh Tazmini John 'Bear' Curtis Andrew Kavadas Jeremy Van der Driesen Layla Alizada Alex Zahara Show All… Joe Bulatti Mina E. Mina Mona Storhøi Turid Balke Suzanne Bertish Susan Willis Kristen Cloke Yolande Bavan Clare Lapinskie Tarik Batal Brett Reyez Akesh Gill Natalia MacLeod Kaaren de Zilva Sven-Ole Thorsen Alaina Lander Al Hachlaf Brian Jensen Michael Jonsson Mark Acheson Gunnar Skjavestad Malcolm Jolly Owen Walstrom Greg Michaels

Director Director

John McTiernan

Producers Producers

Michael Crichton John McTiernan Ned Dowd Casey Grant Lou Arkoff

Writers Writers

Warren Lewis William Wisher

Original Writer Original Writer

Michael Crichton

Casting Casting

Patricia McCorkle

Editor Editor

John Wright

Cinematography Cinematography

Peter Menzies Jr.

Executive Producers Exec. Producers

Ethan Dubrow Andrew G. Vajna

Production Design Production Design

Wolf Kroeger

Art Direction Art Direction

Helen Jarvis

Stunts Stunts

Pat Young Edward Wrayton Brent Woolsey Steve Woodley Russ Wideman Owen Walstrom Rene Van Hullebush Cam Sutherland Sonny Surowiec Melissa R. Stubbs John Stoneham Jr. Monica Schlosser Greg Schlosser Trish Schill Kevin Schartner Paul Rutledge Jacob Rupp Dieter Rauter Jerry Phillips Fred Perron Shawn Orr Casey O'Neill David Mylrea Mike Mitchell David McKeown Brad Loree Dave Leader Billy Laye Michael Langlois Lisa Lancaster Bill Laity Ken Kirzinger David Jacox Scott Hubbell Dave Hospes Cam Hamilton Bud Hamilton Reg Glass Corry Glass Jim Finkbeiner Danny Epper Marny Eng Jim Dunn John Dodds Duane Dickinson Eric Bryson Troy Brown Todd Braithwaite Celia Bond Tony Lee Boggs Dan Belley Becky Bates Anita Hart Leigh Hennessy Gregory J. Barnett

Composer Composer

Jerry Goldsmith

Makeup Makeup

Michael Key

Touchstone Pictures Crichton/McTiernan Productions

Primary Language

Spoken languages.

Arabic Danish Latin Swedish Norwegian Spanish English

Releases by Date

13 aug 1999, 27 aug 1999, 03 sep 1999, 08 sep 1999, 09 sep 1999, 25 sep 1999, 08 oct 1999, 04 nov 1999, 12 nov 1999, 21 jan 2000, 23 feb 2021, 05 mar 2001, 07 sep 2002, releases by country.

Theatrical MA15+
Theatrical 16
Theatrical 15+
Theatrical 15
Theatrical U
Digital Disney+

Netherlands

Physical 16 DVD
TV 16 Net 5
Theatrical M/12
Theatrical R

102 mins More at IMDb TMDb Report this page

Popular reviews

Review by Patrick Willems ★★★ 11

There's clearly another cut that's an hour longer and I would like to see it

Review by David Sims ★★½ 1

ugh typical Hollywood, always trying to make everything into a stealth Beowulf movie

Review by Obistrike ★★★★ 3

There's not a long wrong with this movie. A simple men on a mission story, Antonio Banderas at the height of his seductive charms, a gruff bunch of bearded character actors, CGI free violence, real sets and a lot of swords, shields, horses, rain, smoke, fire and fog. McTiernan knows how to get things done.

I’ll admit, I'm predisposed to the genre and The 13th Warrior brims with my kind of mythology and mysticism…bear-suits and beheading. Always a comforting watch, like meeting an old friend or enjoying a glass of Baileys and ice-cream.

A forgotten classic? You better believe it buddy.

Review by matt lynch ★★★½ 1

This looks fantastic, too bad there's no really good transfer of it out there. McTiernan remains a master of spatial clarity even in pitch darkness or in pea-soup fog, although not in the way you might think. His characters are as disoriented as we are but firelight and silhouette are constantly used as landmarks, not locating us inside a space but opening or closing the immediate space around us . Famously this was taken away from him but much like Woo with MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 2 the eye here is a singular one even if the scissors belonged to someone else. Bit of a shame this isn't closer to the "Forensic Beowulf" of Crichton's novel but that's neither here nor there.

Review by Andy Summers 🤠 ★★★

When a film loses in excess of $100 million dollars you would expect it to be shit. John McTiernan's The 13th Warrior lost that amount with a spiraling budget and a lackluster showing at the box office. But was the film really that bad, or was it simply a case of the inflated budget and some poor initial reviews scuppering any chance it had? Based loosely on the Michael Crichton novel Eaters Of The Dead, with a few nods in the direction of some Norse legends, this historical action film does have some fine moments of battlefield carnage. Brutal and bloody, but with the odd comic touch thrown into the mix, this sees Arab poet (?) Antonio Banderas accompany Norsemen…

Review by HKFanatic ★★★★ 2

Almost painful because you can tell there's a 5-star film in here somewhere, if only control hadn't been wrested from John MicTiernan—"The 13th Warrior" feels clearly compromised (the final battle lasts all of five minutes and I don't think there's a single shot of Antonio Banderas fighting during it!), but the hacked runtime does mean this thing moves fast, mercilessly fast, and there's still so much here I enjoy. The major sequences are simply awash in atmosphere: the dense fog, flaming torches, and heads cleaved clean off their bodies, it's like a portrait of hell in motion. Hadn't seen this since it was new on VHS(!) and it's aged far better than I would have expected; you can definitely see traces of DNA for Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy and "Game of Thrones" here. McTiernan was one of the greats.

Review by 20oldboy03 ★★★★ 63

English Version below

„Hvem skal bli den første (mannen)?!“

Fragte das Kino im Jahre Domine 1999 die vom Haare bärtige Wangen wie das nackte jungfreundliche bevorstehenden Jahrzehntes.

„Hvem blir den andre (mannen)?!“

Erscholl es wiederholte male ihres Echos abprallender mit der Gischt des Lichtermeeres gesprenkelten Häuserwänden.

„Hvem blir den tredje (mannen)?!“

Strömten schnell versiegende Flussläufe in die am Feuer gezeichneten Schattenspiele.

„Hvem blir den fjerde (mannen)?!“

Senkte sich die Waage des Gleichnisses zum Verluste ihrer.

„Hvem blir den femte (mannen)?!“

Erhoben sich die Mächte hoch oben zu den Thronen Walhallas verprassenden Goldes.

„Hvem blir den sjette (mannen)?!“

Setzte ich mich an die Seite meines Stammvaters erster Generation.

„Hvem blir den syvende (mannen)?!“

Vernahm ich fremde Sprache aus dem Norden reisend…

Review by comrade_yui ★★★

half of this is an absolutely wonderful modernist kingdom of heaven -esque viking epic with john mctiernan's exquisite eye for sequence and detail (and lots of gore!), and the other half is michael crichton directing this shit like it was made in 1974 with shitty zooms and flat compositions. despite my love and admiration for jerry goldsmith as a composer, his score here is gloriously swashbuckling and unfitting for this type of gritty story, an obvious attempt to glam-up all these big medieval dudes throwing each other around in the mud. graeme revel & lisa gerrard's rejected score fits much better with the 13th warrior 's misty atmosphere than goldsmith's hollywood bombast.

it's this type of movie that pisses me off the most…

Review by JBird ★★★

Banderas is number 13, Sent to go after a queen. He'll look and stare, At a half-bear, Unsure of what he's just seen.

Review by Will Menaker ★★★

Smooth Arab playboy joins questing party of Viking barbarians to fight even more barbaric caveman cannibals in John McTiernan movie based on a Michael Crichton book. Good enough for me!

Review by MenOnFilm ★★★½ 2

Antonio learning an entire language over the course of a campfire; almost a decade of French lessons and I can maybe hold my own against a French bulldog.

Review by MAGE ★★½ 11

John McTiernan channels Peter Hyams for some dark-as-Satan’s-bunghole Viking V Cannibal action. Well, most of it was directed by McTiernan. Some of it is reshoots done by source material author Michael Crichton after disastrous test screenings. The finished product is edited together with a fucking meat cleaver, so it’s impossible to tell whose footage is whose or what the ostensible overarching vision guiding The 13th Warrior is.

This notorious 1999 bomb was in production for almost 2 years before being released to audience apathy and critical indifference, taking in a paltry worldwide box office of $61 million. And with some estimates of the budget reaching as high as $160 million (roughly $300 million adjusted for 24 years of inflation), The…

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The 13th Warrior

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Reviews in chronological order (Total 4 reviews)

Unknownusers, submitted on 03/09/1999 23:48.

9 March 1999 11:48PM

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Submitted on 08/09/1999 13:12

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Submitted on 10/09/1999 05:15

9 October 1999 5:15AM

13th Warrior

A Muslim lead was sadly never going to work in America

21 March 2012 8:45AM

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The 13th Warrior Review

03 Sep 1999

114 minutes

13th Warrior, The

Battered by a maelstrom of post-production wrangling, rumours of McTiernan's creative tiff with producer Michael Crichton, which left the director locked out of the cutting room, this sprawling actioner is, predictably, a glorious mess: fabulously shot, pungently authentic and narratively cuckoo.

Sticking faithfully to Crichton's least film-friendly novel, Eaters Of the Dead, it is a kind of Scandy Western set in 922 AD with a macho clan of wavy permed heavy rockalikes, teamed up with dishy Arab emissary Ibn Fadlan (multi-purpose ethnic star Banderas ) - the 'lucky' 13thwarrior of the band - to defend a village from a tribe of cannibal creatures.

Early on, there's plenty of testosterone flying around as Fadlan is inveigled into the Viking brotherhood, issues of clan politics are sorted (typically by lopping someone's Head off) and defences erected. Then the bad guys arrive - in one sequence a magnificently realised trail of a thousand flaming brands - take on Metallica, leave, taking all the bodies home for a slap-up feast. Then they do it again. And again . . .

McTiernan, obviously in a mood for experimentation, shoots much of the furious action with handheld cameras giving the movie a vital, realistic feel, which, mixed with the Canadian vistas that stood in for Northern Europe, the fantastically grim art direction and leather clad hunks, makes for a great looking movie. Strange then that the choreography is so underwhelming. the series of should-be-awesome battlefield confrontations are bitty and uninventive and nowhere near gory enough.

The plot development is non-existent, consisting of little more than Fadlan's culture clash and a mad old crone telling them to sneak into the enemy camp and slay the weirdo witch woman who leads them. Then it's the final showdown. In slo-mo. In the rain. Motive, pathos and characterisation are not on the agenda.

Relentlessly silly then, but there is a deal of grungy pleasure to be had from the Valhalla-charged babble. But, your enjoyment of such nonsense will depend on your capacity to stomach big swords, big hair and no brains. Its appeal may be somewhat limited.

Movies | 10 07 2015

MPAA Rating

Produced by, the 13th warrior (1999), directed by john mctiernan.

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Synopsis by Mark Deming

Characteristics, related movies.

Fri. May 24th, 2024

In Depth Tactical Solutions

The 13th Warrior Movie Review

By Michael Kurcina

Eaters of the Dead or what was re-titled The 13th Warrior came to theaters in 1999. Critics, particularly Roger Ebert, savaged it, but over the decades a cult following grew and many came to love this story that treated us to a good amount of butchery.

In cinema we are given a story about travelers, and bravery, the sons of weak lords, sword play, foul play and even cannibals and kings. On screen we get Norsemen and battle smoke, a terrible foe, brotherhood, jokes and its accompanying laughter, we even get a leader who gives an impressive speech to rise up, to be warriors and to defeat an unguessable foe. His kinsmen stand to serve a dying man of a dying breed. Men like Buliwyf tend to be honorable and rare indeed.

What’s not to like about a movie about heroes and cavemen? The movie with so much promise delivers many dislikes; audiences waited for an awesome buildup to what could have been a truly brutal and kinetic fight but the disjointed camera work was underwhelming indeed; the director even experimented with hand held cameras for the final battle scene.

The subplot of clan politics is never explored yet this too had promise. Those who know that director McTiernan’s cut of the film conflicted with author Michael Crichton’s vision will forgive the movie for its small failures. In the end what makes the plotless movie so good is the viewer lends it value, because most men can relate to these kinds of simple tales and so too the ambition of these normal men grows on you.

A confluence of a couple of good elements make this thin film actually viewing worthy. It is a tale of a small band of brave men willing to investigate what brought devastation to a terrified people, even risking their own lives to obtain the answer. The biggest draw here is these men don’t have super powers and so we can relate to them. Many of the Norse men die. As Chesterton wrote, a courageous man needing to cut his way out from enemies surrounding him must, “combine a strong desire for living with a strange carelessness about dying.” “he must desire life like water, and yet drink death like wine.” Which reminds me of a funny moment in the movie when Ahmad Ibn Fadlan is told Meade is made from honey. Yes, the movie is sweet.

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The 13th Warrior

A man, having fallen in love with the wrong woman, is sent by the sultan himself on a diplomatic mission to a distant land as an ambassador. Stopping at a Viking village port to restock on supplies, he finds himself unwittingly embroiled in a quest to banish a mysterious threat in a distant Viking land.
A cultured diplomat joins a band of savage warriors in time to meet an even more fearsome enemy in this historical adventure. In 922 A.D., Ibn Fadlan (Antonio Banderas) is a Muslim emissary from Baghdad en route to meet with the King of Saqaliba when he is captured by a gang of Vikings. While Ibn and his people are intelligent and well-mannered, the Vikings are a rowdy and sometimes unpleasant lot, with an unquenchable appetite for food, alcohol, and women. However, in time he develops an understanding and respect for the Viking warriors and is welcomed into their society by their leader, Buliwyf. However, Ibn must now join them as they return to their homeland once they receive word of an invasion by a huge pack of bloodthirsty invaders who will destroy and eat anything in their path -- including the flesh of the men they have killed.
A Muslim ambassador exiled from his homeland, Ahmad ibn Fadlan finds himself in the company of Vikings. While the behavior of the Norsemen initially offends ibn-i Fadlan, the more cultured outsider grows to respect the tough, if uncouth, warriors. During their travels together, ibn Fadlan and the Vikings get word of an evil presence closing in, and they must fight the frightening and formidable force, which was previously thought to exist only in legend. — yusufpiskin
In AD 922, Arab Ahmad Ibn Fadlan is sent to the land of the Bulgar's as an emissary, because he fell in love with the wrong woman. During his journey, his caravan runs into a Vikings camp. They stay the night and the next day a young boy reaches the camp to call the warriors home: The Wendol, creatures of the Mist, have started attacking their homeland, killing and eating everyone in their way. The oracle forces a thirteenth warrior to accompany the Vikings, but this must not be a man from the north. Ahmad does not feel comfortable with the strange men of the north, at first, but when he finds out that the Wendol really exist, he bravely fights alongside the Vikings in an impossible battle against an enemy that can't be stopped. — Julian Reischl <[email protected]> & Darcsyde <[email protected]>
Before the dawn of the second millennium (922 A.D.), the city of Baghdad is the center of highest civilization. Within its cultured protection, young Ahmed Ibn Fahdlan, Ibn Al Abbas, Ibn Rasid, Ibn Hammad (Antonio Banderas) enjoys the privileges of a prominent position as a poet until he attempts to court a woman married to a jealous man who happens to be friends with the Caliph. Ahmed is then appointed ambassador to the distant Nordic land of the Tossuk Vlad, a noble way of banishing him. Ahmed is traveling by caravan with his mentor and friend, Melchisidek (Omar Sharif), when they are attacked by a band of Tartars who abandon the chase when the caravan reaches the riverside and a Viking boat is seen approaching the land. A little further, they reach a Viking camp where other Viking boats are already ashore. The caravan then stops at the Viking camp for the night. The Vikings seems to be having some kind of celebration. Ahmed through Melchisidek, tries to communicate with the Vikings to learn who is their king but none of them understands the different languages they try to speak. They finally find a man who speaks Greek named Herger (Dennis Storhoi). Herger explains there is no king at the moment as the last one just died. The celebration they are witnessing is actually part of their king's funeral. He then introduces Ahmed to Buliwyf (Vladimir Khulich) who is considered the heir apparent to the throne. Buliwyf is then attacked in front of everyone by a man whom he kills without hesitation in self defense which seems to secure his place as the new leader. Ahmed then attends the king's funerals and joins the Vikings in their night of festivities although without drinking. Ahmed finds himself appalled by Viking customs, their disregard for cleanliness, and their cold-blooded human sacrifices. The next day, Ahmed finds that a new ship has arrived carrying aboard a young boy as a messenger from King Hrothgar of Venden. The king is seeking Buliwyf's help as his kingdom is being threatened by an army of evil beasts known to Vikings as an old evil that shall not be named. Buliwyf calls upon the angel of death which is revealed to be an old soothsayer who casts bones to guide them. The old women claims that Buliwyf shall be victorious if thirteen of his warriors travel up North to battle this evil. She then calls for the first warrior and Buliwyf himself steps forward. He is then followed by eleven other men which include Herger the Joyous whose love of women is only exceeded by his love of fighting, Helfdane the Large (Clive Russell), Roneth the Horseman (Neil Maffin), Rethel the Archer (Mischa Hausserman), Skeld the Superstitious (Richard Bremmer), Weath the Musician (Tony Curran), Edgtho the Silent (Daniel Southern), Halga the Wise (Asbjorn Riis), Hyglak the Quarrelsome (Albie Woodington), Haltaf the Boy (Oliver Sveinall) and Ragnar the Dour (John De Santis). When she calls for the thirteenth warrior, the old lady specifies that it needs to be a man that is not from the North. Everyone quickly turn to Ahmed who is forced by peer pressure to accept. Branded as the foreigner they need to succeed, Ahmed reluctantly prepares his Arabian horse, which is the smallest of the group, for the journey. The North men make fun of Ahmed's horse for his size, calling it a dog, in their native language which Ahmed doesn't understand but gets the translation from Melchisidek. They then ask Ahmed for his name. Ahmed gives them his full name but they shorten it to Eban because of the repetition in his name of the word Ibn which means "son of" but they interpret it as Eban. As the events progress, most of the Vikings will take to calling him "Arabe" which means the Arab, save for Herger who will call him Eban or little brother, and Buliwyf who will try to call him Ahmed on a few occasions out of respect. For the next few days and nights, Eban remains silent, closely observing the men's lips as they talk to each other, listening to them, analyzing their interactions, reactions and behaviors between each other. He slowly starts to make out words and what they likely mean in their language. He soon finds himself able to understand most of their conversations although he still does not speak. One night, as the men are antagonizing each other, one of them insults Eban's mother which causes him to speak for the first time, surprising the men when he is able to acknowledge the insult and retaliate with one of his own in their language. Impressed by how quickly Eban learned their language, Buliwyf uses the next moment he is alone with Eban to ask him if he knows how to "draw sounds", which is his way of describing Arabic writing. Eban confirms he can write and read. Buliwyf asks him to show him. Eban writes in the sand "There is only one God and Mohammed is his prophet". Buliwyf stares at the writing for a moment then leaves satisfied. The next day, the Norsemen are still making fun of Eban's horse but he shuts them up with a demonstration of his horsemanship and how high his horse can actually jump, throwing Weath in the mud in the process which makes all of them laugh. Buliwyf jokes that the dog can jump which seems to close the subject for good. After sailing through a nasty sea storm and dense fog weather, the warriors finally make it to Venden land where they arm themselves before stepping out of their boat. Buliwyf takes a moment to write in the sand what Eban showed him earlier, although with a slight mistake, revealing he has enjoyed the small lesson from Eban and values his knowledge. Herger then provides Eban with one of their swords which is much too big and heavy for him. As they arrive into Venden, they quickly notice the lack of proper defenses available and the lack of men to defend it, which explains why King Hrothgar (Sven Wollter), his young wife, Queen Weilew (Diane Venora), and Hrothgar's treacherous son Wigliff (Anders T. Andersen), have been unable to stop their enemy's rampage so far. The king confirms that their foe is indeed the ancient threat known as "Wendol", fiends who come with the mist to kill and take human heads. As the men are discussing the situation and whether the king is telling the truth or has just gone mad, Eban sees a bloodied, half naked, kid running towards the village crying. Queen Weilew recognizes the kid and leads them to his farmstead where they find several human bodies that were completely ripped apart, even gnawed upon. They also find a Venus figurine representing the mother of the Wendols. Upon investigating the area further, they find that the Wendols could be smart, cautious and may be observing them at the moment. The warriors opt to not try to find them but let them come to them instead. At dinner, Eban is surprised to find his new friends are not drinking for the first time since he's been with them. Wigliff, son of the king, tries to antagonize Buliwyf who simply replies that he has not heard of any accomplishments from Wigliff besides killing his brothers to get where he is now. Wigliff leaves the table angered. The warriors then speak to a man who survived a recent Wendol raid in another village who can only describe them with beastly features such as lion teeth, bear head walking on both two and four legs at times and fighting with sharp claws. They always come in the mist at the darkest of the night. Edgtho notes there will be fog tonight. The old king offers Buliwyf to stand guard with them but Buliwyf turns him down politely at the behest of the Queen. They then prepare for the night, and go to sleep in a circular room. Eban questions how they can sleep in a time like this but Herger replies that his fate and his death are already fixed so he might as well not worry about it and just live freely and not in fear. Eban falls asleep but awakens quickly from a nightmare. Looking around him, he realizes everyone else is only pretending to be asleep as something seems to be lurking outside. Herger whispers to him that when the fight starts, they will stand in the middle of the room in circle back to back. Eban objects that he is not a warrior but Herger tells him he is about to become one. Moments later, the fight starts and everyone jumps into action, including Eban. Although he is violently thrown across the room and suffers lacerations to his face, Eban survives the encounter almost unharmed while Hyglak and Ragnar are killed and beheaded. The men are worried when they realize they cannot find any Wendol body, even though they know they have killed a few of them. Eban gets his face scars treated by Olga (Maria Bonnevie) before helping the village to build up some much needed defenses. He is told to use his massive sword to cut out wooden stakes but he is unable to do so since he can barely lift his sword. Tired of failing, Eban visits the local blacksmith and uses his tools to transform the massive Viking sword into a really sharp Arabian Scimitar which he uses to cut out the wooden stakes much more easily. The Vikings still playfully make fun of the sword for its smaller size but Eban laughs with them, showcasing a little bit of his sword handling skills. Later that day, as Eban takes a break from his work and talks with Olga, she reveals that Wigliff has been purposely spreading rumors that Buliwyf intends to usurp the king and take his place. Eban shares the information with Buliwyf and Herger who decide they need to make an example. Herger picks up a fight with Angus, Wigliff's friend whose much taller, younger and stronger than Herger. The fight escalate to a three shields sword fight to the death. Each man has to break all three of their opponent's shields before they are allowed to kill him. Herger loses his three shields rather easily and seems quite exhausted from the pounding when Wigliff signals Angus to go for the kill. As Angus goes for the finishing blow, Herger swiftly moves asides and kills Angus in one blow, revealing it was all a deception meant to make the prince fearful of what he doesn't know. Confident the deception is enough to keep Wigliff out of their way, Buliwyf and his men resume the fortification of the village. As they get closer to the night, Eban and Edgtho sees the "fire serpent" or "fire worm" they kept hearing about announcing the imminent attack from the Wendols. As the men awaits the attack, they spot a little girl running towards the village just ahead of the fire serpent. Eban jumps on his horse and jumps the fence to save the child and bring her back to the village which allows him to get a closer look at the fire serpent and realize the serpent is just Wendol warriors riding horses closely to one another carrying torches. The men spread out around the village and the battle begins. Eban is surprisingly able to kill one of the Wendols and soon realizes the Wendols are just men disguised as beasts. As soon as he understands his enemies are just men, Eban, suddenly relieved of his fears, slips into a murderous rage and kills every Wendols he can get his hands on, to the amusement of Herger. The warriors fight well and the Wendols eventually opt to retreat for now, having killed Skeld, Halga, Roneth and Rethel during the battle. Eban, shaken from the fight, shares a drink with Herger and Olga after finding out Viking mead is made with honey, not wheat, which technically is not forbidden by his religion. Eban then spends the night with Olga as they both comfort each other. The next day, Eban rejoins Buliwyf and his men to discuss their next step. Their numbers dwindling and their position all but indefensible, they consult an ancient völva of the village. She advises them to track the Wendol to their lair and destroy their leaders, the "Mother of the Wendol" and their Warlord who wears "the horns of power". The warriors leave the village to try and hunt down the Wendol. They quickly learn that the Wendol are quite easy to track, revealing they are no longer worried about the warriors coming after them. After finding bear skulls, Eban reflects on what he knows about them so far. They dress like bears, walks like them and fight with bear claws. Eban deduces they see themselves as bears and probably live like them too. Buliwyf understands his line of thinking and orders his men to look for a cave nearby which they find. Buliwyf and the remaining warriors silently sneak into the Wendol's underground village all the way to the deepest part where the mother's lair is found. While the warriors form a line of defense against the Wendols who are now aware of their presence, Buliwyf enters the mother's lair to fight her. He is able to kill her quickly but not before he is scratched deeply across the shoulder by her poisoned claw. The warriors then escape through an underwater cave they found that leads back to the outside, losing Helfdane along the way who decides he's had enough and stays behind to block the Wendols and give his friends more time to escape. They also find out that Buliwyf is weakening fast and may not live another day. They return to the village where Buliwyf is touched to see Eban being sad about his upcoming death. King Hrothgar promises Buliwyf he will be buried as a king but Buliwyf replies he would feel much more wealthy and honored if someone were to draw the story of his deeds, a wish Eban understands was directed at him. He also understands now why Buliwyf was interested in his ability to write all along. As Buliwyf awaits death, the other warriors and the villagers prepare for a battle they know is coming as they expect the Wendols will seek vengeance for killing their mother. Before the battle, Ahmed takes a moment to remove his boots and armor and kneels in the mud to pray that he may live the next few minutes of his life well and asks for forgiveness for everything he should've done or said in his life but didn't. As the battle is about to begin and the warriors are preoccupied by the sheer number of enemies standing in front of them, Buliwyf staggers outside, looking to die fighting instead of just waiting, and stares down the Wendol's warlord. He inspires his men, including Ahmed, by reciting a Viking prayer for the honored dead who will enter Valhalla. The battle gets under way and, although weakened by the poison, Buliwyf succeeds in killing the Wendol warlord which causes the Wendol army to retreat immediately, as the old völva had predicted. Buliwyf then sits on a made up throne and dies as the figure of a proud warrior king that the Wendol people should fear, standing watch over the village. Later on, Ahmed witnesses Buliwyf's royal funeral before returning to his homeland, grateful to the Norsemen for helping him to "become a man and a useful servant of God". Ahmed goes home where, in respect to Buliwyf's dying wish, he writes the tale of his journey with the men from the North as the thirteenth warrior.

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Review: Battle-scarred '13th Warrior'

September 2, 1999 Web posted at: 4:56 p.m. EDT (2056 GMT)

Chewing and eschewing

Bonding and banderas.

Official 'The 13th Warrior' site Touchstone Pictures

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