The 13th warrior

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Movie
German title The 13th warrior
Original title The 13th Warrior
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1999
length approx. 98/103 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director John McTiernan
Michael Crichton
script William Wisher Jr.
Warren Lewis
production Michael Crichton
John McTiernan
Ethan Dubrow
music Jerry Goldsmith
camera Peter Menzies Jr.
cut John Wright
occupation
synchronization

The 13th Warrior is an American adventure film from 1999. It was created based on the novel Eaters of the Dead (German: The eating their dead , later Eaters of the Dead ) by Michael Crichton , which extends from the travelogue of Arab diplomats and world traveler Ahmad Ahmad ibn Fadlan had inspired and these with elements from the Old English Beowulf - epic mixed. Initially directed by John McTiernan , later Crichton took over. Antonio Banderas plays the title role.

action

The poet Ahmad Ibn Fadlān (Ibn Al Abbas Ibn Rashid Ibn Hammad) from Baghdad falls in love with someone else's wife, falls from grace and is sent as the Caliph's ambassador to get in touch with the peoples of the north.

From Baghdad he travels with Melchisidek , a friend of his father's, to the Volga . There they meet a large group of Vikings who have come together for the funeral of their king. Among them is Buliwyf ( Beowulf ), the aspirant to the throne, with his followers. Herger is one of them, with whom Ibn Fadlān mainly communicates via Melchisidek, since only these two speak and understand Latin . After the ceremony, Wulfgar, son of the great and powerful Northern King Rothgar ( Hrothgar ), arrives and announces that the "Wendols", apparently supernatural beings, have returned years later to spread fear and terror again. The "angel of death", a Völva , then questions the bones and calls on 13 warriors to come to Rothgar's aid. The last of them shouldn't be a “north man”.

Ahmad Ibn Fadlān becomes the thirteenth warrior and begins the long journey north on horseback and by boat with his new companions. In the meantime, Ahmad Ibn Fadlān (all called "Ibn" for the sake of simplicity) learned the language by listening to himself and was able to converse with the Northmen from then on. After a long journey, the group finally reaches the realm of King Rothgar and learns that the Wendols are overpowering spirits who always begin and carry out their attacks with a rising fog. On the first night a heavy fight breaks out against the seemingly overpowering Wendols, in which several Northmen immediately lose their lives. The next day defenses are built and preparations are made for another great battle that begins at night and is carried out by several thousand wendols on horses with torches. Finally, the survivors receive a hint from an old woman that they can only defeat their opponents, who they recognize to be human, if they kill their leader and their “mother”.

The last seven of the group, including Buliwyf, Herger and Ibn Fadlān, trace the traces of the Wendol into the mountains to their labyrinthine underground caves. There it turns out that it must be a tribe of prehistoric, cannibalistic indigenous people who had survived up to this time (the Middle Ages). The warriors sneak past various guards and numerous cave dwellers, reach the deepest point of the underground mountain system, fight the Wendols there and kill numerous, while Buliwyf kills said mother, the tribal priestess. But before that, she had hit him with a poisoned sting in a duel. The five survivors flee back to the village of King Rothgar, where they prepare for another Wendol attack. Buliwyf is meanwhile dying from the poisoning and wrestles from Ibn the promise to write down these deeds in his homeland, so that neither they nor the heroes who died for them will be forgotten.

It comes to the final battle in the pouring rain, in which Buliwyf kills the leader using his last strength. As a result, the indigenous people are withdrawing and the threat has been averted for the time being.

Buliwyf succumbs to his poisoning and dies on the battlefield. Later he is buried as king at the behest of Hrothgar. The others split up in friendship and go their own way. Ahmad returns home on a ship. The film ends with Ahmad Ibn Fadlān, as chronicler, writing down the story of his journey and the heroic deeds of his friends for posterity.

production

During the filming there was an argument between Michael Crichton and director McTiernan. The film was completed by Crichton. This change in responsibility can be noted in the final cut, as storylines such as the looming love story or the conflict between Buliwyf's men and the prince's son are touched on, but not continued. In addition, a test demonstration with the addressed audience was made during the rough cut, which did not at all fit the 12-year-old audience. In McTiernan's view, the film should only be for adults. As a result, a 3/4 hour plot was removed, which was then shot by Michael Crichton himself. It wasn't until 18 months after completion that the film was finally released in theaters.

synchronization

The synchronization took place at the production company Hermes Synchron in Potsdam based on the dialogue book by Jörg Hartung under the dialogue direction of Hagen Mueller-Stahl .

role actor speaker
Ahmed Ibn Fahdlan Antonio Banderas Bernd Vollbrecht
Melchisidek Omar Sharif Michael Chevalier
Angus Chris Angel Erich Rauker
Buliwyf Vladimir Kulich Jan Spitzer
Edghto Daniel Southern Torsten Michaelis
Halga Asbjørn crack Helmut Krauss
Helfdane Clive Russell Bernd Schramm
Herger Dennis Storhøi Tom Vogt
Hyglak Albie Woodington Frank Ciazynski
Caravan leader Hussein Erick Avari Rudiger Evers
King Hrothgar Sven Wollter Hermann Ebeling
Queen Weilew Diane Venora Joseline Gassen
oracle Turid Balke Barbara Ratthey
Rethel Mischa Haussermann Klaus Sunshine
Roneth Neil Maffin Gerald Paradise
Skeld Richard Bremmer Jürgen Kluckert
Weath Tony Curran Michael Pan
Wigliff Unlike T. Andersen Michael Iwannek

Reviews

The film received mixed reviews. While James Berardinelli spoke of a “refreshing 100 minutes”, Roger Ebert saw “a lot of money, but few ideas” on the screen. The 13th warrior was not a success at the box office: With a budget of around 160 million US dollars, he grossed almost 62 million US dollars and thus joined a whole series of Crichton film adaptations that the producers wanted Effect - a replica of the success of Jurassic Park - could not achieve.

The heroic film music composed by Jerry Goldsmith , from which passages were later used by Ridley Scott for the film Kingdom of Heaven (2005), was particularly appreciated by critics and audiences .

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Certificate of Release for The 13th Warrior . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , September 2006 (PDF; test number: 82 477-a DVD).
  2. ↑ German synchronous index: German synchronous index | Movies | The 13th warrior. Retrieved September 13, 2017 .
  3. ^ Review by James Berardinelli
  4. ^ Review by Roger Ebert
  5. ^ The 13th Warrior (1999) - Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 28, 2019 .