Is ‘The Northman’ a Failed Art Film, or Is It Robert Eggers’ Stolidly Successful Blockbuster Audition? (Column)

Having just released his Viking epic “The Northman,” this past weekend (read our review) director Robert Eggers is now giving some brief insight into where his future projects could be going while reiterating his desire to avoid another big studio project as his next movie. During a new interview with GQ Magazine, Eggers confirmed that he’s indeed working on a project in the Elizabethan era but was scarce on details and whether there will be an added genre element going on.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterHollywood is often skewered for no longer making large-scale original epics like “The Northman,” director Robert Eggers’ bloody Viking tale about a warrior’s quest to avenge his father’s death.Yet Focus Features, Universal’s indie label, took a gamble, not only backing “The Northman” but releasing the film in theaters nationwide. Driven by positive reviews, the movie generated $12 million from 3,865 North American theaters over the weekend, enough to secure the No. 4 spot on domestic box office charts.

Ed Meza @edmezavarIn his more than three decades at Constantin Film, Martin Moszkowicz has overseen the production of hundreds of films, including such box office successes as “Downfall,” “The Baader Meinhof Complex,” the hugely popular “Fack Ju Go­ehte” films and the hit “Resident Evil” franchise.This year’s CinemaCon is honoring Constantin’s longtime CEO for his work and continuing success at the global box office.Speaking to Variety, Moszkowicz looks back at his career and discusses Constantin’s current challenges, its diverse lineup, new productions and expanding film and television activities.Moszkowicz has headed Germany’s most successful production and distribution group since 2014. While Germany remains its main market, Constantin has had a global outlook since its beginnings, and it was due in part to Moszkowicz’s international experience that he landed his first job at the company.

here. Because Focus Features is owned by Universal Pictures, you can expect to see “The Northman” on Universal’s streaming service, Peacock, after the theatrical window has closed.Yes, and you can watch it here.

Alexander Skarsgard might be the star of The Northman, but he didn’t receive quite as many gifts as the rest of the cast.

The Northman (★★★☆☆) unfolds like the sort of epic that Viking warriors might have passed down for generations, sharing over horns of ale around a roaring fire: the haunting Legend of Prince Amleth.The exiled prince’s trials and adventures appear to have been shot by firelight, too. Writer-director Robert Eggers and his Oscar-nominated Lighthouse cinematographer Jarin Blaschke opt for enveloping the action in shadows and mist, the natural darkness of a northern land where winter nights are long, and the days short.Even the film’s climactic showdown, a naked sword fight by a lake of lava and fire, is depicted as a brutal clash between silhouettes backlit by flames.Rivals dueling on an erupting volcano forms a gorgeous tableau, but audiences might, for various reasons, wish they could actually see more of the combatants swinging their swords — especially the ferocious Amleth, embodied heartily by Alexander Skarsgård.The erstwhile Tarzan delivers a gruelingly physical performance, fighting, running, lifting, swimming, hauling, speaking primarily and most clearly through Amleth’s vivid body language.

A.D. Amorosi Without a doubt, Robert Eggers’ “The Northman” traffics in his now-usual brand of haunted atmospherics and wonky mysticism, a signature whose intensity is upped by the savage bloodlust of its characters and the vastitudes of his first big-budget epic with a price tag reportedly hovering between $70 million and $90 million.The only thing more intensely stressed than the dilemma of a Viking prince in the year 895 (avenging the death of his father, the king, at the hands of his jealous uncle who stole the prince’s mother as the spoils of war — or did she go willingly?) played to brutal, muscular perfection by Alexander Skarsgård, is the all-consuming dedication of its tactile production design, its brooding, cinematographic ambiance and the craftsmanship of its furry, hierarchical costuming.

After “The Witch” and “The Lighthouse,” director Robert Eggers brings his passion for meticulous historical recreation and his interest in the (often tortured) psyches of past generations to the violent and epic world of Vikings in “The Northman” (read our review). Unlike actor Alexander Skarsgård, who plays the film’s eponymous hero (read our interview with the actor here), Eggers was never particularly inspired by these ruthless people before the idea for the movie was suggested to him — which only makes his achievement on “The Northman” more impressive.

prince at the dawn of the 10th century. It opens in theaters nationwide Friday.The Viking dream laid dormant for some time, though.

The first sign that not everyone in Robert Eggers' 10th-century Viking revenge tale “The Northman” has their priorities entirely straight comes early in the film, when the Viking king Aurvandil (Ethan Hawke) returns home to the North Atlantic kingdom of Hrafnsey after a year of fighting overseas.After trudging up on horseback to the snowy cliffside village, Aurvandil's queen, Gudrún (Nicole Kidman), greets him warmly and, after a hug for their son, Amleth (Oscar Novak), urges him to bed with her. Aurvandil, though, says he has something more pressing to attend to.

Writer/director Robert Eggers returns with his third feature film, “The Northman,” after giving us arresting genre thrillers like “The Witch” and “The Lighthouse.” His new movie takes us 1,000 years into the past with a young Viking prince who witnesses his father’s murder and his kingdom stolen, only to return years later to intact a path of violence and revenge which is based on the original Scandinavian tale that directly influenced “Hamlet.” Focus Features has released a short red band trailer (See below) ahead of “The Northman” swinging into theaters this week, focusing on heroic character Amleth’s brutal journey towards his goal of revenge within this visually stunning setting.

“The Northman” that offers a no-holds-barred look at the R-rated revenge shenanigans that await moviegoers.The film hails from “The Lighthouse” and “The Witch” writer/director Robert Eggers, and is a $90 million R-rated Viking movie. As if that wasn’t a selling point enough, this short red-band trailer offers a closer look at some of the film’s gorier scenes, with a blood-soaked Alexander Skarsgaard using all manner of ways to slice and dice his way through a small village.The story is a simple one: Skarsgard is a young Viking prince seeking to avenge the murder of his father (played by Ethan Hawke).This is the biggest film Eggers has ever made, and he maintained recently that while the larger budget came with more notes from the studio, the finished version of the film is very much his director’s cut.

The domestic release of Robert Eggers‘ big studio revenge flick “The Northman” is days away (April 22) and most critics are deeply impressed by how well the filmmaker has done in the realm of action (read our review here). The plot —a relatively simple story of a son avenging his father—takes direct cues from the original Scandinavian tale that inspired “Hamlet,” and attempts to be historically accurate compared to other Viking projects.

BBC’s foreign correspondent and Mastermind presenter has a fondness for accessorising his outfits with fetching chiffon scarves, even combining one with a T-shirt when he appeared on The One Show earlier this year. He also wore one on the red carpet at the National Television Awards last September when he sported a grey and black polka dot scarf with a traditional tuxedo. His fashion-forward style, which has been described as ‘London media attire’, certainly seems to chime with film and television celebrities – and not just when it’s chilly outside.

Björk has shared that she would like to see more female directors taking on the Viking Age in film and TV.The musician and actor stars in Robert Eggers’ new viking epic The Northman as a whispering Seeress predicting the future of Alexander Skarsgård’s Amleth.The film follows Amleth as he seeks revenge for the murder of his father, played by Ethan Hawke, and aims to save his mother Queen Gudrún, played by Nicole Kidman. Other stars include Anya Taylor-Joy, Claes Bang and Willem Dafoe.Posting to Facebook after attended the Icelandic premier of the film, Björk shared a statement about her role and to thank those involved.“so proud to be part of this,” she wrote.

Bilingual babies! Chris Hemsworth, Rosamund Pike and more celebrity parents are raising their little ones to speak multiple languages.

Björk in The Northman.The actor plays lead character Amleth in the third feature film from director Robert Eggers (The Lighthouse, The Witch), starring alongside Nicole Kidman, Claes Bang, Anya Taylor-Joy, Ethan Hawke and Willem Dafoe.The most unique cast addition is Björk, who plays a seeress, whose last feature film acting credit was in 2005’s Drawing Restraint 9 from director Matthew Barney.Speaking to NME about acting alongside the musician, Skarsgård said: “I felt very lucky. It was crazy.“I don’t think you see it on camera in that scene, but we shot it in that burnt out barn after the big raid. And Björk when it was her shot, behind her I could see it was just this gigantic full moon right behind her head and it felt so perfect for that scene and her character and the way she looked.

Björk in The Northman has just been shared exclusively with NME – take a look above to watch it.The musician and actor stars in Robert Eggers’ viking epic as a whispering Seeress predicting the future of Alexander Skarsgård’s Amleth.The film follows Amleth as he seeks revenge for the murder of his father, played by Ethan Hawke, and aims to save his mother Queen Gudrún, played by Nicole Kidman.Anya Taylor-Joy also stars in the film as Olga, alongside Claes Bang as Fjölnir, Amleth’s uncle, and Willem Dafoe as Heimir the Fool.Eggers co-wrote the screenplay for The Northman with the Icelandic poet Sjón, who has previously collaborated with Björk on the songs ‘Jóga’, ‘Cosmogony’, ‘Oceania’, and others.The filmmaker had previously directed The Lighthouse, starring Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe, and folk horror film The Witch which starred Anya Taylor-Joy.Last year, British actor Ralph Ineson, who also stars in The Northman, shared further details from the movie.“It’s an enormous movie,” he told NME. “I saw a four-minute montage of some of the stuff they’d already shot and I was really blown away.

Do you know what people seem to already adore? Robert Eggers’ epic, bloody, wild-sounding action film, “The Northman,” a revenge movie set in the Nordic Viking era. With an all-star cast that includes Alexander Skarsgård, Nicole Kidman, Claes Bang, Anya Taylor-Joy, Ethan Hawke, Björk, and Willem Dafoe, the review embargo for “The Northman” lifted this week and critics were absolutely ecstatic about the movie.