Viking () is a 2016 Russian historical film about medieval prince Vladimir the Great, Prince of Novgorod directed by Andrei Kravchuk and co-produced by Konstantin Ernst and Anatoliy Maksimov. The film stars Danila Kozlovsky, Svetlana Khodchenkova, Maksim Sukhanov, Aleksandra Bortich, Igor Petrenko, Andrey Smolyakov, Kirill Pletnyov, Aleksandr Ustyugov and Joakim Nätterqvist. The movie is inspired by historical accounts such as Primary Chronicle and Icelandic Kings' sagas.
Viking was released in Russia by Central Partnership on December 29, 2016, and the world premiere took place on January 6, 2017. Two versions were released: a 12+ (128 minutes) and a 18+ (133 minutes). With a budget of $20.8 million, Viking was the third most expensive Russian film (after two parts of Burnt by the Sun 2) by the time of its release. The movie was met with mixed reviews by Russian film critics. grossed $32.3 million in box office. It grossed $25 million at the box office in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States, becoming the top-grossing Russian film to be released in 2016.
Plot
After the death of his father, Svyatoslav I, ruler of Kievan Rus, the young prince Vladimir (Danila Kozlovsky) is forced into exile across the frozen sea in Sweden to escape his treacherous half-brother Yaropolk (Aleksandr Ustyugov), who has murdered his other brother Oleg (Kirill Pletnyov) and conquered the territory of Kievan Rus. The old warrior Sveneld (Maksim Sukhanov) convinces Vladimir to assemble a force of Viking mercenaries led by a Swedish chieftain (Joakim Nätterqvist), hoping to reconquer Kiev from Yaropolk.
Cast
Danila Kozlovsky as Vladimir the Great
Aleksandr Ustyugov as Yaropolk I of Kiev
Kirill Pletnyov as Oleg of Drelinia
Andrey Smolyakov as Rogvolod
Aleksandra Bortich as Rogneda, princess of Polotsk, wife of Vladimir the Great
Svetlana Khodchenkova as Irina, the Byzantine Greek wife of Yaropolk I of Kiev
Maksim Sukhanov as Sveneld, voivode of the Grand Duke Sviatoslav Igorevich
Rostislav Bershauer as Blud, voivode and boyar of Kiev
Nikolay Kozak as Lyut, the prince of Yaropolk's retinue
Igor Petrenko as Varyazhko, the prince of Yaropolk's retinue
Vladimir Epifantsev as Theodore, the prince of Yaropolk's retinue
Ivan Shmakov as John, Theodore's son (boy in Kiev) Pawel Delag as Anastas Aleksey Demidov as Samocha Aleksandr Lobanov as Putyata John DeSantis as Berserk Joakim Nätterqvist as Khevding Harald Rosenstrøm as Einar Aleksandr Armer as Ulvar Oleg Dobrovan as Valgard Ziedonis Lochmelis as Torvald Daniil Soldatov, Vilen Babichev and Oleg Sizov as Viking chieftains
Production
Development
The film was produced by Konstantin Ernst and Anatoly Maksimov, best known for the Russian urban fantasy/supernatural thrillers Night Watch and Day Watch.
A few scenes were filmed in 2013 to secure funding, a common way to secure finances for large movie productions in Russia. Most of the production was done in March–July 2015. The budget was on par with the Russian WWII epic Stalingrad, 1,250 million rubles (approximately US$20 million).
The main historical consultants of the film were the historian and archaeologist Vladimir Petrukhin and the linguist Fyodor Uspenskiy.
The costume designer traveled to several cities and countries, buying fabric and studying frescoes and museum in China, India, Helsinki, Riga, Novgorod, Stockholm, and Minsk.
The Pecheneg language, an extinct Turkic language once spoken in Eastern Europe (in what today is most of Ukraine, parts of southern Russia, Moldova, and Hungary) in the 7th–12th centuries, was "re-invented" for the movie.
Casting
The cast is mostly Russian; however the film does features Swedish actor Joakim Nätterqvist, Canada's John DeSantis and Belarusian actress Aleksandra Bortich.
Nätterqvist told Sweden's TV4 that on set he worked with a translator, a Norwegian actor who has lived (and educated) in Russia. Most of his dialog is in a very stripped-down amalgam of Swedish and Norwegian, to simulate old Norse.
Members of Kazakhstan’s famous Nomad Stunts were responsible for the battle scenes, including the pyrotechnics, explosions and rigging.