Hadnt seen this film for years so when i saw a copy on ebay i thought ill have to get a copy.My husband who loves viking films surprisingly had never heard of this one.He wasn't sure what to expect. I put it on the other night to watch and he loved it,we have never laughed so much.This film is not to be taken as a history lesson it is just a fun film and nothing more,most of the time its unintentionally funny,for instance the long distance swimming Richard Widmark does at the near beginning of the film.The amount of costumes Sidney Poitier goes through,the different accents the viking crew have and who they are{Gorden Jackson}is one of them,Lionel Jeffries plays a black Enoch,so you see what i mean,how can you take this film seriously. For me the funniest part of the film is when,one of the viking rowers moans to Richard Widmark about rowing and says ''My hands are sore'',arnt vikings supposed to be tough strong men,what was the script writer thinking of. The Long Ships has lots of strange script writing which only adds to the amusement of the film,also the viking outfits which is mainly leather make them look very camp.They look like they are going to a gay bar.And poitiers hair is all over the place. The mare of steel is as gruesome as i remember it,but i always wondered why there were spikes at the bottom,wouldn't the victim be dead long before they reached the bottom?And where did his body remains quickly disappear to,a bit of a puzzling device that one. But don't avoid watching this film because it is a fun adventure,and the musical score is great.
Review of The Long Ships
