When the Raven Flies (1984)

How sad is this?

Brilliant and touching

best movie i've ever seen.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Gest goes to Iceland in 894 to avenge the killers of his parents. There are some memorable moments in this film. The opening credits scene revealing the Icelandic coast with the powerful music lets us know we're in for something different. Gest is heavily influenced by The Man with no Name in Leone's westerns and Einarsson does a good job portraying such a figure.The opening scenes are the best, especially the 'Tungur Knivur' scene. The film goes on too long and I didn't like the sanctimonious message in the end especially when the director's commentary on the DVD confirmed that he was trying to show the futility of violence. If somebody walks all over you you gotta stand up for yourself. It was also unrealistic. Gest would really have held on to those knives considering it was ninth century Iceland and how the hell was he going to get home.

I suggest that this movie should not be to closely associated with "Vikings". It is an artistic interpretation of a certain stage in the evolution of societies in the most northern reaches of Europe, in which the "Viking" culture is an element-inasmuch as it refers to a seafaring population. Once established in new territory, the history of evolution seems to follow the same lines as in Western Europe. I suggest background reading of the Icelandic Sagas as a start-no doubt you will find referrals to Norwegian, Swedish and Danish annals as well. This comment is placed in the hope that a great effort, and a great result, shall be remembered some more years-BECAUSE I WANT TO HAVE THIS, AND THE FOLLOWUP, IN MY LIBRARY. And I haven't the faintest where to get hold of them...BRGDS K

'Hrafninn flýgur' had no problem getting status and good reviews in Sweden, here where we don't have any good action-flicks at all. Perhaps this is better than most of the action-movies made here, but it is not realistic at all.'Hrafninn flýgur' is mostly a combination of 'Conan the Barbarian', 'Yojimbo' and 'C'era una volta il west' (but mostly a silly remake of 'Yojimbo').The worst part in 'Hrafninn flýgur' is the unoriginal and poor music, which at times reminds about 'Yojimbo', but it is not as good.The direction didn't impress me at all either, it tried to create a rough mood, with weak result.Rating: 5 of 10.

This is for me a very memorable movie. First of all it has a good story with morale in it. It deals with vengeance which can probably be among the hardest things for a man to deal with. Which is greatly illustrated at the end of the movie (without revealing too much...).Also the story with the lone crusader seeking vengeance for the slaying of his family is very strong. And the atmosphere of the movie really helps as well. The music is very good and helps the atmosphere as does the photo. It´s dirty, grey and cold just like it should be in a relentless, unforgiving, viking movie.This is probably the best viking movie so far, not that it has too many contenders sadly enough. I recommend this movie to anyone wanting to see a very special movie with a special atmosphere and a few nice touches. And also, the movie is almost worth seeing only to hear the wonderful icelandic language!I rate this 7/10, one extra star for originality!