Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4055 in DVD
• Released on: 2000-02-28
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English, Spanish, Italian
• Subtitled in: Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, Italian, Norwegian, Spanish, Swedish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 98 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
What happened to The 13th Warrior? Directed by John McTiernan (Die Hard), it's the tale of young Arab ambassador Ahmahd ibn Fahdalan (Antonio Banderas), who's banished from his homeland for loving the wrong woman. On his journeys he associates with a ragtag group of Vikings who are travelling back to their homeland to confront a nefarious threat that's cloaked in such superstition they're forbidden to speak its name. It is prophesied by a witch doctor that 13 warriors must confront the evil; however, the 13th chosen man must not come from the north. Suddenly Banderas is forced into the breach, somewhat against his will. More poet than battle-worn warrior, he must not only fight the aggressors but come to terms with the unfamiliar Norse culture. What follows is a vigorous and brutal adventure reminiscent of Kurosawa's Seven Samurai.

Sumptuous and invigorating battle sequences fill the screen from beginning to end as the brave Norsemen battle insurmountable odds. Sounds good. So why did this film, once known as the Eaters of the Dead, sit on studio shelves for two years? Presumably because of the thoughtless editing that trimmed down the film to its bare bones, crafting an actionfest out of an epic. It's not often that you crave for a movie to be longer, but The 13th Warrior would have benefited from fleshing out of its subplots and characters. On the surface it's good eye candy with some fine pulse-quickening moments, and Banderas and the accompanying cast turn in sympathetic performances, epitomising camaraderie in the face of impending doom. However, if you're looking for a good thematic tale from the Dark Ages (akin to Braveheart), you may be disappointed. --Jeremy Storey

Video Description
DVD Special Features

Interactive Menus
Scene Access
Languages In Dolby Digital 5.1: English/Spanish/Italian
Subtitles: Italian/Dutch/Swedish/Norwegian/Danish/Finnish/Spanish/English for the hearing impaired
Ratio: 2.35:1

Synopsis
Director John McTiernan takes viewers back to 900 A.D. in THE 13th WARRIOR. After courting "an untouchable" Muslim princess, Ahmed (Antonio Banderas) is banished and sent North as an emissary. When traveling from Baghdad to Saqaliba, he stumbles into an encampment of Vikings. At first repulsed by their Nordic ways, Ahmed soon grows fond of the Northerners and joins their party.
When news is brought that a horde of flesh eating monsters are ravaging the land, the mystic Oracle ordains that a group of 13 must travel to fight their evil doings. Twelve Nordes rom the party are chosen, Ahmed, a Muslim, is picked as the thirteenth. Knowing that defeat is eminent, the 13 warriors must undergo indeterminable odds to battle and rid the land of the horrific flesh eaters.
The 13th Warrior is an epic tour de force created by two of Hollywood's most ingenious: Michael Crichton (JURASSIC PARK, LOOKER) and John McTiernan (PREDATOR, THE LAST ACTION HERO). Its sheer epicness and style make it an astonishing spectacle. Never before has such detail and large scale beauty been present in a Viking film.

Customer Reviews

GREAT FILM, SHAMEFUL LACK OF BONUS FEATURES...
I love this film, i mean LOVE it. Historical Fantasy at its very best.
Its easily as good as The Vikings (1958), better than Pathfinder (which i do like!) & nearly as good as Excalibur (1981).
Plenty of action, interesting Nordic characters, great locations, moody cinematography, atmospheric sets, decent FX and more than enough blood & severed limbs!
Its not a fantasy film as explicitly as Conan The Barbarian or Lord Of The Rings - Its more like Pathfinder or Troy in that sense, walking that fine line between history & legend. The Wendol creatures that the Viking warriors wage a brutal war against are not really monsters per se but you'd have a hard time classing them strictly as men. They are best described as a warrior race of cannibalistic, neanderthals that live mostly underground, venturing out in large raiding parties on horseback to ravage the surrounding villages. The climactic battle is epic & violent with some stirring music & all the blood and thunder imagery that you could hope for! Check out the 'Fire Serpent'...
Hell, even Antonio Banderas as the eponymous 13th Warrior is very good in this!
What lets the DVD down though is the complete absence of any Special Features - there is absoluteley zero - its just as well the film is so good but a Special Edition is LONG overdue...

The best Vikings vs. Cannibals adventure movie ever made!
The 13th Warrior is definitely the best Vikings vs. Cannibals movie. If that makes it sound like a down market schlocker, it's anything but, offering instead an imaginative account of what the real inspiration for the epic Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf just might have been. Retitled (it was originally called Eaters of the Dead), re-edited, shelved and partially reshot by Michael Crichton, who replaced Graeme Revell's evocative world music score with an excellent old-fashioned adventure one by Jerry Goldsmith (part of which was used on Kingdom of Heaven's "Rise a knight" sequence), even in its final compromised state, it's a terrific adventure movie. It certainly boasts one of the best action scenes of recent years, with a fiery night-battle between the aforementioned Vikings and hundreds of bearskin-clad riders. On the minus side, this setpiece is so very good that the others fail to live up to it, especially the slow-motion final battle. Antonio Banderas is fine as the bewildered Arab ambassador drafted into helping a group of Vikings defeat an evil that cannot be named and Dennis Storhi immensely likeable as his translator/guide into the ways of the Northmen. Great fun, and a far from guilty pleasure.

Unlike the extras-free UK DVD, this German DVD includes brief soundbite interviews (including one with Michael Crichtron claiming the film was all McTiernan's work!), stills gallery and German trailer, though the German subtitles are unremoveable on the English soundtrack version of the film. The French DVD is generally a better bet - not only are the subtitles removeable but it includes a featurette, trailer and teaser trailer for McTiernan's original cut when it was still called Eaters of the Dead, though the 2.35:1 transfer is not quite as good as the UK release.

The best Vikings vs. Cannibals adventure movie ever made!
The 13th Warrior is definitely the best Vikings vs. Cannibals movie. If that makes it sound like a down market schlocker, it's anything but, offering instead an imaginative account of what the real inspiration for the epic Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf just might have been. Retitled (it was originally called Eaters of the Dead), re-edited, shelved and partially reshot by Michael Crichton, who replaced Graeme Revell's evocative world music score with an excellent old-fashioned adventure one by Jerry Goldsmith (part of which was used on Kingdom of Heaven's "Rise a knight" sequence), even in its final compromised state, it's a terrific adventure movie. It certainly boasts one of the best action scenes of recent years, with a fiery night-battle between the aforementioned Vikings and hundreds of bearskin-clad riders. On the minus side, this setpiece is so very good that the others fail to live up to it, especially the slow-motion final battle. Antonio Banderas is fine as the bewildered Arab ambassador drafted into helping a group of Vikings defeat an evil that cannot be named and Dennis Storhi immensely likeable as his translator/guide into the ways of the Northmen. Great fun, and a far from guilty pleasure.

Unlike other releases, this French DVD includes a featurette, trailer and teaser trailer for McTiernan's original cut when it was still called Eaters of the Dead, though the 2.35:1 transfer is not quite as good as the UK release.