Director Robert Eggers is all about historical accuracy in his films, with his most recent movie, The Northman, taking place during the 10th century in Iceland. It wasn’t a random choice of setting, but rather something inspired by a vacation he took to Iceland back in 2016. As per The Hollywood Reporter, Eggers sheds some light on how the trip gave birth to his Viking revenge epic:

On that vacation, Eggers met Björk, a singer-songwriter known for her experimental and artsy albums. She appears in The Northman in a brief but chilling role. In addition, she introduced Eggers to Sjón, a poet and novelist who later co-wrote the screenplay for The Northman along with Eggers. The director also met some historical experts in Iceland, who he consulted while making the film:

“It was the first time I became interested in old Norse culture… The Northman was birthed on that trip.”

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The film is a revenge saga in which the main character, Amleth, witnesses his father being murdered by his uncle. Amleth’s uncle then takes over his father’s kingdom, a birthright that he vows to take back while avenging his father’s death. It’s a plot very similar to Hamlet and other stories inspired by it, such as The Lion King, but what sets it apart from the crowd is Egger’s stunning cinematography (along with some good old-fashioned graphic violence). The film displays several strange Viking rituals that are as beautiful as they are unsettling. Eggers made sure these were historically accurate by reading a few nonfiction books on Viking culture and was even able to bring their authors in to consult the film. Egger recalls they were “excited to see what they’ve been imagining their whole lives come to life.”

“There were people in the living history and experimental archeology communities who worked on the film… People who, basically, become Vikings on the weekends… We had two really great Viking swordsmen come up with a fighting technique that you haven’t seen in a film before.”

The director also admits that he had a poster for Conan The Barbarian in his bedroom as a kid, a film that partially inspired The Northman:

“There are a few accidental nods to Conan… It was an important film for me as a kid, for sure… It was hard to escape.”

Robert Eggers is Known for Making Historical Dramas

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Robert Eggers is also known for directing and writing The Witch, a historical drama during the Puritan settling of New England. This film starred Anya Taylor-Joy and earned her widespread recognition for her role as a young woman accused of being a witch. Eggers similarly directed and co-wrote The Lighthouse alongside his brother. This psychological horror flick stuck Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe in a lighthouse together on a secluded, barren island. Egger’s next film will be Nosferatu, with Bill Skarsgård cast as the titular vampire. A release date for the film hasn’t been announced yet.

The Northman premiered on April 22nd, 2022, directed by Robert Eggers, who co-wrote the screenplay with Sjón. It was distributed by Focus Features and stars Alexander Skarsgård, Nicole Kidman, Claes Bang, Anya Taylor-Joy, Ethan Hawke, and Willem Dafoe. Currently, it can be streamed on Prime Video.