"When The Raven Flies" stands as one of the best historical Action movies, to have come out of the North. Stylistically it owes a great deal to Italian Spaghetti Westerns and Japanese Jidaigeki. In fact back in the day, some critics dubbed it a "Cod Western" because of this. The setting certainly helps. The Icelandic Sagas are full of tales of Revenge, Bloodshed, Honor that must be gained and upheld and Grudges that wont let go, all told in a laconic and ominous manner. Like his heroes Kurosawa and Leone, Gunnlaugsson has a good eye for faces. Our hero Gestur, has rugged good looks, while the Viking thugs are impressively ugly. Helgi Skúlason who plays Thord deserves a special mention. He has a terrific thousand yard stare, which he displays widely whenever he is angry or has his plans ruined.As for the plot this is a straight remake of the "Yojimbo/Fistful Of Dollars" story save for a few things. In this movie our hero is motivated by revenge, instead of monetary gain like Eastwood or unknown motives like Toshiro Mifune. There is also a moral theme running throughout the film, which questions if Gesturs really did the right thing after all. All in all "When The Raven Flies" is a great action movie, even if it didn't change the world. The only downsides i can think of is the 80's synthesizer soundtrack which can get damn annoying after a while and the crudely designed weapons (the knifes and swords resemble giant butterknives and the axes are obviously just regular woodworking axes) but other than that it is along with the Arn movies, one of the best historical action movies from the North, ever.

Hrafninn flygur and its follow on movies Í skugga hrafnsins and Den vite vikingen are, up to now the best Viking films produced. Also "Vägvisaren" is in this same style, but more a reflection of the lapps in the north.Along Scandinavian cineastic traditions, the brutality is real, hard and authentic;There is ice, snow, fire, metal and leather and a good story about poetic justice.Scandinavian historical films, despite a rich history, literature and film tradition are sadly a too neglected theme. We still await the most epic film ever: Röde orm. Please make a film on this book!

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.

"When the Raven Flies" death is coming....in this stark, brutal and gloomy tale of unrelenting vengeance. A Celtic Christian boy's family in Ireland is wiped out in a Viking raid, with his older sister carried off into sexual bondage. When he becomes a man, he tracks down the band of exiles all the way to Iceland where they await the death of their enemy, King Harald of Norway. One by one he patiently stalks each member of the band and cunningly turns their barbaric superstitions and brutish natures against them. The authenticity of the Icelandic setting and the grubbiness of the actors lend veracity to this depiction of this dark period in Scandinavian history in which the blood feuds lasted for generations. This film has a strangely compelling beauty threaded through its dominant theme of violence begetting violence in a self-perpetuating cycle.