The Long Ships
The Long Ships
PG | 24 June 1964 (USA)
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Moorish ruler El Mansuh is determined to locate a massive bell made of gold known as the "Mother of Voices." Viking explorer Rolfe also becomes intent on finding the mythical treasure, and sails with his crew from Scandinavia to Africa to track it down. Reluctantly working together, El Mansuh and Rolfe, along with their men, embark on a quest for the prized object, but only one leader will be able to claim the bell as his own — if it even exists at all.

Reviews
Diagonaldi

Very well executed

2hotFeature

one of my absolute favorites!

Tedfoldol

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

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AutCuddly

Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

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beresfordjd

I saw this as a kid many years ago and loved it. Having seen it as an adult it is an appalling piece of stupid trash - but still great fun. Richard Widmark as a Viking is OK but Poitier as a Muslim prince is played far too seriously to be taken as such. The cast have American stars but the secondary characters are played by terrific classy British actors like Gordon Jackson, Colin Blakeley and Lionel Jeffries (cast - strangely as a mute Middle Eastern type!) The story is fascinating - regarding a legendary golden bell of huge size which Poitier's character wants to find so badly that he no longer wants to pleasure his nubile wife!! Widmark seems to dive into the sea in the Middle East and then fetch up n Viking country - bizarre! A hero of mine, Russ Tamblyn ( he of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and West Side Story) is one of the Vikings and lends his athleticism to the part and plays Widmark's brother.

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naseby

It it is what it is...the OTHER Viking film of the sixties, A Moorish King, Aly Mansah (Sidney Poitier) cajoles after much fighting with his Viking adversary, Rolfe (Richard Widmark), looking out of place as much as the British supporting cast for a legendary 'Golden Bell' named 'The Mother of Voices' at the 'Pillars of Hercules'... well, there's much gold in that of course and we all know Vikings and maybe, a Moorish king, would love to have 'half the world in gold' if they could (as we would, without the adventuring). The Vikings at first as I've said, have an uneasy peace after nearly being executed by the 'Mare of Steel'... but choose instead to work together - and of course, it would keep the captured Vikings alive - for the time being! There's plenty of Viking-like drinking, using ladies for entertainment, talk of 'Odin' a captured wench-beauty in and on the 'Moor' side, Arabs who are reigned by a rich king with a lovely Rosanna Schiaffino as Aminah, his Queen. As mentioned, a strange miscasting for the likes of British supporting actors, Edward Judd, Colin Blakeley, Gordon Jackson and Dave Lodge as Rolfe's Viking 'crew'/stalwarts. I was half expecting Graham Stark, Sam Kydd, Percy Herbert, Michael Ripper and Harold Goodwin to be in there on that basis! It's as I say, a sixties-style Viking saga as much as 'The Vikings' was with its American headers of Poitier and Widmark and swashbuckling adventurism - still, this is what we grew up with and it's a lot better than the CGI nonsense and limited acting we see, so enjoyable when it has a TV run and welcome, just sit back and enjoy it! Nice touch as - shall I tell you, it does say 'Spoilers' at the top of my heading ... so read no further ... if... you wanted to know that the bell falls on Sidney Poitier and kills him! nice one! Filmed in Yugoslavia, this doesn't belie the fjords of Norway in any way.

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lawrence_elliott

This film leaves a lot to be desired, however, the musical score is rousing, the battle sequences vicious, the cruelty of torture brutal and the instrument of death excruciating. The colour cinematography is brilliant. This is an unforgettable film. There have been far too few Viking adventures rendered on screen. Perhaps the stories of Erik the Red from the ancient "Eddas" should be explored and produced for the cinema of today. Lord knows there is a pathetic lineup of films from month to month nowadays. "Outlander" is a recent attempt but why must there always be extraterrestrials every time you turn around? They show a Christian priest in 709 A.D. Viking Norway. Sorry, but Odin, Thor and Freya, Valhalla and the Valkyries were the big hits of the day in Viking times. Or didn't basic research tell them this? In fact, the reason for the fury of these blond blue-eyed brutes was precisely because of Christianity and Islam. Why was it then that Danish Vikings under Hasteinn, (Hastings), and Bjorn, were burning down mosques in Seville, Spain in 859 A.D. and robbing Christian churches of their gold in England ("Dane Geld") for years as ransom to the Danes ("Dane Law") in order to spare English lives? This story tells a fanciful tale of a Great Golden Bell that only the Viking Long Ships can get to by navigating the "Maelstrom." Exciting fun and adventure!

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Neil Welch

I'm of an age where I was brought up on films which suffer by comparison to today's, so the fact that the effects were not really comparable (for instance) is not a factor in my comments.But this just wasn't very good. The story was weak, the acting was not so much bad as not really appropriate to the characters, the script was drivel, Poitier was truly dreadful, and the musical score simply didn't fit what was on screen. And never mind the miraculous bell.The best thing about it is the host of prominent British actors who you can't recognise through their beards, but you can have fun trying if you know beforehand that they're in it.On the whole, though, too poor to even be classed as fun, I'm afraid.

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