Erik the Viking (DVD)

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Unfortunately, the greatest distinction of "Erik the Viking" might be that it apparently inspired writers Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio to push Captain Jack Sparrow and his crew in a similar direction. Heck, there's even a prophetess/wizard (Eartha Kitt) who guides them. But the gags are uneven, and the first half of the film is surprisingly dull for an action film and comedy. I've had more laughs from a Riccola commercial, frankly. This python flat out strangled itself with more preponderance than preposterousness.

But as I said, what makes this mildly amusing are the crewmen. You've got characters like Sven the Beserk (Tim McInnerny), Ivan the Boneless (John Gordon Sinclair), Thorfinn Skullsplitter (Richard Ridings), Harald the Missionary (Freddie Jones), Snorri the Miserable (Danny Schiller), Thorhild the Sarcastic (Sian Thomas), and Ulf the Unmemorable (Bernard Latham). When the plot seems silly and the jokes sillier, it's the character comedy that makes "Erik the Viking" worth watching at all. And I say that with a big qualifier: you're going to need a big tankard of mead to get you through this.

Video:
The video quality isn't bad for a film that looks as if it went right from a limited run to the airlines. There's not that much grain, and the colors are rich. The film is presented in 1.85:1 widescreen, which stretches to fill out the entire 16x9 widescreen monitor.

Audio:
The featured soundtrack is an English Dolby Digital 5.1 surround, and it's probably the strongest thing about this film. It's a lively audio track with a bouncing bass and bright treble, and good distribution across the speakers.There's a second option (inexplicably) in Dolby Surround, with subtitles in English (CC), French, and Spanish.

Extras:
On the commentary track, Jones seems surprisingly happy with this cut of the film, but the ground he covers is pretty basic--and don't look for anything in the way of comedy. A short feature on "Terry and Bill" trains the spotlight on the Director's Son, who explains what he was trying to do. A photo gallery and original theatrical trailer are included, but the best bonus feature is actually a short making-of film that was made when the film was first released. It's the most honest thing on this DVD.

Bottom Line:
Though Robbins is appropriately dead-panned and wide-eyed, and Rooney makes you laugh just to look at him in Viking garb, it's just not as smart or as multi-textured as the best of the Python films.

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