The gifted and dynamic director Robert Eggers has proven himself to be one of Hollywood’s most exciting filmmakers, having dazzled moviegoers with the horror hits The Witch and The Lighthouse and the captivating historical action epic The Northman. Audiences are anxiously awaiting the release of his buzzy gothic extravaganza Nosferatu, set to hit theaters Christmas day, with many wondering what magic he will make on screen in the chilling adaptation of the 1922 German silent masterpiece.
Based on the classic Bram Stoker horror touchstone, some fans of Eggers may not realize that the exceptional storyeller has already adapted a literary great with 2022’s The Northman being loosely inspired by William Shakespeare’s unforgettable tragedy Hamlet. Let’s take a look back at Eggers’ first foray into the literary world and how he unsurprisingly knocked it out of the park with the thrilling historical film.
- Release Date
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April 22, 2022
- Runtime
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2hr 20min
A Gripping Historical Action Epic
Alexander Skarsgård delivered a dominating performance as a fierce Viking prince on a bloody mission for revenge in the engrossing historical action epic The Northman, which is based on the Scandinavian legend Amleth (ring any bells?) and follows the resilient warrior as he vows to hunt down those responsible for the brutal murder of his beloved father King Aurvandill (Ethan Hawke) after he is betrayed by his own brother Fjölnir (Claes Bang). After Amleth is pursued by assassins and forced to flee his village as a young boy, he becomes a berserker for a band of vicious Vikings and plots his vengeance.
When he discovers that Fjölnir lost his throne and now spends his days as a sheep farmer with his mother Gudrún (Nicole Kidman), Amleth pretends to be a slave so that he can carry out his murderous quest against his backstabbing uncle. Along his epic journey of retribution, Amleth meets and falls in love with the enchanting Slavic sorceress Olga of the Birch Forest (Anya Taylor-Joy), who helps him embrace and fulfill the destiny that had long been fixed for him.
Eggers’ Masterful Retelling of Shakespeare’s Classic
The Northman is heavily based on the medieval Scandinavian legend Amleth, which served as William Shakespeare’s direct inspiration for his iconic character Prince Hamlet in his classic tale The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Shakespeare wrote Hamlet between 1599 and 1601 and set the transcending play in Denmark where, like Amleth, Prince Hamlet plots his revenge against his scheming uncle Claudius after he murdered his father and seized the throne that rightfully belonged to him, while also marrying Hamlet’s conniving mother Gertrude.
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Director Robert Eggers felt compelled to create a Viking film after visiting Iceland, where he met Icelandic poet and writer Sjón, who would ultimately go on to co-write the screenplay for The Northman. Along with the legend of Amleth and Hamlet, Eggers also drew inspiration from stories like Poetic Edda, Prose Edda, and Egil’s Saga (classic Norse works) in addition to the 1982 epic Conan the Barbarian to help shape the riveting picture. The Swedish Skarsgård had also long been fascinated by Viking mythology and its history, thus paving the way for the Big Little Lies star to work with Eggers (and subsequently reunite with Kidman on-screen).
The Northman premiered on April 22, 2022, and garnered widespread acclaim, with both critics and audiences raving over its gorgeous cinematography, exhilarating action sequences, and Skarsgård’s tour de force performance as a man who will go to extraordinary lengths to avenge his father and fulfill his destiny. Despite failing to become a box office hit, the action film did find major success via streaming and home release and was nominated for numerous accolades like two Critics’ Choice Super Awards and a Saturn for Best Thriller Film.
Fans Anxiously Await the Debut of ‘Nosferatu’
Robert Eggers is no stranger to crafting spine-tingling tales featuring plenty of horror and suspense, with the prominent filmmaker having helmed the deeply unsettling hits The Witch and The Lighthouse. Eggers has also proven that he can brilliantly adapt literary adaptations after knocking it out of the park with The Northman, and the talented director has once again set his sights on yet another timeless classic: Nosferatu. The groundbreaking 1922 German silent picture served as an unofficial and unathorized adaptation of Bram Stoker’s celebrated horror novel Dracula, instilling terror and fear in audiences over a century later.
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Eggers’ upcoming gothic horror retelling Nosferatu will star the phenomenal Bill Skarsgård as the hair-raising vampire, who becomes terrifyingly obsessed with the young and beautiful woman Ellen Hunter, played by Lily-Rose Depp. The highly-anticipated adaptation will also feature the talents of Nicholas Hoult, Willem Dafoe, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson, with Skarsgård going above and beyond to prepare for the role. The decorated performer trained with an opera singer to train his voice to be deeper, while also spending six hours in the makeup chair for his frightening transformation. When describing the erie experience, Skarsgård said of the intense process:
“It was like conjuring pure evil. It took a while for me to shake off the demon that had been conjured inside of me.”
Rent/Buy The Northman on Apple TV+.