User Reviews

When you get a load of this casting mix and this plot, you're probably already preparing yourself for a dumb, silly and cheese ball period adventure. Much of the acting is less than stellar (yet entertaining in its own way), the accents (or lack thereof) priceless, and the action ridiculous. There's a fair bit of blood here for a PG rated flick, but overall this is a pretty "good" diversion on a crummy, politically incorrect, wholly inaccurate level.

The hilariously cast Lee Majors of 'The Six Million Dollar Man' and 'The Fall Guy' fame plays proud Norse warrior Thorvald, accompanying a group of his men to America (which they dub "Vineland"), where his father, the King (Mel Ferrer), had vanished previously. It turns out that dad had been abducted by the local Indian tribe, so the very slim story ends up turning into a "Norseman vs. Indians" series of battles. Also along for the ride are none other than Jack Elam as an old "wizard", Cornel Wilde as a Norseman named Ragnar, Christopher Connelly as Rolf, Jimmy Clem, a regular in the films of Charles B. Pierce ("The Legend of Boggy Creek", "The Town That Dreaded Sundown"), and the directors' son Chuck Pierce as Majors' younger brother. Sonny Bonos' third wife Susie Coelho plays the young Indian hottie who sympathizes with the Norsemen and betrays her tribe. And is that Kathleen Freeman as an old Indian woman? It sure is.

This is worthy of some hearty chuckles, thanks to the script (by Pierce Sr. himself) and performances. But it's not totally lacking in quality, with sharp Panavision photography by Robert Bethard and stirring, atmospheric music by Jaime Mendoza-Nava.

This may not be one of the directors' finer moments, but it's still fun to a degree.

Executive produced, uncredited, by Majors and his then wife, Farrah Fawcett.

Five out of 10.

I am somewhat forgiving in giving this movie a 3! I highly recommend saving your time by doing other activities such finger painting or recreating THE NORSEMAN. I am sure a high school student with a video camera could do a better job at research and casting. The costumes are out of period, Native Americans do not fight running with tomahawks in their hand screaming. Not sure how they really fought back then, but I am sure that was not it! A black Norseman is not impossible just not probable. If I remember correctly the Norse were beaten by the Romans hence the Roman like uniforms plus the Roman had black slaves (Egypt which is located in Africa) hence the black guy.The work seems rushed and a lot of forethought has not gone into the editing. I feel this is one of the reasons why Farrah and Lee divorced.

This is an appalling film, and worth watching for that very reason. You'll struggle to buy a copy, and it probably isn't worth it, but in the UK we do get the occasional opportunity to see it on telly, so take them. This is a film with more ham than a Tesco deli counter, and Lee Majors, well, his own agent once described him as a 'somewhat limited actor'. The language - see my title, but to fully appreciate you'll have to hear the intonation in the movie itself, think Conan the Barbarian voiceovers - and the mock ritual and rite of Vikingness is hugely entertaining. Not unlike the sort of heavy metal that appeals to teenagers. Don't worry about history, it's irrelevant to this film - we all know the vikings must have been pretty sophisticated people, you'd have to be to conduct your trade from Teheran to St. Johns! And their business was arms and slaves, so they knew how to look after themselves. And this is not a film about sophisticated people. But the absolute star of this film is Jack Elam as the Death Dreamer, the wizard. The stereotypical shaman, Dr Samedi meets Don Juan meets Papa Lazarou. Honestly, folks, this movie is a hoot, but it is utter rubbish. If you want a quality viking flick, although again with questionable historical accuracy, go for The Vikings, with Kirk Douglas, Tony Curtis and a brilliant Ernest Borgnine. At least you'll care about the characters.

Isn't always sad to rediscover a memory from your childhood that you treasured greatly, but then finding it as an adult, and not being able to figure out how in the hell you possibly could have liked it in the first place. That's how I felt upon seeing this movie a while back. I can recall vividly when I went and saw this movie when I was ten, and my friends and I being blown away by it. In fact I saw it three times in one week. (no lie) When I saw it last, I pondered how could I not have seen the FATAL miscasting of Lee Majors. How I overlooked the black(!?) viking. Why did I not conceive that the plot for this was so laughably stupid (Vikings vs. American Indians). Sigh, it's a sad fact of life, the smarter you get, the DUMBER you realize you were.

I am sitting at home watching THE NORSEMAN on TV, trying to pick my incredulous chin up off the floor. This movie must be seen by film students so they can learn everything NOT to do in making a movie. For example: Lee Majors (THORVALD) and the boy playing his Norse son deliver arch dialog in southern American accents...The Caucasian looking Indians with perfect Herbal Essence hairstyles...and perfect teeth..(that tribe must have a really good dental plan) Lee Majors sports a late 1970's mustache and hair style...He probably was on hiatus from a series and refused to restyle his hair...The Max Factor warpaint on the Indians' faces...and the lack of "Light Egyptian" on their bodies...Irish actress, Kathleen Freeman, as an old Indian woman... The "ultra realistic" Canadian location (NOT!), complete with palm trees and Spanish Moss... How did they get the money to make this thing? Where can I get some for my films??? This film is like a train wreck....painful to watch but absolutely riveting in its awfulness. The only area that deserves praise is the cinematography...the exteriors look pretty good... the cinematographer must have picked up the gig to pay for a fishing expedition or a vacation to Hawaii... In the words of many a great Norseman, .....Oy Vey!!!

Beyond the bad monologue, the horrible dialog and craptastic hair, the cracker ass native Americans, plastic armor and the black viking...wtf? I did however find it amazing that this movie did have something in common with the star wars trilogy. As Jedi dueling are obliged to fall into bottomless pits if there are any near by, so are all warriors in this crapfest obliged to fall into water if it is within 200 yards. Oh..and blind people are wicked forest runners as long as they're led by rope. Oh wait...there's more....apparently Norse armor also could act as a emergency flotation device..I could go on and on....buts there's no point..even on percocet this movie is bad. The only thing that could have helped this mind numbing piece of garbage is a guest appearance by Lopan...

A bunch of cowboy actors playing viking. Poorly. Horrible dialog that a 6th grader could have written. Aromor is made of painted plastic and aluminum. You can even hear the sound of aluminum banging together in the fighting. The fighting also looks like staging for a 6th grade play. Vikings did not wear horned helmets by the way much less plastic ones. The white people playing Indians are dressed in loin cloths and as plains Indians. Quite strange and probably very cold for people who are supposed to be in NE Canada and Nova Scotia. Of course, the palms foliage is just as fitting. And to top it off Deacon Jones, a black man, is one of the vikings. It is insulting to everyone involved.

Did you know it took FIVE men to edit this film? I don't think I've ever seen any other film with more than two, possibly three, credited editors. It's not surprising, though, considering what they had to work with. Take a wooden Lee Majors as the Six Million Dollar Norseman. Add in an asinine plot about a Viking vs. Native American war. Thicken and stir with the producer's son in a vanity role as a young Viking with all the acting ability of a lamppost, and sprinkle with Deacon Jones playing a black (yes, as in of African extract!!) Viking who got picked up on an earlier longboat jaunt. The result is surely one of the ten worst films ever to get a theatrical release, and that is no easy accomplishment. Your jaw will hang open in horror for the full 97 minute running time.

absolutely one of the worst movies i have ever seen. ponderous, poorly acted,poorly cast, and dumb. shall we count the ways? a slow motion montage of the vikings running on the beach

a viking gets shot in the ass with an arrow and dies

the black viking is supposed to be an African prisoner, but why does he wear viking clothes?

also the black viking somehow cut the tongue out of the man who captured him, during said fight! how can you lose that fight?

vikings never wore horned helmets, at least not in battle. they were ceremonial or religious in nature, and the only evidence of them comes from artwork. no artifacts.

why did the indians blind there viking prisoners, who seem to be waited on by the indians?

many more confusing items abound, and this film will become one your favorite COMEDIES the more you watch it.

Writer/director Charles B. Pierce deceased a couple of months a ago at age 71. He may not have been the greatest cinematic genius who ever lived, but personally I really liked him. Pierce worked as a set decorator for multiple great movies and almost single-handedly made (wrote, produced & directed) a couple of cool modest classics in the horror genre, like "The Legend of Boggy Creek", "The Town that Dreaded Sundown" and "The Evictors". Particularly the latter two are terrific but sadly underrated gems with a raw atmosphere and great suspense. Rather than re-watching those classics in his honor, which is what we should have done instead, my mate and I watched something "different" from Charles B. Pierce … A Viking movie with a truly cool-looking VHS cover and starring Lee "Six Million Dollar Man" Majors! How bad can it be? Well, "The Norseman" is tremendously bad, unfortunately, and that's a real shame because the basic premise showed so much potential. Charles B. Pierce's script departs from the existing theory that the Norsemen already reached the northern American shores approximately five hundred years before Christopher Columbus did (they named it Wineland) and came into violent conflict with the aboriginals. The idea of bloody battles and carnage between Vikings and Native Americans sounds awesome, but this film is a boring and ludicrous mess. A boat full of Norsemen led by the mighty Thorvald (Lee Majors … I've never seen a cleaner and more properly shaved Viking) head towards America in search for their king Eurich, who went missing during a previous conquering trip. The king and several of his traveling companions were indeed captured by the Native Americans, and they are well prepared for any possible next encounters with intruders. Charles B. Pierce's screenplay for "The Norseman" is completely inaccurate and downright dumb! The Vikings supposedly were the most barbaric warriors in our history books, but here they behave like a bunch of terrified sissies. They drivel about courageous warfare and Northern Gods, but they accomplish absolutely nothing. In fact, it are the Native Americans that behave like the Norsemen ought to! They are the ones who enslaved and even blinded their Viking prisoners. The fight sequences are laughably weak and bloodless. The acting performances are all wooden and uninspired. The only half-decent performance comes from Jack Elam as the Death Dreamer. He's some kind of wizard who forewarns the Norsemen about upcoming dangers. The Vikings claim that nobody has ever seen his face, even though he walks around with his bearded face exposed the entire time. That, along with the fact there apparently existed black Vikings, is the low point of "The Norseman". "The Town that Dreaded Sundown" and "The Evictors" come with my highest possible recommendation, but play stay far away from this Charles B. Pierce turkey!

First, let's get one thing out of the way. A previous commenter points out that:

*** also the black viking somehow cut the tongue out of the man who captured him, during said fight! how can you lose that fight? ***

I just want to say that is one of the funniest things, and the best question, I have read in a long time. Kudos to the author.

But on to "The Norseman." How best to comprehend this masterpiece?

I feel that my writing skills are inadequate, not up to the task of communicating all that is "The Norseman." Perhaps a comparison would be a good start. It occurs to me that "Citizen Kane" did not receive an Oscar for best picture, and in a very similar development, "The Norseman" is not widely considered to be one of the Worst Movies of All Time. I had never heard of it before my Tivo, in an apparent act of revenge, suggested I might enjoy watching it.

I did nothing to Tivo to deserve this.

In any event I assure you, "The Norseman" is, indeed, one of the worst films - if not the worst film -- ever made. Absurd anachronisms, bad costumes, bad characters, ridiculous dialog, the list goes on and on.

But above everything else there is the acting of Lee Majors. Lee Majors is not merely a "bad" actor, like Chuck Norris. Instead, Lee Majors is a sort of Platonic ideal of bad acting, the standard by which all other bad acting should be judged. Majors is not MERELY untalented (although the range of his emotional expression runs the gamut from indifference to, um, nauseated indifference). And Majors is not MERELY wooden (although he makes Al Gore look like Eminem). Instead, Majors' acting actually destroys any attempt at real dialog and character development, the way that a pervasive, horrible odor of decaying flesh might destroy an otherwise perfect vacation in a tropical paradise.

Compare Jack Elam, who has a truly ridiculous role in this film, yet manages to pull it off in a sort of campy, bird-on-my shoulder way. The difference, of course, is that Elam can act. For Majors, there is nowhere to run to, nowhere to hide.

I came away from this film with the definite and firm conviction that Lee Majors was born too late, and that he should have been the lead actor for the immortal Ed Wood. In my view, only Wood was able to make a film this bad.

You simply must see "The Norseman." Once the Viking dies from an ass-wounding, you'll know you have truly entered the Valhalla of Bad Films

I think it's a comedy... I think many people approach this film without considering it's satirical humor, and the 11th century wrist watch.

Satirical humor. Pseudo based on a Viking legend and the Vinland discovery in the Norse sagas. While it's not something I would refer people to for academic purposes, it is a corny, awful film only fans of Norse mythology and Vikings might enjoy.

The acting is mostly amateur at best and the Native's are entirely white people running around half nude, it's a total boob film. It's not a magical piece but you may enjoy the humor of it's bizarre pacing but the sword battles I found enjoyable.

I hope you enjoy it.

Cheers.

**SPOILERS** Going on a rescue mission a ship-load of Norsemen make their way across the Great Sea, Atlantic Ocean, back in the 11th century to find their great leader King Eurich, Mel Ferrer. King Eurich together with his band of Viking seamen disappeared in the wilds of Vineland, prehistoric America, some time before.

Leading this rescue expedition is King Eurich's son the utterly fearless and courageous Thoruald, Lee Majors, who with his fellow Norsemen that included the on boat Wizard Death Dreamer, Jack Elam, who's always BS-ing and double-talking his way through the movie in order to avoid being put on a raft and sent out to sea by Thoruald as punishment for being a false prophet. Also on board is the gigantic and totally fearless and speechless Norseman Olif, Jimmy Clem, who had his tongue cut out in a battle off the African coast by the now honorary Norseman and Viking Thrall, Deacon Jones, a former African warrior chief who has since become Olif's best friend.

Landing on the far northern coast of Vineland, that looks a lot like Florida,the Norsemen run into trouble with the natives who attack them relentlessly killing a number of them even though the Norsemen take out far more natives then they lose of their own. The natives who outnumber the Norsemen by a ratio of at least of 100 to 1 is what makes their battle with the Noresmen very one sided and in favor of themselves. It will only be a matter of time before natives finish off the reminding valiant, but very hopelessly outnumbered, Norsemen with their human wave-like assaults.

One of the native women Winetta, Susie Coelho,who fell for the earlier "Blond Giants" or Nrosemen, led by King Eurich, get's in touch with Thoruald through sign language. Winetta tells him that his father is alive and being held captive together with a number of his Norsemen survivors by the native leader Klwnonga, Jerry Daniels, or Smiley. It was Klwnonga who double-crossed the friendly Norsemen by getting them drunk, as they were partying with the natives, and then after killing most of them had King Eurich and three of his fellow Norsemen blinded and put in a cave forced to grind whole corn kernels into cornmeal for the natives.

Thoruald who for some reason doesn't have on the usual Viking horned helmet, that his fellow Norsemen wear, but what looks like an ancient Greek or Roman one with a black Lone Ranger mask under it is lead to the cave by Winette. It's there where his father, King Eurich, and his fellow Norsemen are being held captive. After knocking off their native guards Thoruald & Co. make a run for it through the woods to the safety of the awaiting Norseman ship but not after having it out with the perusing natives. The Norseman/Native showdown results in Klwnonga/Smiley getting his eyes badly damaged by Death Dreamer's pet hawk. Thoruald and his fellow Norsemen don't sail out of danger and out to sea until the mighty Olif who voluntarily, against Thoruald's orders, stayed behind to hold off the hundreds of attacking wild and screaming natives all by himself. After miraculously surviving the ferocious native assault, with about a half dozen arrows still stuck in him, Olif is then also rescued.

This whole magilla, long story,is told to us in retrospect by the Norseman ship's houseboy, or ship-boy, young Eric, Chuck Pierce Jr. Eric has since become a full-fledged Viking Warrior like his friend and hero Thoruald who taught young Eric everything he knew about strength courage and most of all dedication to one's family friends and people. Thoruald also thought Eric not to give in or give up when all seems lost and hopeless and that more then anything else is what made the mighty Norsemen, or Vikings, the feared and invincible "Blond Warriors" that they were. Those hard hitting Norsemen were no one to fool around with like the natives in the movie sadly found out. These blond and fearless giants defeated against unbelievable odds all comers on four different continents, Asia Africa Europe and North America. It's and undeniable fact that the Norsemen could have easily conquered the entire civilized, as well as uncivilized, world back then if they only wanted too which they didn't.

A treasure trove of anachronism, continuity errors and baaaaaaaaaad acting. So bad it's wonderful. Who knew there were black vikings, or that vikings wore wristwatches? A genuine treat. You'll laugh your butt off.

It stinks.

Lee 'The Six Million Dollar Man' Majors. If he isn't one of the Top Ten WORST excuses for an actor in cinematic history, then somebody needs to be taken off that list so we can put Majors on it.

The bionic dud shows up with a crooked mustache and a late 1970's hairstyle. He utters lines of 'period' dialogue with all the urgency of a constipated snail. Helping him stink is Cornel Wilde(!) -- what the freak is he doing in this creaky tripe? Majors employed a small band of his buddies including Denny Miller (the guy who played 'Tongo' the ape man on Gilligan's Island about a thousand years ago). The only real question here is: How did Majors arrive at the conclusion that doing this film would be a 'good idea'?

Everything in this movie stinks, especially Majors, whom no doubt forgot to drink a cup of coffee each morning before filming so we could tell he was awake.

The only explanation for this product to ever have been made is that director and actors where on vacation in some Caribbean beach and just for fun they decided to make a movie with one of them's hand camera.

Besides a plot neither better nor worse than others we have seen -Torvald is a viking prince sailing in search of his father captured by American Indians- the point with this "film" is that no one in it (director, actors and crew) shows the minimum interest or effort in getting somewhere. Producers, if there were any, definitely decided not spend a dollar in "The Norsman". There's no script, no settings, no music score, no backgrounds (except nature), no nothing.

The cast is cheap too. Lee Majors (Torvald) could never act and the same goes to Cornel Wilde (his sidekick Ragnar). Fine actors like Mel Ferrer (Torvald's father) and Jack Elam (some sort of wizard) were by then on their way back in their carriers and they don't even appear much.

No tension, no climax, no interest in what may happen, no nothing.

Probably the worst film ever in its genre. ¡Mama Mìa!!!

Watchable, but mostly unspectacular Vikings vs. Indians picture. Even though this came out in the late 1970's, it looks like it could have been made 15 to 20 years previous. Lee Majors helms the longship to The New World in search of his father who did not return from a previous expedition and captured by hostile indians. Much like a western from the 50's the native tribes are portrayed in a very one dimensional manner and like the 50's, not a single Native American is cast in this either. The acting is adequite, but far from exceptional. The action is nothing special either. The one element I did find interesting is character actor Jack Elam as the Viking wizard. I'm sure this production was fairly cheap and is decent for not costing much to make. However watchable, The Norseman is a pretty boring period action film and very little about the film stands out as exciting or memorable.

Look at the movie poster. Front and center is an almost nude Indian maiden, her ample uncovered butt pointed right at you as she looks on.

I'm sure that these points were made in the other member post, but I didn't read it because the guy was so long winded. Lee Majors is The Norseman, who pronounces it as Noors-man, there is a black viking who wears the tongue of an enemy around his neck, a wizard who's face has never been seen, yet we see it throughout the film, and vikings being killed by getting an arrow to the ass. This movie is GREAT, if you are the type of person who feels that watching "bad" movies makes you stronger. I watched it with two friends and my younger brother, my two friends "hated" it, yet they were the ones showing it to me and this was not their first time watching it (on Video-Disc, no less!!). My brother and I loved it, it was a good time and made for a great double feature with Kurthisss The Drug Free Snake. (I also bought a copy of the original theatrical poster).

There's certainly no shortage of COWBOYS vs. Indians movies, but this is the only VIKINGS vs. Indians one that I know of. Interesting idea (and not without historical basis), and actually interesting story IMO, albeit admittedly weak on the execution. Lee Majors is a stolid (and arguably wooden) Viking prince ("Lord Thorwald") with a Texas accent ("Us Norse men . . . ) who leads an expedition of frat-boy Vikings in a search for an earlier expedition that went missing. (It turns out that they were blinded and enslaved by the locals when they started to get too close to the latter's women!) Veteran actors Cornel Wilde and Mel Ferrer are on hand, as Lord Thorwald's loyal second and enslaved king/father, respectively. And even young Eric the Red is along for the ride. (In actual history, Eric the Red WAS the son of Thorwald, but neither ever made it to the North American mainland; it was ERIC's son Leif who eventually did so.) And speaking of cowboys, veteran WESTERN actor Jack Elam plays the ship's resident mystic magician, who even has a pet hawk whose claws prove capable of doing some blinding when let loose. Meanwhile, post-Cher Sonny Bono squeeze Susie Coelho is no strain on the eyeballs as a rather fetching young Indian maid who is sympathetic to the Vikings. All in all a not unenjoyable film and one I'm rather fond of. Definitely one that would not make someone feel unfortunate if they encountered it on late-night TV.

Let's take into account, first of all, the casting. Start with David Deacon Jones as a Black Viking. Add Freddy Biletnikoff at wide rece...oops, a white Viking. Mix in Chuck Pierce, Jr., coincidentally the son of the guy who is credited as the producer, director and writer. It than goes steadily downhill to a strange mix of pro., semi-pro, and amateur "actors" that amounts to the most motley excuse for a cast that could possibly be assembled. The musical score is out of wack,the dialogue absurd, the costumes seem straight out of a junior high class play and the story makes no sense. Add it all up and the sum of the parts equals a mess so bad that even an aficianado of bad movies (me) could not find any enjoyment in suffering through the silly proceedings. I dare any normal human being over the age of 8 to watch this from beginning to end.