“Beowulf is boring!” That exclamation by a friend is what inspired the late Michael Crichton to write his 1976 novel, The Eaters of the Dead. Written from the perspective of an anthropological translation of 10th-century court report, Eaters retells the Beowulf story in a down-to-earth fashion, only making changes to set in reality. While mostly based on the epic poem, the novel also incorporates the real life Ahmed Ibn Fadlan’s journey for the Caliphate into the story, both as our protagonist and narrator. While first optioned in seventy-nine by Orion Pictures, it wasn’t until the summer of ninety-seven that production began. While originally shot under the same title as the book, the title was changed to The 13th Warrior upon release.
The 13th Warrior is a 1999 historical-action film directed by John McTiernan, with a cast led by Antonio Banderas. The plot is more or less the same as the book: Ahmed catches the eye of a married woman and is set away from home when her husband complains to the Caliph. Upon reaching the Volga River he runs into a group of Norsemen who are celebrating the life of their late king. Not long after a messenger from Hrothgar of the north arrives, asking for aid against an ancient threat. Thirteen warriors are selected, Ahmed among them, as the Thirteenth must be no Northman. The group travel to the land of the Norse, where they encounter the threat: a group of human-like beings called the Wendol. Together the warriors must protect Hrothgar’s people and find a way to repel the Wendol threat for all time.
The film was originally supposed to be released in 1998 but was delayed after negative test-screenings necessitated several re-edits. At this point, McTiernan was booted off the film Crichton took over the production. Once again the film was re-edited, and additional scenes were shot, including a new ending. These changes include changing the age of the Mother, adding in the ending duel between Bulywyf and the Wendol leader, and replacing the score. While it is hard to confirm what else Crichton changed without a copy of the original shooting script, the first time I watched the film I noticed Ahmed’s sword changed back and forth from curved to straight, sometimes within the same scene.
All of Crichton’s changes massively inflated the budget, with the rough total being $110 million before marketing and $160 million after marketing. For comparison, The Lost World only cost $73 million. It opened at Number Two on August 27th to mostly negative reviews and currently holds a 33% on Rotten Tomato’s, the consensus being great sets and atmosphere but thin on plot. It ultimately grossed roughly $60 million worldwide, making it one of cinemas great box office bombs.
While I will concede that the plot isn’t overly complex, that is a holdover from both literary source materials. The Eaters of the Dead is a court-report; the entire story is told from Ahmed’s viewpoint, chronicling his views and bias towards everything he witnesses. It is a foreigner’s interpretation of what transpired, and as such is slightly one-sided. Because of this, his twelve warrior companions do not get much development beyond the typical stock Norseman. Even Herger, the one warrior Ahmed can converse with, is not immune; they have a comrade-in-arms relationship, but most of it has to do with Herger being Ahmed’s sole source of information. Bulywyf is portrayed like an epic-hero, fitting given he is our Beowulf stand-in. While his death does not involve a dragon, it is no less fitting for one wishing to gain entry into Valhalla.
The story being told by Ahmed also meant one aspect had to be changed in the medium transfer: Ahmed’s understanding of the Norse language. In the novel he slowly picks it up as the story unfolds, but by the end only has a rudimentary understanding. In the film he picks it up before they reached Hrothgar’s hall, paying close attention to conversations when they make camp; while it only shows three, the exact number is left for the viewer to decided. Some might find this a little farfetched, but given that Ahmed is a writer in a culture that is known to have traded with the Norse I have no problem with the solution. The alternative would be Ahmed asking Herger about everything like he does in the book, which would slow the film down. It also gives an added bonus of Ahmed gaining some respect from his Norse companions, which in turn adds to their stronger relationship in this medium.
The screenplay was written by William Wisher Jr and Warren Lewis. At the time Wisher was well known for helping James Cameron write the action masterpiece Terminator 2 Judgement Day and Lewis had worked with McTiernan as an assistant director on his directorial debut, Nomads. Even with the production problems, I feel they did a great job, although I do wonder which aspects of the film come from their original script and which was changed later.
The score was originally composed by Graeme Revell, but when Crichton took over he was replaced by the legendary Jerry Goldsmith. While I do feel for Revell, it was hard to compete with Goldsmith, whose score carries the right amount of epicenes and is fun to listen to with or without the film. Like Lord of the Rings, it makes one want to pick up a sword and slay some enemies.
One thing the film doesn’t fully explore is what the Wendol are. The novel’s final chapter reveals that they are decedents of the Neanderthal, which explains their different appearance, bear reverence, greater strength, stone-age weaponry and persistence on retrieving their dead. Since this revelation is outside of Ahmed’s writing, I understand why it wasn’t included, although there are subtle hints in the Wendol makeup that point to this conclusion. One nice little addition is that we briefly hear a Wendol speak their own language, which humanizes their culture, if only slightly.
Antonio Banderas lead the cast as Ahmed, and he delivered a great performance. From the beginning, you identify with him. He’s been put in one awful situation over jealousy and then another over prophecy. He’s stuck in a bad situation, but he makes the best of it and pushes forward, which makes him likable and admirable. At first he does have a little smugness, but it’s tempered by the horrors he encounters because of the Wendol. This was Banderas’s acting follow-up to The Mask of Zorro, and it shows during the battle scenes. He channels some of first act Alejandro into Ahmed’s fighting technique, making the audience believe that he is not a hardened warrior like his companions, but someone who has battle thrust upon them and must survive. Some might find it strange to have a Spanish actor cast as an Arab ambassador—a point I will concede somewhat—but considering the foothold Islam had in Spain at the time the film is set I would counter it is plausible, if not slightly improbable.
Herger was played by Norwegian actor Dennis Storhoi, and I felt he did a great job. He has a chemistry with Banderas that slowly grows as the plot progresses, and by the end, the audience buys that the two are battle-friends. One little addition that I love is that Herger regularly calls Ahmed “little brother. It is both a term of endearment and shows the Arab’s place in the group. Outside of this role I’m not that familiar with his work, although I do know he was attached to The Thing prequel in the early stages.
Canadian actor Vladimir Kulich played Bulywyf, and he embodied the character perfectly. Although there isn’t much to his character beyond the “Epic-hero” archetype, Vladimir embodies and embraces it in his performance, especially in his battle scenes. He’s had mild success outside the film, having roles in Highlander, Vikings, The Equalizer, and—what I recognize his voice from—The Elder Scrolls V as Ulfric Stormcloak.
Outside of these three, the rest of the cast is just there. They play their roles decently, but nothing memorable stands out. One thing to mention is that Omar Sharif—who played Banderas’s travel companion during the opening scenes—hated the final film so much that he temporarily retired from acting.
Is the film a masterpiece? No, but it is an entertaining adventure film with competently shot action, a lead character the audience cares for, interesting side-characters and a creepy antagonist faction. It’s a film that I can turn on any day, and my personal favorite cinematic Beowulf adaptation. While I am curious how the original cut of the film played, my curiosity doesn’t distract from my enjoyment of the final cut, even though it was taken out of the director's hands; for all we know this could be one of the few cases where that was a good thing. 3.5 Four out of 5 stars.
