Severed Ways: The Norse Discovery of America (2007)
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32% of critics liked it
(19 reviews) -
40% of users liked it
(12,167 ratings)
Many historians contend that Norse explorers settled on the North American continent long before it was "discovered" by Columbus, and this adventure blends historical research with the filmmakers' imagination in the tale of two 11th Century Vikings and their struggle to survive in a… More Many historians contend that Norse explorers settled on the North American continent long before it was "discovered" by Columbus, and this adventure blends historical research with the filmmakers' imagination in the tale of two 11th Century Vikings and their struggle to survive in a new land. Orn (Tony Stone) and Volnard (Fiore Tedesco) are the only two survivors of a bloody clash between their Viking clan and a band of Native Americans; aware that their best hope of survival is to move on, they set out to find a new territory to settle. While making their way through the wilderness of what is now the Canadian province of Newfoundland, Orn and Volnard encounter a pair of monks from Ireland who have escaped from a Viking camp. They quickly slay one of the monks, but they allow the other (David Perry) to live, and he joins them in their daily battle to scratch out an existence in the beautiful but forbidding landscapes. Along the way, Orn wins an unlikely companion, a native woman (Noelle Bailey) who first saw him as he was laying waste to her village. Severed Ways: The Norse Discovery of America was the first feature film from writer and director Tony Stone, who also plays Orn; it received its premiere at the 2007 Los Angeles Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Directed By
- Tony Stone
- Written By
- Tony Stone
- Genres
- Drama, Action & Adventure, Art House & International
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Mar 13, 2009 Wide
- Studio
- Magnolia Pictures
Critic Reviews
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Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times
Stone's admirable and persuasive evocation is unfortunately marred by his self-defeating resort to flurries of claustrophobic, fragmented hand-held shots that obfuscate just about every crucial plot development in the film.
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V.A. Musetto, New York Post
Severed Ways is one of the oddest movies I've seen in a while -- and that's a good thing.
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Manohla Dargis, New York Times
If nothing else, Mr. Stone, from his tangled hair to dirty feet, has taken himself and his story into the beyond -- way, way beyond.
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Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out New York
Largely lacking in dialogue (if not unintentional hilarity), this intensely personal project is proof positive that Bill and Ted grew up to become filmmakers.
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Nicolas Rapold, Village Voice
The spectacle of two dudes mucking about in the primal forest becomes tedious...
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Cast
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Fiore Tedesco
as Volnard
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Tony Stone
as Orn
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David Perry
as Monk 1
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Noelle Bailey
as Abenaki Woman
- Gaby Hoffmann
- James Fuentes
- Clare Amory
- Nathan Corbin
- Shaun Dooley
