The Long Ships poster & wallpaper

Beba Loncar, Clifford Evans, Colin Blakely

Looking for a rousing Viking adventure that's cheesy and entertaining? The Long Ships is just the movie for you. As England's greatest color cinematographer, Jack Cardiff had filmed 1958...( read more  read more... )'s The Vikings, so he was well-prepared to direct this exciting, occasionally grisly mini-epic (a British/Yugoslavian coproduction, filmed in Yugoslavia), which received mixed-to-favorable reviews when released in 1964. Back then, it was a perfect matinee marvel if you were young and impressionable, and it's still worth its weight in hot buttered popcorn. While that most contemporary of actors, Richard Widmark, is clearly out of place as a maverick Norse warrior, he's sufficiently valiant as he guides his Viking brother (Russ Tamblyn, still hot from West Side Story) and a long-ship full of warriors in search of a huge, solid-gold bell coveted by Mansuh (Sidney Poitier), a Moorish prince obsessed with retrieving the legendary bell at any cost. Treacherous maelstroms, lovely damsels, corny battles, and casual humor make The Long Ships a lot of fun--like a Ray Harryhausen adventure without the animated creatures. (Oh, and Mr. Poitier? James Brown called... he wants his hair back.) --Jeff Shannon

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41% liked it

834 ratings

Unrated, 125 min.

Directed by: Jack Cardiff

Release Date: June 24, 1964

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DVD Release Date: June 24, 2003

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Flixster Reviews (48)

  • sainttom93
    March 1, 2008
    sainttom93
    A good, if schlocky, view of the Vikings wanderings -- Schlocky or not, I liked it
  • garyX
    December 20, 2007
    garyX
    This amusingly cheesy matinee style viking film features Richard Widmark and his brother Russ Tamblyn (sporting a very fetching pair of hot pants!) seemingly having loads of fun as norsemen on the pillage in pursuit of a legendary golden bell, also coveted by Moorish prince Sidne...( read more)y Poitier. Poitier actually cuts quite a dashing figure in his period robes and armour, but looks a little uncomfortable playing the action man. The main problem with the film is not in it's inherent silliness; that's all part of the fun. Some of the early scenes on board ship are unintentionally hilarious! It's in casting these pirates as the "good" guys; I actually felt far more affinity towards Poitier and his Moors than Widmark's men, who came across as brutish testosterone soaked thugs. This is underlined by the unbelievably tasteless harem scene where rape is presented as some kind of comic lark, very much in the vein of a Carry On film. This shockingly misjudged (althought mercifully brief) sequence seriously marred my enjoyment of the film, which up until then I'd considered harmless fun. If you can ignore the dubious morality of it all, it's an enjoyable boys own adventure in the mold of Jason And The Argonauts, but that particular scene did leave me with a rather unpleasant taste in my mouth.
  • 339z
    August 22, 2009
    339z
    well umn just seen this movie 4 the 1st time n think that this is a good movie 2 watch....its got a good cast of actors/actressess throughout this movie....i think that beba loncar, clifford evans, colin blakely, david lodge, edward judd, gordon jackson, lionel jeffries, oskar ho...( read more)molka, richard widmark play good roles/parts throughout this movie....i think that the director of this action/adventure/drama/classics movie had done a good job of directing this movie because you never know what 2 expect thorughout this movie....i think that this is a good movie 2 watch its enjoyable throughout this movie...i think that the fight scenes were pretty kewl throughout this movie
  • Ghw12158
    August 10, 2008
    Ghw12158
    unusual but interesting
  • torjohnson3
    August 7, 2008
    torjohnson3
    Love this movie! Watch out for the Mare of Steel!
  • SarahJoyFrost
    November 29, 2006
    SarahJoyFrost
    I'd like to see this movie!

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