The White Viking (1991)

The White Viking (alternative title Embla, Icelandic: Hvíti víkingurinn, Norwegian: Den hvite viking) is a 1991 film set in Norway and Iceland during the reign of Olaf I of Norway.

Embla is the directors cut of the White Viking and released on DVD in 2007. It was premiered at the Reykjavik International Film Festival on October 6, 2007. It is the directors cut of the original film as the director imagined it. Gunnlaugsson chose to call the film Embla so that it is not confused with the White Viking, compiled by the producers of the film in 1992. Embla is the third film of the legendary Raven Trilogy (also known as the Viking Trilogy) that consists of three 'Viking' films:


1) When the Raven Flies (1984) - (original Icelandic title: Hrafninn flýgur) - usually known as simply The Raven or Revenge of the Barbarians.
2) In The Shadow of the Raven (1987) - (original Icelandic title: Í skugga hrafnsins).
3) Embla (2007) - (original Icelandic title: Hvíti víkingurinn) - the directors cut of The White Viking.
Embla, as played by Maria Bonnevie, was her first screen role when she was only fifteen years of age.

Synopsis

The film centers on a character named Askur, who marries a woman named Embla in a pagan ceremony, enraging King Olaf, a Christian who seeks to root out paganism in Norway. Embla is captured, and as punishment, Askur is sent to Iceland with the task of converting the people there to Christianity in order to free Embla. The choice of names for the young married couple comes from Nordic mythology, in which the first two humans are named Ask and Embla.

Actors