This is the one and only appearance by the Finnish actress called 'Carita' (Carita Järvinen) and the American, Don Murray. Considering this is about the Druids/Celts in Britain and the Romans, the casting does seem a bit odd. I guess I can understand casting Carita, as she was gorgeous here. Her command of English was quite good though the accent a bit thick and unlike anyone else in the film. And, I must say that when she was being tough and warlike as she swung her sword, I thought it was adorable...though hardly scary or inspiring.
The film is set around the year 100 (give or take a week). The Romans are occupying part of Britain and the locals, not surprisingly, are not at all pleased. For a while, the Queen (Carita) and Roman Governor (Murray) get along great and it seems they like each other and co-rule well. Eventually, however, their queen (a local--not some Viking despite the title) leads a revolt because of mistreatment of her people by some evil Romans--much like the real life one Queen Boadicea and her people (the Iceni) waged against the occupiers. Why, then, they keep calling her a Viking is beyond me, as the Vikings didn't arrive until about the year 800. Perhaps it made the film more marketable or the folks making it just knew nothing about history. Or, perhaps "The Viking Queen" simply sounded better than "The Iceni Queen"! And, why do the Iceni keep referring to Zeus--the Greek god?! The film comes off as not only historically inaccurate, but also suffers from two other serious problems. First, it's incredibly talky and often the dialog is horribly bad. Second, although the battles with Rome were epics (with tens of thousands killed), the film seems to show that both armies numbered in the dozens! And, mostly, the soldiers just stand there--doing very little. As for the Queen--she seemed about as scary and powerful as a Teletubby. The overall effect is cheap and a bit silly...and quite titillating at times (which only increases the cheese factor). And, it may well make you laugh--it sure did with me.
By the way, some of you might recognize Patrick Troughton in the film. He later played one of the Doctors from "Dr. Who"--one of the more obscure ones. Seeing him here in Celtic garb was interesting to say the least.
The film is set around the year 100 (give or take a week). The Romans are occupying part of Britain and the locals, not surprisingly, are not at all pleased. For a while, the Queen (Carita) and Roman Governor (Murray) get along great and it seems they like each other and co-rule well. Eventually, however, their queen (a local--not some Viking despite the title) leads a revolt because of mistreatment of her people by some evil Romans--much like the real life one Queen Boadicea and her people (the Iceni) waged against the occupiers. Why, then, they keep calling her a Viking is beyond me, as the Vikings didn't arrive until about the year 800. Perhaps it made the film more marketable or the folks making it just knew nothing about history. Or, perhaps "The Viking Queen" simply sounded better than "The Iceni Queen"! And, why do the Iceni keep referring to Zeus--the Greek god?! The film comes off as not only historically inaccurate, but also suffers from two other serious problems. First, it's incredibly talky and often the dialog is horribly bad. Second, although the battles with Rome were epics (with tens of thousands killed), the film seems to show that both armies numbered in the dozens! And, mostly, the soldiers just stand there--doing very little. As for the Queen--she seemed about as scary and powerful as a Teletubby. The overall effect is cheap and a bit silly...and quite titillating at times (which only increases the cheese factor). And, it may well make you laugh--it sure did with me.
By the way, some of you might recognize Patrick Troughton in the film. He later played one of the Doctors from "Dr. Who"--one of the more obscure ones. Seeing him here in Celtic garb was interesting to say the least.