Alexander Skarsgård & 'The Northman' Director Break Down Amleth's Return as a Viking | Vanity Fair
2022 ж. 21 Сәу.
685 814 Рет қаралды
In this episode of "Notes on a Scene," Alexander Skarsgård and 'The Northman' director Robert Eggers break down a scene from their new film.
THE NORTHMAN is in theaters now, www.focusfeatures.com/the-nor...
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Put Robert Eggers in title
the disrespect is baffling
Absolutely agree.
Yeah it’s messed up
Never heard of him. Watching the lighthouse on cable for a reference...
Put some respect on his name.
One of the greatest directors of this gen and y’all won’t even put his name in the title. ROBERT EGGERS- The Witch(VVitch), the lighthouse, now northman. Don’t dirsrespect my boy
He 3 for 3 for real
Agreed! He and Ari Aster are real modern gems in Recent cinema!✨️✨️
@@justanubis9666 him and ari my favorite 2 rn I’m so hyped for disappointment blvd w Joaquin
@@jupap24 Lets hope for thr best! These film makers understand the building blocks and the essence of a story. So, it is quite cool, bcz we will never be disappointed by their films! We just need to feel the world they built with so much effort and the pace of the storytelling portrayed!!
@@justanubis9666 The Witch and Hereditary were amazing first films for both those guys. Really impressive stuff.
Eggers literally looks ashamed when he says the hairstyles weren’t all accurate. Lol love this guy
Honestly I can hardly blame a director for sacrificing some historical accuracy so the audience can take a character seriously.
@@gamemaster2311 Vikings, the show, had some outrageous hairstyles, dunno if they were accurate, but they worked even tho they looked hella goofy
@@MrDukeSilverr they were accurate besides the tattoos!
If it's a hairstyle that can be achieved with period tools and products, it was almost certainly done at least once.
@@CircaMoon they really were not accurate AT ALL
I don’t think I’ve ever heard a theater as quiet as I did when this movie ended. Kinda felt like we all had to process for a moment. Truly a stunning film!
So quiet and then a collective sigh of relief as the tension went away. Never experienced that in the cinema before
It hits you like a stack of bricks. The final scenes had me in awe especially that conclusion of the final battle. I think that battle takes the throne of any period piece I’ve seen.
It's been a long time since i left the cinema in awe. Only movie i can think of that did the same was Lord of the rings honestly.. Eggers is set to reach Kubrick levels if he keeps this up
@@treytilley333 so stunning and poetic.
We had the same experience. It was eerie and amazing. Fantastic film, definitely not for everyone.
'This is the "Hakuna Matata" part of "The Lion King", only with a lot more killing and blood.' Just another reason why I love this director.
Loved it! For those that might have missed the reference: The Lion King is (like Hamlet) is also based on the same old norse story - uncle kills father and takes throne, son loses his way, then returns to save his mother and settle the score.
Hakuna Matata, it means no worries
I would pay to watch Robert Eggers explain history for hours tbh
I wish he would do a deep dive into the making-of and go over all the finer details. It's educational as well as entertaining.
Type in Robert Eggers lecture on youtube
Would be cool if he did a master class.
Some people walked out last night when I went to go see it. One man said afterwards, "Waste of time" Couldn't disagree more.. this movie felt so refreshing in this day and age of Hollywood. Such a grounded and brutal film
Just goes to prove not everyone has great taste. Not to mention the number of people who demand their 'hand' to be held throughout the entirety of a film, and if every one of their expectations aren't met then they proclaim it to be a 'waste of time', is absolutely astounding.
Up there with Apocalypto and the Revenant!!!
Whoever said that is a fool lets be real. We actually need more movies like this . It was amazing, eggers is super talented
I havents seen this film yet, but Im 99% sure its good. Eggers is a talanted director. P.S. Why do so many modern movies about Middle ages have that grey colorless filter? It wasnt a thing untill 2000s or something. And btw there are three descendants of Medieval Rus (Belarus, Russia, Ukraine), not two. "Belarus" literally means "white Rus".
Why did they walk out ?
It was one of the greatest films I've ever seen. THE best Viking film. One guy walked out the cinema saying "I thought it was a bit boring". People are too used to endless, pointless CGI action with no substance and it's a real shame
"Where is superman"? is an apt term for the regular movie goer. People lose interest if it's not constant action and boom and WOH and AHH and OMG!
Get the f#%k out of here with that pretentious garbage. I’ll watch Thor Ragnarok, The Northman, and then Encanto. People are allowed to like multiple things just as that guy in your theater is allowed to have a sh%#ty take on a auteur masterclass of a film.
@@KeiGambit it's a vicious cycle, films like this come out which are incredible achievements of storytelling, but because they don't have superpowers they don't do very well at the box office so less films like this are made and companies pump out more mindless comic films. Films like this are rare now
I had 6 people walk out of my theater lol, mostly during the brutal scenes so maybe they couldn’t handle it lol
@@Vareiance it was gory, so not for the faint hearted
What a fantastic movie. Highly recommend seeing this at the theatre.
I watched it. Really weird.
@@0MissElizabeth0 HA! you think this was weird? watch Robert Eggers' other films lol
@@0MissElizabeth0 Watch the Witch. You'll find it better, although I enjoyed this movie.
sound design in theaters threw me off. kept thinking someone behind me was making chicken noises.
My theater was almost full and we literally all left in silence. I didn’t hear anyone talk the entire time, exiting the theatre. I was honestly just pondering what I just saw and how it ended. Probably one of the best experiences, if not THE BEST and most intense experience I’ve ever had in a theatre.
Robert Eggers 3 for 3 on all his films so far, shaping up to be one of the best in this generation. Really hope he gets to make Nosferatu next!
If he remakes Nosferatu I would be forever grateful
A new spin on Nosferatu after all these years would be nice. I'm curious of how will he interpret vampires/undead and their lore.
The most impressive directial debut trilogy ive ever seen
@@duffmanzee agreed
It's greenlit I believe
Northman was a fantastic film. Hearing Robert Eggers and Alexander Skarsgård is amazing, I hope when we get a Blu-Ray there's behind the scenes specials.
I just saw someone say they ordered the blu ray 🤷🏻♂️
Alexander Skarsgård, you’re the man! Way too much light is put on the Norwegian and Danish vikings, so nice that you told about the eastern conquests and the Swedes/Rus people. I truly see that they have done so much research making this movie.
There was nothing great about the Vikings conquests, be it in the East or in the West.
@@geoffreycharles6330 The Vikings were great, good conquerers, good fighters, good warriors, good tacticians and good businessmen. Swedish vikings were also bodyguards at times and got paid. They did what they had to do in order to survive a harsh climate/harsh time period. The Swedish vikings did buisness alot and if not then they did murder and raided villages and were feared by many. The vikings went to explore many parts of the world and by only small boats with amazing teamwork. Terrible people or not, still they should be admired on how skilled they were at that time. To navigate such scary oceans and survive many lifethreatening situations is impressive in how they manage to stay on top. I'm praud of that, not the murdering part but the other things. Vikings were rebels and tried really hard not be influenced by the christian religion. Christians were a threat to other religions and other cultures of that time, so they wanted to save their culture and own religion as long as possible. At last they failed and became christians aswell but swedish vikings were vikings the longest. Vikings did influenced the english language aswell. The world would look different without them.
@@geoffreycharles6330 You're just bitter because your predecessors sucked and the vikings were awesome. Did you know vikings taught the English people how to farm crops? They weren't just all dumb brutes with axes. And one of the smallest countries in the world and also scandinavia (Denmark) has the dominating shipping company in the world, and that just shows how f'in smart they were and still are. And don't even let me start telling you about shows, movies and video games that has vikings in them, cause these are some bad butt mother effers, and they made the world a better place.
@@geoffreycharles6330 bet your one of those idiots who does not realise every people in history have committed atrocities, you don't seem to understand todays morals are just that, they are morals of today, those same morals did not exist hundreds of years ago, try to put yourself in that context, you only know your village, no internet, no commincation to differen languages, the people across the river are your enemy, thats how it was. Think about a dog when it sees a dog it does not know, it attacks or gets defensive. Try to think outside your own modern world experience.
Love this film. I'm shocked a big budget Blockbuster was allowed to be this weird in this day and age. I'm afraid it won't do well at the box office. I highly recommend seeing it in theatres so the booming, evocative sound design can really shake you and transport you. It's great
Yea totally agree. I checked the budget when I left, guessed around $80m. It was made on $90m which puts it in a mid budget range. Maybe that’s why it had a bit more freedom. Eggers has said even though the studio had final cut, this is his final cut also. He was happy with them. But yea I agree, love the film. Sound design was insane.
Dr. Strange says hi.
@@tigqc hahahaha don't start to say false things
F*CK IT. They did it for the sake of the fans.
The trust of Eggers is real. People finally trust him enough to do this stuff on a larger scale.
I like how historically accurate eggers is. But I also like how he points out the lesser historically accurate comprises openly (eg the hair). Very impressive.
I just finished listening to the Commentary track for the Witch, and over 1/3rd of the time Robert Eggers just talked about the historical background and research, and for half of the time he talks history he apologizes for having to make compromises on historical accuracy (we couldn’t get a period accurate dog breed but this Bernese Mountain Dog was well trained…etc…) Another 3rd of the time he talks about the hand crafted props, sets, and costumes created for the movie and credits the artisans and explains the creation process then complains when he has to use an ahistorical existing prop off the shelves.
yeah his historic authenticity is great, and he uses that to tell a story. story telling at it's finest.
The scenery when the Valkyrie rides towards the gate of Valhalla is absolutely gorgeous
“Imagine you’ve never seen anything before, you’ve never seen your own reflection” how good of a directorial note is that jesus
He's a genius
I’ll never get over Alex speaking English with a Swedish-Southern accent 😭 it’s truly the best and so endearing 🥹
His accent is better than 99% of Swedes though. I mean, his dad accent is a quite bad broad American one.
Me and my parents loved this movie. What an amazing theater experience. People complain there aren't any original movies anymore, well this is one of them go see it and support quality filmmaking.
This literally brought me into a different world mentally. It was so weird and creepy!
True
This movie is an instant classic. Must watch on the big screen
This movie was incredible. Walking out of the theater, we were strangers talking to each other about how amazing the movie was.
if you like this, I recommend Vinland Saga
I thought it was great. The movie seems to be very decisive, either people love it or hate it.
Curious.. what did you like about it? I’m shocked at how bad it was. The story, no direction, terrible acting in the action scenes..? I’d love to know
@@EriveFilms No direction? It’s like the most basic plot of all time. By that logic the lion king and hamlet have no direction.
@@legbiter1462 I don’t know man, for me the movie felt all over the place, I felt like it was a huge build up for basically nothing. The end fight was laughable
It's so great to see Robert maintain his artistic sensibilities while working with a bigger budget. Many directors often compromise their style when money is involved.
I saw him say he didn't get the final cut, so I'm not sure if he'll go for the bigger budgeted ones anymore. He has done a fantastic job with this, though.
The amount of effort he puts into a shot that most idiots won’t even see, just truly shows what a masterpiece he is. He doesn’t make bad films. If you think so, you clearly are missing the beauty
He's a fantastic director but his films aren't perfect story wise imo.
@@destined4purgatory643 lol cause you'd rather watch corny fight scenes like mainstream crap disney makes nowadays, marvel and all that boring stuff. This movie is for history buffs and actual *intelligent* people, not simple minded folk.
@@user-dx5bn4yk4f absolutely cringe worthy comment bro. You still have time to delete it, it's only been a few days
@@user-dx5bn4yk4f It's unwise to construct a negative image of another person's views with little to no actual basis for making those assumptions. There are several intelligent reasons that one could have to think that a specific director's storytelling is imperfect.
pretentious
I would understand why people would find it boring, as it is not a movie with a modern blueprint. This is a viking saga. And in the viking sagas they had different desires and goals in life. Revenge back then was different than revenge now. Also I would love to see Robert make a movie set in either Ancient Greece The Aztec empire Ancient Polynesia Celtic Irland or an American Horror Noir set in the 1950s. And if he would adapt anything, I generally believe he would smash it out of the park with adapting The Epic of Gilgamesh or The Monk.
Absolutely top comment. I’d probably say the modern blueprint of films is definitely there, and that’s what makes this such a different Eggers experience. Probably his most accessible film for mass audiences. But your comment is still great. Well put.
Before Speilberg got the silly idea to remake Westside Story, there was some rumor that he was going to make a film about Cortez , the Aztecs and recreate Tenochtitlan.
Yeah, it's really tiring seeing modern audiences trying to insert their sensibilities into the past. Especially in an Eggers film, who makes it his top priority to keep that OUT of his movies.
I think this film took like 2 years to make. Either way his films are basically secondary sources for history lol
I see he is quite the history buff, so I am hoping he makes more of these set in different times, in different lands. Hopefully we‘re witnessing a Renaissance of historical epic cinema
6:33 "Jack did allot of the stuff that I couldn't do, which was quite a bit" LOL! Love the complete honesty!
As an archaeologist, the reference to the Bj 581 grave made my month.
When the film ended there was so much tension in the theatre that you could hear a collective sigh when that tension was released. Then some people laughed because we all collectively felt that release in the room haha. Such a cool experience!
Saw the film last night and was blown away by its epic scope and the historic accuracy of every detail. This movie is made for anyone interested in a deep dive into thousand year-old Viking culture. Every trailer highlights the violence of the time, but a wonderful surprise was the heartbreak and loneliness of Amleth's journey. The hopeful ending (due to a plot twist I won't spoil) in which Amleth is able to "change his fate" provides an emotional and satisfying end to this masterpiece.
I mean you may as well have just put the plot twist, you already basically spoiled the ending lol
The chemistry between these two are what made this movie so great. Could be the best historical movie of the decade
Have you seen "the last duel" ?
@@Eserr7856 directed by ridley Scott right?... I love his movies too
@@marvelfoxmorty5057 yes, directed by Ridley Scott. If you loved the northmen then I think you'll love ",the last duel"...in my opinion the final sword fight in that movie is more gripping and intense. Highly recommended! Adam driver, Jodie Cromer, Matt Damon, and Ben Affleck.
Best movies of the year so far: The Northman and The Green Knight.
I love how PR free and loose this felt, nice to see an actual upcoming auteur be nice and friendly and not taking things so seriously.
I would watch a break down of the entire movie with Robert Eggers and the rest of the cast, don't matter how long it would be.
Audio commentary! I'm down for that. I would buy a blu-ray copy of this movie if they include that in it, and I've never bought a blu-ray in my life.
I wish I could see a full lenght walkthrough of this film with these two guys talking about all the facts. Would be massively insightful.
I've seen The Witch, which made me want to see this film. It's clear Eggers likes to invoke the mystical within his films. He really went heavy into the Norse mythology and rituals. I could see that turning people off who were expecting nonstop CGI battles.
Watch Lighthouse please!!!
I think that’s exactly where people are getting turned off. They wanted a Viking war movie. I thoroughly enjoyed it though
The entire theater clapped at the end. I want more of this.
Last night I died a mere average guy… after watching the movie I was born a wolf with a vendetta. This movie was a masterpiece, I hope to see more by Robert Eggers.
We need more movies like this and what Hollywood could learn a thing or two about originality.
Unfortunately, it bombed
@@dan-mb2ne wow I can't believe it man but it was still a great flick!
@@dominiquepowell3158 ikr
This was one of the greatest films I've ever seen, it was surreal and felt like witnessing something beyond our world
Man, Eggers is such a nerd. That's why I love him. Genius
Alexander Skarsgård is such a talented man and soooo adorable! I love him
This was one of the most bizarre, grotesque, violent movies I have ever seen. This movie is definitely not for everyone. That being said, I enjoyed it.
Eggers is a genius. Anyone who can write and direct an epic movie is on another level of human creativity.
The Northman, directed by Robert Eggers is the best film I have seen in a decade. This film is true cinema. Must see (and hear) in theater.
Anyone who said this film was boring are dullards. This film is another masterpiece by Eggers.
“You a dullard?” “Coulda fooled me!”
I was totally emersed in the film.
The pacing in this movie was phenomenal, idk how someone could be bored. Dullards, like you said.
Those plebians can go watch another Fast & Furious film
You know its a Robert Eggers movie because he has an essay for every shot
I’m so pumped for this, just the excitement they both give off talking about this one scene is amazing.
This is one of the most impressive scene breakdowns I've seen. I hope Eggers gets a big budget for the rest of his career if that's what he wants.
So awesome hearing them talk about the history the movie is based on.
1:05 As you say, the shot was "constructed." but it says volumes about the acting of that young guy.
This was such a enjoyable video, could hear Eggers and Skarsgard talk about this movie all day. Cannot wait to watch this tonight!
We need 6 more parts of this at least, so interesting.
When the credits hit, the whole theater gasped. Haven’t seen a movie this good in a while.
When the movie finished one guy said: *"This was the worst movie I've ever seen."* I couldn't disagree more, so I lol-ed hard. It's so disgusting that mindless superhero CGI movies without any substance or real cinematography get millions in sales, while quality films are struggling... Says a lot about today's generations... I had a similar encounter when Dune was in theatres, some Gen Z-ers were saying that they should have watched Venom instead, I was actually appalled at how they wanted a shallow superhero movie over a epic & amazing Denis Villeneuve film...
Lol ok Scorsese. yup Marvel movies suck. 🙄
Yup, same happened to me when I'm watching The Batman, some dude sitting beside me said, it's probably low budget Batman Movie ever made. I feel like these people got too used to the constant CGI actions scenes and fast paced movies they really forgot to enjoy such slow burn thriller movies like these.
2:00 also makes sense to take this movie to Russia due to Alexander being Swedish and the Swedes did sail to Russia and even Byzantium. The Danes & Norwegian was the ones in the Bristih Isles.
don't worry, this movie will be shown where Rus really was and this is Ukraine.
Didn't know he directed The Witch I will be eagerly anticipating his next movies Great director
Almost the entire cast of the Witch appears in the Northman.
I walked out of this movie astounded, haven't seen a movie so well made in a long time.
make sure to watch his earlier two movies. Especially the Lighthouse
One of the best movie experiences I ever had. Deeply moving. Many powerful moments.
All 3 of his movies were absolutely masterpieces of filmmaking.
I love how after the raid he has a short somewhat sentimental talk with an older man while 100 people are crying and screaming in the background, Its almost like attention to detail mixed with a bit of dark comedy, obviously they'd all be screaming after what just happened but even monsters can have heartfelt moments, its also nice that the vikings arent romanticized much and i feel like that short scene really nails it and is maybe a nod to other media where they're seen as the good guys.
i've seen this in theaters 3 times already and it still felt as if it was the first time the entire way through. no cap i might go watch it a fourth time....
is it really that good?
Seen it twice. It's a masterpiece.
@@leonardu6094 It really is. Strongly recommend seeing before it leaves theaters
@@captainbeastazoid7084 thanks!
I love this in-depth behind the scenes content as much as the movie itself
I felt so dim when I thought about Timon and pumba during this movie but now I feel normal after hearing eggers mention it too
I would watch hours of them explaining every scene of this masterpiece.
Alexander Skarsgård was AMAZING in this movie as an action hero. I hope they make a sequel.
Maybe the best Notes on a scene I’ve seen. Great idea having both Robert and Alexander.
Great movie. Loved every second of it. Just as The Witch and The Lighthouse. I will watch every Robert Eggers movie no matter what. My favorite living filmmaker. I took my almost 12 year old daughter with me to see it. I figured she is getting to age where she can handle the adult themes. She was very quiet and watching intently. About an hour in she leaned over and whispered "this is AMAZING. Thank you for bringing me!"
I haven't gone to a movie theatre in literally years, but i paid to see this. It was incredible. It somehow reminded me of when i used to run around the woods with my dogs as a boy. That authentic wild sensation. It was great.
Shocked to hear people are walking out, ive seen the film twice and plan on seeing it a third time! Please go support the film!
That was great - another brilliant addition to a very enjoyable and informative series.
I love to re-watch the entire movie with Robert and Alexander offering commentary like this for every scene.
Google tells me Robert Eggers is 6’2 and Skarsgard is 6’4…. 😂
One of the best cinema experiences I've ever had. What an amazing journey The Northman is! Love love love
Impossible to overstate how much I loved this breakdown. Honest, informative, funny. Good content exists! (And an amazing movie.)
I love their dedication to accuracy, it really helps sell the narrative!
Robert should become a history professor as a side job. I could listen for hours
You can really see how Robert put all his efforts on this film. He just wanted to do the best job possible and he made it.
This is quickly becoming my favorite movie the more I find out about it, on top of that it was very visually pleasing
Saw this movie in an empty theatre, I was the only one who bought a ticket. 10/10 movie and experience, would go again!
This was a spectacular movie. I'm so happy it was historically accurate. A lot of the viking shows and movies take on a more colonial context, but Vikings were actually more tribal and mystical than many people in modern time believe. I had to go back and rewatch the pre-battle ceremony and the first pillage/fight scene because that long swift shot was so 🔥. Really impressed with this film, I bought it so will be watching multiple times
stellar movie, have not seen a movie such as The Northman in a long time
The continuous shots are outstanding
I’ve never seen a director so committed to historical accuracy, it’s refreshing.
Just finished the movie. It's a stunning movie! Super super heavy too, so much to process. It looked and sounded so realistic too. It really gave a sense of how the northmen used to live, they're spirituality and culture. Great job!!
People NEED to talk about the soundtrack and sound design because its spectacular
One of my best theatre experiences I've ever had can't wait to pick this up on dvd
This movie is freaking epic! When I saw the scene, I was wondering how they got such great camera movement towards a close-up whilst in the middle of a long-take like that?" It was just incredible.
Really appreciate the dedication to trying to get the costumes and props historically accurate but also making not so accurate changes (like Amleth's adult hairstyle) to create a more aesthetically appealing legend.
man, growing up with a name like "'The Northman' Director" must be rough
Dang, I was really hoping to see a breakdown of the Viking’s campfire scene. One of the best parts
This was great, love to see how passionate they are. The movie was great as well.
Anyone who doesn’t appreciate the authenticity and the historical research put into this film has been overly influenced by the likes of “Marvel, Disney and The History Channel” Many of the collaborative sources are deeply committed to a better understanding of facts and Viking history.
This was fascinating to watch and listen to. I could easily watch hours more of them talking about the making of the film and historical accuracy of it. I implore everyone remotely interested in the film - go see it in a cinema. This film needs and deserves your support, it's refreshing in the current cultural landscape, absolutely enthralling and a visual spectacle.
These guys did such a great job. Loved the movie.
Would be great if storyboards were published in a book. This film was stunning and beautifully shot. I am sure this would show up in the boards as well.
This movie rekindled my love for cinema!
Robert Eggers proved he is one of the best living directors with this movie.
Fantastic theater experience. I was blown away. Lived up to The Lighthouse.
One of the best films I have EVER watched, and getting tall this background info makes it seem like an impossible creation. I truly have no words.
such a masterpiece ,best film of the year in my opinion .
Everything Everywhere All At Once is better.
@@FramesPerSecond I saw both this weekend and my vote goes to The Northman but both are good!
2:15! WOW! Skarsgard called it out, early medieval fans want to see other regions besides Britannia
Awesome film. I loved everything about it but particularly the attention to detail and historical accuracy. Robert deserves some kudos for sure.
Loved the movie. Can't wait to dive into the special features on the blu ray. The 4k disc should look amazing.