Valhalla Rising Archives - The Playlist

‘Valhalla Rising’: Nicolas Winding Refn’s Oft-Forgotten Gem Scoffs At Your “Thoughts & Prayers”

Andrew Crump — Tue, 02 Jun 2020 18:14:11 +0000

When totally preventable tragedy strikes anywhere in the world, it’s the fashion among Americans to respond with a three-word bromide: “Thoughts and prayers.” Notre Dame’s burning? Thoughts and prayers. Tsunami causing a nuclear reactor meltdown in Japan? Thoughts and prayers. Active shooter slaughtering children at school? Thoughts and prayers. Wildfires raging across California? Thoughts and prayers. Highly transmissible virus ravaging the economy, incurring a death toll of 100,000 Americans and rising, and straining the medical system like belt buckles after Thanksgiving dinner?

Continue reading ‘Valhalla Rising’: Nicolas Winding Refn’s Oft-Forgotten Gem Scoffs At Your “Thoughts & Prayers” at The Playlist.

The Best & The Rest: All Nicolas Winding Refn’s Films, Ranked

Jessica Kiang — Mon, 20 Jun 2016 18:15:19 +0000

This week, just a month or so after it premiered in Cannes to a now-traditional Refn reception of mingled admiration and jeers (we were among the admirers), “The Neon Demon” comes to theaters. But though we enjoyed splashing about in its overly stylized, glossily shot shallows, where does “The Neon Demon” sit amid the Danish filmmaker’s catalogue? We figured now would be a good time to revisit his filmography, considering the last time we did so was before the release of his later-career-defining, Cannes Best Director-winning “Drive.”

READ MORE: The Best And Worst Of The 2016 Cannes Film Festival

Refn (who is colorblind, trivia fans, and can’t see mid-colors, hence the high level of contrast in all his works) was pretty much born into the business, his mother a successful photographer, his father himself a director and editor in the Danish film industry (he cut Lars von Trier‘s “Breaking the Waves” and “Antichrist,” which makes Refn’s recent trashtalking about his fellow Dane all the more, um, cutting).

Continue reading The Best & The Rest: All Nicolas Winding Refn’s Films, Ranked at The Playlist.

Watch: 5-Minute NSFW Supercut Explores Nicolas Winding Refn’s Bold Use Of Color

Gary Garrison — Fri, 13 May 2016 21:49:19 +0000

It should come as no surprise that we around here are big fans of Nicolas Winding Refn. The Danish director has put together the eclectic and divisive body of work of an artist unafraid to push the envelope and venture into new territory, which inevitably means missing the mark now and again. But that’s exactly what makes Refn so fascinating: even his misfires are interesting. Everything he does is bold, brazen, and extremely stylistic, and his failures seem almost like failures simply because they didn’t quite live up to their promise (see “Only God Forgives“).

Continue reading Watch: 5-Minute NSFW Supercut Explores Nicolas Winding Refn’s Bold Use Of Color at The Playlist.

My Favorite Films Of 2010: Christopher Bell

The Playlist Staff — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 09:47:50 +0000

My Favorite Films Of 2010: Christopher Bell

Continue reading My Favorite Films Of 2010: Christopher Bell at The Playlist.

In Theaters: ‘Inception,’ ‘The Sorcerers’s Apprentice,’ ‘Valhalla Rising’

Hunter McClamrock — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 14:10:00 +0000

The marketing campaign for “Inception” may be the most brilliant thing we see all summer. After weeks of franchises and reboots moviegoers seem ready for a something with a little more class as the buzz level for the Christopher Nolan‘s latest has been rising like this summer’s heat. An original cinematic idea that is going to MAKE MONEY can only be a good thing for an industry that seems a little desperate in this era of 3D conversions.

Continue reading In Theaters: ‘Inception,’ ‘The Sorcerers’s Apprentice,’ ‘Valhalla Rising’ at The Playlist.

Nicolas Winding Refn Talks The Druggy & Spiritual Science-Fiction Of ‘Valhalla Rising’

Rodrigo Perez — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 02:00:00 +0000

If you didn’t know otherwise, you might think The Playlist was doing free street-team PR for Danish filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn.

We can’t help it. We’re pretty dazzled and taken aback with his striking, take-no-prisoners pictures.

The “Pusher” trilogy (spanning 1996-2005) was a remarkable, street-tough crime saga, but we’ll admit he really caught our eye with 2008’s “Bronson,” which featured a star-making turn out of Tom Hardy (who’s since been cast in “Inception” and the lead in “Mad Max 4,” yes, he’s that good).

Continue reading Nicolas Winding Refn Talks The Druggy & Spiritual Science-Fiction Of ‘Valhalla Rising’ at The Playlist.

Review: ‘Valhalla Rising’ A Haunting, Meditative Viking Film Like No Other

Kevin Jagernauth — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 19:26:00 +0000

The following is a reprint of our EIC’s review of the film from TIFF 2009. “Valhalla Rising” begins a limited rollout tomorrow and we encourage you to check it out.

Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn is proving to be quite the busy bee this year.

After his brilliant “Bronson” debuted at this year’s Sundance Film Festival — and is set for a limited release October 9 — Winding Refn decided to follow up the British prison psychopath film with “Valhalla Rising.”
A Viking-actioner starring go-to-regular Mads Mikkelsen, we were admittedly pretty excited to this this picture, one that we put on our 13 Most Anticipated Films at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Continue reading Review: ‘Valhalla Rising’ A Haunting, Meditative Viking Film Like No Other at The Playlist.

2010: The Best Films Of The Year… So Far

Rodrigo Perez — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 16:09:00 +0000

Ok, so we’re a bit late, but June is here and almost over (obviously) which means the mid-way point of the year has arrived.

So, checking into the six, almost seven month mark of 2010, where do we stand?

In pretty good shape. While the year has delivered a pitiful summer so far and pretty tepid mainstream prospects, as usual, the indie and foreign markets have dug deeper to give us something much more enriching.

Continue reading 2010: The Best Films Of The Year… So Far at The Playlist.

Amazing Trailer For The Haunting ‘Valhalla Rising’ By Nicholas Winding Refn

Edward Davis — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 13:45:00 +0000

In 1000 AD, held prisoner by a Norse chieftain, a fearless mute warrior, aided by a boy slave, kills his captors and then falls in with a group of Vikings seeking a holy land which begets a journey into the heart of darkness.

This is “Valhalla Rising,” the amazing new film by Danish auteur Nicolas Winding Refn; a Viking epic starring the always-captivating Mads Mikkelsen.

How cinephiles today won’t love this film is inexplicable, but the reading by this guy (who seemingly has the worst taste on the web) is brutal and completely off the mark.

Continue reading Amazing Trailer For The Haunting ‘Valhalla Rising’ By Nicholas Winding Refn at The Playlist.

‘Cyrus’ Bumped Up To Platform Release On June 18th; Will Open BAMCinemaFest On June 9

Edward Davis — Tue, 04 May 2010 21:44:00 +0000

The Playlist members that have seen the Duplass brothers upcoming comedic drama, “Cyrus” starring Jonah Hill, Marisa Tomei and John C. Reilly have raved, calling a sweet, funny, hilarious, charming and even sometimes,creepy film.

Centering on a sadsack recently divorced guy (Reilly) who meets the woman of his dreams (Tomei) only to be sidelined by the unhealthy codependent relationship she shares with her developmentally challenged son (Hill), the film was scheduled to his theaters July 9th, but Fox Searchlight just announced that the picture has been bumped up to a June 18th platform release instead.

Continue reading ‘Cyrus’ Bumped Up To Platform Release On June 18th; Will Open BAMCinemaFest On June 9 at The Playlist.

Riotous Sneak Peak At Nicolas Winding Refn’s ‘Valhalla Rising’

Simon Dang — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 13:30:00 +0000

On the back of the recently released clip, a new sneak peak at Danish auteur Nicolas Winding Refn’s eerie, atmospheric Viking film “Valhalla Rising” starring go-to-guy Mads Mikkelsen has been unveiled.

The clip’s pairing of the most brutal and über-violent footage from the film with Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker” is riotous and entertaining but be forewarned, it’s pretty much capsuled all the blood-thirst into the two minutes.

Described as a “horror movie as directed by Terrence Malick,” the film is actually a slow-moving, hypnotizing and mesmerizing picture centering on a Viking warrior slave who escapes his captives with the aid of a young boy and boards a Viking vessel only to sail into the heart of darkness.

Continue reading Riotous Sneak Peak At Nicolas Winding Refn’s ‘Valhalla Rising’ at The Playlist.

Watch A Two-Minute Clip From Nicolas Winding Refn’s ‘Valhalla Rising’ & Another New Trailer?

Jon Davies — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 21:11:00 +0000

We’ve raved somewhat endlessly about Danish filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn (“Bronson,” the “Pusher” trilogy) and his viking film “Valhalla Rising” which we reviewed quite favorably at last year’s TIFF, calling it a cross between Stanley Kubrick, Andrei Tarkovsky and Terrence Malick making a horror film together.

Yes, he’s on his way though to be a world-renowned auteur, though RIP his two recent projects with Harrison Ford and Keanu Reeves, sadly.

We also posted the brutally badass ‘Valhalla’ teaser trailer almost a year ago now.

Continue reading Watch A Two-Minute Clip From Nicolas Winding Refn’s ‘Valhalla Rising’ & Another New Trailer? at The Playlist.

Nicolas Winding Refn Drops Confirmed Harrison Ford Project, ‘The Dying Of The Light’ And ‘Jekyll’ With Keanu Reeves

Simon Dang — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 17:56:00 +0000

Speaking with Empire Magazine, prolific Danish filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn has confirmed our previous story regarding the casting of Harrison Ford in his Paul Schrader-penned project, “The Dying Of The Light.”

However our educated posit means little now as some reshuffling on the director’s timetable means ‘Dying Light’ and his Keanu Reeves-starring “Jekyll” (a modern “Jekyll and Hyde” retelling) are now unfortunately dead.

“Unfortunately, it just didn’t work out,” Winding Refn says of ‘Light.’ “It’s a shame.

Continue reading Nicolas Winding Refn Drops Confirmed Harrison Ford Project, ‘The Dying Of The Light’ And ‘Jekyll’ With Keanu Reeves at The Playlist.

Ryan Gosling To Star In ‘Drive’ By Nicolas Winding Refn; A Former Hugh Jackman/Neil Marshall Project

Rodrigo Perez — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 16:59:00 +0000

In March 2008, the trades reported that filmmaker Neil Marshall (“The Descent”) had signed on to direct an adaptation of the James Sallis novel, “Drive.”

At the time Hugh Jackman was attached to star, and it was supposed to be Marshall’s first big studio gig. The novel centered on a stuntman who’s already-exciting existence is jolted when he discovers that a contract has been put out on his life.

But it seems like there hasn’t been a lot of movement on the picture and Marshall obviously went on to direct “Centurion” with Michael Fassbender instead which comes out later this year.

Continue reading Ryan Gosling To Star In ‘Drive’ By Nicolas Winding Refn; A Former Hugh Jackman/Neil Marshall Project at The Playlist.

2010 Anticipated: 30 Films We’ve Already Seen

Rodrigo Perez — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 20:27:00 +0000

Yes, the obsessive comprehensive look at films from 2010 continues, but this time it’s slightly different. Alright, we don’t anticipate these films, because, well, we’ve already seen them. But you probably do. Here’s 30 films we’ve already seen and that are probably fairly high on your most anticipated 2010 list if you’re a film festival goer and a cineaste. However, not all of them turned out as great as we had hoped. Buyer beware with some.

Continue reading 2010 Anticipated: 30 Films We’ve Already Seen at The Playlist.

Peter Sarsgaard to Play Villain in “Wichita”; Brad Anderson To Adapt ‘The Living and the Dead’

Oliver Lyttelton — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 12:49:00 +0000

– It’s a few days old, but we missed this story completely, and it’s a glacially slow news day — Peter Sarsgaard has announced he’s going to be appearing in the Tom Cruise/Cameron Diaz spy movie “Wichita.” At the end of a lengthy and excellent interview at Movieline, the actor said, “I’m going to Boston in about a week to do ‘Wichita.’ It’s a great script; I’m the foil to Tom Cruise’s character. It’s really fun and it’s got action movie stuff in it, obviously, but it’s funny.” Does ‘foil’ mean villain, or straight man?

Continue reading Peter Sarsgaard to Play Villain in “Wichita”; Brad Anderson To Adapt ‘The Living and the Dead’ at The Playlist.

TIFF ’09 Review: Nicolas Winding Refn’s Haunting Viking Film, ‘Valhalla Rising’

Rodrigo Perez — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 18:47:00 +0000

Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn is proving to be quite the busy bee this year.

A Viking-actioner starring go-to-regular Mads Mikkelsen, we were admittedly pretty excited to this this picture, one that we put on our 13 Most Anticipated Films at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Continue reading TIFF ’09 Review: Nicolas Winding Refn’s Haunting Viking Film, ‘Valhalla Rising’ at The Playlist.

TIFF ’09: Day Five, It’s Finally Over

Rodrigo Perez — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 17:14:00 +0000

An early, early start made this one tough, but it was well worth it. The morning started out with the Cannes-picture Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Dogtooth,” which was everything we hoped it would be. The Greek filmmaker’s tale about a sociopathically protective and twisted mother and father who have sheltered their three adult children from society for the entire lives was disturbing, comical, deeply engaging and austerely shot. Twisted games, ritual sex and strange lies that these infant adults believe perpetuate throughout until one of the curious children tries to do the unthinkable: leave the gates of the house that they’ve been taught to never, ever, try and leave.

Continue reading TIFF ’09: Day Five, It’s Finally Over at The Playlist.

Night Of The Living Dead To Get 3-D Remake; Abrams & Orci Talk ‘Star Trek’ Sequel

Oliver Lyttelton — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 18:42:00 +0000

– Simon West, the director of “Con Air” and “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider,” is to produce a 3-D CGI prequel to George Romero’s classic “Night of the Living Dead,” entitled “Night Of The Living Dead: Origins.” Director Zebediah De Soto, who directed a hotly tipped sci-fi short named “War Dogs,” has developed an allegedly revolutionary effects system, nicknamed ‘The Beast,’ which, according to Heat Vision, “allows filmmakers the ability to direct CG performances the same way that would direct real life actors.” In Simon West’s case, this presumably means ‘extremely badly.’ And remember kids, the rights to “Night of the Living Dead” are in the public domain, so you too can produce your own shoddy prequel!

Continue reading Night Of The Living Dead To Get 3-D Remake; Abrams & Orci Talk ‘Star Trek’ Sequel at The Playlist.

Nicolas Winding Refn To Helm Modern Western ‘Only God Forgives,’ In Talks For Gore Verbinski-Produced Heist Film

Simon Dang — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 14:51:00 +0000

The time must be ripe to work out deals for talent with films in the fall festivals. Especially with a filmmaker that is rather hot at the moment.

Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn is set to write and direct a modern Bangkok-set Western titled, “Only God Forgives.” The film will center on a Thai police lieutenant and a gangster who decide to settle their differences in the boxing ring. The director is also in talks to helm an as-of-yet titled heist film produced by Gore Verbinski.

Continue reading Nicolas Winding Refn To Helm Modern Western ‘Only God Forgives,’ In Talks For Gore Verbinski-Produced Heist Film at The Playlist.

13 Most-Anticipated Picks From TIFF ’09

Rodrigo Perez — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 15:35:00 +0000

One can surely do more than 10-15 picks for the Toronto International Film Festival each year and there are surely about 35-40 films on our radar, but we only have so much time and can only be in so many places at once. So we thought we’d whittle this down to the core of what we’re really anticipating in 2009. You’ll have to note things that we’ve already seen this year, at the Cannes Film Festival or otherwise are not on this list, but pictures like, Jane Campion’s “Bright Star,” Bong Joon-Ho’s “Mother,” Pedro Almodovar’s “Broken Embraces,” and to a slightly-lesser extent Lars Von Trier’s “Antichrist” — plus non-Cannes pic Lone Scherfig’s “An Education” — are all still must-see pictures (even if all of them aren’t front-to-back perfect).

Continue reading 13 Most-Anticipated Picks From TIFF ’09 at The Playlist.

First Look Photos: Nicolas Winding Refn’s Viking Film, ‘Valhalla Rising’

Simon Dang — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 16:48:00 +0000

Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn is proving to be quite the busy bee this year. After his brilliant “Bronson” debuted at this year’s Sundance Film Festival — and is set for a limited release September 25 — Winding Refn’s follow up is the viking-actioner “Valhalla Rising” starring go-to-regular Mads Mikelson (who was the star of the first film in his “Pusher” trilogy) is now due to play at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival.

A teaser trailer for the film was released earlier this year and exhibits a brutal looking affair (you should watch, it’s still available).

Continue reading First Look Photos: Nicolas Winding Refn’s Viking Film, ‘Valhalla Rising’ at The Playlist.

Nicholas Winding Refn’s ‘Valhalla Rising’ Brutal Teaser Trailer

Simon Dang — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 16:47:00 +0000

A teaser trailer for Nicholas Winding Refn’s “Vahalla Rising” has been released, albeit via Youtube.

The film stars Mads Mikkelson (“Casino Royale”, the upcoming “Clash Of The Titans”) as a disfigured mute viking warrior who escapes his captives and embarks on an epic journey of self-discovery.

As well as the trailer, a plethora of behind-the-scenes footage from film’s production can be found here courtesy of the Refn’s assistant.

The film is due for an August release in Refn’s home country of Denmark but does not yet have a U.S.

Continue reading Nicholas Winding Refn’s ‘Valhalla Rising’ Brutal Teaser Trailer at The Playlist.