oswaldvonwolkenstein-902-41424 Now with a topic as exciting as the Norse discovery of North America and the intrigue of the fate of two lone Vikings left behind, you'd think this movie would be Awesome. On top of that the rich and amazing literary tradition of the Sagas provide ample material that would translate wonderfully to the screen. Simply filming the Vinland Sagas with Freydis and the feuding would have been a recipe for an incredible cinematic romp.But two lost Vikings roaming the pre-Columbian expanse of North America - interacting with the tribes, encountering foreign peoples, flora and fauna, astonishing the natives etc - that could also have been an incredible story.But no. With almost no dialogue and bad synth music, the viewer is subjected to an hour and a half of two guys cutting down trees and shitting in the woods.This is not a movie that's so bad it's good. It's just bad.

idaho_mtnman Cinematography was great. Breathtaking locations. Costuming was very good on all characters. However none of the language spoken matched the actors lip movements. Was it filmed in Greek then dubbed in Norse? The plot was weak but very much on the right track. There are several directions this tale could have gone rather than the random rambling direction it went. They could have told a very interesting story; parts were awesome, most was boring. The language used in the subtitles was way off. The Noesemen would not have said the fish was "killer". Nor would they say they would be "toast" if the Indians caught them. Also the "F word" did not come into use, at all, until during the late 1800's. And what was the poop scene all about? That was completely thrown in for shock value as it had no other purpose. The head banging Viking during the chapter change could have been cool, instead it just seemed out of place. The whole movie might have been more believable if the Noesemen had carried surf boards and called each other Bro or Dude.

Pierre I saw Severed Ways in theater a couple of weeks ago and haven't been able to get it out of my mind since. Of course it has it's flaws but keep in mind this was the director's (Stone) first feature and an extremely ambitious one at that.I'm so sick of seeing the same old independent garbage. Boy loves girl. Girl doesn't love boy but she loves Belle and Sebastion. Somebody makes a phone call on the hamburger phone to someone else who is a dying and pregnant and its official everyone loves Zooey Deschanel. Severed Ways is a Viking period piece made by a crew of about 8 people. How's that even possible. The soundtrack has Norwegian Black Metal and Judas Priest. Amazing! I thought the use of low def digital video wouldn't work for a period piece but the way it allowed the film to be shot with little to no lighting made it feel more authentic. The cinematography was beautiful even though sometimes the high shutter speed made it a little hard on the eyes. All in all Severed Ways is a step in the right direction for independent cinema. It's something new and different and I appreciate that. I know people will have trouble with pacing of the film but it's obvious that its deliberate and an attempt to show how two men would try to live off of a land they are not accustomed to. Sometimes the film took a comedic turn which took me out of the film a bit but it would eventually pull me back in. I'm excited to see what's next for these extremely independent young filmmakers.

TenPercenter I saw this film at the LA Film Festival over a year ago and it I haven't been able to get it out of my mind. It was mesmerizing and poignant and definitely unlike anything I've seen before. It really stayed with me. In a weird way, it was a cross between Terrence Malick's "The New World" and some sort of Monty Pythonesque heavy metal movie. Sounds weird, but it was a great combination!! Excellent soundtrack by the way, again, strangely appropriate to have heavy metal music for a Viking historical drama. I have to admit, when it first started I thought "Oh god, can I sit through two hours of this?" because of the intense and strange camera angles and techniques, but after a few minutes I settled in and was drawn in to the simple story and grew to really care about these two Vikings. The ending has really stayed with me. It is a mesmerizing film.