CharlottaG I was made to watch this movie in Swedish-class at school, and as I think we all know; forced watching doesn't make a good first impression of any film. But it really isn't that bad... the plot is well thought out and the acting is pretty good. The characters all have layers and a depth that adds to the plot. And if that wasn't enough the scenery is stunning. However, that ridiculous music as taken from a car hunt in a cop movie from the 80's that's played in the horse riding scenes is hilarious. After the first time it came on I just couldn't take anything beyond that seriously. Watching it in 2016 it feels as if they made parody of their own movie, IN the movie itself. But, even though I feel rather strongly about this whole riding-a-horse-on-the-beach-music it really is a film I think is worth watching. It's a big part of Icelandic film-history and it's very nice to see some vikings portrayed differently from the americanized barbaric stereotype. 5/10 Icelandic horses for vikings and funny music.

gekarlin "When The Raven Flies" stands as one of the best historical Action movies, to have come out of the North. Stylistically it owes a great deal to Italian Spaghetti Westerns and Japanese Jidaigeki. In fact back in the day, some critics dubbed it a "Cod Western" because of this. The setting certainly helps. The Icelandic Sagas are full of tales of Revenge, Bloodshed, Honor that must be gained and upheld and Grudges that wont let go, all told in a laconic and ominous manner. Like his heroes Kurosawa and Leone, Gunnlaugsson has a good eye for faces. Our hero Gestur, has rugged good looks, while the Viking thugs are impressively ugly. Helgi Skúlason who plays Thord deserves a special mention. He has a terrific thousand yard stare, which he displays widely whenever he is angry or has his plans ruined.As for the plot this is a straight remake of the "Yojimbo/Fistful Of Dollars" story save for a few things. In this movie our hero is motivated by revenge, instead of monetary gain like Eastwood or unknown motives like Toshiro Mifune. There is also a moral theme running throughout the film, which questions if Gesturs really did the right thing after all. All in all "When The Raven Flies" is a great action movie, even if it didn't change the world. The only downsides i can think of is the 80's synthesizer soundtrack which can get damn annoying after a while and the crudely designed weapons (the knifes and swords resemble giant butterknives and the axes are obviously just regular woodworking axes) but other than that it is along with the Arn movies, one of the best historical action movies from the North, ever.

Max Faust This is *not* a viking movie.Nor is it a movie based in Yojimbo or A Fistful Of Dollars.This is a movie about Iceland in "Landnam-times".This is a movie which is based in the Icelandic Sagas - unique pillars in world literature - and if you know them fairly well (which I do), it's easy to see where and why Hrafn Gunnlaugsson has been, um, inspired. The plot line may seen Eastern or Western (or whatever) to somebody whose only point of reference is "other movies" -- but if you know your Sagas there can be no doubt that this is Northern. In fact, it's a MUCH better and more appropriate question whether Akira Kurosawa and Sergio Leone (like William Shakespeare) were readers of the Sagas.Just like in the Sagas, or the Greek tragedies before them, Hrafninn Flygur is filled with an ominous "mood" of inevitable destiny and downfall. Everything, including the music, is minimalistic and raw. There isn't much of a "story" per se. Nor are there any characters worth remembering. All that remains is the theme itself, the inevitable circle of revenge, and the gods - which in this case means we, the audience - smiling at the pathetic human attempts at "doing the right thing".For all its low budget and stereotypes, this movie is worth seeing.

SamRag Being Icelandic I'm of course proud of most films made in Iceland, and they do get better every year. The only thing I sometimes criticise is that we, Icelanders, try to be TOO clever. We don't allow ourselves to just make pure action or pure comedy, but it seems we have to try to add some artistic flair to all our films. Hrafninn flygur is a viking-action film, which keeps your interest from beginning to end. The costumes and surroundings are beautiful, and the story is a good old revenge-your-parents tale, but with enough twists and side stories to keep ones interest fully. I have many friends around the globe, and Hrafninn flygur is one of the few films that I would recommend to anyone for pure entertainment value. Sadly, this film is not available any more, so we will just have to hope that one of these days they will re-release it.