Vikings: Journey to New Worlds

The ominous opening moments of Vikings: Journey to New Worlds offer a haunting idea of how the Viking Age—an era that began in A.D. 793 and would last approximately 300 years—might have looked to outsiders. On a fog-shrouded morning in Lindisfarne, England, a lone monk examines a rocky beach, perhaps foraging for shellfish. Suddenly, in the distance, the dragon-shaped prows of three Viking longships pierce the haze. A short time later, the curious residents of a peaceful monastery—watching as foreigners armed with terrible weapons come ashore—are slaughtered or carried off as slaves (note: the violence is not shown onscreen). While Vikings have been popularly depicted as ancient raiders of Europe's coastline, there is far more to their story according to this visually grand IMAX film. First of all, Vikings weren't so much interested in plunder as in expanding their property holdings. In an age when agriculture was crucial for survival and trading, fertile land was everything, and Vikings grabbed it up from Istanbul to the legendary “Vinland”—i.e., North American Viking colonies stretching, according to some archaeological evidence, from Newfoundland to what is now Rhode Island (the Vikings purportedly beat Columbus to the New World by 500 years). Viking achievements in art, government, and science are brought to life through colorful reenactments of settlement life, while computer-generated special effects suggest how Viking homes and churches might have appeared before falling into ruin. DVD extras include a “making-of” featurette. An insightful look at a vital culture that dominated the early Middle Ages, Vikings is highly recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (T. Keogh)