Viking

Викинг (2016)

Timing: 2:13 (133 min)

4.8/10
153

4.653/10
153740

4.6/10
5400

All about film

Video 2

Photo 11

Actors and characters

Release date

2016-12-29

Country

Russia

Production

Studio Trite, Direktsiya Kino

Genre

History, Action, Drama

Budget

$1 224 661 889

Revenue

$29 161 298

Website

Director

Andrey Kravchuk

Actors

Svetlana Khodchenkova, Aleksandra Bortich, Danila Kozlovsky, Paweł Deląg, Aleksandr Armer, Anton Adasinsky, Rostislav Bershauer, John DeSantis, Joakim Nätterqvist, Igor Petrenko
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Andrey Kravchuk, Andrey Rubanov

Producer

Konstantin Ernst, Leonid Vereshchagin, Anatoliy Maksimov, Nikita Mikhalkov

Operator

Igor Grinyakin

Composer

Artist

Audition

Editing

Anna Kruty, Ilya Lebedev, Aleksey Kumashkin
All team (60)

• Preparation for the film took six years, starting in 2009.
• The role of Princess Rogneda of the Principality of Polotsk was played by Aleksandra Bortich, who is of Belarusian ethnicity. Ekaterina Vilkova was also considered for this role.
• Viktor Verzhbitsky, Sergey Bezrukov, Maxim Matveyev, Mikhail Eliseev, and Sergey Puskepalis also auditioned for the leading roles.
• On-location shooting took place in Crimea: at the Taygan Reservoir (Belogorsky District), in the Genoese Fortress (Sudak), in the village of Shkolnoye (Simferopol District), in Bakhchisarai, and at Cape Fiolent (Sevastopol).
• The film's sets were used in the construction of the first film park in Crimea and all of Russia, “Viking”. Construction of the facility began in October 2015 on the left bank of the Kizilkobinka mountain river at the beginning of the ascent to the Red Caves (Kyzyl-Koba grove). The “Viking” film park opened in May 2016.
• The historical drama has two versions with different age ratings: «12+» and «18+». «This is the first time we’ve done this, and since the film is being made in collaboration with Channel One, we hope to explain to viewers that both families and those who prefer something more intense can watch it», said the film’s producer, Anatoly Maksimov.
• According to producer Anatoly Maksimov, work on the film began in the fall of 2008. More than 3000 people were involved in the filming: «directors, actors, artists, cinematographers, administrators, stunt performers, financiers, builders, and representatives of many, many other professions».
• The main historical consultants for the film were Doctor of Historical Sciences Vladimir Petrukhin and Doctor of Philological Sciences Fyodor Uspensky.
• The film was financed by CJSC “Film Directorate,” and also received investments from the Cinema Fund and the KIT studio (part of the Gazprom-Media holding). The filmmakers also received 232 million rubles from the Federal Fund for Social and Economic Support of Domestic Cinema, and requested another 190 million. The newspaper «Izvestia» reported that approximately 700 million rubles from the film’s budget were allocated by the state on refundable and non-refundable terms.
• The music for the film was written by Russian composer and producer Igor Matvienko. The soundtrack was created over two years. The composer initially studied music from the 9th-10th centuries, familiarizing himself with the era of Prince Vladimir. Specialists from the Gnesin Academy were involved in the recording, and replicas of antique instruments from that time were commissioned (wheel lyres, gudok, tambourines, gusli). Tracks were recorded on these instruments, then mixed with synthesizers. A special studio was equipped for recording the music. Producer Igor Polonsky, arrangers Artem Vasiliev, Alexander Kamensky, Rafael Safin, vocalist Aya from the band «Gorod 312», and many others participated in the work.
• On October 1, 2016, the Russian blockbuster “Viking” was presented at Comic Con Russia 2016. The filmmakers showed the public exclusive materials prepared specifically for the convention, including a “live” trailer – a stunt show at a booth built like an ancient Russian outpost. Visitors to the event were also able to participate in contests testing their knowledge of Russian history, try on costumes of the film's characters, and take photos with props.
• The film was the first in the history of Russian cinema to be released with the support of the “Tiflokommentator” application, which allows visually impaired people to watch the film in theaters with audio description.
• The historical drama has two versions with different age ratings: “12+” and “18+”. “This is the first time we’ve done this, and since the film is being made in collaboration with Channel One, we hope to explain to viewers that both families and those who prefer something more intense can watch it,” said the film’s producer, Anatoly Maksimov.
• According to producer Anatoly Maksimov, work on the film began in the fall of 2008. More than 3,000 people were involved in the filming: “directors, actors, artists, cinematographers, administrators, stunt performers, financiers, builders, and representatives of many, many other professions.”
• The film was financed by ‘Direktion Kino’ CJSC, and also received investment from the Cinema Fund and the KIT studio (part of the Gazprom-Media media holding). The creators of the film also received 232 million rubles from the Federal Fund for Social and Economic Support of Domestic Cinema, and requested another 190 million. The newspaper ‘Izvestia’ reported that approximately 700 million rubles from the film’s budget were allocated by the state on a refundable and non-refundable basis.
• The music for the film was composed by Russian composer and producer Igor Matvienko. The soundtrack took two years to create. The composer initially studied the music of the 9th-10th centuries, familiarizing himself with the era of Prince Vladimir. Specialists from the Gnesin Academy were involved in the recording, and replicas of antique instruments of that time (wheel lyres, gudok, tambourines, gusli) were commissioned. Tracks were recorded on these instruments, then the phonograms were mixed with a synthesizer. A special studio was equipped for recording the music. Producer Igor Polonsky, arrangers Artem Vasiliev, Alexander Kamensky, Rafael Safin, vocalist Aia from the group “Gorod 312,” and many others participated in the work.