2022 has been an amazing year for film so far. One of the most underrated gems this year has been Robert Eggers’ The Northman. The Viking revenge epic received critical praise across the board and was recently released on Blu-ray earlier this month. Now, Universal has released an edited down version of Eggers’ directors commentary found on the home media release.
The nine-minute video highlights some of the film’s best moments and takes us through various aspects of Eggers’ stunning approach. Everything from the camera work, lighting, action, costume design, and sound design are all covered here. It’s always fun to listen to what went behind making a film. Especially when it is someone as detail oriented as Eggers. The director is known for his historical authenticity, practical filmmaking style, and long camera movements. That is all covered here, but it is also interesting to hear the director talk about his film like he’s unsure if the final product worked or not. It’s kind of funny hearing someone at the top of his craft like Egger’s talk about his work like that when The Northman is one of the best films of the year thus far. Because of this, the filmmaker comes off very humble here.
In the commentary itself, Eggers goes into some of the films most impressive dolly shots like the tense opening scene when a young Amleth is being hunted by his uncle Fjölnir after he murdered Amleth’s father. Other highlights included a fun Conan the Barbarian Easter egg/connection and Eggers’ discussing the lighting of the film. Particularly when it pertains to Nicole Kidman’s Gudrún, Amleth’s mother, in the now infamous scene where she reveals her backstory and intentions to Amleth. The scene where Gudrún talks about how she was once a slave under Amleth’s father is simply heartbreaking, but it quickly turns into a deeply disturbing scene where Gudrún kisses her son. Eggers’ in the commentary talks about how he wanted the lighting in that scene to make Gudrún appear vulnerable before quickly being consumed by harsh shadows. Hearing Egger’s compare her sinister transition to Boris Karloff in a Universal Monster movie is very eerie and will make any genre fan smile. It’s one of the many moments where Egger’s horror past is terrifyingly alive and well in this tragic revenge tale.
While The Northman is probably Egger’s most accessible film when compared to his horror films The Witch and The Lighthouse, the film took everything the director learned from those two masterpieces and applied it to an epic scale. However, despite that new grander scope, Eggers never lost the intimately emotional and frankly terrifying storytelling found in his last two features. That is highlighted in this commentary, but Eggers is a part of a rare breed of filmmaker that effortlessly immerses their audience into the story’s landscape. Like The Witch and The Lighthouse before it, the Iceland setting is a major character in The Northman. Eggers goes into the cold days every actor endured on set, which can be felt while watching the film, and that is one of the reasons why this epic is as effective as it is.
However, that is only a small sample size of what can be found in this director's commentary. To see what Eggers’ had to say about Björk’s costume design or the final volcano showdown, you can watch the full commentary down below. You can also buy The Northman on Blu-ray or stream this viking epic on Peacock right now: