Directed by Richard Fleischer, 'The Vikings' was released when I was four way back in 1958. It did the rounds of cinemas quite regularly in Birmingham in the following years which is how it was that when I was eight I found myself, wide-eyed and in awe of this movie. Why? Because the world it depicted was colourful, exciting and filled with larger than life characters. It was a world filled with raucous humour, laughing machismo, hails of arrows and battering rams. That was enough for me back then and, sitting with a bottle of red and the house to myself, the miracle of DVD means that it's a world I can now revisit on a nostalgic whim.

As the story progresses, the Vikings come into conflict with the evil King Aella played by Frank Thring. His robed and bearded portrayal of a royal villain sneers one-dimensionally so he's unmistakeably mean. Ragnar and Einar are both wild men in many ways and yet both have an utter religious conviction that a Viking can only go to Valhalla if he dies with a sword in his hand. They believe in honour which, despite their barbarity, gives them the moral high-ground in this movie. Though their adventurism is violent and wanton, they're grounded in something greater than themselves and their immediate politics.

My research reveals that this movie was filmed in Norway in bad weather conditions. There's no getting away from the pre-battle rains as the Vikings prepare to set off for England. Not sprinklers, then... Not all of the scenes are set in bad weather though. The introduction is sunny enough as we see the memorable scenes of Viking villagers racing to meet Ragnar's boats. The children and wives flocking happily to the shore to meet their men are called by a huge horn that plays an unforgettable melody. Forty five years on I still find myself humming it and when I do I'm thinking back to the original cinema where I watched it over and over again.

Is it very likely that events would have happened as they're depicted? No.

The quality is very good and even after all this time does nothing to detract from the enjoyment of the movie when translated onto DVD. Though the makers couldn't have conceived of digital media in the 50s, their films had to have enough information recorded to project onto huge cinema screens. Especially when seen on a television, this is more than enough to produce suitably clear images. Turn up the mono sound and get ready to charge Aella's castle. You should see Kirk Douglas' way of sorting out the drawbridge! It's worthy of Jackie Chan!

Why this featurette with Richard Fleischer has been missed off the UK version is a mystery to me but there it is: if you buy the Region 2 version it isn't there. You do, however, get a super old movie filled with the clashing of swords and the splashing of mead, and a short advertising trailer for it from the 50s.