Fanspot
Black sand beach
Your strength breaks men’s bones. I have the cunning to break their minds.
Olga (Anya Taylor-Joy)
Shot at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, The Northman had to deal with some rather disturbing circumstances. It is while Robert Eggers and all the actors are in Iceland that the pandemic forces them to stop everything. When filming finally resumed, Iceland refused to open its borders and the production was forced to find an alternative for many scenes. Thus, the sequence in which the slaves disembark on the Icelandic black sand beach is made on the beach of Five Fingers Strand in County Donegal in Northern Ireland.
It is impossible for the decorators to bring several tons of black sand on the beach without degrading the site. The latter then decided to digitize the Icelandic beach on which the shooting was to take place and then to incrust it in the shots filmed in Iceland. A majority of the Irish landscape is also erased in post-production, in order to make the illusion credible. Thus, it is difficult today to recognize Five Fingers Strange on the screen as the site has been modified.
Driven by a desire for authenticity, The Northman certainly stands out from previous productions of the genre such as the series Vikings and The Last Kingdom. A way for Alexander Skarsgård to finally realize his dream of shooting a 100% Vikings movie, after seeing his brother Gustav in the cast of the Vikings series. The way in which the scenario integrates the myths and beliefs of this people having particularly fascinated him as he explained it to the site Den of Geeks: “I was fascinated by the distinction between the natural and the supernatural, and how there was no distinction for the Vikings like there is for us. I was really fascinated by that aspect, and the opportunity to try to portray that to an audience in 2022, who will view it like a fantasy, but to the characters living it, experiencing it, it’s 100 percent real.“
With its $90 million budget, The Northman is the most expensive film directed by Robert Eggers.
Five Finger Strand
This stunning beach is located along Trawbrega Bay in County Donegal in Northern Ireland.
Taking its name from the five rocky peaks visible at low tide, this beach is famous for its sand dunes, some of which rise to more than 30 meters high. They are also among the highest in all of Europe. Praised by hikers, fishermen and bird lovers, the site is however feared by swimmers because of its dangerous currents. The beach is located not far from the small town of Ballyliffin.
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LONDON map of 100 cult places (French Edition)
The London Fantrippers map, an original way to discover the British capital! Through 100 pop culture places, walk through its streets from another angle. Movies, TV shows, music, comics and novels, will allow you to spend a pleasant moment in the World City. With a folded format of 10 x 18 cm and an unfolded format of 60 x 54 cm, it slips easily into your pocket or your bag for easy reference.
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Discover all the places The Northman on our map
By Gilles Rolland
Passionné de cinéma, de rock and roll, de séries TV et de littérature. Rédacteur de presse et auteur des livres Le Heavy Metal au cinéma, Paroles de fans Guns N' Roses, Paroles de fans Rammstein et Welcome to my Jungle : 100 albums rock et autres anecdotes dépareillées. Adore également voyager à la recherche des lieux les plus emblématiques de la pop culture.