BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Hayden Kane There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Loui Blair It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

Scarlet The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

morganmpoet This is a good film, Bava & Cameron Mitchell both do good work imo, the soundtrack is excellent & there are a couple real gems in this film regarding Bava's visual strengths. One such scene shows the bad guy galloping off linearly away from the screen zig zagging through hills descending into a valley as the soundtrack thunders & his descent has a strange visual extrapolation to it that I'm still not sure how Bava achieved, you have to see it.Another such scene is when Mitchell reveals his face from under his helmet with the burning village surrounding him, very impressive visuals! Again, the music & Bava's commanding sense of visual style come together for a moment of perfection.This is really Shane redone as a Viking film & it's actually quite good. I recommend it however not to neophytes of Bava, there are other obviously more well known titles in his filmography that one should start with.At some point every Bava fan should see this film. I need to see Eric the Conqueror, that one I still have not seen, I think Bava did 3 Viking themed films. BTW he was the special effects director for Steve Reeves original 'Hercules' film!

The_Void I generally can find something to like about all the big cult film subgenres; but the one exception to that is definitely the 'sword and sandal' film. I've only seen a handful and they never fail to bore me to tears. I tuned into this one simply because it has the great Mario Bava at the helm; however, it turns out that Bava is just as bad as Fulci when it comes to films like this, and Knives of the Avenger is heinously boring. What we basically get is a bunch of people that are supposed to be Vikings (I think) running around in silly costumes. The plot has something to do with a woman, or fighting, or something. Anyway, this basically goes on for about eighty five hours...sorry, I mean eighty five minutes and then the film ends. Mario Bava made his name in the horror genre and his directorial style lends itself to the genre so well as Bava is brilliant at creating atmosphere. This film does actually feature some decent camera work and Bava does create a few good atmospheric scenes. However, that's really the only good thing I have to say about this film. Before seeing Knives of the Avenger, I had Dr Goldfoot and the Bikini Bombs down as Bava's least fine hour; but now I'd say it's a tie between the two. Both are very much avoidable, although fans of this type of movie (assuming this type of movie has fans) might find something to like here I suppose.

Woodyanders Noble Viking warrior Rurik (a strong and credible portrayal by Cameron Mitchell) vows to protect the fiery Karin (well played by the lovely Lisa Wagner) and her spunky son Moki (the charming Louis Polletin) from the vile clutches of the savage Hagen (a perfectly hateful Frank Ross) and his army of nasty brutes. Director/co-writer Mario Bava takes a welcome break from his usual horror fare to deliver a surprisingly complex and low-key, but still occasionally exciting period action drama that's essentially a thoughtful and inspired variant on the classic Western "Shane." Bava relates the absorbing story about revenge, betrayal and loyalty at a steady pace and stages the down'n'dirty fight scenes with considerable brio (a protracted confrontation between Rurik and Hagen in a tavern rates as a definite thrilling highlight). Antonio Rinaldi's breathtaking widescreen cinematography takes full advantage of the beautiful seaside scenery. Marcello Giombini's robust, rousing score likewise does the trick. The cast all give sound performances: Mitchell excels in one of his best roles, with sturdy support from Wagner, Ross, and Jack Stuart as Karin's gallant husband Harald. Best of all, the main characters are refreshingly complicated and genuinely engaging. A fun film.

MARIO GAUCI The last of Mario Bava's various peplums for the silver screen – although he would still have a couple more stabs at the genre for Italian TV – is also the last of four films (one of them in an uncredited capacity) he made with second-tier Hollywood star Cameron Mitchell. It seems rather incredible to me now that Italian producers were still trying, at this late stage, to emulate the commercially successful formula of THE VIKINGS (1958) – even down to dyeing their leading man's hair blonde like Kirk Douglas'.The film starts atmospherically enough with a witch on a sandy beach waxing metaphysically about the doom-laden future lying in wait for a vanquished Queen (the rather wooden Lisa Wagner) and her treacherous pursuer (Fausto Tozzi, a forceful if decidedly one-note portrayal). Despite the expected bouts of lively action, the film is surprisingly intimate for this director and genre; in fact, an even stronger influence is that of SHANE (1953), complete with adulating kid – an aspect which is further reinforced by the various scenes of horsemanship and showdowns in dark taverns. Besides, even the action sequences rarely involve more than a couple of characters (including the climax set inside a cave), and the fact that it employs flashbacks (which help render the two male leads – the stoic and, decidedly, ambivalent Mitchell and the rugged Giacomo Rossi Stuart – more rounded than is par for the course) is largely a departure for this kind of film.On the debit side, one must certainly note the sluggish pace. All in all, even if still perhaps his best peplum, this is a lesser Bava film – which I rather enjoyed more the first time around (ironically, watched via a pan-and-scan print on Italian TV!).