To watch the classic silent movies is a little more demanding than watching a "talkie". However, that said, it doesn't mean that you still can't enjoy them. First, and most importantly, Terje Vigen got a story that works, even today (actually I am little surprised that no one has tried to make a modern remake). Based on a poem by Henrik Ibsen, it is a tale set in the Napoleonic Wars. A sailor leaves the sea when his wife gives birth to a daughter. But war brakes out and British warships patrol and blockade the Norwegian coast and ports. Starvation follows. Terje sets out on an epic journey, rowing to Denmark, to get grain for his family. But, when he is close to home he is caught by the British and his boat (with the grain) sunk. Terje is thrown in prison, never to see his family again.

After the war, he returns, but there is no one left for him. He settles on the outermost islands. One day, a yacht is in trouble nearby and Terje sets out to rescue them, only to find that the yacht's captain is the same officer that sank his boat with the grain all those years ago (and practically sentenced Terje's family to death).

The story got all the components a movie needs. Adventure and suspense. Actually some good action (the scene when the British chase Terje is very good - years before it's time and impressive from a directorial and cinematographic point of view). Emotional highs and lows with an edge of irony and revenge thrown in. And some good acting. It is not uncommon that silent actors overact quite a bit to get the message through the screen, but not here. Victor Sjöström, both the director and lead actor, keeps the acting on an acceptable and therefore plausible level. And the movie is not too long, running about 45 minutes (as stated above, I can't relax as much when watching a silent movie)

So, well worth watching, both from a technological/cinematographic perspective, but also just because it is a good story.

bizarre, lyrical intertitle cards--perhaps in original language it was This silent film might take a bit of getting used to as you watch it. That's because the intertitle cards are written in a very odd and lyrical manner--one that makes reading them a bit difficult at first. It's as if some poet decided to write them. Now I have no idea how close these are to the original cards, as the current copy we have of the film was made from a German print. Were the original cards written like this? And how much was lost in translating it to German and then English?

Victor Sjöström starred in and directed this film. Few Americans today would recognize him or his name but some might remember his as the aging professor in Bergman's "Wild Strawberries". However, in the silent days he was a HUGE star--directing and starring in lots and lots of films. A few of them still exist today and the ones I have seen are very well made.

This is the story of Terje and it begins around 1810. Sweden and Britain are at war and the British fleet is blockading the coastline. As a result, the common folk are hungry and Terje goes to sea to smuggle in food. However, it's risky business and he's eventually captured. The British Captain is a tough man and has no pity--sending Terje to prison for five years. When he is released and returns home, he learns that his beloved wife and child have died and Terje spends years pining for them. Then, out of the blue, he is handed an opportunity to exact revenge upon the Captain. What's Terje to do? Well, see the film for yourself!

All in all, apart from a ridiculously improbable scenario at the end, the film was exceptionally well made and compelling. A very good early silent film and one that fans of the genre should see.

This is a faithful adaptation of the eponymous poem by Henrik Ibsen, and all inter-titles are quotations of Ibsen's original text. The film follows an innovative non chronological structure. In the brief opening scene, old grey-haired Terje Vigen is contemplating a stormy sea. It is followed by a long flash back showing his past life first with his wife and daughter, his trip to Denmark, his capture by the English, his life as prisoner in England, and finally his return home. There is even a flashback in the flashback when, while in jail, Terje Vigen remembers his wife and daughter. The last part starts with the same scene as the opening one, followed by the rescue of the British yacht. It is interrupted by a brief flashback when Terje Vigen realises the Captain of the yacht is the Englishman who had taken him prisoner. The most remarkable aspect of the film is the outdoor on-location filming on the coast and on small boats, which gives great authenticity to the action, in particular the very realistic chase and sinking of the dinghy in the middle of reefs. Editing is brisk, cross-cutting between views of the two boats and then between the English boat and Terje Vigen trying to escape by swimming underwater.

See more and a link to the full film at: a-cinema-history.blogspot.com/2013/12