The 13th Warrior is a 1999
historical fictionHistorical fiction tells a story that is set in the past. That setting is usually real and drawn from history, and often contains actual historical persons, but the principal characters tend to be fictional...
action film starring
Antonio BanderasJosé Antonio Domínguez Banderas , better known as Antonio Banderas, is a Spanish film actor, film director, film producer and singer...
as
Ahmad ibn FadlanAhmad ibn Fadlān ibn al-Abbās ibn Rāšid ibn Hammād was a 10th century Arab traveler, famous for his account of his travels as a member of an embassy of the Arab Abbasid Caliph of Baghdad to the king of the Volga Bulgars...
and
Vladimir KulichVladimir Kulich is a Czech-Canadian actor.He is best known for his roles as Buliwyf in the film The 13th Warrior and as The Beast in the television series Angel. In 1995 he appeared as Olafsson in the X-Files episode "Død Kalm."...
as
BuliwyfBeowulf is a legendary Geatish hero and later turned king in the epic poem named after him, one of the oldest surviving pieces of literature in the English language.-Etymology and origins of the character:...
; it is based on the novel
Eaters of the DeadEaters of the Dead: The Manuscript of Ibn Fadlan Relating His Experiences with the Northmen in A.D. 922 is a 1976 novel by Michael Crichton...
by
Michael CrichtonJohn Michael Crichton , best known as Michael Crichton, was an American best-selling author, producer, director, and screenwriter, best known for his work in the science fiction, medical fiction, and thriller genres. His books have sold over 200 million copies worldwide, and many have been adapted...
. It was directed by
John McTiernanJohn Campbell McTiernan, Jr. is an American film director and producer, best known for his action films and most identifiable with the three films he directed back-to-back: Predator, Die Hard, and The Hunt for Red October, along with later movies such as Last Action Hero, Die Hard with a...
and an uncredited Crichton.
The 13th Warrior is regarded as a financial failure. Production and marketing costs totalled $160 million, but it only grossed $61,698,899 at the box office.
Ahmed ibn Fadlan is a court poet to the
CaliphThe Caliph is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the ruler of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah. It is a transcribed version of the Arabic word which means "successor" or "representative"...
of
BaghdadBaghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
- until his amorous encounter with the wife of an influential noble gets him exiled as an "ambassador" to "northern barbarians." Traveling with Melchisidek, his caravan is saved from Mongol Tatar raiders by the appearance of
NorsemenNorsemen is used to refer to the group of people as a whole who spoke what is now called the Old Norse language belonging to the North Germanic branch of Indo-European languages, especially Norwegian, Icelandic, Faroese, Swedish and Danish in their earlier forms.The meaning of Norseman was "people...
.
