August 1999's The 13th Warrior was (mostly) directed by legendary Predator and Die Hard director – and occasional felon – John McTiernan, and released just three weeks after his other (far more successful) 1999 film The Thomas Crown Affair.

Based on the 1976 novel "Eaters of the Dead" by Michael Crichton (who also took over to direct several scenes), The 13th Warrior stars Antonio Banderas, Vladimir Kulich, Dennis Storhoi, Diane Venora, Richard Bremmer, Tony Curran, and Omar Sharif

It took two decades to finally get Crichton’s reimagining of "Beowulf" to the screen, and the film is best remembered as a fascinating failure – a $160 million epic that earned about $100 million shy of that globally, making it the biggest flop of the year.

But over the years The 13th Warrior has achieved cult status, with many defenders arguing that, while imperfect, what actually winds up on the screen is still very worthwhile.

We took that theory to task with writer/critic Peter Raleigh, who you can find on Bluesky at @petreraleigh

You can also listen to Graeme Revell's vastly superior original score to The 13th Warrior here, thanks to YouTube user deavonw: The 13th Warrior (Rejected Score)