Orion's Belt (film)

Orion's Belt (film)

Orion's Belt (Norwegian: Orions belte) is a 1985 Norwegian dual-language, action-thriller film, directed by Ola Solum and Tristan DeVere Cole. It is based on Jon Michelet's 1977 novel by the same name. The film follows three Svalbard-based shabby seamen, played by Helge Jordal, Sverre Anker Ousdal and Hans Ola Sørlie, who discover a Soviet bearing station. The are subsequently both targets of Soviet liquidation and American interrogation in an attempt to quiet them and retain the political status quo. The Cold War topics were a critique of the Norwegian policy of allowing a Soviet presence on Svalbard.

The film was produced by Dag Alveberg and Petter Borgli and the script was written by Briton Richard Harris. Two versions of the film were recorded, a Norwegian cinematic film and an English-language television film. First Solum shot the Norwegian scenes, then Cole shot the same scene with the actors speaking English. The entire crew and cast lived on board a ship which traveled through Svalbard and Finnmark during production. The theme music, Svalbardtema, was composed by Geir Bøhren and Bent Åserud and has became an anthem for Svalbard. Orion's Belt is the first modern Norwegian action film and was the first film financed as a kommandittselskap.