Beowulf (Director's Cut) [HD DVD]
by Robert Zemeckis
![Beowulf (Director's Cut) [HD DVD]](/images/Beowulf-Director-Cut-HD-DVD-B0011QC9U6-L.jpg)
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Actor: Angelina Jolie, Anthony Hopkins, Crispin Glover, Ray Winstone, Robin WrightDirector: Robert Zemeckis
Brand: PARAMOUNT HOME VIDEO
Producer: Jack Rapke
Producer: Jacqueline Lopez
Producer: Josh McLaglen
Producer: Martin Shafer
Writer: Anonymous
Writer: Neil Gaiman
Writer: Roger Avary
DVD: Region Code 0
Audio: English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language); French (Original Language); Spanish (Original Language); French (Dubbed); Spanish (Dubbed)
Format: Anamorphic, Color, Dolby, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 115 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-02-26
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Paramount Home Entertainment
DVD Reviews of Beowulf (Director's Cut) [HD DVD]
DVD Review: Death of a Hero--HORRENDOUS
Summary: 1 Stars
I wrote this for a class directly after seeing the movie.
---
To compare Beowulf the poem and Beowulf the film adaptation is, perhaps, a task beyond me. The film achieves what few films can--that near perfect balance between infuriating inanity and transcendental awfulness which is usually exclusive to musicals. I have had a touch to drink, however, and through the (perceived) eloquence of intoxication I feel that I may be up to the challenge of a critique. To say I am impassioned on the topic is to engage in supreme understatement--Beowulf the film will, from this day forward, serve as my single perfect example of Hollywood's utter uselessness, except perhaps as a sort of `motivational enemy' for the ideals of art.
The film begins well enough. Hrothgar is a drunken boor who is rude to his wife (which is perhaps forgivable), the Danes are in their mead hall (which is infinitely less glorious than the hall of the poem), and the sounds of merry making are driving Grendel crazy (which is correct). Even this early in the film, however, one begins to sense that the characters have been twisted. Hrothgar is not a particularly good king--the best thing he does is sober up enough to wave his sword and yell at Grendel. Queen Wealhtheow does not respectfully serve her husband-king mead, but spits on him when he tries to drag her to bed. When Beowulf arrives, he does not offer his services in a spirit of noble duty as Beowulf of the poem seems to, but instead blusters in and obnoxiously yells his boasts at the gathered crowd; when challenged by Unferth as to the swimming contest, he tells the tale of the sea monsters, but according to the film, much of it is exaggerations or lies.
And this is what drives the film; Beowulf the poem is an exaggeration or a lie. The filmmakers engage in the same mistake that Tolkien criticized in "The Monsters and the Critics," namely, an attitude of intense historical criticism which does not appreciate the poem as a work of art. The film is not at all `realistic,' however. It retains the fantasy elements of the poem (monsters, demons, dragons) but applies the story with the trowel of ugly cynicism, which is likely just an attempt to justify making the film by `putting a different perspective to it.' And the filmmakers have the GALL to take potshots at the original poem by referencing it in the movie. "The Song of Beowulf"--i.e., the poem we know today--is the `official version' of Beowulf's story which Beowulf's court bards promulgated and which we poor contemporary saps buy into.
The list of offenses is endless, ranging from the contradiction of small details to an entire reworking of major plot points. Glorious speeches are truncated to fits of lusty yells; religion is referenced in a few derisive remarks. In order to satisfy the Hollywood requirement for romance, Beowulf falls in love with Wealhtheow. And in order to satisfy the Hollywood requirement for sex, everyone is given to sleeping with either people they're not supposed to or demons.
In fact, this is the beginning of progressive deviations from the poem's plot--Hrothgar, it seems, slept with Grendel's mother and is the secret father of Grendel. After killing Grendel (who apparently shrinks in size when you hit him enough), Beowulf goes to kill Grendel's mother and ends up sleeping with her also (thereby gaining not only Angelina Jolie but promises of fame and power). Instead of becoming king of the Geats, Beowulf becomes king of the Danes after Hrothgar wills his kingdom to Beowulf and then commits suicide. And the dragon Beowulf kills as an old man is his own son from sleeping with Grendel's mother. Through all of this, Beowulf can't even wear the oft-lauded boar helmet from the poem, but opts for a Chuck Norris-esque headband instead.
None of this is Beowulf! Irrelevant of what points the movie may share with the poem, then, they are entirely contradictory. Beowulf is not a near-infallible hero, the movie says; there is no such thing. Instead, let's destroy any concept of idealized role models and make a lousy film! Even Wiglaf--the one character who is both honorable and reliable throughout the film--is implied to pursue Grendel's mother after Beowulf dies, thereby perpetuating the horrendous cycle of evil and leaving no hope of relief for the Danes.
The poem is about a hero--THE hero of our Western tradition. Instead of an honorable, noble, serving, evil-battling hero, the film's Beowulf is "a man, fallible and flawed," which Beowulf conveniently explains to us just after he's confessed to sleeping with evil instead of killing it. The poem lauds ideal heroes; the film disdains ideal heroes as fantasy. The respective messages of the poem and the film, then, are utterly at odds, and as works of art, they are mutually exclusive. I regret seeing the film and I wish it had never been made.
Description of Beowulf (Director's Cut) [HD DVD]
In the age of heroes comes the mightiest warrior of them all, Beowulf. After destroying the overpowering demon Grendel, he incurs the undying wrath of the beast?s ruthlessly seductive mother who will use any means possible to ensure revenge. The ensuing epic battle throughout the ages, immortalizing the name Beowulf. Academy AwardŽ winner director Robert Zemeckis tells the oldest epic tale in the English language with the most modern technology, advancing the cinematic forum through the magic of digitally enhanced live action. A stellar cast is led by Ray Winstone ("The Departed," "Sexy Beast") in the title role. Joining him are Academy Award winner Anthony Hopkins as the cursed King Hrothgar, John Malkovich, Robin Wright Penn, Brendan Gleeson, Crispin Glover, Alison Lohman and Oscar Winner Angelina Jolie as Grendel?s mother.Bestsellers in DVD
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