Beowulf and the Anglo-Saxons

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DVD details

Actor: Artist Not Provided
Brand: Ryko Distribution
DVD: Region Code 0
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 64 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-02-27
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Arts Magic

DVD Reviews of Beowulf and the Anglo-Saxons

DVD Review: The Geat and the Beast
Summary: 5 Stars

I found this production to be poetic and educational. The opening which features the recitation in Wessex dialect is just one of the finest specimens of aural old english I've yet to hear. (But then, I don't hear that many." It's an excellant critical presentation of Beowulf and and equally excellant presentation of the Saxon culture, it's life and times.
I do take a little issue with the neglect of the influence of Roman cavalry armour on the Sutton Hoo helmet. But, this is nit-picky on my part. I would reccomend this for anyone teaching British literature, or world history, or just for your own edification...benefits will accrue! Add it to your curriculum today, integrate it into your lesson plans.
Gilbert Sarabia

DVD Review: Beowulf
Summary: 4 Stars

looks good and maybe can be used in the classroom to prepare for reading the story and seeing the new movie

DVD Review: Good background on Beowulf
Summary: 4 Stars

This is a better than average educational video. It provides good background information on the culture of the Anglo- Saxons and the context of the Beowulf epic. Its best features are the recreations, the footage of the Sutton Hoo site and some of its treasures, and the actual recitation of some of the poem in the Old English ( very interesting to hear). The lecture that makes up the bulk of the narrative is of the type you might expect were you to attend a seminar at the Sutton Hoo site or some similar History for amateur enthusiast's event, but it is just enough material for a student starting to study this period or the poem. The only drawback is that the production company was obviously short on funds and towards the final third of the hour+ production, the visuals start to repeat- we see the same spinning helmet, the same burning lake, the same warriors tipping back the drinking horn once again-this is where my kids start laughing and go back to reading another book while I tell them to hang in there the material is worth it. But then, this isn't New Line Cinema, so you have to adjust your expectations. One especially good extra is the re-enactment segment. A representative of the society describes their efforts to rebuild a 10th C. Saxon Hall and this is very interesting and enough to tempt you to consider a trip across the pond to see it! All in all I would say this is worth your time- there isn't much out there on the subject and if nothing else will inspire the history/literature minded student to dig deeper!

DVD Review: Interesting/worthwhile
Summary: 4 Stars

DVD has some interesting information. It could serve as an introduction into the poem. It's not going to offer much new to anyone who's studied the poem or the history in much detail. I enjoyed watching it.

Description of Beowulf and the Anglo-Saxons

Miraculously preserved over the centuries, its artistic importance was unrecognized until an essay by J. R. R. Tolkien (The Lord of the Rings) revealed its unity and multi-dimensional structure. Beowulf is now regarded as the most important manuscript the Anglo-Saxons have handed down to us, of immense linguistic as well as poetic value.

This program sets out to trace the origins of the tribes that brought this epic into being, the war-like Norsemen from Sweden, Denmark and Germany who were to conquer and settle regions of a more clement and fertile island that would become known as England, named after the tribe of the Angles. Using 3-D animation, location footage, archive materials and interviews, the Beowulf epic is examined in the light of the civilization that created it. It investigates their religious beliefs as well as their everyday life, and suggests that, old as the poem is, it may have roots in an even more ancient fertility cult.

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