Beowulf (2007)

Director:

Robert Zemeckis

Writers (WGA):

Neil Gaiman (screenplay) &
Roger Avary (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

16 November 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Action | Adventure | Fantasy

Tagline:

Pride is the curse.

Plot:

The warrior Beowulf must fight and defeat the monster Grendel who is terrorizing towns, and later, Grendel's mother, who begins killing out of revenge.

Plot Keywords:

Beowulf | King | Demon | Warrior | Reward

Awards:

12 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Mon. Nov. 30	2:00 PM	SHOW
Wed. Dec. 2	9:30 AM	TMC

Cast

Ray Winstone	...	Beowulf / Golden Man / Dragon
Anthony Hopkins	...	Hrothgar
John Malkovich	...	Unferth
Robin Wright Penn	...	Wealthow (as Robin Wright-Penn)
Brendan Gleeson	...	Wiglaf
Crispin Glover	...	Grendel
Alison Lohman	...	Ursula
Angelina Jolie	...	Grendel's Mother
Paul Baker	...	Musician #1
John Bilezikjian	...	Musician #2
Rod D. Harbour	...	Musician #3
Brice Martin	...	Musician #4 (as Brice H. Martin)
Sonje Fortag	...	Gitte
Sharisse Baker-Bernard	...	Hild
Charlotte Salt	...	Estrith

Also Known As:

Beowulf: An IMAX 3D Experience (USA) (IMAX version)
Beowulf: The IMAX Experience (USA) (IMAX version)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence including disturbing images, some sexual material and nudity.

Runtime:

115 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Old English

Color:

Color (DeLuxe)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | DTS | Dolby Digital | Sonics-DDP (IMAX version)

Certification:

UK:12A | South Korea:15 | Ireland:12A | Singapore:NC-16 | Malaysia:U | Australia:M | Germany:12 | Finland:K-13 | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Netherlands:12 | Argentina:13 | New Zealand:M (re-rating) | New Zealand:R16 (original rating) | Taiwan:R-12 | Brazil:14 | Sweden:15 | France:U (with warning) | USA:PG-13 (certificate #43938) | Finland:K-15 (director's cut) | Portugal:M/12 (Qualidade) | Norway:15 (TV rating) | Iceland:12 | Canada:18A (director's cut)

Filming Locations:

Culver Studios - 9336 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

ImageMovers

Trivia:

According Ray Winstone, he and his fellow cast spent days filming in blue skintight suit, "showing up all your lumps and bumps in all the wrong places. Which can be hard when you're standing in front of Angelina, who looks stunning in hers."

Goofs:

Factual errors: Convex mirrors present a smaller reflection than a flat surface, but when the old Beowulf tells the queen he must fight, there is a well polished shield hanging on the wall reflecting as a flat surface, although it is slightly curved.

Quotes:

[first lines]
King Hrothgar: I want mead! Give me some mead, my queen!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Beasts of Burden Designing the Creatures of Beowulf (2008) (V)

Soundtrack:

Gently As She Goes

Not as bad as some are saying, Not as good as you hoped

Given the power of the cast and the budget, you perhaps hope for a movie which is stunningly entertaining and in some way expands your consciousness, if only for a brief 90 minutes or so. Unfortunately you get neither, just an action movie with a rather twisted and unhistorical plot. The acting does not shine through the CGI very well. Maybe it's because I am in my 50s and did not grow up with CGI, but I keep feeling like I am watching a cartoon, which is to say the least distracting.

I can certainly understand that in such spectacles as the monster fight, CGI offers at least an approximation of realism. But in scenes where human interaction predominates, CGI falls far short of communicating human expression and emotion and leaves me cold.

There is a lot of discussion of the historical "accuracy" of this movie. I did a little research, and it seems that there are major gaps in the major historical document (literally, much is missing or has crumbled away), and how it should be interpreted. Given this, it seems peculiar to pan the latest rendition of a reality that causes great controversy, even among academics. I do agree that Beowulf is portrayed in a very unflattering and unfavorable light by the movie.

In the obvious comparison CGI movie, the 300, the producers emphasized the myth. In Beowulf, they denigrated it. Neither, by itself, is reason to reject the movie itself. But 300 sold itself as a CGI production, and exceeded expectations. Beowulf sold itself as an exceptional human drama and fell flat on its face, saved but hardly exalted by its action scenes.