Beowulf (2007)

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

Director:

Robert Zemeckis

Writers:

Neil Gaiman (screenplay), Roger Avary (screenplay)

Stars:

Ray Winstone, Crispin Glover, Angelina Jolie

3 wins & 17 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robin Wright	...	Wealthow (as Robin Wright-Penn)
Anthony Hopkins	...	Hrothgar
Paul Baker	...	Musician #1
John Bilezikjian	...	Musician #2
Rod D. Harbour	...	Musician #3
Brice Martin	...	Musician #4 (as Brice H. Martin)
Sonje Fortag	...	Gitte (as Sonja Fortag)
Sharisse Baker-Bernard	...	Hild
Charlotte Salt	...	Estrith
Julene Renee	...	Cille (as Julene Rennee)
Greg Ellis	...	Garmund
Rik Young	...	Eofor
Sebastian Roché	...	Wulfgar (as Sebastian Roche)
Leslie Zemeckis	...	Yrsa
John Malkovich	...	Unferth

Storyline

Set against the coming of Christianity, this is the story of the last hero: in 507, a monstrous troll wreaks havoc in the mead hall of the Danish king, Hrothgar. He offers rewards for the death of Grendel, so Beowulf, a great and boastful Geat warrior, arrives with his thanes. Beowulf sets aside his armor and awaits the monster; a fierce battle ensues that leads to Beowolf's entering the watery lair of Grendel's mother, where a devil's bargain awaits. Beowulf returns to Herot, the castle, and becomes king. Jump ahead many years, and the sins of the father are visited upon Beowulf and his kingdom. The hero must face his weakness and be heroic once again. Is the age of demons over?

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Plot Keywords:

adult animation | beowulf character | king hrothgar character | 3 dimensional | king | 

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Taglines:

Face your demons

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Genres:

Animation | Action | Adventure | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros [France] Warner Bros [Germany]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Old English

Release Date:

16 November 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Beowulf: An IMAX 3D Experience

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$150,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$27,515,871, 18 November 2007, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$82,161,969, 27 January 2008

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$196,393,745, 12 August 2012

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Shangri-La Entertainment, ImageMovers

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS DTS Dolby Digital Sonics-DDP (IMAX version)

Color:

Color (DeLuxe)

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In some areas, release prints were delivered to theaters with the fake titles "Epic" or "Sally".

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Goofs

(at around 44 mins) Wealthow tells the King: How can I ever lay with you knowing you laid with her? Of course, it should be "lie with you" and "lay with her" - but then, nobody ever accused Hollywood of being literate or of knowing the distinction between transitive/intransitive verbs.

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Quotes

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

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Connections

Featured in Hollywood's Top Ten: Wet and Wild (2011)

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Soundtracks

Hrothgar Song
Written and Produced by Glen Ballard and Alan Silvestri
Performed by Nick Jameson

User Reviews

The Myth movie has come home at last.

Despite all you might have read, Beowulf does not appear on screen as he was in the poem which was the origin of this incredibly well designed CGI tour-De-force. This, although a shock to some, I'm sure, means little to the vast majority of viewers who either 1 - never heard of this legendary hero in the first place or 2 - would forever picture him as Christopher Lambert in the eponymous, and eminently forgettable, straight-to-DVD movie of some years ago. The truth is, this movie is a spectacle to behold: it grips you from the first scene, wrings you by the seat of your pants and absolutely knocks your socks off at every corner - at least CGI wise. It has its faults, surely, as any masterpiece, but a masterpiece it still is. Some set pieces are not as well rendered as others (the water in the ocean is a blatant example) but others are just plain outstanding and technology-defying (like the last battle of the movie, which I won't reveal here). Ray Winstone (Beowulf) is tremendously convincing, as is the generally under-rated Crispin Glover (Grendel - who, go figure, is no dragon, as other people said) - Sir Anthony Hopkins is very much royalty in his own right (King Hrothgar) and Robin Right Penn, Brendan Gleeson and John Malkovich excel in the little nuances that give supporting role characters their chances at the Oscars - unfortunately, Angelina Jolie's part is both a visual treat and at the same time an auditory shame - very few lines are spoken - it seems seeing her with zero garments was understood to be enough to satisfy the teenage crowds - well, I would certainly have liked for more character development but what the hell, can't really complain. As far as anthropomorphic CGI goes all the main characters are instantly recognizable but not perfect (this is still an evolution over Zemecky's own "The Polar Express", mind you) and no matter how much the 3D effects try (and try they do, believe you me), they still seem like gimmicks - the first part of the movie and the cave scenes encompass the best 3D trickery on display - and this new fangled technology is truly superior to the previous red-blue glasses of yesteryear - and will probably leave you with a little less of a hangover afterward. When all is said and done, it stands out on its own merits: epic, comes to mind, and so does cutting edge. This is a movie that will sell a lot of HD hardware (be it BluRay or HD-DVD or whatever else just comes out meanwhile), and sure to be displayed in plasmas and LCD screens all over the world when this movie goes on sale. Go see it now, at theaters, in its original digital form, 3D glasses over your nose and enjoy it for what it is: pure magic.