Beowulf (1999)

Director:

Graham Baker

Writers (WGA):

Anonymous (epic poem "Beowulf")
Mark Leahy (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

1 April 1999 (Singapore)

Genre:

Horror | Action | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Unleash your dark side.

Plot:

A sci-fi update of the famous 6th Century poem. In a beseiged land, Beowulf must battle against the hideous creature Grendel and his vengeance seeking mother.

Plot Keywords:

Beowulf | Warrior | Massacre | Weapon | One Word Title

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

Christopher Lambert	...	Beowulf
Rhona Mitra	...	Kyra
Oliver Cotton	...	Hrothgar
Götz Otto	...	Roland
Vincent Hammond	...	Grendel
Charles Robinson	...	Weaponsmaster
Brent Jefferson Lowe	...	Will
Roger Sloman	...	Karl
Layla Roberts	...	Grendel's Mother
Robert Willox	...	Chief Officer
Patricia Velasquez	...	Pendra
Marcello Cobzarju	...	Lookout
Vlad Jipa	...	Sentry
Diana Dumbrava	...	Hrothgar's Wife
Andrei Rusu	...	Soldier #1

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and sexuality.

Runtime:

95 min | Argentina:99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

South Korea:15 | Netherlands:16 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Germany:16 | Portugal:M/16 (video premiere) | Spain:13 | UK:15 | USA:R | Argentina:13 | Philippines:PG-13 | Iceland:12

Filming Locations:

Romania

Company:

Capitol Films

Trivia:

A short scene of Grendel having sexual contact with Rhona Mitra's character in her room was shot but left out because it didn't really work and the director later felt that it also wouldn't match with the story.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Beowulf cuts off the arm of Grendel, we see a left arm hit the ground (look at where the thumb is) but it is Grendel's right arm that is missing.

Quotes:

Beowulf: I must fight the evil to keep from becoming evil.

Movie Connections:

Version of The Male Swagger (1999)

A great movie... for a laugh.

We screened this movie in a club as an example of how classic literature can become twisted into some of the most awful movies of all time. Just the fact that the back of the box proudly proclaimed the plot to be set in the "techno-futile" future should have been enough of a hint. I think that word describes the movie itself, because no matter how much technology they tried to use to save this movie, the effort was completely futile. Not to mention that our club advisor told us that it allegedly couldn't get a distributor for two years.

This cinematic failure is littered with cheesy, cliche dialogue that's worse than angsty teen poetry. Beowulf's character changes halfway through in a way that is in no way credible, and whenever he's in an action scene, he's constantly flipping like a hyper gymnast. There is even, as they say, a "token black guy" whose attempts at humor are completely out of place. And, of course, the daughter of the leader of the outpost Grendel is terrorizing is a total vixen. A vixen whose breasts are exposed throughout the entire movie. A vixen who wants to fight the creature, yet she never puts on armor. And her weapon of choice is a little carving knife. And despite their dire situation, she still dresses up for dinner, in a dress with a see-through skirt that exposes her short-shorts underwear. There are a couple scenes that could pass as soft core pornography, and in the second scene they even reuse footage from the first. I thought the portrayal of Grendel was bad enough, but then came the end of the film, which featured a display of CGI that might be decent for the 80s, but is totally ridiculous for a late 90s venture. I could go on, but you all should watch this film for the fully laughable effect yourselves.

The other club members and I did manage to have fun watching this by taking a cue from MST 3K and mocking it the whole way through. I'm still reeling from an extra's weapon: a perpetually spinning pizza cutter on a pole.