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:

King | Demon | Warrior | Reward | Castle

Awards:

12 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Fri. Feb. 19	6:30 AM	TMC
Fri. Feb. 19	4:15 PM	TMC

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Robin Wright Penn	...	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
Greg Ellis	...	Garmund
Rik Young	...	Eofor
Sebastian Roché	...	Wulfgar (as Sebastian Roche)
Leslie Zemeckis	...	Yrsa
John Malkovich	...	Unferth

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:

Crispin Glover's first project with director Robert Zemeckis since Back to the Future (1985).

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the end when Wiglaf is going into the water, the waves break in a pattern that is only present in very shallow water (1-10 cm), but he is in to his waist.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Making of 'MirrorMask' (2006) (V)

Soundtrack:

Grendel Lullaby

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.