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Beowulf [Blu-ray] | ![Beowulf [Blu-ray]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61ErE-1GdFL._SL160_.jpg)
 enlarge | Actors: Christopher Cummins, Neil Dickson, Shay Duffin, Brendan Gleeson, Crispin Glover
Studio: Paramount
Category: DVD
List Price: $39.99
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Avg. Customer Rating:  245 reviews
Format: Ac-3, Color, Director's Cut, Dolby, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Dubbed), Spanish (Dubbed)
Rating: Unrated
Media: Blu-ray
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 114
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 6.7 x 5.4 x 0.5
MPN: 38624
UPC: 097361386249
EAN: 0097361386249
Theatrical Release Date: 2007
Release Date: July 29, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com
Spectacular animated action scenes turn the ancient epic poem Beowulf into a modern fantasy movie, while motion-capture technology transforms plump actor Ray Winstone (Sexy Beast) into a burly Nordic warrior. When a Danish kingdom is threatened by the monster Grendel (voiced and physicalized by Crispin Glover, River's Edge), Beowulf--lured by the promise of heroic glory--comes to rescue them. He succeeds, but falls prey to the seductive power of Grendel's mother, played by Angelina Jolie... and as Jolie's pneumatically animated form rises from an underground lagoon with demon-claw high heels, it becomes clear that we're leaving the original epic far, far behind. Regrettably, the motion-capture process has made only modest improvements since The Polar Express; while the characters' eyes no longer look so flat and zombie-like, their faces remain inexpressive and movements are still wooden. As a result, the most effective sequences feature wildly animated battles and the most vivid character is Grendel, whose grotesqueness ends up making him far more sympathetic than any of the mannequin-like human beings. The meant-to-be-titillating images of a naked Jolie resemble an inflatable doll more than a living, breathing woman (or succubus, as the case may be). But the fights--particularly Grendel's initial assault on the celebration hut--pop with lushly animated gore and violence. Also featuring the CGI-muffled talents of Anthony Hopkins (Silence of the Lambs), Robin Wright Penn (The Princess Bride), and John Malkovich (Dangerous Liaisons). --Bret Fetzer
Product Description
Paramount Beowulf (Blu-ray) (Widescreen, Director's Cut) In the age of heroes comes the mightiest warrior of them all, "Beowulf". After destroying the overpowering demon Grendel, he incurs the undying wrathof the beast's ruthlessly seductive mother who will use any means possible to ensure revenge. The ensuing epic battle throughout the ages, immortalizing the name Beowulf. Academy Award(R) winner director Robert Zemeckis tells the oldest epic tale inthe English language with the most modern technology, advancing the cinematic forum through the magic of digitally enhanced live action. A stellar cast is led by Ray Winstone ("The Departed", "Sexy Beast") in the title role. Joining him are Academy Award winner Anthony Hopkins as the cursed King Hrothgar, John Malkovich, Robin Wright-Penn, BrendanGleeson, Crispin Glover, Alison Lohman and Oscar Winner Angelina Jolie as Grendel's mother.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 240 more reviews...
 1500 years young November 16, 2007
53 out of 80 found this review helpful
Good stories can't die off. They live on by being retold again for every new generation. My condolences to the purists: this telling speaks to today's generation.
What's of this generation is great. Star power includes Anthony Hopkins, Angelina Jolie, John Malkovich, and scripting by Neil Gaiman. The animation (yes, it's animation) represents the very best of this generation too. Jolie has voice credits, but she clearly gave a lot more than her voice to the animators. Ditto Hopkins, who transformed expertly into Hrothgar - computerized alchemy explored the ridiculous idea that Hopkins could ever be dumpy, but did so convicingly. Fussy bits, hair and beard among them, set this animation ahead of others, but so do the other aspects of cinema and artistry. Today's best animation comes up short of reality, but this comes right up to the best of today's animation.
The story itself survived largely intact. Specialists (I can name one) will be disappointed - but they always are. The graphic novel might be the literary form of the emerging generation, and this speaks directly in that idiom as only computer animation can. Even with that, real tensions with real ambiguities come through. The odd logic of senior wife protecting junior doxy and vice versa gives a little to think about, even if only a little.
If you want the grandest of comic books, you came to the right place. After a thousand years of telling, maybe more, this story still fits well between the covers of today's comics. Then, once comic-fied, it becomes the grandest of comic-book movies. Whoever did "300" did well, but was just practicing. "Beowulf" is what they practiced for.
-- wiredweird
 "Always, a hero comes home" January 11, 2008
35 out of 49 found this review helpful
"Beowulf" is the most ambitious and awe-inspiring fantasy film to emerge in the considerable wake of The Lord of the Rings - The Motion Picture Trilogy -barring 300 which isn't entirely fantasy. It's a very adult animated movie that pushes the PG-13 rating to it's breaking point with overt sexual references, brutal violence, and abundant nudity. It is also the most impressive bit of computer animation I've ever had the pleasure of viewing and hopefully you didn't miss it on the big screen.
"Beowulf" is, of course, based on the poem of the same name and has been filmed several times before, most recently with Gerard Butler in the lead role in Beowulf & Grendel. Like so many modern film interpretations of classic myths, that film minimized the supernatural fantasy aspects and tried to make the story more realistic (see: boring). This adaptation will have none of that as we are treated to an etheral she-demon, toothy sea monsters, an utterly grotesque troll, and the most impressive dragon since Dragonslayer over two decades ago. Along with animation that often leaves you gaping in awe at the film's beauty and the extreme onscreen carnage, there is little for me not to love about this adaption.
The performances are well done all around. The CG was animated over the actions of onscreen actors including Angelina Jolie, John Malkovich, and Anthony Hopkins. While a bit is certainly lost in the translation with a few characters' faces seeming rather stiff at times, the end result is more than a little bit impressive. So many films mix CG and live action nowadays that viewers have had to learn to ignore the obvious line between the two, but in making this an entirely CG affair, the look remains seamless throughout and it's easier to get lost in the first rate action sequences. The only thing really lacking storywise is emotional depth in the love story between Beowulf and his queen. But that is a tiny complaint in an ocean of awesome.
The story is a suprisingly emotional spin on the stone classic which pits the heroic-yet-fallible warrior, Beowulf, against monsters that are products of -if not representations of- human weakness. The monster Grendel is a wretched and pitiful creature whose eardrums are outside of his head, making the sounds of the villagers' merrymaking painful and driving him berserk. King Hrothgar puts out a reward which Beowulf arrives to collect and as the plot thickens the classic story receives a new perspective that drives the drama to a new, rather ironic level. The end result is a nicely foreshadowed sequence of events that leads to Beowulf being crowned as king. But just as each of the beasts the hero faces have a vital weakness so does he, and the day of reckoning for his dalliances does come.
The music is as epic and memorable as the story itself and the visuals -as stated and restated- are top notch. The new spin on the old story gives a fresh perspective on a literary classic, as though the poem is but a third-person recounting of the events we witness in the film passed down and altered by time. Clever. I'd love to see more classic mythological stories get this kind of treatment. The director's cut DVD features some extra gore and that's about it, but it's good enough for me to recommend that version. It also comes with a small comic book, some interesting "making of" stuff, and some other typical bonus materials, mostly dealing with casting and story conception. The production art that's shown is very cool and the trailer for "Iron Man " is on there too. Nothing earth-shattering, but certainly adequate.
Animation should not be just for kids, and neither should this film genre. This is the sort of film that shows just how far CG has come in such a short time. I can't wait to see what animation will look like a decade form now. How "Beowulf" got away without an "R" rating in the theaters is a mystery to me, but I'm just thrilled that it slipped through because I wouldn't change a thing. Except for maybe the fist-sized dragon heart; that was just silly. Check this out if you profess any sort of interest in fnatasy or animation.
The Danes had lousy table manners in the middle ages February 11, 2008
31 out of 69 found this review helpful
I think the animation technology used for this movie suits the story brillantly. I don't normally like animation and I do not much like fantasy, but this is something else. One of the great Northern sagas, whatever its specific publishing history. On par with the Nibelungen, that I grew up with and loved, or the Knights of King Arthur. Only funnier. Beowulf is a big mouth. He comes to kill the monster. Who in turn turns out to be Angelina Jolie's kid (I thought hers were adopted?).
Angelina does a splendid job at showing up naked and thus assuring that no self respecting American family could let their kids watch this. (Remember the Super Bowl!)
If anybody would ever try to make a serious (eg straightfaced) version of this tall tale, he would be laughed off the premises. With this marvellous version of funny Hopkins and naked Jolie and sad Wright and whatshisname bigmouth Beowulf, that will not happen.
Great fun.
 A Video Game on the Big Screen December 17, 2007
29 out of 46 found this review helpful
I didn't buy "Beowulf" for one minute.
Director Robert Zemeckis, who built his career making enjoyable films like "Back to the Future", "Romancing the Stone" and "Forrest Gump", has been exploring the realm of computer animated films recently. He has even gone so far as to develop new technology so he can more convincingly capture actors portraying the characters he then has animated. His first foray into this field was "The Polar Express" in which Tom Hanks played a number of characters and all of the children in the film looked like soulless zombies. In "Monster House", the technology was used to better effect because the characters were highly stylized and looked like animated characters. They weren't trying to be real, so we buy into the scenario more readily. Now with "Beowulf", Zemeckis' uses Ray Winston, Angelina Jolie, Robin Wright Penn, Anthony Hopkins and John Malkovich to portray various characters in this completely computer generated universe. The characters look like the actors playing them, but they still move with the jerky movements common to video game characters and they still have that soulless zombie look in their eyes. My question is if you are going to go to the trouble to try to make Ray Winston look like Ray Winston (with the use of a body double), and Angelina Jolie look like Angelina Jolie, why not just use the actors in front of animated backgrounds, ala "Sin City" or "300"?
It's strange that Zemeckis, who began his career making such fun and enjoyable films, starring personable actors (Tom Hanks, Michael J. Fox, Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner) now chooses to make completely lifeless films using a technology replacing the very likable actors with pale facsimiles of themselves (Tom Hanks, Anthony Hopkins, Robin Wright Penn).
The story begins with a party in a remote Danish kingdom. King Hrothgar (Anthony Hopkins) and his wife, Wealthow (Robin Wright Penn) are having a celebration, but the king has become very inebriated and seems to disgust his younger wife. Their merriment causes the great beast Grendel (Crispin Glover) to awake, his head pounding with the noise, a noise he must stop, so he attacks the village, killing many. Distraught, Hrothgar hopes for a miracle and promises his kingdom to whoever can slay Grendel. Enter Beowulf (Ray Winston and a body double). Beowulf treks to Grendel's lair and slays him, but now he has to deal with Grendel's mother, a dangerous beast who takes the form of a beautiful woman (Angelina Jolie) who vows revenge. She tempts Beowulf and they eventually battle. When Beowulf returns, Hrothgar makes him king, as promised, and gives him Wealthow as his wife. Then Beowulf must deal with other forces.
Much like "Sin City" and "300", the use of computer animation is a really great method of recreating a land and time long ago. In this case, the filmmakers use this technology to create the remote, snowy Danish vistas of yesteryear. And the work is interesting to look at. Remote huts and community buildings look interesting and add some interest to the story. These same sets would cost a fortune to recreate and would probably not look as authentic as they do in this film, so creating them with CGI is a necessity.
But because much of this film takes place in caves, or on snowy plains, the film retains a `cartoony' look, resembling a Hanna-Barbera cartoon. Really, some of the scenes in the film look like the background keeps repeating. This is not a good thing when a film is trying to be hyper-realistic.
Zemeckis has spent a lot of time developing technology to make this type of filmmaking more realistic. Basically, they put an actor in a suit covered with tiny transmitters. They film the actor acting out a scene. They import the scene into a computer and the computer tracks these tiny emitters as the actor moves. This allows the animator to add clothes, costumes, backgrounds, while the movement of the character remains `natural'. Zemeckis has developed this technology to add facial expressions to the mix, something they were previously only able to do in limited doses. Unfortunately, it didn't work very well in "Polar Express", making all the children resemble zombies. In "Monster House", it was better. In "Beowulf", the facial expressions are a bit blank again. The characters certainly look like the actors they are playing, but the expressions seem a little off, the eyes a little vacant. I really think this has to do with the fact these are real actors playing the characters. The technology seemed to work in "Monster House", but that was because the characters were less realistic and cartoonier. In the two films where the characters are supposed to be more realistic, they appear more like avatars in a video game. Speaking of avatars, James Cameron is reportedly developing his own technology for his next film, "Avatar", due in 2009.
Equally important are the character's body movements. In "Beowulf", the characters seem to move stiffly and even in a jittery fashion at some points. It just isn't convincing and makes everything seem more like a videogame. When I first saw the trailer, I thought it was an ad for a Wii game.
Okay, let's put these things aside for a moment and address the story. The main conflict, the battle between Anjelina Jolie's character and Ray Winstone's happens in the second act. This leaves a lot of time, too much time, for the story to meander and try to paint a picture of Beowulf and a younger woman (Allison Lohman) having an affair, while Wealthow (Penn) looks on. Yawn. Then, the filmmakers seem to realize they need to have a climatic ending and throw in another battle. At this point, it just makes the film seem long. Too long.
The 3-D technology has improved greatly. Disney is doing some interesting things with this technology and has made a new film "Meet the Robinsons" and re-released "Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas" with this technology. These new films look like they are truly 3-D, gone are the lines and shadows we used to have when this technology was first introduced in the mid 50s. There was a trailer for the first live-action 3-D film using this technology, next summers "Journey to the Center of the Earth" starring Brendan Fraser. It looks like an interesting idea, but the clips they showed in the trailer make the actors look flat as they traverse a 3-D landscape, much like the characters in Zemeckis' "Polar Express" and "Beowulf".
Film wouldn't be where it is today without filmmakers experimenting and creating things like Panavision, THX, Roadshow presentations, 3-D and CGI to enhance their own films. Because of these advancements, we have had the pleasure of watching new films that could one day be considered classics, films like "Sin City", "300" and "Batman Begins". Without the development of the water creature in "The Abyss", we would never have had the amazing special effects used to create the Terminator in "Terminator 2." In a way, the work of Ray Harryhausen on films like "The 7th Voyage of Sinbad" led to the amazing special effects used in "The Matrix". It seems difficult at this point to imagine, but perhaps, perhaps, one day the work Zemeckis is currently putting into these films and this technology may one day lead to some enjoyable, memorable films.
But right now, we have "Beowulf", which is anything but. Enjoyable and memorable that is.
Holding Out for a Hero November 16, 2007
26 out of 31 found this review helpful
Written around 700 AD and being of unknown authorship, "Beowulf" may be one of the purest fantasies ever told--it was one of the first to tell the story of a warrior who fought demons and a dragon. In the hands of director Robert Zemeckis and screenwriters Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary, the story transcends what we might have envisioned when reading the epic poem. This latest film adaptation is a triumph of classic storytelling, giving us a both hero to root for and monsters to be afraid of; it's a story told in the language of entertainment, having the power to capture its audience with compelling characters and breathtaking visuals. It's an honest to goodness fable that tells it like it is, completely free of long-winded setups and complicated details.
Relying on the same motion capture technique he utilized in "The Polar Express," Zemeckis has crafted an entirely computer generated film that has an appropriately surreal look. This is especially true of the characters, which exist in a gray area between the realistic and the fantastic; they don't look phony by any means, but they're not completely authentic, either. I suppose part of this can be blamed on the limits of computer technology, which still isn't able to fool an audience despite major advances. The thing is, I don't think the film should have looked too realistic, simply because it's telling an unrealistic story. "Beowulf" is a purely imaginative piece, and as such, the film needed a purely imaginative look. Zemeckis chose to make the entire thing one big special effect--there are no individual effects that enhance live-action scenes.
Taking place in the sixth century, Ray Winstone voices the title character with the perfect mix of pride, arrogance, and youthful impulsiveness. He also gives Beowulf a hard-edged masculinity that's just as expected as it is cliché. Upon hearing that a monster is terrorizing a Danish kingdom, Beowulf and his Geat men come to the rescue. His motives are purely ego driven--he only wants to fight in glorious battle and be remembered for it. Stories of his past battles make this clear because they're all so dramatic, downright boastful. Basically, it's obvious that he's exaggerating practically everything he says to make himself look more like a hero. All arrogance aside, he does believe himself capable of killing the creature that attacked the mead hall of the drunken, disgraced King Hrothgar (Anthony Hopkins) and the quiet, suspicious Wealthow (Robin Wright Penn).
This creature is Grendel (Crispin Glover), a character that, like Frankenstein's Monster, is hideous yet pathetic. He's a grotesque sight to behold: he's massive, hunched over, and deformed, bearing little if any resemblance to a human being. His soft, pitiful voice--which speaks in a Scandinavian tongue--is pretty much his only connection to the rest of us. Here's a character that's truly nightmarish in appearance. And when his anger is added to the mix, it gets even worse; he loses control at the sounds of merrymaking, forcing him to retreat from his cave and attack the mead hall. As he breaks through the wooden door, the orange flames in the fire pit become a cold blue that engulf everything surrounding it. Beowulf is able to lure Grendel back by making his men sing, after which the two engage in fierce combat. Because Grendel has no armor or weapons, Beowulf decides to "fight him on equal terms" by stripping completely naked. How this was necessary, I have no idea, but I guess it doesn't really matter.
It's only after the battle is finished that Beowulf learns of Grendel's mother (Angelina Jolie), a seductive water demon whose feminine curves are accented by shifting slivers of gold paint. Her hair ends as a living, tentacle-like ponytail, and her feet are naturally high heeled. When Beowulf first meets her, he carries a golden horn given by Hrothgar as a gift; in the presence of Grendel's mother, the horn glows like molten metal, just as the water she emerges from becomes a phosphorescent blue. In this strange yet magically erotic atmosphere, she temps Beowulf with promises of fame and fortune. At what price, no one can say, but considering how fiercely protective she was of her son, I think it's safe to assume that it'll be quite high.
When the film flashes forward by a number of years, signs of Beowulf's age are not the only differences--his views on glory, battle, and fame have changed, forcing him to wonder if his years of arrogance were worth it. At one time, he would scream, "I am Beowulf!" at the drop of a hat, but now, there doesn't seem to be any reason to do that anymore. It doesn't help that he's keeping a big secret, one he's held onto for many years. The arrival of a monstrous fire-breathing dragon brings his past back up to the surface, and he must face it whether or not he's ready to.
But to face his past is to redefine what it means to be a hero. The young Beowulf believed it was all about winning battles, but the older Beowulf begins to feel that there's something more to it, something that doesn't rely on physical brute force and bloodshed. In Zemeckis' film, Beowulf is just like any character on a Hero's Journey: he matures as his quest nears its end. He looks back on what he's been through and is able to draw strength from it. This well-established narrative formula is one of the things that make "Beowulf" an incredibly enjoyable film; it follows the most basic rules of fantasy storytelling, which is both necessary and effective. This movie thoroughly accomplishes what it set out to accomplish--it's an engaging, exciting, and highly artistic vision, made with style and precision. Odin be praised.
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