Beowulf (2007 film)

Infobox Film
name = Beowulf


caption = Theatrical release poster
director = Robert Zemeckis
producer = Steve Bing
Robert Zemeckis
writer = Neil Gaiman
Roger Avary
starring = Ray Winstone
Anthony Hopkins
Angelina Jolie
Crispin Glover
Robin Wright Penn
John Malkovich
Brendan Gleeson
Alison Lohman
music = Alan Silvestri
distributor = Paramount Pictures (USA)
Warner Bros. (International)
ImageMovers (Japan)
released = November 16, 2007
runtime = 114 min.
country = United States
language = English
Old English
budget = $150,000,000
gross = $196,149,662
website = http://www.beowulfmovie.com/
amg_id = 1:334172
imdb_id = 0442933

"Beowulf" is a 2007 performance capture action film based on the Old English epic poem of the same name. Directed by Robert Zemeckis, the film was created through a motion capture process similar to the technique used in "The Polar Express". The cast includes Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, Robin Wright Penn, Alison Lohman, John Malkovich, Crispin Glover, Brendan Gleeson, and Angelina Jolie. It was released in the United States, Canada and the UK on November 16, 2007, and was available to view in IMAX 3D, Real D and standard 2D format.

Plot

Set in Denmark, the film opens with King Hrothgar (Anthony Hopkins) celebrating the construction of his new mead hall, Heorot. The noise of the celebration echoes into Grendel's (Crispin Glover) cave and torments him. In a mad fury, Grendel breaks into the hall and kills many people. After being challenged by Hrothgar, Grendel runs off into the night. Back at his lair, Grendel is admonished by his unseen mother for attacking the humans and possibly inviting retribution. She calms down after Grendel tells her that he did not harm Hrothgar.

Meanwhile, Hrothgar closes Heorot and proclaims that he will give half of his kingdom in gold to any man who can defeat Grendel. Beowulf (Ray Winstone) and his men arrive by ship from Geatland and convince Hrothgar to reopen Heorot. Beowulf's credibility is challenged by Unferth (John Malkovich), the King's most trusted advisor. Beowulf proceeds to tell a tale to convince the people of Heorot that he is capable of killing Grendel. Hrothgar offers Beowulf his Golden drinking horn, a trophy taken after a battle with the dragon Fáfnir, in the event that Grendel is destroyed.

Later Hrothgar and Queen Wealtheow (Robin Wright Penn) argue. Hrothgar states that he needs an heir. Wealtheow refuses to comply due to Hrothgar's earlier involvement with Grendel's mother (thus conceiving Grendel).

That evening, Beowulf asks his men to sing loudly. Grendel is agitated once again and attacks the hall in a blind fury. While fighting Grendel, Beowulf discovers an external eardrum, the source of Grendel's pain, and begins to attack it. This disorients Grendel who then tries to escape. Beowulf traps him with chains and later slams the door on his arm breaking it off. Beowulf is proclaimed a hero and Grendel's arm is nailed above the door of Heorot.

After Grendel returns to the cave to die, Grendel's mother cries out in grief over the loss of her son. Determined to avenge his death, she flies to Heorot in a murderous rage. She initially appears to Beowulf in a dream disguised as Wealtheow. When Beowulf wakes from the dream he finds that all of his men are dead except for Wiglaf, who (stricken with grief at the deaths of some of the other men in Beowulf's band) had elected to forego the festivities and tend to the ship. Beowulf confronts Hrothgar, whose evasive answers imply that he knows more of Grendel's past than he will state openly, tells Beowulf how he can find Grendel's mother. Unferth, who has by this time converted to Christianity, appears before Beowulf and apologizes to him for his previous behavior, offering him the use of his ancestral sword Hrunting, which Beowulf accepts.

Beowulf and Wiglaf find the cave. Beowulf enters it alone, eventually confronting Grendel's mother (Angelina Jolie). She appears to him as a beautiful nude woman with golden liquid dripping from her skin. She promises him fame and power if he gives her a son. She also demands the Horn of Hrothgar with the promise that as long as it is in her safekeeping, Heorot will be safe. As she entices Beowulf, she melts Hrunting with her bare hands. Beowulf gives in to her temptations.

Beowulf returns to Heorot with Grendel's severed head and tells a disbelieving Hrothgar that he killed Grendel's mother. Hrothgar states that his curse has been lifted (implying that it has passed to Beowulf) and then publicly proclaims Beowulf heir to his kingdom — and its queen. Hrothgar then proceeds to throw himself from the balcony and falls to his death. Stunned, Beowulf is duly crowned king and marries Wealtheow.

Many years pass. King Beowulf is now old and disillusioned, a shadow of his former glorious self. One day, Unferth's servant, Cain, now grown up, finds the Horn of Hrothgar upon a stretch of moors. Unferth proceeds to present it to the king. Beowulf is furious to see it and realises Grendel's mother has reneged on their bargain. That evening Beowulf dreams of a man in gold threatening both the old Queen Wealtheow and Beowulf's young mistress, Ursula. The next day, a fierce dragon attacks a village outside Heorot. The dragon slays Unferth's wife and children before his eyes, and leaves a message with Unferth for Beowulf. Unferth, badly burned and mad with rage from seeing his family burned alive, gives Beowulf the dragon's simple message: 'The sins of the fathers!'

Beowulf, intending to break the cycle of the female demon's curse, rides with Wiglaf to the cave of Grendel's mother to kill the dragon and end the madness. Beowulf tells Wiglaf that he has instructed the heralds to proclaim Wiglaf king should Beowulf fall in the coming battle. Beowulf also tries to confess his past sins to Wiglaf, but his old friend refuses to listen and provides encouragement for the King. Beowulf enters the cave alone and attempts to mollify Grendel's mother by returning the Dragon Horn to her. To his dismay, the demon tells him it is too late. The demon then sends the dragon to attack Heorot. The dragon overcomes a desperate attempt by Beowulf's army to hold-off and kill it and fails to drown Beowulf by diving into the sea. It then proceeds to the castle and attempts to attack Queen Wealtheow and Ursula. Beowulf kills it by a daring maneuver, remembering advice on dragon-slaying given to him by Hrothgar. Beowulf, while dangling from the dragon on a chain, is unable to reach the dragon's heart with his sword. Beowulf severs his own arm in order to be able to reach the dragon's heart. As Beowulf is feeling through the dragon's chest to reach its heart, the dragon jostles the sword from Beowulf's hand. Beowulf rips the heart from the dragon with his bare hand. Wealtheow and Ursula survive.

Beowulf and the dragon fall to the shores far below. The dragon reverts to the golden man of Beowulf's dream, whom Beowulf realizes is his son. Beowulf then dies in Wiglaf's arms. The latter, still refusing to believe his friend is anything but a hero, finally listens to Beowulf's confession.

Wiglaf later prepares a traditional Viking funeral for Beowulf. As he watches the burning boat loaded with Beowulf's treasure that serves as a funeral pyre, he sees Grendel's mother kissing the corpse amidst the flames shortly before the boat sinks. The Dragon Horn washes ashore at Wiglaf's feet. As he picks it up, Grendel's mother emerges from the sea, beckoning him. The movie's ending is ambiguous about what Wiglaf will do next. (Hrothgar became king after killing a dragon that was terrorizing the people, and fathered Grendel; Beowulf became king after killing Grendel, and fathered and later slew a golden dragon; Wiglaf is now king and had a hand in slaying the golden dragon).

Production

Author Neil Gaiman and screenwriter Roger Avary wrote a screen adaptation of "Beowulf" in May 1997 (they had met while working on a film adaptation of Gaiman's "The Sandman" in 1996, before Warner Bros. canceled it).cite news | author = Tom Ambrose | title = He Is Legend | publisher = Empire | date = December 2007 | pages=139-142] The script had been optioned by ImageMovers in the same year and set up at DreamWorks with Avary slated to direct and Robert Zemeckis producing. Avary stated he wanted to make a small-scale, gritty film, with a budget of $15-20 million, similar to "Jabberwocky" or "Excalibur". The project eventually went into turnaround after the option expired, the rights returned to Avary, who went on to direct an adaptation of "The Rules of Attraction". In January 2005, producer Steve Bing, at the behest of Zemeckis who was wanting to direct the film himself, revived the production by convincing Avary that Zemeckis' vision, supported by the strength of digitally enhanced live action, was worth relinquishing the directorial reins. [cite news | author=Nicole Laporte | coauthors=Claude Brodesser | url=http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117916682.html?categoryid=13&cs=1 | title=Sony, Bing get Anglo on 'Beowulf' | publisher=Variety | date=2005-01-20 | accessdate=2007-01-13 ] [cite news | author = Kevil Kelly | title = Comic-Con: 'Beowulf' Footage Screening, Q&A, and Party! | publisher = Cinematical | date = 2007-07-26 | url = http://www.cinematical.com/2007/07/26/comic-con-beowulf-footage-screening-qanda-and-party/ | accessdate=2007-11-07] Zemeckis did not like the poem, but enjoyed reading the screenplay. Because of the expanded budget, Zemeckis told the screenwriters to rewrite their script, because "there is nothing that you could write that would cost me more than a million dollars per minute to film. Go wild!" In particular, the entire fight with the dragon was rewritten from a talky confrontation to a battle spanning the cliffs and the sea.

Sony Pictures Imageworks created the animation for the film. Animation supervisor Kenn MacDonald explained that Zemeckis used motion capture because “Even though it feels like live action, there were a lot of shots where Bob cut loose. Amazing shots. Impossible with live action actors. This method of filmmaking gives him freedom and complete control. He doesn’t have to worry about lighting. The actors don’t have to hit marks. They don’t have to know where the camera is. It’s pure performance." A 25 x 35-foot stage was built, and it used 244 Vicon MX40 cameras. Actors on set wore seventy-eight body markers. The cameras recorded real time footage of the performances, shots which Zemeckis reviewed. The director then used a virtual camera to choose camera angles from the footage which was edited together. Two teams of animators worked on the film, with one group working on replicating the facial performances, the other working on body movement. The animators said they worked very closely on replicating the human characters, but the character of Grendel had to be almost reworked, because he is a monster, not human.cite news | author = Barbara Robertson | title = Beowulf Effects | publisher = CG Society | date = 2007-11-28 | url = http://features.cgsociety.org/story_custom.php?story_id=4336 | accessdate=2007-12-02]

In designing the dragon, production designer Doug Chiang wanted to create something unique in film. The designers looked at bats and flying squirrels for inspiration, and also designed its tail to allow underwater propulsion. As the beast is Beowulf's son with Grendel's mother, elements such as Winstone's eyes and cheekbone structure were incorporated into its look. [cite news | author = Sheigh Crabtree | title = 'Beowulf' breathes fire into a new kind of dragon | publisher = Los Angeles Times | date = 2007-11-04 | url = http://www.calendarlive.com/movies/cl-ca-beowulf4nov04,0,443706.story?coll=cl-movies | accessdate=2007-11-08] The three primary monsters in the film share a golden color scheme, because they are all related. Grendel has patches of gold skin, but because of his torment, he has shed much of his scales as well as exposing his internal workings. He still had to resemble Crispin Glover though: the animators decided to adapt Glover's own parted hairstyle to Grendel, albeit with bald patches.

Cast

The cast members of "Beowulf" were filmed on a motion capture stage. They were altered on screen using computer-generated imagery, but their animated counterparts bear much resemblance to themselves.

The protagonist, Beowulf, is portrayed by Ray Winstone. Zemeckis cast Winstone after seeing his performance as the titular character of the 2003 ITV serial "Henry VIII". On the topic of the original poem, Winstone commented during an interview that "I had the beauty of not reading the book, which I understand portrays Beowulf as a very one-dimensional kind of character - a hero and a warrior and that was it. I didn't have any of that baggage to bring with me."cite news | author = Rob Carnevale | title = Beowulf | publisher = BBC | date = 2007-11-12 | url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2007/11/12/ray_winstone_beowulf_2007_interview.shtml | accessdate=2007-11-16] Winstone enjoyed working with motion capture, stating that “You were allowed to go, like theater, where you carry a scene on and you become engrossed within the scene. I loved the speed of it. There was no time to sit around. You actually cracked on with a scene and your energy levels were kept up. There was no time to actually sit around and lose your concentration. So, for me, I actually really, really enjoyed this experience." Winstone also noted that his computer-generated counterpart resembled himself at the age of eighteen, although the filmmakers did not have a photo for reference.cite news | author = Sheila Roberts | title = Cast of Beowulf Interview | publisher = Movies Online | url = http://www.moviesonline.ca/movienews_13362.html | accessdate=2007-11-08] Winstone also played a dwarf performer, and the "Golden Man"/Dragon.

The antagonists Grendel and Grendel's mother are portrayed by Crispin Glover and Angelina Jolie, respectively. Glover had previously worked with Zemeckis in "Back to the Future", when he portrayed George McFly. Zemeckis had found Glover tiresome on set, because of his lack of understanding of shooting a film, but realized this would not be a problem as on a motion capture film he could choose his angles later. [cite news | title = Becoming Beowulf | publisher = IGN | date = 2007-07-25 | url = http://movies.ign.com/articles/808/808022p1.html | accessdate=2007-11-16] Glover's dialogue was entirely in Old English. Jolie had wanted to work with Zemeckis. She had read the poem years ago but could not remember it well until she read the script and was able to recall basic themes. The actress was told that she "was going to be a lizard. Then I was brought into a room with Bob, and a bunch of pictures and examples, and he showed me this picture of a woman half painted gold, and then a lizard. And, I’ve got kids and I thought 'That's great. That's so bizarre. I'm going to be this crazy reptilian person and creature.'" Jolie filmed her role over two days when she was three months pregnant. She was startled by the character's nude human form, stating that for an animated film “I was really surprised that I felt that exposed."

King Hrothgar is portrayed by Anthony Hopkins. Hopkins noted in an interview that since Zemeckis is an American, he wasn't certain what accent Hopkins should use for the role of Hrothgar. Hopkins told him, "Well, Welsh would be my closest because that's where I come from." It was also his first time working with motion capture technology. Hopkins noted that “I didn't know what was expected. It was explained to me, I'm not stupid, but I still don't get the idea of how it works. I have no idea [...] you don't have sets, so it is like being in a Brecht play, you know, with just bare bones and you have nothing else." When asked if he had to read the original poem of "Beowulf" in school, Hopkins replied: "No, I was hopeless at school. I couldn't read anything. I mean I could read, but I was so inattentive. I was one of those poor kids, you know, who was just very slow, didn't know what they were talking about [...] So I tried to get around to reading "Beowulf" just before I did this movie, and it was a good modern translation. It was Trevor Griffiths, I’m not sure, but I couldn't hack it, and I tend to like to just go with the script if it's a good script."cite news | author = Sheila Roberts | title = Anthony Hopkins Interview, Beowulf| publisher = Movies Online | url = http://www.moviesonline.ca/movienews_13394.html| accessdate=2007-11-13]

Unferth is portrayed by John Malkovich. Malkovich became involved in the project because one of his friends, who had worked with Zemeckis, "spoke very highly of him. I had always found him a very interesting and innovative filmmaker. I liked the script very much and I liked the group involved and the process interested me a great deal also." He found the experience of working with motion capture to be similar to his experiences working in the theater. He also found the process intriguing: "say you do a normal day of filmmaking. Sometimes that’s 1/8th of a page, sometimes it’s 3/8th of a page, normally let’s say it’s 2-1/2 pages, maybe 3. Now it’s probably a little more than it used to be but not always. So you may be acting for a total of 20 minutes a day. In this, you act the entire day all the time except for the tiny amount of time it takes them to sort of coordinate the computer information, let’s say, and make sure that the computers are reading the data and that you’re transmitting the data. It interests me on that level because I’m a professional actor so I’d just as soon act as sit around." Malkovich also recalled that he studied the original poem in high school, and that “I think we got smacked if we couldn’t recite a certain number of stanzas. It was in the Old English class and I think my rendition was exemplary."cite news | author = Sheila Roberts | title = John Malkovich Interview, Beowulf| publisher = Movies Online | url = http://www.moviesonline.ca/movienews_13412.html| accessdate=2007-11-13]

The cast also includes:
* Brendan Gleeson as Wiglaf, Beowulf's lieutenant
* Robin Wright Penn as Queen Wealtheow
* Alison Lohman as Ursula, Beowulf's mistress when he is an old king
* Sebastian Roché as Wulfgar
* Costas Mandylor as Hondshew
* Greg Ellis as Garmund
* Tyler Steelman as Cain, Unferth's disabled slave. Dominic Keating plays the adult Cain
* Rik Young as Eofor
* Charlotte Salt as Estrith
* Leslie Harter Zemeckis as Yrsa

Differences from the poem

One objective of Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary was to offer their own interpretation for motivations behind Grendel's behavior as well as for what happened when Beowulf was in the cave of Grendel's mother. They justified these choices by arguing that Beowulf acts as an unreliable narrator in the portion of the poem in which he describes his battle with Grendel's mother. [http://www.stv.tv/content/out/film/videointerviews/display.html?id=opencms:/out/films/video_interviews/neil_gaiman_roger_avary Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary: Shaping Beowulf's story, video interview] ] These choices also helped them to better connect the third act to the second of their screenplay, which is divided in the poem by a 50-year gap.cite news | author = Jeremy Smith | title = INTERVIEW: NEIL GAIMAN AND ROGER AVARY (BEOWULF) | publisher = CHUD | date = 2007-07-30 | url = http://www.chud.com/index.php?type=interviews&id=11232 | accessdate=2007-11-07]

Some of the changes made by the film as noted by scholars include: the style and tone of the dialog; the portrayal of Beowulf as a flawed man rather than a standard hero; the addition of Christian elements and the portrayal of Unferth in this context; the hedonism in Heorot and which kingdom Beowulf becomes ruler of (instead of his native Geatland); the portrayal of Grendel's mother as a "seductress" and her seduction of Hrothgar, making him the father of Grendel, and making Beowulf the father of the dragon, as well as the elimination of the battle sequence between Grendel's mother and Beowulf which, in the poem, ends with her death; the portrayal of King Hrothgar as a "hedonistic lout," or "a drunk and womanizer" and the elimination of his two sons with Wealtheow; Wiglaf's role; and the nature of Beowulf's funeral.cite news | author = Walter Quinn | title = Beowulf' movie takes poetic license — and then some — from the original text | publisher = Pittsburgh Tribune-Review | date = 2007-11-23 | url = http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/living/movies/s_539150.html| accessdate=2007-11-27] cite news | author = Duane Dudek| title = The Real Beowulf| publisher = Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | date = 2007-11-16 | url = http://blogs.jsonline.com/dudek/archive/2007/11/16/the-real-beowulf.aspx| accessdate=2007-11-27] cite news | author = John V. Fleming| title = Good Grief, Grendel| publisher = The New Republic | date = 2007-11-29 | url = http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=6abc1dba-db62-4239-9b31-63243d264783| accessdate=2007-11-29]

Scholars and authors have also commented on these changes. Southern Methodist University's Director of Medieval Studies Bonnie Wheeler is "convinced that the new Robert Zemeckis movie treatment sacrifices the power of the original for a plot line that propels Beowulf into seduction by Angelina Jolie -- the mother of the monster he has just slain.' What man doesn’t get involved with Angelina Jolie?' Wheeler asks. 'It’s a great cop-out on a great poem.' [...] 'For me, the sad thing is the movie returns to…a view of the horror of woman, the monstrous female who will kill off the male,' Wheeler says. 'It seems to me you could do so much better now. And the story of "Beowulf" is so much more powerful.'" [cite news | author = | title = Beowulf movie cops out with revised theme:It’s that evil woman’s fault| publisher = SMU | date = 2007-11-16 | url =http://www.smu.edu/newsinfo/pitches/beowulf-16nov2007.asp|accessdate=2007-11-27] Other commentators noted that Beowulf's mating with the mother of Grendel had some textual support, and pointed to the theories ellucidated in John Grigsby's work "Beowulf and Grendel", where Grendel's mother was linked with the ancient Germanic fertility goddess Nerthus. [ [http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/film-and-tv/features/beowulf-a-her-for-our-times-399739.html] ]

In addition, philosophy professor Stephen T. Asma argues that “Zemeckis's more tender-minded film version suggests that the people who cast out Grendel are the real monsters. The monster, according to this charity paradigm, is just misunderstood rather than evil (similar to the version presented in John Gardner's novel Grendel). The blame for Grendel's violence is shifted to the humans, who sinned against him earlier and brought the vengeance upon themselves. The only real monsters, in this tradition, are pride and prejudice. In the film, Grendel is even visually altered after his injury to look like an innocent, albeit scaly, little child. In the original "Beowulf", the monsters are outcasts because they're bad (just as Cain, their progenitor, was outcast because he killed his brother), but in the film "Beowulf" the monsters are bad because they're outcasts [...] Contrary to the original "Beowulf", the new film wants us to understand and humanize our "monsters."Citation
first =Stephen
last =Asma
author-link =
first2 =
last2 =
author2-link =
editor-last =
editor-first =
editor2-last =
editor2-first =
contribution =
contribution-url =
title =Never Mind Grendel. Can Beowulf Conquer the 21st-Century Guilt Trip?
year =December 7, 2007 Issue
pages =B20
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publisher ="The Chronicle of Higher Education"
url =
doi =
id = ]

Release

Columbia Pictures was set to distribute the film, but Steven Bing did not finalize a deal, and arranged with Paramount Pictures for U.S. distribution and Warner Bros. for international distribution. [cite news | author=Michael Fleming | coauthors=Dave McNary | url=http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117927670.html?categoryid=1236&cs=1 | title=Par, WB cry 'Beowulf' | publisher=Variety | date=2005-08-17 | accessdate=2007-01-13 ] "Beowulf" was set to premiere at the 2007 Venice Film Festival, but was not ready in time. [cite news | author = Eric J. Lyman | title = 'Beowulf' misses Venice festival bow | publisher = The Hollywood Reporter | date = 2007-06-13 | url = http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/awards_festivals/news/e3i2d5887633794139a8e655639dfbe6c76 | accessdate=2007-11-08] The film's world premiere was held in Westwood, California on November 5 2007. [cite news | author = Robert Sanchez | title = Exclusive Photo Gallery: World Premiere of Beowulf! | publisher = IESB | date = 2007-11-05 | url = http://www.iesb.net/index.php?option=com_ezine&task=read&page=1&category=3&article=3659 | accessdate=2007-11-09]

At Comic-Con International in July 2006, Gaiman said "Beowulf" would be released on November 22, 2007. [cite news | author=Hilary Goldstein | url=http://movies.ign.com/articles/720/720459p1.html | title=Comic-Con 2006: Neil Gaiman's Future Movies | publisher=IGN | date=2006-07-21 | accessdate=2007-01-13 ] The following October, "Beowulf" was announced to be projected in 3-D in over 1,000 theaters for its release date in November 2007. The studios planned to use 3-D projection technology that had been used by "Monster House", "Chicken Little", and 3-D re-release of "The Nightmare Before Christmas", but on a larger scale than previous films. "Beowulf" would additionally be released in 35mm alongside the 3-D projections. [cite news | author=Ben Fritz | coauthors=Pamela McClintock | url=http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117952561.html?categoryid=13&cs=1 | title='Beowulf' gets 3-D bigscreen bow | publisher=Variety | date=2006-10-24 | accessdate=2007-01-13 ]

To promote the film, a four issue comic book adaptation by IDW Publishing was released every week in October 2007. [cite news | title = "BEOWULF" COMING TO THEATERS AND COMICS | publisher = Comic Book Resources | date = 2007-06-19 | url = http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=10939 | accessdate=2007-11-13] A video game featuring the vocals of Winstone, Gleeson and Hopkins was released on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC and PSP formats. [cite news | author = John Gaudiosi | title = Anthony Hopkins, Ray Winstone Make Video Game Debuts in Beowulf | publisher = Game Daily | date = 2007-10-23 | url = http://www.gamedaily.com/articles/features/anthony-hopkins-ray-winstone-make-video-game-debuts-in-beowulf/71086/ | accessdate=2007-11-13] The soundtrack composed by Alan Silvestri was released on November 20, 2007. Critics and even some of the actors expressed shock at the rating of film, which allowed children under twelve to see it in America and Britain. Angelina Jolie called it "remarkable" that the film had such a young rating, and admitted that she would not take her children to see it. [cite news | author = BBC | title = Beowulf violence 'shocked' Jolie | publisher = "BBC" | date = 2007-11-12 | url http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7090277.stm&type=movies|accessdate=2007-12-24]

Box office

"Beowulf" ranked #1 in the United States and Canada box office during its opening weekend date of November 18 [cite news | author = | title =Beowulf tops US box office chart| publisher = BBC| date = 2007-11-19 | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7101565.stm | accessdate=2007-11-19] grossing $27.5 million in 3,153 theaters. [cite web|url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=beowulf.htm |title=Beowulf (2007) |accessdate=2007-11-21 |publisher=Box Office Mojo]

As of April 27, 2008, the film has grossed an estimated domestic total of $82,195,215 and a foreign box office total of $113,954,447 for a worldwide gross of $196,149,662. [cite web|url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=intl&id=beowulf.htm |title=Beowulf (2007) - International Box Office Results |accessdate=2007-11-25 |publisher=Box Office Mojo]

Critical reception

As of April 1, 2008 on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, "Beowulf" received a rating of 70%, based upon 174 reviews. Under the category "Cream of the Crop" "Beowulf" received a rating of 70 percent, with an average reviewer rating of 6.5/10. [cite web|url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/beowulf/ |title=Beowulf - Rotten Tomatoes |accessdate=2008-01-01 |publisher=Rotten Tomatoes] On Metacritic, the film had an average score of 59 out of 100, based on 35 reviews, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. [cite web|url=http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/beowulf |title=Beowulf (2007): Reviews |accessdate=2007-11-19 |publisher=Metacritic]

Giving "Beowulf" three out of four stars, Roger Ebert argues that the film is a satire of the original poem. [cite news | author = Roger Ebert | title = Beowulf | publisher = Chicago Sun-Times| date = 2007-11-15 | url = http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071114/REVIEWS/71115001 | accessdate=2007-11-16] "Time" magazine critic Richard Corliss describes the film as one with "power and depth" and suggests that the "effects scenes look realer, more integrated into the visual fabric, because they meet the traced-over live-action elements halfway. It all suggests that this kind of a moviemaking is more than a stunt. By imagining the distant past so vividly, Zemeckis and his team prove that character capture has a future." [cite news | author = Richard Corliss | title = Beowulf and Grendel — and Grendma | publisher = TIME| date = 2007-11-16 | url = http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1684839,00.html| accessdate=2007-11-17] Corliss later named it the 10th best film of 2007.cite web|url=http://www.metacritic.com/film/awards/2007/toptens.shtml |title=Metacritic: 2007 Film Critic Top Ten Lists |accessdate=2008-01-05 |publisher=Metacritic] "Rolling Stone" critic Peter Travers argues that “The eighth-century "Beowulf", goosed into twenty-first century life by a screenplay from sci-fi guru Neil Gaiman and "Pulp Fiction's" Roger Avary, will have you jumping out of your skin and begging for more [...] I've never seen a 3-D movie pop with this kind of clarity and oomph. It's outrageously entertaining." [cite news | author = Peter Travers | title = Beowulf (Paramount) | publisher = Rolling Stone| date = 2007-11-15 | url = http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/movie/7667721/review/17335234/beowulf_paramount| accessdate=2007-11-17]

Tom Ambrose of "Empire" gives the film four out of five stars. He argues that "Beowulf" is "the finest example to date of the mo-capabilities of this new technique [...] Previously, 3D movies were blurry, migraine-inducing affairs. "Beowulf" is a huge step forward [...] Although his Cockney accent initially seems incongruous [...] Winstone’s turn ultimately reveals a burgeoning humanity and poignant humility." Ambrose also argues that “the creepy dead eyes thing has been fixed." [cite news | author = Tom Ambrose | title = Beowulf | publisher = Empire | url = http://www.empireonline.com/reviews/reviewcomplete.asp?FID=11012 | accessdate=2007-11-12] Justin Chang of "Variety" argues that the screenwriters "have taken some intriguing liberties with the heroic narrative [... the] result is, at least, a much livelier piece of storytelling than the charmless "Polar Express"." He also argues that “Zemeckis prioritizes spectacle over human engagement, in his reliance on a medium that allows for enormous range and fluidity in its visual effects yet reduces his characters to 3-D automatons. While the technology has improved since 2004's "Polar Express" (particularly in the characters' more lifelike eyes), the actors still don't seem entirely there. "Beowulf" is more vocally than visually commanding." [cite news|author=Justin Chang|title=Beowulf|publisher=Variety|date=2007-11-09|url=http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=awardcentral&jump=review&reviewid=VE1117935372|accessdate=2007-11-11]

Kenneth Turan of "National Public Radio" criticizes the film arguing: “It's been 50 years since Hollywood first started flirting with 3-D movies, and the special glasses required for viewing have gotten a whole lot more substantial. The stories being filmed are just as flimsy. Of course "Beowulf" does have a more impressive literary pedigree than, say, "Bwana Devil". But you'd never know that by looking at the movie. Beowulf's story of a hero who slays monsters has become a fanboy fantasy that panders with demonic energy to the young male demographic." Many viewers described the movies as being "one big phallus joke". [cite news | author = Kenneth Turan | title = Beowulf' Sexes Up, Dumbs Down an Epic | publisher = "National Public Radio"| date = 2007-11-16 | url = http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16334109| accessdate=2007-11-16] Manohla Dargis of the "New York Times" compared the poem with the film stating that, "If you don’t remember this evil babe from the poem, it’s because she’s almost entirely the invention of the screenwriters Roger Avary and Neil Gaiman and the director Robert Zemeckis, who together have plumped her up in words, deeds and curves. These creative interventions aren’t especially surprising given the source material and the nature of big-studio adaptations. There’s plenty of action in "Beowulf", but even its more vigorous bloodletting pales next to its rich language, exotic setting and mythic grandeur [...] Yet the 3-D is necessary to the film only insofar as it keeps your eyes engaged when your mind starts to wander. Stripped of much of the original poem’s language, its cadences, deep history and context, this film version of "Beowulf" doesn’t offer much beyond 3-D oohs and ahs, sword clanging and a nicely conceived dragon." [cite news | author = Manohla Dargis | title = Confronting the Fabled Monster, Not to Mention His Naked Mom | publisher = "New York Times" | date = 2007-11-16 | url = http://movies.nytimes.com/2007/11/16/movies/16beow.html?ex=1195880400&en=e0059fd42f72cf7d&ei=5065&partner=MYWAY| accessdate=2007-11-16] "San Francisco Chronicle" critic Mick LaSalle suggests: "It's the "Beowulf" saga once again, and the movie becomes tiresome and trivial - well done within the narrow limits of its aspiration but not worth the inflated effort. To do "Beowulf" again, there should be some reason to do "Beowulf" at all. In 2005, for example, "Beowulf & Grendel" revisited the tale in order to present Grendel as a nice guy with his own point of view. That was a very bad reason to revisit "Beowulf", but at least it was a reason." [cite news | author = Mick LaSalle | title = Review: 'Beowulf' is back, beefed up, in 3D | publisher = "San Francisco Chronicle" | date = 2007-11-16 | url =http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/11/16/DDIITCC2D.DTL&type=movies|accessdate=2007-11-17]

Podcast

Paramount Studios hired Chris and Jimmy from Scene Unseen Movie Reviews to host The Official Beowulf Podcast. On August 11, 2007, the hosts announced the partnership, which would result in a weekly show interviewing cast and crew from the film. This was the only interview that director Robert Zemeckis agreed to do for Beowulf. The podcast is still available for download.

oundtrack

The soundtrack was released November 20, 2007.

Video release

The DVD of "Beowulf" was released on February 26, 2008 (Region 1). A director's cut was also released as both a single disc DVD and two disc HD DVD alongside the theatrical cut (which will only be available on single disc DVD). The theatrical cut includes "A Hero's Journey: The Making of Beowulf" while the single disc director's cut features four more short features. The HD DVD will have eleven short features and six deleted scenes. [cite news | author = Tom Woodward | title = Beowulf (US - DVD R1 | HD) | publisher = DVD Active | url = http://www.dvdactive.com/news/releases/beowulf.html | accessdate=2008-01-17]

The director's cut was released on Blu-ray Disc in the United Kingdom on March 17, 2008 and in the United States on July 29, 2008.

References

External links

* [http://www.beowulfmovie.com Official site]
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* [http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1808728058/info "Beowulf"] at Yahoo! Movies
* [http://www.the3drevolution.com/3dreview.html Review of the Stereoscopic 3-D as used in Beowulf]
* [http://movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=4803&In=WikE Detailed Comparison between Theatrical Release and Director's Cut]
* [http://www.sceneunseenpodcast.com Scene Unseen Movie Reviews]
* [http://madeinatlantis.com/movies_central/2007/beowulf_production_details.htm Beowulf Production Notes]

Box Office Leaders USA
before = Bee Movie
date=November 18
year = 2007
after = Enchanted