I Am Beowulf!!

[jdre_124]

Anyone going to see this?? I really am digging it outside of its 300 like advertising campaign.

[benzo]

I want to see it. looks really good.

[Smasher]

I am so there.

[tusko]

sign me up.... after 2 weeks in theatres and the crowds are gone.....

[awful_gollum]

I definitely want to see Beowulf, but I'm hoping it will live up to the tale. Of course, I mostly want to see it because it is going to have the new 1-18-08 trailer(with the real title!).:D

[ChldsPlay]

I definitely want to see Beowulf, but I'm hoping it will live up to the tale. Of course, I mostly want to see it because it is going to have the new 1-18-08 trailer(with the real title!).:D

That would be Cloverfield apparently.

[My03Tundra]

Yeah. DEFINITELY want to see it. The screenplay was done by Neil Gaiman. One of his literary inspirations was Beowulf, so I'd say he's going to do a pretty good interpretation of the tale.

DAMN can't wait to see it.

[Liokaiser]

Can't wait to see this one.

[333HE]

Looks good so far.

[LigerPrime]

Count me in! I've always been curious about the Beowulf mythos as a kid! It will be released in my country next week - I think! :D

[Dinobot Nuva]

Beowulf FTW, I'm really starting to dig the CGI coating they put on the actors.
DN

[Ezilla82]

Yeah, especially Angelina Jolie. Damn!! But I too like Beowulf I've read the tale and I was loving it in a weird way he was like Superman without the super powers and such. As always I like to see it as well.

[Spider Striker]

Yeah. DEFINITELY want to see it. The screenplay was done by Neil Gaiman. One of his literary inspirations was Beowulf, so I'd say he's going to do a pretty good interpretation of the tale.

DAMN can't wait to see it.

Everything I learn about this movie makes me want to see it more. Gaiman FTW.

[Dark_Convoy]

I read Beowulf when I was a kid and greatly enjoyed it.

The movie looks to be very much inspired by 300, in the ads for it anyway. Looks interesting though.

[BigPrime3000]

Yea Beowulf is one of the few reasons they actually got me to pay attention during the poetry portion of English. I've been looking forward to this ever since I heard about it, was kind of put off by the fact that it was going to be a CGI treatment, but the more I saw of the ads the more I started digging the style.

[Cataclizm1]

I don't see why they put a CGI coating on the actors. Seems unnecessary and an easy way out of making the real actors look like they're actually in the fantasy environment.

[Los]

I agree Cataclizm1. Honestly, I am not really digging the CGI on this. With all the big name actors attached to it, why make them all shiny? Every time I see the trailer I think I am watching CGI movie clips from a video game.

But I read Beowulf in high school so if it gets moderate reviews I am willing to give it a shot at the theater.

[Bendimus Prime]

Tonight, We Dine In An Unnamed, Anglo-Saxon Area Of Scandinavia!

[Ravenxl7]

I plan on going to see it. I'm not happy with it being done in 3D, but, I'm not going to hold that against it. I want to go and see it first, then form an opinion on wether it was good or not (basically what I do for all movies I go see in the theatre).

[LigerPrime]

Anyone caught the show yet? It was kinda ok but I was kinda disappointed that the producers "tweaked" the mythos.

[Liokaiser]

Going to see this tonight. Hope it's good.

[Keiichitron]

i got my tickets for the IMAX 3D showing tonight. i look forward to it, i just hope they didn't go the 300 path and assume shouting makes for good acting (don't get me wrong, i loved 300)

[Altercron]

Looks good. And the funny thing is, I read Beowulf in high school and hated it, but I am looking forward to this movie.

[squirrelcar]

I want to see this...but seeing films in theaters is such a hassle, and I've got GA Tech tickets this weekend. I'd especially like to do the IMAX thing, but that's about an hour away from my place in Atlanta, which is even more difficult.

Ehh, I'm whining. I hope to catch it, if not, there's always Netflix in 3-6 months. I'll put this right after 30 Day Of Night.

[JinraiPrime]

Looks godawful, reflections of beowulf and grendel come to mind... count me out on this one. Hitman for me FTW!

[333HE]

It looks alright. Nothing special for me, though.

[Smasher]

I just went to buy tickets for the IMAX show tonight.
Its already sold out. :cry

[yodafett]

saw a preview showing of it. It was... OK. The technical aspects of the 3D and the CGI were much better than expected, but there's a lot of pointless and gratuitous nudity and blood (of the kind where it geysers from a body, not just bleeding, but every cut is a severed major artery kind of cut). Don't get me wrong, i'm not a prude saying there should never be any skin in movies, but it was to the point that it was actually a distraction from the movie. Definitely not a "family movie".

Just my $0.02.

[MegaMoonMan]

there's a lot of pointless and gratuitous nudity

My interest is now piqued.

How can they get away with a PG-13 rating?

[Edge]

cause its fantasy? I dunno plus I read Jolie is not as nude as everyone thinks so who knows

[MegaMoonMan]

cause its fantasy?

So is most porn.

[Zie]

My interest is now piqued.

How can they get away with a PG-13 rating?

Cause it's all CG thus they can use the excuse "it's not real people!"?

[Smasher]

saw a preview showing of it. It was... OK. The technical aspects of the 3D and the CGI were much better than expected, but there's a lot of pointless and gratuitous nudity and blood (of the kind where it geysers from a body, not just bleeding, but every cut is a severed major artery kind of cut). Don't get me wrong, i'm not a prude saying there should never be any skin in movies, but it was to the point that it was actually a distraction from the movie. Definitely not a "family movie".

Just my $0.02.

Well, when they decided to adapt a literary work that vividly describes blood soaking the ground and covering the walls and ceilings then I imagine they tried to show what types of wounds would cause that.


However, I'll let you know my opinion later tonight.

[MegaPrime33]

I have mixed feelings on this. For me, its definitely a netflix kind of a movie. With having a 4 month old, my wife and I are limited to how many nights out we have, and I dont really want to waste it on this one.

BTW, on the commercial, where he screams out who he is, just screams 300 to me.

[Phy]

So is most porn.

Making up one of my favorite venn diagrams.

[DaggersRage]

I'm not feeling it. I cant sem to bring myself to care about Beowulf, I dont think I even digged the orignal story. My sister wants to see it though, but I think it's for Neil Geiman (thats who it is right? Maker of Sandman?).

[edicius]

I agree Cataclizm1. Honestly, I am not really digging the CGI on this. With all the big name actors attached to it, why make them all shiny? Every time I see the trailer I think I am watching CGI movie clips from a video game.

But I read Beowulf in high school so if it gets moderate reviews I am willing to give it a shot at the theater.

Yeah, that CGI really takes me out of it. Honestly, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within looked better and more natural than what I've seen from Beowulf. Plus Angelina Jolie = instant fail for me. Haven't liked her in anything since Pushing Tin.

[LigerPrime]

cause its fantasy? I dunno plus I read Jolie is not as nude as everyone thinks so who knows

Yeah but at one stage, some folks in the cinema I was in thought she was! LOL! Anyway, IMO some parts of the CGI characters looked really human-like while others didn't.

Well, when they decided to adapt a literary work that vividly describes blood soaking the ground and covering the walls and ceilings then I imagine they tried to show what types of wounds would cause that.


However, I'll let you know my opinion later tonight.

That's the part that disappointed me and I'm not a fan of the horror genre.

[Smasher]

I thoroughly loved the movie.
For those that aren't "feeling" the CG, what then are you looking for exactly?
The graphics were breathtaking. All of the visuals are works of art.

They took some liberties with the story, but I knew they would. You could not do a 1:1 with the original tale and have it work as a cinematic story. I wouldn't have changed everything they did, but the changes did connect the three major battles of the Epic and made Beowulf much more human despite his superhuman feats.

Also, for the split schools of thought that Grendel's mother was a Sea Hag or a beautiful Valkyrie, I thought it was a brilliant move to have her be something that can best be described as both.

saw a preview showing of it. It was... OK. The technical aspects of the 3D and the CGI were much better than expected, but there's a lot of pointless and gratuitous nudity and blood (of the kind where it geysers from a body, not just bleeding, but every cut is a severed major artery kind of cut). Don't get me wrong, i'm not a prude saying there should never be any skin in movies, but it was to the point that it was actually a distraction from the movie. Definitely not a "family movie".

Just my $0.02.

You must have seen a different version of the film than I saw.
I was quite surprised to find not one scene where blood "geysers from a body" at all.

Indeed, there were some scenes where characters were definitely stabbed and slashed, but there was no blood at all.

Don't get me wrong, the movie is unforgivingly violent. However, some of the scenes were much more explicit and bloody in the International Trailer (http://downloads.paramount.com/mp/beowulf/Beowulf_InternetTrailer_720p.mov) than their versions in the US release.

They were toned down considerably. For instance in the trailer you can actually see Grendel skin and rip the leg from a man while he was still alive. The movie I saw cut to another scene right before he performed the action.
I suspect the DVD release will contain an unrated version.
Again, no one misinterpret me: the film is violent.

This is a great movie.

[ArmadaJetfire]

what about the boobies? I want to go see it with my wife, but i dont want to have to sit thru "I see you looking at her tits! Wha wha wha wha wha!"

[Boggs6ft7]

what about the boobies? I want to go see it with my wife, but i dont want to have to sit thru "I see you looking at her tits! Wha wha wha wha wha!"

She is somewhat naked, liquid gold covers up her parts......however, Beowulf is naked a hell of a lot more than she is, so you'll have a comeback or at least a compromise


As for the movie, I enjoyed it, lots of action and blood. The only thing I didn't care for is that at times the characters seemed expressionless, like they were statues. Maybe that is just me.

[Keiichitron]

i thought it was good, they kinda drifted into the 300-gotta-scream-your-lines deal, but i could deal. my only real complaint was it seemed like there were a few scenes that were only there to show off the 3D (i saw it in imax). reminded me of the amusement park here and their 4D rides, where the characters stick things towards the audience to make them go "oooh" and "ahhh"

[JinraiPrime]

what about the boobies? I want to go see it with my wife, but i dont want to have to sit thru "I see you looking at her tits! Wha wha wha wha wha!"



My wife would say that to me and id be like "yep and they are faaaaaaaaantastic" lol I dont put up with that crap.

[Chaos Muffin]

If the dudes put their clothes on then this movie will be full of WIN

[Liege Prime]

Well, I saw it, and was really entertained. My only complaint, as mentioned before, was the nudity. I don't want to ruin much, but let's just say during a very important and dramatic battle, he is nude, and what should have been a very serious scene turned into a string of "object covering the penis" gags, similar to something from Austin Powers.

Regardless, it was great anyways, and certain scenes made me ask myself "how can people like car chases when they can see this kind of action?". The CG was all pretty good, but the animation, which is taken from real actors, looked stiff and off a lot of the time, especially withe arms and hands. Anyways, overall I really enjoyed it and would give it about a 9. which is really high for me.

[jdre_124]

Watched it last night. It was....different. Didn't like it no where near as much as I though it would and yes knew about the poem before hand. They sure did get away with alot of gore/nudity in the movie. Some things just didnt work for me. The entire Grendel's mom banging Beowulf and out pops a Dragon-man golden thingy and Grendel attacking the Hall simply because it was TOO loud was lame in my book(WTF was with Grendel screaming ALL THE FUCKING TIME?). Also Beowulf cutting that arm tendon so he could reach the dragon's heart made me cringe like crazy! Also I agree with the naked hero scene toning down one of the important scenes of the film. Couldnt he at least were those shorts?? Otherwise I liked it. The 300 lines were kept to a minimium. The action was pretty good. Dialogue just a tad cheesy. CG was very nice. Still would have prefered it to be Live action mixed with CGI but thats just me.

[Prisoner1138]

The story was alright, most of the art was ok, but the characters were really inconsistent.

The CG Beowulf looked excellent. Scars, messed up teeth. Probably the best CG human I've seen done in a while that wasn't just a short clip. Wegluff(dunno how to spell that) also looked great.

A lot of the side characters though, they just didn't look as good. I mean, it's obvious where the work needed to go(for the main character of course), but some of 'em... mostly the female characters didn't look right at all. I dunno, some of them seemed like they belonged in a Shreck movie. Combine the less detailed work along with perfectly fair and blemish-free skin, and they just looked like plastic, most notably the queen.

Grendel's mother looked... I dunno. I was hoping for more. The ratio of man-ass to Angelina Jolie was way off.

Overall, way better than that ff spirits within garbage. The animation in that was terrible, at least in this there was some fluid-ness to the movements rather than being jerky and stiff obvious mocap in ff.


Smasher, I dunno what you're talking about, but there was blood all over the place. Blood splattering all over the screen in 3d, blood running across the floor, blood flying outta monsters, blood through clothing, etc etc. You're the one that must have seen a different movie. Hell, walking outta the theater there were tons of "wow, that was more blood and gore than I was expecting, did you see it flying all over the place?"

[Liege Prime]

A lot of the side characters though, they just didn't look as good. I mean, it's obvious where the work needed to go(for the main character of course), but some of 'em... mostly the female characters didn't look right at all. I dunno, some of them seemed like they belonged in a Shreck movie. Combine the less detailed work along with perfectly fair and blemish-free skin, and they just looked like plastic, most notably the queen.



Completely agree, the Queen looked way off compared to the more realistic looking men. And some of the other background characters looked pretty bad to, maybe fitting in with a Shrek. One thing I noticed, since the dawn of CG, is when characters don't have their arms stretching from the shoulders properly and the hands looking way too stiff. I don't know anyone who waves their hands around in an open cup position like that. Not that the movie didn't look good, but it had it's inconsistancies that didn't really detract too much, it's just fun to point stuff like that out.

[80Datsun210]

Time to throw in my two-cents’ worth. I wanted to write immediately after seeing the movie, but it was finals week. Now I have a little free time.

I had the wonderful opportunity to take a course in Old English (aka Anglo-Saxon) this semester. We didn’t actually get to Beowulf until about the last 3 weeks of the semester, but parts of it we read in-depth, in the original language. That was interesting! Believe you me, Old English is barely recognizable to English-speakers today.

Anyway, my Old English class went to see Beowulf together as a group, and then had great fun ripping it apart afterwards over pizza and beer. Quite a bit of it just made us go, “WTF”??!! I sort of feel sorry for anyone else in the theater that night (although there weren’t many), since we had a tendency to laugh or go wtf at random times, because we knew what they messed up. “Scop,” for example, is the Old English word for bard, poet, singer, etc. The sc in Old English is pronounced “sh”--for example, fish was written fisc. Thus “scop” is pronounced “shop,” and everytime the actors said “skop” we burst out giggling.

There were some things we thought they did well, for example:

The portrayal of how the noise of the feasting in the mead-hall hurt Grendel and drove him to a murderous rage. That’s straight out of the original: Grendel can’t stand the sounds of happiness (his ears aren’t supposed to be as sensitive as depicted in the movie--it’s not noise that hurts him, but joy).
The scene where Unferth challenges Beowulf, saying “Are you the same Beowulf who swam against Breca and lost?” and Beowulf says Yes, but here’s why I lost...and goes into the story with the sea monsters, and then points out that Unferth killed his own brother.
The depiction of the funeral boat laden with treasure and the body of the king.
Wiglaf’s loyalty. (“Wiglaf,” by the way, translates approximately as “what’s left after the war,” or “war-leftovers”)


On the other hand, we decided, for every bit that sucked there was not an equal and opposite amount of things that didn’t suck. For one thing, they totally f***ed up the story!!! Just to be courteous to those who haven’t yet seen it and might still want to (*grumble*), I’ll put this in SPOILER tags:
1. Grendel is NOT the offspring of Hrothgar, OK? That is sooooo messed up! Grendel is a monster who’s been around since the Beginning. There’s even a little bit at the beginning of the story that explains that Grendel is one of those beings cursed by God for Cain’s slaying of Abel. Grendel is ancient.
2. Grendel’s mother is mean and nasty and ugly and horrible. Having her be played by Angelina Jolie is just WRONG. Beowulf kills Grendel’s mother. Period. He doesn’t cut a deal with her, and he CERTAINLY doesn’t mate with her!! That’s just wrong, wrong, wrong.
3. The dragon is NOT Beowulf’s offspring!! That is just f**ked up. [/SPOILER]

Aside from those “minor” changes, I can forgive them for the other things they changed, like having any kind of love interest between Beowulf and the queen: eh, whatever. In the original, after taking care of Grendel and Grendel’s mother, Beowulf goes home and eventually becomes king there. He doesn’t stay and take over Hrothgar’s place. The bit with the dragon was in a totally different kingdom.

It is true that Beowulf forswears armor for his fight with Grendel, but there is nothing in the original about him fighting completely naked. That was just stupid, and it turns the whole scene, as Liege Prime mentioned, into a game of strategically hiding the penis.

As for the blood and gore: actually, the movie was a lot less gory and graphic than the original story! I thought they really toned it down. This is the description of Grendel coming into the hall the night Beowulf was waiting for him:
Ne þæt se aglæca yldan þohte,
ac he gefeng hraðe forman siðe
slæpendne rinc, slat unwearnum,
bat banlocan, blod edrum dranc,
synsnædum swealh; sona hæfde
unlyfigendes eal gefeormod,
fet ond folma.
And my translation (more linguistically accurate than poetic):
Nor did the monster think to delay,
but he caught quickly, his first move,
a sleeping warrior. He tore greedily,
bit joints, drank blood from veins,
swallowed huge gobbets; immediately he had
completely devoured the unliving one,
foot and hand.

I was really disappointed with the treatment of Grendel’s arm in the movie. Beowulf rips it off, OK? Period. Beowulf is so strong that he tears Grendel’s arm off. I don’t know why they had to depict it the way the did in the movie, with a chain getting wrapped around Grendel’s arm and then Beowulf slamming him in the door to sever his arm. The original is so much better and more cinematic. Throughout the entire battle, Beowulf has grabbed onto Grendel’s hand and will not let go. Grendel tries to escape, Beowulf holds on. They practically destroy the hall in their struggle. Finally Grendel pulls away, but Beowulf’s grip is stronger than Grendel’s shoulder joint:
Licsar gebad
atol æglæca; him on eaxle wearð
syn-dolh sweotol, seonowe onsprungon,
burston ban-locan.
Which Chickering* translates as:
The terrible creature
took a body wound there; a gaping tear
opened in his shoulder; tendons popped,
muscle slipped the bone.

...and Grendel goes home to bleed to death.

Maybe this and Grendel tearing apart the men to eat them was too violent for this film. There is a LOT of blood in the original story. I mean for violence alone the story could easily have been made in to an R-rated movie. It may be animated, it may be reminiscent of Shrek in places, but it is definitely not a kids’ movie.

The animation was kinda cool, if you like that kind of thing. It was very Shrek-like at times in not only the animation but also the music, such that I felt it detracted from the seriousness of the story. The music that’s playing when we first meet Beowulf, and they’re in the ship on the sea in the storm--it just made me think of the music they played in Shrek when we first meet Lord Farquad. (Don't get me wrong, I love Shrek, but Shrek is a comedy and Beowulf isn't.)

Mainly, though, I can see why people would like it and I’m concerned for all those people out there who don’t know the story, that now they’re going to think Grendel’s mother was a seductress, that the dragon and Grendel were related in some way, and that the hero “triumphed” because he cut a deal with a demon. Boo, hiss! Read the original (or a translation thereof, unless you’re really ambitious) and just skim over the boring parts.








*Howell Chickering, Beowulf: A Dual-Language Edition. New York: Anchor Books, 2006.

[drippy]

Anyone ever read the book Grendel? Essentially it was Beowulf told from Grendel's perspective.

Aside from A Tale of Two Cities, definitely the most horrible book I've ever read.

Though to be fair, I was a young whippersnapper in 1993 when I read it so maybe I should give it another chance.





Nah.

[Smasher]

Smasher, I dunno what you're talking about, but there was blood all over the place. Blood splattering all over the screen in 3d, blood running across the floor, blood flying outta monsters, blood through clothing, etc etc. You're the one that must have seen a different movie. Hell, walking outta the theater there were tons of "wow, that was more blood and gore than I was expecting, did you see it flying all over the place?"

I never said the movie was not bloody. There is a lot of blood. Animated or not, I was surprised the movie did not get an R rating.

I do stand by my statement that blood did not flow from every wound like a geyser. That evokes an image of Kill Bill. I think Beowulf had more splatter blood than geyser blood. (I can't believe I just wrote that :))
And, there are some scenes in the international trailer that were less graphic in the movie cut. I am not saying they are not graphic in the theatrical release, but they are less graphic. (Like Grendel ripping the guards leg off.)

Mainly, though, I can see why people would like it and I’m concerned for all those people out there who don’t know the story, that now they’re going to think Grendel’s mother was a seductress, that the dragon and Grendel were related in some way, and that the hero “triumphed” because he cut a deal with a demon. Boo, hiss! Read the original (or a translation thereof, unless you’re really ambitious) and just skim over the boring parts.

I see your point. But, I also see the film makers' desire to tie the three myths together.
Hopefully some of those people will seek out the original work.

As for Grendel's Mother, there are some that translate the works that she is some hag type of monster, and some that translate it as she is some kind of warrior woman, perhaps even a Valkyrie.

The movie made her into both of those.

[KA]

what about the boobies? I want to go see it with my wife, but i dont want to have to sit thru "I see you looking at her tits! Wha wha wha wha wha!"

eh? my wife woulda been like 'yeah you like dat dont you'