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Beowulf and Grendel (Widescreen)
 
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Beowulf and Grendel (Widescreen)

Starring: Hringur Ingvarsson, Spencer Wilding Director: Sturla Gunnarsson MPAA Rating: R
3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)

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Product Description

Amazon.ca

The otherworldly landscape of Iceland lends an appropriate touch of dark fantasy to this modern retelling of Beowulf, the oldest epic poem in the English language. Gerard Butler (The Phantom of the Opera) brings the right balance of physicality and world-weariness as the Swedish hero Beowulf, who travels to Denmark to fight the monstrous troll Grendel (Icelandic superstar Ignvar Sigurdsson), which has been plaguing the house of King Hrothgar (Stellan Skarsgård, buried under a mound of prosthetic hair). However, what transpires is not a battle between good and evil, but a convoluted mystery of sorts, with Beowulf playing the detective who discovers that his foe is more human than monster, and Hrothgar less wronged innocent than catalyst for his own downfall. Director Sturla Gunnarsson succeeds in pulling this legendary story from the dust of academics by contemporizing the dialogue (Andrew Rai Berzins has an excellent ear for hard-bitten palaver), and his visuals are nothing less than striking, but the film attempts to be both monster movie and melancholy drama, while never quite satisfying the requirements of either genre. Regardless, the quality cast (which includes Sarah Polley from Dawn of the Dead as a sharp-tongued witch with a connection to Grendel) and some well-handled action sequences should hold viewers’ attention even when the unnecessarily complex plot does not. --Paul Gaita

Description

Beowulf & Grendel is the harrowing fantasy adventure tale of a Norse warrior hero BEOWULF (Gerard Butler) pitted against the monstrous murderous troll, GRENDEL (Ingvar Eggert Sigurdsson). Adapted from the Anglo-Saxon epic poem, "Beowulf", Beowulf & Grendel is a medieval story of soldier prince Beowulf a victorious soldier in his own right troubled by the hero-myth rising up around his exploits. His relationship with the mesmerizing witch, SELMA (Sarah Polley) creates deeper confusion. A story of blood, beer and sweat, Beowulf & Grendel strips away the mask of the hero-myth, leaving a raw and tangled tale that rings true through the centuries.
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Customer Reviews

13 Reviews
5 star:
 (4)
4 star:
 (7)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:
 (2)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.8 out of 5 stars (13 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Selma (Sarah Polley) can bewitch you with her forwardness and charm, Jan 20 2008
By bernie "xyzzy" (Arlington, Texas) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)   
The story is now nearly two thousand years old. We are used to the written version that was solidified centuries later. This story in the original tradition places a different slant on the tale while holding close to the original. If told verbatim this would be a twenty minute movie so some of the information was filled in from inference. The ending has been changed to pose a new question and allow for a possible sequel.

The Dane King Hrothgar (Stellan Skarsgård) crosses paths with a troll (instead of some Harry Potter or Shreck type creature this is more of a Neanderthal) who had the audacity to steal a fish. That is a killing offence. Unfortunately after the troll is dispatched Hrothgar realizes he left a trollet behind. Through an act of kindness or for some other reason he lets the little Grendel (Hringur Ingvarsson) survive. Now grown up Grendel (Ingvar E. Sigurdsson. Actually two actors) as required by tradition takes revenge on Danes.

With out knowing the facts the Geet hero Beowulf (Gerard Butler,) (twelve years later, even though they are a day's sail away) hears about King Hrothgar plight and takes his men to the rescue. There he meets a distraught King, a mad monk, a witchy woman and an illusive and cunning Grendel.

One thing that gives the film worth is that Grendel may be strong but mortal and Beowulf is not as strong as 30 men; this makes the tale more like something that could have really happened and turned into a myth.

You will enjoy the real scenery and the refreshing absence of all that mind warping CGI.

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5.0 out of 5 stars The bones of the story, July 31 2007
By Vance L. Schowalter "movie man" (Edmonton, AB Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Some regard this film as an international movie. The truth is, without the Canadian screenwriter and director, this film would never have happened. And in spite of the rugged beauty of Iceland, the the horrendous weather of the late season filming almost destroyed the production.

The whole concept of this film was based around, "What would it be like if Beowulf were based on an event that actually happened? How might we tell it?"

One of the biggest complaints of the movie is in regards to the amount of swearing. The swearing actually goes way way back in history and one must remember that Christianity was not the big thing back then, as well as the culture itself being non-Christian (pagan). To the critics I say, lighten up and realize that there is more than one kind of belief system in the world.

People argue that it's not true to the original story. But the film makers had to make a creative choice, stay true to the sanitized barbarians who bore no resemblance to the scandinavians of the time, or stay true to the feel of the age while re-envisioning one third of the original story to make it feel like something that could have actually happened. It's simply not possible for a man to totally rip Grendel's arm completely off. Try pulling a wing off an uncooked chicken and it'll give you a good idea.

If you watch the film carefully, you won't see Beowulf's men seeing what Beowulf sees. For example, on their journey to Daneland, nobody sees the sea witch grab Beowulf's arm, as he had his back to them. That's why they look at him wondering why he was suddenly so upset. The men don't see Grendel's arm come off as he killed the one witness (apart from Beowulf) before prying off his arm with a spear head for leverage. Hence, when the men start retelling the story of Beowulf, they do what most of us would do (even historians). They embellish to make for better telling.

As for Selma's accent, although she is a Dane, she is also an outcast. Having her use a modern accent helps to set her apart as an outcast, and to being someone who is somewhat ahead of her time in moral sensibilities.

Grendel was a child who lost his father figure and had emotionally been stunted from it when he grew up. He was essentially a kid in an adult body. And we all know how much trouble kids and teens get into when they don't have adult supervision.

Someone is going to make a note for note production of Beowulf one day that scholars will be happy with. And the day that it happens, movie goers will have to watch this film to get a good sense of the reality that the Beowulf saga had sprung from, because they won't find it in the happy scholar version.

I only hope that financing will come to allow this group of filmmakers to get back together and complete parts 2 when Beowulf becomes king and 3 when Beowulf dies after slaying a dragon. It would be great to see how the dragon would be portayed.

This film will not make the insane amounts of money that your typical Hollywood epic will make. But it has the substance, the campfire story-telling feel, the honesty of a ripping good yarn, to ensure that it never vanishes the way that so many other films have before and since.
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4.0 out of 5 stars Beowulf the Anti-Hero, Sep 6 2006
By David Meyler "Bernlef the Harper" (Toronto) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
If you are expecting a literal retelling of the epic, heroic poem, you won't get it from this movie. That's not a criticism on my part. I love the poem as it is, but Gunnarsson has consciously and cleverly stripped away the epic and the heroic from the film, and left us with the bare human elements. We can feel sympathy for Grendel in the film the way we cannot in the poem. Similarily, in the poem, Beowulf fights the good fight wihtout doubt about his rightness to do so. In the movie, Beowulf overtly denies his title "the hero". In a way, Gunnarsson mirrors the original author of the poem. He also took his material, a heroic epic of a pagan hero monster-killer, by then describing events already two centuries old, and converted it into an elegiaic epic acceptable to his now Christian audience. Gunnarsson has taken an 8th century dark ages tale and perhaps made it more accessible to a 21st century audience.
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 		 Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Even seen numerous times, you still see things you missed before.
I did not expect a lot from this movie, however the tidbits and previews I saw on television, seemed to say otherwise. I purchased it from Amazon. Read more
Published on July 30 2006 by Susan A. Lambert

4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty darn good, could have been better
WARNING: POSSIBLE SPOILERS MAY FOLLOW



Ok, I got my DVD yesterday, and watched it last night. When I opened the package, the case had been crushed. Read more
Published on July 25 2006 by Benjamin Smith

4.0 out of 5 stars history changed
After watching the Beowulf and Grendel trailer for months and months on my computer, the Canadian amazon finally got me my copy here in the states. Read more
Published on July 25 2006 by W. Grass

4.0 out of 5 stars Think period piece and not fantasy hack and slash
Here' the deal. I would have personally done a lot of things differently, like making the characters in the film a little more hardy and the action scenes more violent. Read more
Published on July 22 2006 by M. Schaefer

4.0 out of 5 stars Quality Scenic Film With A Great Sense Of Humor
I just saw this film in San Francisco. To be honest, I wasn't expecting much from this troll myth but some gory violence and primitive script spoken with unintelligible accent... Read more
Published on July 6 2006 by Mic Murdoch

1.0 out of 5 stars Worse Movie Ever.
Disclaimer: I like Gerard Butler. I like period and fantasy movies. I like the original poem/story. I don't HATE Sarah Polly. Read more
Published on July 1 2006 by Phaonica Seel

4.0 out of 5 stars Hot Scot in a cold climate!
This movie is excellent, the scenery is divine, the cast has been chosen to perfection(well apart from when Ms Polley's speaks, the accent doesn't mix with the rest of the... Read more
Published on Jun 24 2006 by Dianne Patterson

4.0 out of 5 stars Toronto Film Festival Star
I saw this film at the Toronto Film Festival 2005. For a movie that realied completely on nature and make-up, it is amazingly scenic. Read more
Published on Jun 4 2006 by Allison

1.0 out of 5 stars stinky
This movie makes me embaressed to be both a Canadian and a fan of the fantasy genre. I can only assume that the author of the previous review was involved in the making of the... Read more
Published on Jun 2 2006 by J. Fernando

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb Epic with Serious and Comic Touches
This film was shown three times at the Sarasota Film Festival although it was originally scheduled twice. Read more
Published on April 10 2006 by Erika Borsos

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