Beowulf & Grendel [Blu-ray]

People either adored or abhorred this film. I am in the former camp. There was much more depth to it than many viewers realized; also many more bits of the original epic, with which I am very familiar, and those bits flew right over many viewers' and critics' heads. The fact that Grendel's name is included in the title ought to clue you in to his importance; not as some random monster who kills with no motive, but as a large Neolithic man (late Stone Age, still present during this time period; NOT a Neanderthal, please!) who suffered a terrible loss as a child at the hands of King Hrothgar. It is made clear that he has a good reason for everything he does. If you have half a heart, you have to feel for his outrage, loneliness, and pain. He's also smart and has a sense of humor and silliness. I see a great deal of John Gardner's GRENDEL in him, just as the film makers intended.Beowulf (Gerard Butler) is much more interesting than in the original epic. World-weary, he's also observant, and soon comes to realize there's much more to the battle between the Danes and Grendel (Ingvar Sigurðsson). As many have noted, this film becomes a search for truth and justice rather than just a big violent fight. King Hrothgar (Stellan Skarsgård, in a drunken, bravura performance) is not what he says he is, is too ashamed to own it, and many of his men lose their lives as a result. One of my favorite moments is when, trying to call "the troll" out for a sword fight (in the epic, Grendel carries no weapons; he doesn't carry one here, either), he finally gets a look at huge adult Grendel in the firelight and realizes who he is: that tiny little boy whose father he slaughtered so cruelly years before. The expression on Hrothgar's face is stunning.Terrific supporting cast, too: Tony Curran, Rory McCann (the Hound on Game of Thrones), and Sarah Polley. Some hated her character. I loved her, because she tied everything together and occasionally acted as a sort of narrator.And those Icelandic ponies... Gorgeous!Edit: If you need captions, be aware that in the release dated 2024, the captions are either frustratingly terrible or completely non-existent. Get the version dated 2006; the captions are good.

I too had read Beowulf but unlike many negative reviews of this movie I must post significant disagreement with those citing "not true to the poem" reasons to dislike the movie. The recent "Beowulf" With Angelina Jolie was a suckfestival in that it did nothing for the story but make it visual. The troll was not special, just special effects. What I see in Beowulf and Grendle is not an exact interpretation but a more human view of an old legend. History is written by winners and the original writer of Beowulf either had one hell of an imagination or based his story on real events and in order to protect his head had to change names because back in those days criticism usually met a violent death. So in this intro let me regress. First of all like any movie is a certain amount of interpretation. I seen the 'Wild Wild West' and was shocked and Horrified to see James West played by a Black Man. That completely screwed with history and the original show I loved as a kid. So was James West now James Shaft West? (He is one bad Mother F... NOW SHUT YOUR MOUTH! Talkn' about J Shaft West!) Historically for a black man in that day and age being some secret agent man on many factual levels sends shivers down my back. Let us see him infiltrating some society of hard core Southerners. Shoo, can he go Chameleon and make himself white suddenly? Somehow I don't think Ulysses S. Grant would even shake his hand since he was a total racist (HISTORICAL FACT!!). I am not against black actors having lead roles at all and have seen inspired performances in many movies but Wild Wild West was one movie I refuse to own on the grounds of Distortion of American history and Distortion of an original TV show. The movie Earth Sea was another cite able disappointment because most of the characters were supposed to be black and not white like in the original book Earth Sea! Now with Beowulf and Grendle there is differences from the original poem and granted I am not that much of a buff on Scandinavians but what I do know of them was that they were not drunk rampaging barbarians. They were in fact a proper orderly society living in very rough conditions. They were explorers and warriors that often made money being paid to fight. Like anyone that lives hard they play hard. They were a warriors and artists, craftsmen, farmers, fishermen. They were not in a hurry to go to Valhallah like many picture Vikings. But they like other gifted people had some pretty far fetched imaginations. Sometimes ordinary people do things that seem extra ordinary and become legends thaks to others telling about their deeds.Now lets face it, not everybody has the money to throw around for serious CGI or Angelina Jolie. For what was done with this movie I got to give props to the makers of this one. it put some rather interesting twists and humanization to what otherwise was a tough story to wrap my mind around. The movie 'Beowulf' sucked miserably in comparison to Beowulf and Grendle. Where Beowulf in the movie 'Beowulf' came off as a loud obnoxious braggart and a sea demon making babies by the Danish kings and sending them off to make the Danes suffer 'Beowulf and Grendle' portrayed Grendle as a warrior but one with more of a brain rather than have him act like a WWF wrestler yelling "I am Beowulf!" all the time. Grendle had a real reason "other than the noise bothered him" to lay waste to the Danes. Yes the movie had a gritty feel to it but then again I had a history teacher who liked to show the movie Jabberwocky (NOT Monty Python but it had a lot of the Python cast in it!!!) to us in High School because it was the most realistic look at Medieval life available at the time. People didn't bath often then and without a water heater who would? If you are looking for grandiose spectacle and fantastic structures and special effects galore and big ugly inhuman trolls go to the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy. The beer hall in 'Beowulf and Grendle' would have been the biggest and best structure of the day. The ships were very period and Iceland ponies would have been used instead of regular horses BECAUSE THEY HAD TO BRING THEM ON THEIR BOATS AND REGULAR HORSES DO NOT DO WELL AT ALL IN THOSE COLD CONDITIONS!!! Back then you went with what works and small ponies fit on the boats better than large horses. Iceland ponies were bread to deal with the harsh conditions and travel by sea if necessary. There also is the concept of a troll to grapple with. It was an insult as well as a reference to a monster. The troll in the movie was a man but he was a rather big (and I mean HUGE) man and was very strong. He seemed impervious to cold. Pissed off with a big sword in his hand he would have been someone I would even question an AK-47 stopping. In that day a man like that on a rampage would have been considered a monster. Heck, even today of someone like that were to rampage they would be described and feared as a monster and not a man.If anything take this movie with a gain of salt and think of it as what could have inspired the legend. granted it was not done by any super studio and does not have famous top name actors in it but is will shock and horrify you in ways that other movies failed! It was quirky and had a feel to it that was sincere to the medieval era. Nothing about it was anachronistic. Nothing went out into left field. Grendle was not exactly a monster. The Danes made him one. This is a movie of double revenge and twisted truth. I liked it on many levels from performance, scenery, plot, flow of story, and it did manage to keep the breadcrumbs coming until the revelation of the truth. The witch was way different as well. Not like what any would classically expect.I may not be some college educated study on legends or writing or movies but I know what has heart and what doesn't. 'Beowulf and Grendle' has heart and a lot of it. I recommend this for at least one viewing. NOT FOR CHILDREN OR THE SQUEAMISH. Has some limited sex but it also has some very dramatic violent moments (and I am not talking about when Grendle go on a smash-a-thon in the beer hall!). Rated R for a damn good reason. It was just a very entertaining movie and I will own it soon!

Grabbed your attention at the begining and held it to the end.

Mir ist völlig egal, ob da ein paar Hügel mehr rumstehen oder nicht oder ähnliches. Ich sehe die Geschichte auch isoliert von der Vorlage, daher finde ich die Menschenähnlichkeit Grendels auch nicht störend. Die Geschichte nachempfinden kann natürlich nur jemand, der über ein ausreichendes Maß an Empathie und Menschlichkeit verfügt. Ich finde Film und Botschaft des Films jedenfalls großartig!Wenn man die Botschaft des FIlms verstanden hat. Ich bin gefesselt von dem Film und muss ihn immer wieder ansehen. Ein Meisterwerk! Einer der fünf wichtigsten Filme die ich je gesehen habe.

Film sottovalutato con ottimo,cast, incluso un Gerard Butler agli esordi.Se piace la tematica è da acquistare.Il DVD, tutto sommato, ha buoni fondamentali audio e video.Unica lamentela: non esiste una versione Blu Ray in lingua italiana (esistono edizioni inglesi e tedesche).Un vero peccato.

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.Ca, because the States did not have it available until September. Knowing that the breathtaking scenery I was seeing, was real and not CGI'd, almost gave me goose bumps, it was so unbelievably beautiful ! You could imagine a real communion of the soul and a very near presence of God. The clouds, fog, horizontal rain, snow crusted elevations, unrelenting wind, and 45 foot waves crashing onto the rocky shore, all became characters in this awe inspiring epic tale. STURLA GUNNARSSON not only did a masterful job of directing, but it was as if he had a computer give him the perfect actor for each role! Or maybe it WAS just his innate talent and vision for knowing exactly how it should all come together. INGVAR SIGURDSSON gave Grendel emotion, conscience, and humor that was so unexpected, but perfectly played out. I am not ashamed to admit he made me cry when Grendel discovered his cave vandalized, and his father's remains destroyed. It was the most gut wrenching, mournful cry that came out of him. It made you relive the moment, when you first knew one of your parents were lost to you forever. Beowulf was portrayed by GERRY BUTLER, with such intelligence and sensitivity, ..but with an innocence you would not expect. You could see Beowulf starting out with confidence, leading his men on a mission to help King Hrothgar get rid of a menacing, evil troll. Beowulf found that his need to seek the truth, and do the right thing, was not always as easy as he first thought, and it came with a price. It took a personal toll on him, but you could see him grow from it. BUTLER gave a real depth of character and humor to this unknown person of so long ago. He has a real charisma, and such an unassuming ...sexiness, it made me want to boot Selma out on her little Dane butt, and treat Beowulf the way he should have been treated !SARAH POLLEY was also very good. Her accent did not meld with the others, but you saw her toughness as a woman alone, under those circumstances. She had her choices to make also, but I feel she came to trust Beowulf, but still used him for her own purposes. And maybe he was starting to have serious feelings for her....until the last sentence she said to him. SEQUEL ! SEQUEL, SEQUEL !!! I am suprised that "the powers that be" did not see the merit of bringing this movie to the big screen in America, like the Canadians did in Canada . From what I have read, Mr Gunnarsson was thwarted in his efforts to do that very thing, because of an earlier animated version of this same theme? Get real...a cartoon against a beautifully made epic movie.....as soon as it became available in Canada on DVD, it hit the #1 top seller, and is still there. The movie was shown on a limited schedule in America, due entirely to the efforts of individuals, and the showings were sold out, with extra showings having to be arranged to accomodate the crowds wanting to see it. Americans were driving to Canada in unreal numbers in order to see this movie on the big screen. What is wrong with this picture? The cast and crew filmed this movie under unbelievably harsh conditions. Can you imagine what caliber of movie Mr GUNNARSSON could make, given the finances, conditions, and opportunity to do so. I am already buying my ticket for that one.S Lambert

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