I'm starting another Beowulf thread. This thread is intended to discuss the movie as it relates to the original text, and will therefore contain a lot of spoilers of both the original text and the movie.
I know there are a lot of different opinions about the Beowulf movie, so I wanted to express why this flick just really hit the spot for me. Feel free to discuss as you like.
1) Overall themes/attitudes. Although there were some significant deviations from the original text, I thought the movie captured the original spirit and themes of Beowulf. For instance, the rough, bawdy, boasting humor of these manly, violent men. I also enjoyed the treatment of Christianity-- it is the "new religion" which is taking over the world, which is both good (because it brings peace) and bad (because it eliminates the need for legendary heroes). Although the execution is different, I think the same tone is present in the original text.
2) Grendel. In the original, Grendel is basically just a yucky evil monster. I was truly impressed by his presentation in the movie. He was at once utterly revolting and eminently pitiable. Even as I was gagging at his appearance, my heart went out to him in his screams of agony. I was particularly touched by the scene where Beowulf takes off his arm. He seems so confused and so frightened. And yet... he does things like tear men in half and eat their heads, so you can't blame the men for killing him, either.
3) Connectivity. The original text is almost three disjointed stories. The way that Neil Gaiman wove the three together using the drinking horn and the bargain with the demon was extremely skillful, in my opinion. It was as if he filled in all the blank spaces in the story. What I really found amazing was this: in the movie, the verbal story is ALWAYS the same as the original text. The gloss is all in the visuals. If you were simply reading lines from the movie, almost all you would hear is that Beowulf killed Grendel, killed Grendel's mom, and then killed a dragon-- the original story. But when you watch the movie, you see another layer-- Hrothgar's relation to Grendel, Beowulf NOT killing Grendel's mom, Beowulf's relation to the dragon. Even at the end when Beowulf confesses his sins, Wiglaf silences him and repeats the story as we know it.
4) Old English. When Grendel goes home to his mother and telling her what happened, at first I had no clue what they were saying. I thought to myself, "Oh great, another one of those movies where the monster's voice is so yucky and garbled I can't even understand it." Then, suddenly I realized-- it wasn't garbled! They were just using Old English!! They also used the Old English (I assume straight from the original text) when the players are acting out Beowulf's feats at the feast in his honor. It was not critical to the story that the viewer understand these bits, but it was an extra treat for those who did.
5) Symbolism. Neil Gaiman must have been very intimately involved with some of the visuals in the movie, because they are direct references to classic literary symbolism. The biggest example is when Beowulf confronts Grendel's mom in the cave. When he gives in to her, they don't show them actually having sex. Instead, she takes hold of his sword and it dissolves, spilling into the water around her feet. TOTALLY classic reference to sexual symbolism. (Knife = phallic symbol; spilling liquid = semen.)
6) Animation. This is just a matter of personal opinion, but I thought the animation was fantastic. It seemed a little strange to me at first, but after a few minutes my brain got used it it and then the experience was completely seamless. Usually with movies that have some CG effects, I will get jolted out of the action now and then because the live action doesn't quite match the animation. The consistency of the visuals here was what really pulled me in. It was like watching a storybook come to life. I loved the little touches they put on each of the characters-- for instance, making Anthony Hopkins quite a bit heavier, shorter, and with a bulbous nose.
Okay, that's all I've got for now. If you can't tell, I was totally entranced by this movie. I know everyone's opinion will be different, but I thought it was really cool the way it played off of the original. I definitely think Neil Gaiman was the perfect person to write it, as well.
I know there are a lot of different opinions about the Beowulf movie, so I wanted to express why this flick just really hit the spot for me. Feel free to discuss as you like.
1) Overall themes/attitudes. Although there were some significant deviations from the original text, I thought the movie captured the original spirit and themes of Beowulf. For instance, the rough, bawdy, boasting humor of these manly, violent men. I also enjoyed the treatment of Christianity-- it is the "new religion" which is taking over the world, which is both good (because it brings peace) and bad (because it eliminates the need for legendary heroes). Although the execution is different, I think the same tone is present in the original text.
2) Grendel. In the original, Grendel is basically just a yucky evil monster. I was truly impressed by his presentation in the movie. He was at once utterly revolting and eminently pitiable. Even as I was gagging at his appearance, my heart went out to him in his screams of agony. I was particularly touched by the scene where Beowulf takes off his arm. He seems so confused and so frightened. And yet... he does things like tear men in half and eat their heads, so you can't blame the men for killing him, either.
3) Connectivity. The original text is almost three disjointed stories. The way that Neil Gaiman wove the three together using the drinking horn and the bargain with the demon was extremely skillful, in my opinion. It was as if he filled in all the blank spaces in the story. What I really found amazing was this: in the movie, the verbal story is ALWAYS the same as the original text. The gloss is all in the visuals. If you were simply reading lines from the movie, almost all you would hear is that Beowulf killed Grendel, killed Grendel's mom, and then killed a dragon-- the original story. But when you watch the movie, you see another layer-- Hrothgar's relation to Grendel, Beowulf NOT killing Grendel's mom, Beowulf's relation to the dragon. Even at the end when Beowulf confesses his sins, Wiglaf silences him and repeats the story as we know it.
4) Old English. When Grendel goes home to his mother and telling her what happened, at first I had no clue what they were saying. I thought to myself, "Oh great, another one of those movies where the monster's voice is so yucky and garbled I can't even understand it." Then, suddenly I realized-- it wasn't garbled! They were just using Old English!! They also used the Old English (I assume straight from the original text) when the players are acting out Beowulf's feats at the feast in his honor. It was not critical to the story that the viewer understand these bits, but it was an extra treat for those who did.
5) Symbolism. Neil Gaiman must have been very intimately involved with some of the visuals in the movie, because they are direct references to classic literary symbolism. The biggest example is when Beowulf confronts Grendel's mom in the cave. When he gives in to her, they don't show them actually having sex. Instead, she takes hold of his sword and it dissolves, spilling into the water around her feet. TOTALLY classic reference to sexual symbolism. (Knife = phallic symbol; spilling liquid = semen.)
6) Animation. This is just a matter of personal opinion, but I thought the animation was fantastic. It seemed a little strange to me at first, but after a few minutes my brain got used it it and then the experience was completely seamless. Usually with movies that have some CG effects, I will get jolted out of the action now and then because the live action doesn't quite match the animation. The consistency of the visuals here was what really pulled me in. It was like watching a storybook come to life. I loved the little touches they put on each of the characters-- for instance, making Anthony Hopkins quite a bit heavier, shorter, and with a bulbous nose.
Okay, that's all I've got for now. If you can't tell, I was totally entranced by this movie. I know everyone's opinion will be different, but I thought it was really cool the way it played off of the original. I definitely think Neil Gaiman was the perfect person to write it, as well.
