What Do The Critics Say?

"Beowulf aspires to epic realm of 300 and the fantasy of Lord of the Rings but falls short of both. But it's an intriguing novelty act with a few stirring scenes." Beth Accomando KPBS "A gruff, bawdy boys own adventure with a surprisingly sophisticated sting in its tail." Anton Bitel EYE FOR FILM "if it's worth seeing in the theatres, it's worth finding one that's screening it in 3D." Kevin Carr FILM SCHOOL REJECTS "Gaiman and Avery deserve credit for making the Beowulf poem come full circle, but it is not the cinematic knockout I was hoping for." Laura Clifford REELING REVIEWS "You don’t need to wait for Angelina Jolie to rise from the vaporous depths naked to know that this Beowulf isn’t your high school teacher’s Old English epic poem." Manohla Dargis NEW YORK TIMES

"Beowulf is an exhilarating experience, a glorious spectacle and a film that rewards viewers who keep their brains turned on behind their 3D glasses." Devin Faraci CHUD "The epic poem is brought entertainingly to life by an extremely gifted cast and crew." Rich Cline SHADOWS ON THE WALL "By utilizing the most modern technology, Zemeckis has breathed new life into an ancient tale." Brandon Fibbs CHRISTIANITY TODAY "To the shock of cynics in the audience waiting for this film fantasy to be lame, Beowulf turns out to be exciting, fun and occasionally breathtaking. No question it's a popcorn flick, but it's cheesy only when it chooses to be." Kerry Lengel ARIZONA REPUBLIC "The film is utterly rousing and transporting; sufficiently, in fact, to make you forgive, if not forget, the somewhat clumsy telling." Shawn Levy OREGONIAN

The Inside Story "Beowulf" is the oldest surviving epic poem in the English language. While Robert Zemeckis’ film adaptation contains many of the poem’s characters and themes: great monsters and heroes, the eternal conflict between good and evil, and a layered exploration of the nature of valor and glory, it is definitely not your high school teacher’s "Beowulf". "Frankly, nothing about the original poem appealed to me. I remember being assigned to read it in junior high school and not being able to understand it because it was in Old English. It was one of those horrible assignments. I never really thought about it after that, never considered that it might make for an interesting story. But when I read the screenplay that Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary did, I was immediately captivated," says Zemeckis, who even went so far as to ask the writers, "What is it about this screenplay that makes this story so fascinating when the poem, to me, was so boring." They answered "Well, let’s see, the poem was written somewhere between the seventh and the twelth century. But the story had been told for centuries before that. The only people in the seventh century who knew how to write were monks. So, we can assume they did a lot of editing." As he worked with the writers to develop the story further, Zemeckis became a student of the subject in a way that would make his junior high school teacher proud. "Once I became intrigued by the script, I went back and re-read the poem, talked to "Beowulf" scholars and immersed myself in the legend. Many of the themes that are in "Beowulf" were lifted from the Bible: a heroic man’s journey, the fight between good and evil and the price of glory. And you see that Beowulf is the foundation for all our modern heroes, from Conan to Superman to the Incredible Hulk," Zemeckis explained. "What’s so attractive about the "Beowulf" legend is that it is wrapped up in this great action, adventure, mythological, epic world with monsters and seductresses, creatures that have certainly existed, at least in our subconscious, since ancient times," adds producer Jack Rapke ("The Polar Express" & "Monster House"). In retrospect, writers Gaiman and Avary seem the perfect talents for this project. Gaiman is beloved by comic book fans for his DC Comics series "Sandman", which won nine Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards and three Harvey Awards; Sandman #19 took the 1991 World Fantasy Award for best short story, making it the first comic ever to win a literary award. Avary is similarly celebrated for his dark, edgy, groundbreaking screenplays and films, including his Oscar ® winning screenplay for "Pulp Fiction", (shared with Quentin Tarantino), and his influential cult films as a director, the Cannes Prix très spécial winning "Killing Zoe" and the adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’ novel "The Rules of Attraction". "At some point," says Gaiman, "Roger mentioned to me that he’d always wanted to make Beowulf into a movie, but he’d never been able to work out a way to get from the first two acts to the third, because the structure is such that you begin with Beowulf’s fight, then fighting Grendel's mother and then move forward 50 years when he fights the dragon. It’s not the normal three act structure of screenplays. I suggested a few ways that it could work." After a pause Roger said, "When are you free?" Gaiman and Avary are not the first to notice the awkward construction of the original poem. David Wright points out in the Penguin Classics edition of "Beowulf" that "the early critics and commentators of Beowulf and a good many of the later ones have been sarcastic about the clumsiness of the plot. For the poem is a bit of a rag-bag as well, stuffed with fragments from the history of Scandinavian tribes and spilling over with untidy-looking references to apparently irrelevant events and legends." "Our Beowulf is a bit more flawed, more like a human hero than a god. He’s not a Thor character. He is a real person who has a lot of flaws," notes Zemeckis, "hubris being chief among them." "Roger and I flew down to Mexico and he borrowed a house from a friend for a week," says Gaiman, “a week of absolute madness. We hooked up our computers and we wrote like mad. We returned home with a script, one that Bob Zemeckis read and immediately wanted to do." Zemeckis, whose groundbreaking film "The Polar Express" featured a new format he had developed called performance capture, realized that this new art form would lend itself perfectly to Gaiman and Avary’s epic "Beowulf". "Bob saw the possibilities of telling this story in this new style that we had established on Polar Express," says producer Steve Starkey ("Forrest Gump" & "Last Holiday"). With "Beowulf", Zemeckis was ready to take the technology to the next level. "When you do a performance capture film you have the ability to do two forms of casting, one for performance and one for likeness, which means you can actually separate what a character looks like in the film from the performer who portrays that character," says Starkey. "It’s one of the reasons we decided to do the film in this style." "Because it is a mythological fable, the demand for photo reality was not as paramount as it might be," adds Rapke. "Also, to replicate the conceptual visual world Bob envisioned would be almost impossible in the 2D world. Using this process gave us the opportunity to cast whoever we felt was the perfect actor for each part. So, for us, it was the best way to get over certain hurdles and do a lot of things which would have been impossible in a traditional live action format." Essentially, performance capture removed appearance, age, color, and gender from the casting equation. Zemeckis's choice of Ray Winstone to play the lead character is the quintessential example of the freedom in casting performance capture provides. Initially, Zemeckis hadn’t thought of Winstone, but when he heard the actor’s distinctive voice he was convinced he’d found his Beowulf. "My wife was watching Ray doing an adaptation of "Henry VIII" on TV and I heard his voice," Zemeckis recalled. He remembers exclaiming, "Oh my God that sounds like Beowulf!" "I was doing Martin Scorsese’s film "The Departed" in New York when I got the call that they were interested in seeing me for "Beowulf". I came to Los Angeles to meet with Bob, and I thought, I’m traveling a long way for a job interview, but I did it because I think he’s a genius. As the conversation went on, I realized that it wasn’t an audition; Bob actually wanted me to do the film, which was quite a shock to me," Winstone recalls. He was also impressed by the cast who signed on for the project. "The people working in this movie are amazing: the list goes on and on. Anthony Hopkins has been one of my favorites since I was a kid, and it was such a pleasure just to watch him work. I happened to work with Robin Wright Penn in London and she is a fine actress, as is Angelina Jolie, who I’d known for five years and is just fantastic. And Brendan Gleeson, my old mate, who I worked with on "Cold Mountain", as well as Crispin Glover and John Malkovich, who are so clever and inventive. They’re such excellent actors, I knew I’d learn something on a job like this, just working with them," says Winstone. Anthony Hopkins, who plays King Hrothgar, notes that the performance capture technique coupled with Zemeckis’ directing style made for an open, laid-back atmosphere that aided the creative process. "What’s interesting about this way of acting; with no sets, no costumes, just these silly suits with dots all over your face, is that you can do the whole scene and it goes very quickly because you don’t have to break it up the way you do on a conventional film. The first day I was a little apprehensive but the process gives you a great sense of freedom, that anything goes." Wright Penn and Zemeckis had worked together before on the Oscar ® winning "Forrest Gump". As in that film, the "Beowulf" story follows her character through several decades. "Robin is so subtle and wonderful and real and grounded in everything she does as an actress. She brought a maturity to the part, even when she was playing Wealthow as a sixteen year old girl. That’s another great thing about working in performance capture. Robin was able to bring all her experience to this part and the technique allowed her to appear as a teenager and to follow her saga as an adult. She was just magnificent." Crispin Glover, another Zemeckis alumnus, plays the tortured monster Grendel. "I worked with Crispin on "Back to the Future" and, for some reason, I just saw Crispin playing this guy," Zemeckis said. "He loves to portray creatures and characters who are deformed, both physically and mentally. I just knew that Crispin would understand Grendel." "I hadn't worked with Bob for twenty one years since in the first "Back to the Future" film. So I was kind of surprised," says the Ann Arbor Film Festival Jury Award winning Glover. "But I knew of Beowulf and Grendel and I thought it sounded like a great part. I was working on another film, so I couldn’t come in to meet with everyone. They asked me to put myself on tape. I did that at home with my computer and sent it in." Grendel’s sole confidante, guardian and avenger is, of course, his mother. Angelina Jolie was chosen for the role of this magnificent fiend. "Grendel’s mother is a demon and a seductress to the nth degree and nobody can do that kind of sultry character as well as Angelina Jolie," says Zemeckis. For Jolie, performance capture was alluring and powerful. "I loved it. There is so much freedom to just be everything, in the moment, give it your all," she said. John Malkovich, who was cast as Unferth, remembers reading Beowulf as a teenager. "I had not looked at it since we were forced to read it in our high school literature class." British actor Brendan Gleeson was cast as Beowulf’s trusted companion and steadfast warrior Wiglaf. "I have to admit I had a certain resistance to the movie because I had done a number of epic films. I had been in "Troy" and "Kingdom of Heaven" and I was a little bit afraid of becoming 'That Guy'. It was only when I met Bob that I changed my mind. His enthusiasm was phenomenal and the process was fascinating," Gleeson says. Synopsis

Set in a magical era veiled by the mists of time, replete with heroes and monsters, adventure and valor, gold and glory, one exceptional man, Beowulf, emerges to save an ancient Danish kingdom from annihilation by an ungodly creature. In return, this legendary six foot-six-inch Viking, brimming with daring confidence and ambition, succeeds to the throne. The name Beowulf resounds throughout the kingdom and songs are sung of his exceptional prowess and deeds after he comes to the rescue of King Hrothgar, whose kingdom has been devastated by Grendel, a ruthless monster who has tortured and devoured its residents, leaving them in a constant state of panic and fear. In ridding the kingdom of this savage beast, Beowulf gains fame and fortune for himself. Great riches and overwhelming temptations are thrown at him. How wisely he chooses to handle his newfound power will forever define his fate as a warrior, a champion, a leader, a husband and, most importantly, as a man. Can he resist temptation?

The Verdict "While capture performance has come a long way, it still hasn't found a way for its characters to endear themselves to an audiences by producing the chemistry and bonding that is created (in most cases) by real actors. "Beowulf" is a vast improvement on "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within" (2001) and "The Polar Express" (2004), but the process has a long way to go yet. No matter how hard they try, the characters still come across as cartoonish and lacking a real spark of life. While "Beowulf" is a lot of fun to experience, it is only the final act that saves it from becoming a very ordinary experience. I doubt that many will enjoy spending nearly two hours, sitting on their backsides in a theatre to watch "Beowulf" in standard format, so if you can afford to part with a few dollars extra (to pay for the special glasses), go see it in 3D. Worth a look at, if only for the curiosity factor. 3 STARS". Cast & Crew Bytes "BEOWULF" stars .......
2006 International Emmy Award winner Ray Winstone ["Sexy Beast", "Last Orders", "The Proposition" and "The Departed"]; Robin Wright Penn ["How to Kill Your Neighbor's Dog", "The Pledge" and "A Home at the End of the World"]; Academy Award winner Anthony Hopkins ["Hannibal", "The World's Fastest Indian", "Bobby" and "Fracture"]; National Board of Review Award winner John Malkovich ["Knockaround Guys", "Johnny English", "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" and "Color Me Kubrick"]; Academy Award winner Angelina Jolie ["The Bone Collector", "Girl, Interrupte", "Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life" and "Mr & Mrs Smith"]; Crispin Glover ["Back to the Future", "Nurse Betty", "Charlie's Angels" and "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle"] and London Critics Circle Film Award winner Brendan Gleeson ["28 Days Later", "Gangs of New York", "The Village" and "Breakfast on Pluto"] as Wiglaf.
"BEOWULF" was .......
directed by Academy Award winner Robert Zemeckis ["Gothika", "The Polar Express", "Last Holiday" and "Monster House"]; screenplay by 2006 Black Tulip Award winner Neil Gaiman ["MirrorMask" and "Stardust"] and Academy Award winner Roger Avary ["Pulp Fiction", "Killing Zoe" and "The Rules of Attraction"]; art direction by Greg Papalia ["Lethal Weapon 3", "The Nutty Professor", "The Scorpion King" and "Starsky & Hutch"]; costume design by 1994 Academy Award winner Gabriella Pescucci ["The Age of Innocence", "Van Helsing" and "The Brothers Grimm"]; production design by 1993 Academy Award winner Doug Chiang ["Death Becomes Her" & "The Polar Express"]; edited by Jeremiah O'Driscoll ["The Birdcage", "What Lies Beneath", "Cast Away" and "The Polar Express"]; cinematography by Robert Presley ["The Polar Express"]; original music by Nine time ASCAP Film and Television Music Award winner Alan Silvestri ["Contact", "Stuart Little", "Castaway", "The Mummy Returns", "Lilo & Stitch", "Van Helsing" and "The Polar Express"]. Who's Who?

Ray Winstone Robin Wright Penn Anthony Hopkins John Malkovich Angelina Jolie Brendan Gleeson Crispin Glover Sonje Fortag Sharisse Baker-Bernard Charlotte Salt Julene Renee Greg Ellis Rik Young

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Beowulf/Golden Man/Dragon Wealthow Hrothgar Unferth Grendel's Mother Wiglaf Grendel Gitte Hild Estrith Cille Garmund Eofor

Run Time 114 minutes Rated M [AUST] Copyright ©2007 - VRS - All Rights Reserved ©2007 All Rights Reserved - Protected by Australian & International Copyright. Trademark Laws Apply.