Beowulf & Grendel

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Actor(s):

Hringur Ingvarsson, Spencer Wilding, Stellan Skarsgård, Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson, Gunnar Eyjólfsson

Director(s):

Sturla Gunnarsson

Label: Starz / Anchor Bay
Publisher(s):

Starz / Anchor Bay

Studio: Starz / Anchor Bay
Manufacturer: Starz / Anchor Bay
Binding: DVD
Brand: STARZ HOME ENTERTAINMENT
MPN: ANBD72120D
Format(s): Color, Dolby, Import, NTSC
Rating: R (Restricted)
List Price: $14.98
Our Price: $9.99
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

This tells the bloody tale of warrior beowulfs battle with grendel a murderous troll. The battle-scarred hero beowulf leads a troop of warriors to help king hrothgar whose kingdom is destroyed by grendel. However beowulfs attempts to fight the troll are thwarted when grendel refuses to engage in battle. Studio: Starz/sphe Release Date: 09/26/2006 Starring: Gerard Butler Ingvar Sigurdsson Run time: 103 minutes Rating: R

Amazon.com

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

Customer Reviews

glorious scenery wasted...

If you're into swords-and-sandals epics, then Beowulf & Grendel probably appeals to you as at least a consideration. It's a modestly budgeted epic--more The 13th Warrior than the huge blockbuster-sized Beowulf [Blu-ray] we got from Hollywood this year. And sometimes there is something to a lesser effort that makes seeing it that much *more* rewarding.

Let's pause a moment and mention Iceland. This film was shot in Iceland and every single frame is bursting with absolutely glorious scenery. The Icelandic Tourist Board is writhing on the floor like so many of Hrothgar's drunken Danes with glee over this film.

Alas, they are probably the only folks. The initially promising moments in the film are good, as we see the troll's dad being pursued by Danes and battling with them (but not much battling). But from there things begin to fall apart. A lot of sword wielding guys in bad long hair, then it's time to stare at the beautiful Icelandic scenery, then let's all go to sleep and get killed in a gloriously uncinematic fashion.

Also due for a mauling: the original Beowulf story and character. Beowulf comes off as full of himself and not at all the hero (he doesn't wrestle Grendel--he's running away from him; he's mostly a passive observer). And the key role of Selma the witch is played by Sarah Polley with a broad American accent that utterly destroys the film. I mean annihilates it. It is so wrong.

Butler and Stellan Skarsgård do a good job with their roles, but there's no real saving this thing. If you must own it, play it as a silent film and watch Iceland. But I'm still waiting for someone to do John Gardner's Grendel or even the original epic the way it deserves.

Very deep and very authentic but...

my only problem with this film which is otherwise really quite good and complex on a number of levels is the odd bit with the supernatural sea hag creature. Otherwise it's the classic idea that trolls were actually neaderthals which is also the theme in eaters of the dead by michael crichton and the movie The 13th warrior based on the book. Beowulf's close friend is actually one of the same actors from the 13th warrior interestingly enough. The sea hag bit really ruined an otherwise great movie.

Terrible movie

I don't know where to start. For one, just very bad acting on everybody's part. Second, its dull and boring. Third, its not worth the money to buy this on blu-ray.

Wow

Even women would like this movie even with it's raw setting. Gerard Butler is wonderful in this movie.

Well done adaptation of classic to film

Oral poems like Beowulf are extremely difficult to convert to dramatic media (plays, film, etc) because the plot is not arranged how we tend to expect (think boxes in boxes instead of the Freytag's Pyramid). Additionally, oral poems tend to feature flat but mythic characters (the strong Beowulf or the clever Odysseus) rather than rounded human characters we can relate to. For this reason and no other, most Beowulf movies stink.

Not so with this one. The movie adopts a standard superhero-type formula which is to make Grendel the sympathetic character gone bad, and use this to create an altogether human story full of moral questions relating to the value of mercy, justice, and other profound questions. The story is thus immensely satisfying on a deep level.

Additionally, the cinematography is well done and the Icelandic landscape beautifully shot.

There are, of course, some areas which could have been improved. I was not entirely satisfied with the acting and portrayal of the "Selma" character (not found in the original epic). However, the other characters are well portrayed and the rest of the acting is good.

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