Beowulf
Unrated Director’s Cut
Directed by Robert Zemeckis
Starring Ray Winstone, Angelina Jolie, Anthony Hopkins, Robin Wright Penn
Paramount Home Video
Available: Feb. 26, 2008

“Are you the one they call Beowulf?”

In the film, based on high-school required-reading epic poem, the Danish King Hrothgar is forced to shut down his mead hall Heorot after the monster Grendel attacks and kills the King’s subjects during a celebration there. The town lives in fear of Grendel’s return. Many warriors come to rid the King of his bane, but fail. That’s when the Geat warrior Beowulf arrives with the promise to kill the monster. What happens next sets Beowulf’s life on an unexpected path, leading to a confrontation with Grendel’s mysterious mother and a battle with a dragon, all of which have dire consequences.

Back in November when Beowulf was released in theaters, I wrote in my movie review that “I know damn well that when Beowulf comes out on DVD, I’m going to own it and when Beowulf airs on cable television, I’ll watch it every time it’s on just because it’s on “¦ because it’s entertaining.”

That was my perspective after seeing Beowulf in IMAX 3D. Now that I do, in fact, own the DVD, I can say that my words still hold true. The movie really is entertaining, even without the huge IMAX screen and 3D element. But, I’ll admit, some of that motion-capture magic is lost on the small screen.

Director Robert Zemeckis is the king of motion-capture animation, which is the style the director chose to tell the Beowulf tale. While I do feel like this story would have truly been an epic presentation had it been live-action, the mo-cap version allows for seamless blend of human characters with the mythic creatures. Also, while actor Ray Winstone looks nothing in real life like the blonde, buff warrior, he really is Beowulf in sound and motion. That’s the beauty of mo-cap. It allows a fine actor to portray a character that would otherwise have to be played by the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger, merely because it calls for a hulking figure.

All the actors do a fine job, even John Malkovich as Unferth (and typically, I really can’t stand Malkovich — see another plus for mo-cap). The few minutes that Angelina Jolie puts in really does elevate the movie — there could be no other Grendel’s mother; Crispin Glover brings Grendel to life, and Robin Wright as Queen Wealthow gives the best acting (as opposed to action) performances in the film.

This unrated director’s cut of Beowulf is only just a little bit grittier than the theatrical version. If you enjoyed the film, you will absolutely love the DVD bonus features, which gives us a peek at the motion-capture process used to create Beowulf. Both film and extras are contained on this one-disc edition, so the bonus features aren’t too lengthy — which means we can expect a special “two-disc” edition at some point in the future and I’d definitely look forward to that.

DVD Bonus Features

A Hero’s Journey: The Making of Beowulf [23 min]

This is the longest featurette on the disc and provides a general look at all the different elements that went into making the film. It shows the actors getting fitted for their motion-capture bodysuits, and then acting out their scenes — even the sets are fitted with the mo-cap dots! A split-screen comparison of the scene where Beowulf is coming with his men across the turbulent sea shows the actors doing their scene on the mo-cap set along with the final animated version from the film. We learn that a scene that would typically take two days of filming, takes 40 minutes in mo-cap. Another cool aspect of this featurette is that it shows the actors in their full costumes — which again, makes me wish there had been a live-action version of the movie. These are 23 minutes packed with tons of goodies, I don’t want to give away too much of what you’ll see, but seriously, this is a MUST-WATCH part of the DVD.

Beasts of Burden — Designing the Creatures of Beowulf [6:51]

The film’s producer and production designer talk about creating Grendel and what Zemeckis’ instructions were for bringing Grendel to life on screen. There’s also a look at Grendel’s mother and the various dragon and sea creatures created and we learn a lot about more about these characters’ back stories.

Origins of Beowulf [5 min]

A Beowulf scholar talks about the Beowulf origins and mythology of the original epic poem and how it influenced Lord of the Rings and even Star Wars. Also an explanation from the filmmakers on why they chose to change several aspects of the original story for the screen adaptation.

Creating the Ultimate Beowulf [1:53]

While less than two minutes long, this extra shows how an iconic leading man was created for screen using motion-capture technology.

The Art of Beowulf [5:18]

Gorgeous concept art is shown and the designers talk about how they tried to be unique with their designs, since so many other fantasy films which were influenced by Beowulf story have been done before. There were models created so that the actors could see the staging of things, especially the set of Grendel’s mother’s cave.

Deleted Scenes
Just a few deleted scenes are included and while it’s cool to see what could have been, these scenes were not fully rendered.

Here’s what’s included: Wealthow shows Beowulf the sundial; Beowulf boasts to the people of Herot; Celebration and seduction; Wulfgar meets Beowulf at the Stockade; Beowulf’s Day Unfirth finds the horn; Cain on the Barrows (Original).