Ray Winstone as BEOWULF(2008).
© Paramount Pictures
BEOWULF
By: Robert T. TrateDate: Tuesday, February 26, 2008
When a director’s cut of a film hits the stands it usually means more footage. Whether it is racier, gorier or has completely new scenes these scenes are added so the film is now closer to the director’s vision. Sometimes this is just a marketing tool to sell us something we haven’t seen before. Robert Zemeckis’s director’s cut of ‘Beowulf’ arrives today and in all honesty I didn’t notice anything different pertaining to the actual story. There were several bloodier moments. Yes, the carnage of both characters, Beowulf and Grendel, are unleashed. Grendel’s mother has less gold coloring in certain places, but if that is the reason why you are checking out ‘Beowulf’ you are wasting your time. Go watch Angelina Jolie in ‘Gia’. You’ll find more there, I promise. With a lot more blood on the screen I took the opportunity to check out the special features on ‘Beowulf’.
There are a few documentaries on the disc, each revealing what it took to bring ‘Beowulf’ to the screen. Highlighting the actual motion capture process, “A Hero’s Journey: the Making of Beowulf”, we see first hand Zemeckis and company in “The Volume”. “The Volume” is the complete ‘Beowulf’ set. Here we see Ray Winstone (Beowulf) and Anthony Hopkins (Hrothgar) perform lines on a virtual stage complete with wire frame props and wearing modified diving suits. It answered a lot of questions on how the performers interacted, dressed, fought and applied their makeup. Yes, they still had to where makeup of sorts.
Being a fan of almost all of Zemeckis’s non-digital work, I had been wondering why Zemeckis was toying around in the digital world. During the film, Beowulf and Hrothgar make their first appearance on a Viking ship. Filming the entire scene took forty minutes. Zemeckis turns to the camera and says that this normally would have been a day of filming. Every take, every angle, all of it finished in just under an hour and Zemeckis and company were ready to move on. Time constraints are now gone but more importantly Zemeckis takes that footage and uses any angle he wants. His virtual camera gives him complete control. Before this was impossible now it is 100% attainable with the motion capture process. Take that and mix it with the chance to let any actor play any part and Zemeckis can now have his dream cast. No wonder he has left the world of two dimensional filmmaking. He can do virtually do anything he wants.
Six deleted scenes are accompanied on the disc. They appear as rough virtual scenes and not the finished project. One scene showed more sexual tension between Beowulf and Wealthow. This was not entirely necessary. Many of the other deleted scenes ramble on with unnecessary dialogue. Probably the reason they were cut. The “Celebration and Seduction” scene however should have remained in the film. In this scene Wealthow tells Beowulf of her affection for him but fears that deep down he may have the heart of the monster. This is obviously redundant for fans of this ancient tale. For those that have never seen or read Beowulf its impact and foreshadowing are keenly missed.
This is probably the best version of Beowulf to date. We haven’t heard that last of Beowulf either. For it is a tale of glory that has the capacity to constantly be reinvented and told over and over. Any story like that is worth experiencing again. Long live Beowulf!
ACTION / ADVENTURE / KUNG FU/ THRILLERS / WESTERNS
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Combo HD DVD and Standard DVD) [HD DVD]
Big Brawl
Bone Dry
The Brave One (Combo HD DVD and Standard DVD) [HD DVD]
Comanche Moon
Dragon Tiger Gate [HD DVD]
Hooligans
The Last Hit Man
The Legend of the Black Scorpion
To Kill a King
ANIME
Black Blood Brothers: Starter Set
Black Blood Brothers, Chapter 1 - Bad Tidings
Boys Be... Box Set
Galaxy Railways Box Set - Viridian Collection
Gurren Lagann, Volume 1: Breakout!
Hell Girl, Vol. 4 - Marble
Hellsing 4
Mushi-shi, Vol. 6
Pumpkin Scissors Vol. 3: Wounds of War
Shuffle, Vol. 1
Simoun, Vol. 2: Orchestra of Betrayal
Wallflower Vol. 2: Lesson 2: Shrewring of the Timid
CARTOONS
Justice League - The New Frontier (Single-Disc Edition) read my Review
Justice League - The New Frontier (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Justice League: The New Frontier Special Edition [Blu-ray]
The Smurfs: Season One, Vol. One
COMEDY AND LOVE Mania Style
The Darjeeling Limited
Extras - The Extra Special Series Finale
HORROR
30 Days of Night read Tim Janson’s Review
Black Mass
The Bloodstained Shadow
Broceliande
The Case of the Bloody Iris
Dark Chamber (2007)
Demons Triple Feature: The Other Hell/Demons III: The Ogre/Black Demons
Devil's Offspring
Door into Darkness
The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue (2-Disc Special Edition)
Nature Morte
The Rage (2007) (Unrated)
The Rage
Short Night of Glass Dolls
The Sick & Twisted Horror Of Joanna Angel
Them (a.k.a. Ils)
Tod Slaughter Triple Feature
Who Saw Her Die?
Winterbeast
SCIENCE FICTION / FANTASY
Beowulf
Beowulf (Unrated Director's Cut) read Tim Janson’s Review.
Beowulf (Director's Cut) [HD DVD]
Highlander: The Source
TV LAND
Dark Shadows: The Beginning No. 3 Episodes 71-105
The Fugitive - Season One, Vol. Two
Ghost Hunters: Season 3-Part 2
Invisible Man: The Complete Series (4pc)
The Criterion Collection
The Last Emperor - Criterion Collection
WORTH A LOOK(?)
Darkon
“Darkon is an insightful, moving and often funny theatrical documentary about a unique realm within the extraordinary worldwide phenomenon of live action role playing” (Amazon).
oh... spell check missed a word in your review, its ..."WEAR makeup of sorts" not "Where Makeup of sorts." a minor fix.