This is noteworthy especially because it marks the only interview given by Zemeckis for the film. Animated Classic or Back To The Drawing Board? It is hard to disagree with Scott, who seems to have a good track record with releasing very good director's cuts. Paramount/Warner Bros/ImageMovers (November 5 2007), Paramount Home Entertainment (February 26 2008), single disc, 114 mins plus supplements, 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, Not Rated (original theatrical cut rated PG-13 for violence and sexual imagery), Retail: $29.99, The epic old Anglo-Saxon poem gets as faithful an adaptation as the movie medium gets: an ultimate edition of sorts rendered in computer generated images. Get great deals on Beowulf (2007 film) Director's Cut DVDs & Blu-ray Discs. As with Transformers, say what you want about the film, but this is a solid extras package that, like that film, invite discussion and reappraisal, even if youll likely end up at the same disappointing result. Actors on set wore seventy eight body markers. Beowulf was released for Region 1 on DVD February 26, 2008. The late actor portrayed the Man of Steel for four films, though the first two in the series are typically considered to be the best in the franchise. Beowulfs theatrical version is also available in a vanilla, no-frills disc, but the one to go for if youre at all intrigued is the Directors Cut, which not only reflects Zemeckis original intentions for his film, but comes bundled with several fascinating supplements. HD DVD looks better.but I have to say I don't see a "massive" difference. Whats with Grendels Mother Jolies naked stiletto heels? A forum community dedicated to home theater owners and enthusiasts. (LogOut/ Cultural differences between town and country remain . Despite his age, Beowulf goes to great lengths to stop the dragon. The Fora platform includes forum software by XenForo. Raising questions as to whether Paramount and Warners were ultimately disappointed with the end product and its reception, its fair to say that Beowulf has pretty much just been dumped on the market. But many times it's not, and we only see what the director intended years later. Succinct and without losing any interest, this is a good piece that explores an often overlooked angle of the moviemaking process on these types of films. [29], Originally, Columbia Pictures (which also distributed Monster House) was set to distribute the film, but Steve Bing did not finalize a deal and instead arranged with Paramount Pictures for North American distribution and Warner Bros. for international distribution. BY . Fresh off the back of the massively successfulGladiator, Ridley Scott began to work on another historical epic. The theatrical release needed to be PG-13, so a lot of that violence was dropped in favor of pushing the Daredevil and Elektra love story. In early rehearsal footage and his make-up sessions, Winstone predictably comes over as being a bit of a lad, self-depreciating his real life less than heroic body status. Who knew Malkovich was a coffee fiend? Afterwards, Beowulf returns to Heorot with Grendel's head and announces he has killed his mother the demon. Starring Harrison Ford as Deckard, the film follows Deckard as he becomes a special agent on the quest to kill a gang of violent androids. Its not lifelike enough to be confused with reality, but not animated enough to accept on that level. While the original version wasn't terrible, fans almost unanimously agree that the Richard Donner cut is far superior as it doesn't rely on the camp comedy of the original cut. Looks like the audience was pretty savvy though: Beowulf came nowhere near to matching the Spartans surprise box-office take earlier in the same year. But thats not been donefor all the good writing and concise adaptation (by Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary) that exposes a hero as a flawed human being just like the rest of us, Beowulf lumbers along under the weight of its technology, a technology that hasnt frankly, reached the plateau needed to pull off a story of this magnitude. Beowulf is a huge step forward [] Although his Cockney accent initially seems incongruous [] Winstone's turn ultimately reveals a burgeoning humanity and poignant humility." Colors are rendered beautifully. The film has had several different cuts released since its initial theatrical cut, but Ridley Scott insists that the definitive version of the classic film is the final cut. A 2535-foot stage was built, and it used 244 Vicon MX40 cameras. The 2.35:1 ratio brings Beowulfs murky and shadowy world to life, and the film does deserve plaudits for its production designeverything apart from the characters looks pretty darned nice. Why did everything look texture mapped? Helping the almost perfect 5.1 audio is the fact that the actors voices could all naturally be recorded in optimum stage conditions without all the distractions of a live-action shoot. Some of the changes made by the film as noted by scholars include: This is not the first time that the theme of a relationship between Beowulf and Grendel's mother was explored by Gaiman. The warrior Beowulf must fight and defeat the monster Grendel, who is terrorizing Denmark, then Grendel's Mother, who begins killing out of revenge. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Over five years after Final Fantasy came so close to perfecting computer generated humans on screen (though the less said about the story the better! Your choice will be averaged with the other votes to calculate the AV Readers' Score. Director Robert Zemeckis mines the epic Old English poem for his latest action adventure to feature performance capture animation. Perhaps this is where classifying became problematic. just watched this and it's absolutely stunning. Critics and even some of the actors expressed shock at the British Board of Film Classification rating of the film12Awhich allowed children under twelve in Britain to see the film if accompanied by their parents. [15][18], The film contrasts those points to the original poem, using the "postmodern techniques of metatextuality and deconstruction". Its such a crying shame to see one of my favorite directors seemingly chasing after a technique that shows little signs of improving. However, the film is more than a simple action flick, with Deckard questioning himself while on this mission. "[44] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 59 out of 100 based on 35 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". No doubt international viewers, where the title is being handled by newly Blu-Ray only Warner Bros, will get the better option. The director's cut runs about 30 minutes longer than the theatrical release, which is a good thing. 5 Jun. Instead, she seduces him with promises to make him king in exchange for the drinking horn and a son to replace Grendel, which Beowulf agrees to when they both kiss. Did he kill the monster? Goes a bit into the differences between directors and theatrical cut. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. Here the filmmakers discuss the source and how they took about reducing the somewhat long-winded original to plot points for the screen. 
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*or 3. 24/7 Support; On Time Delivery. [26][27] The gold covering her skin and the Faustian bargain she offers embody similar modern views on the relationship between wealth and sex,[15][25] particularly societal compulsions to enjoy them at the fullest, "not prohibited but demanded, which becomes a postmodern variation of Freud's death wish". Ridley Scott'sBlade Runner is one of the best science fiction movies of all time. Yes, its true that those films also relied on groundbreaking visual effects to enhance their stories, and this is another realm in which Bob Zemeckis shone: his ability to meld on-set footage with later generated elements was second to none, and each film I saw of his pushed the boundaries that much more forward. [15][24][25] According to Nickolas Haydock, the film reflects the "American obsession with sex as the root of all evils," to the extent to compare Beowulf's and Hrothgar's portrayals to Bill Clinton and the history of sexual misconduct that caused his political decline. The answers are mostly down to one thing: the lack of believability in the Performance mo-cap technique, with the reliance on the voice performing actors to reprise their roles in those skin-tight blue ping-pong ball covered suits. "[52] Manohla Dargis of The New York Times compared the poem with the film, stating that "If you don't remember this evil babe from the poem, it's because she's almost entirely the invention of the screenwriters Roger Avary and Neil Gaiman and the director Robert Zemeckis, who together have plumped her up in words, deeds and curves. Winstone, Hopkins, Malkovich, Jolie, Brendan Gleeson these are all great actors, able to inhabit any role, but taking away their emotional support and replacing it with technology strips them of who they are. Learn how your comment data is processed. Beowulf and Wiglaf go to the cave once again, and Beowulf enters alone. Making a reunion between George McFly and his director is Crispin Glover, here creating the troubled Grendel and drawing easily the most empathy from any personality in the film. In fact, so unemotionally engaged was I that it became a game I played as the film unspooled. "[56], Last edited on 26 February 2023, at 21:45, "Comic-Con: 'Beowulf' Footage Screening, Q&A, and Party! Inspired by the epic Old English poem of the same name, director Robert Zemeckis's digitally rendered film follows the Scandinavian hero Beowulf (Ray Winstone) as he fights to protect the Danes from a ferocious beast named Grendel (Crispin Glover). Anyone notice the regular DVD version is Unrated, and says "with more intense footage" vs. the HD DVD version being PG-13. I was a little hesitant at first but now am very glad I blind bought this. Now, we all know what a human being looks like, and subconsciously we all know how a human being moves, thinksall those little quirks that make them human beings. For many,Christopher Reeve simplyis Superman. Jan 31, 2023 10:53 The Little Drummer Girl Ep. Do they render at 2048x1080, or is it higher? Man, that looks absolutely incredible! Beowulf's story of a hero who slays monsters has become a fanboy fantasy that panders with demonic energy to the young male demographic. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission, which supports our community. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Beowulf (DVD, 2008) Directors Cut Tested at the best online prices at eBay! If I recall correctly it said the run time was the same, cuts were just more extreme or "diddn't hold back.". In a rare attempt at genuine faithfulness, Beowulf strips naked for the fight so as to be on equal terms with Grendel. French and Spanish subs and dubs are selectable in 5.1 surround. So its a credit to the studios when they produce something that rise above the rest. But you'd never know that by looking at the movie. Its incredible how much was achieved. [12] The three primary monsters in the film share a golden color scheme, because they are all related. But its not just the violence the animation is awkward throughout. The only real monsters, in this tradition, are pride and prejudice. Unlike . Beowulf 's theatrical version is also available in a vanilla, no-frills disc, but the one to go for if you're at all intrigued is the Director's Cut, which not only reflects Zemeckis' original intentions for his film, but comes bundled with several fascinating supplements. Terminator 2: Judgment Day is one of the most loved science fiction films of all time and is generally considered to be the best in the Terminator franchise. Zemeckis seems hell bent on perfecting this strand of mo-cap: next up is A Christmas Carol, with Jim Carrey playing everyone except Tiny Tim, it seems, though if anyone would be able to act with his voice and his body then its Carrey, a wild physical performer as long as hes not reigned in too tightly. Original | Director's Cut 15:30 The first noticeable difference doesn't appear until 15:30 mark, but it's an interesting one. For those grumbling about Beowulf being only available in one hi-def flavor so far, no doubt a Blu-Ray edition is just around the corner. There was a problem. [37] It was released on November 13, 2007, in the United States. Plus I like many of Zemeckis other films, I like the poem, and theres a lot of potential for a good adaptation. Party leiers is soos tiranne wat geen ander menings as hul eie duld nie. Anyway, thats not the point. The film not only has some of the best action in the Terminator franchise, but also has the best antagonist in the form of the T-1000 liquid metal terminator. This oddness spreads to the rest of the cast and all their faces, like theyve not only all been digitally mapped in the computer but had themselves and their CG models whitewashed with Botox. Sound, Picture and movie all blew away my expectations. The medieval tale was adapted for the screen by Neil Gaiman and Roger Avery, and no doubt it bears little resemblance to the text you studied in high school. Additional previews for Iron Man, the Rolling Stones concert flick Shine A Light and The Kite Runner are also included. E-Seal Services; Clearance Services. Air Cargo. Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, The moments themselves dont appear to have been cut for any other reason than to deliver a feature under two hours, though there is no placing in context by way of any commentary or text pages to explain either way. Focusing on the lead character himself rather than as the project as a whole, Creating The Ultimate Beowulf is short (at just 1:56) and ultimately not so sweet, coming over as the most back-patting of all the supplements. The film underperformed at the box office, having earned only $196.4 million on a $150 million production budget (not including marketing costs). Fifty years later, the elderly Beowulf is the estranged husband of Wealtheow, who has converted to Christianity. The best known versions are the Workprint, the US Theatrical Cut, the International Cut, the Director's Cut, [1] and the Final Cut. Accurate Paperwork Support. [10] The mead hall battle scene near the beginning of the film, among others, required numerous props that served as additional markers; these markers allowed for a more accurate manifestation of a battlefield setting as the battle progressed. The actors don't have to hit marks. Some films are heavily edited at the request of a studio and, generally, this results in a vastly different film than the one imagined by the director of the movie. At which point I began to find many other unintentionally hilarious points to question: why did Beowulf have girlie hands? What the heck??? It would look even better in hi-def, of course, but for the majority this wont be an option because theres no Blu-Ray release (yet), this being from HD-DVD only Paramount. It adds several new scenes to the film, including glimpses of life at the Hadley's Hope colony before it is overrun by the Xenomorphs, expanding the run time by around 17 minutes. The two action scenes of Grendel barging into the mead hall feature extra shots of violence that may or may not have garnered the film an "R" rating. Come join the discussion about home audio/video, TVs, projectors, screens, receivers, speakers, projects, DIYs, product reviews, accessories, classifieds, and more! Grendel's always dragging men off alive to the cave. Share Improve this answer Follow This article will list 5 director's cuts that are better than the theatrical cuts and five that are worse. beowulf director's cut differences. Despite Beowulf's boasting and calling Grendel's mother a 'hag', Hrothgar is not fooled and indirectly reveals he had been seduced by the demon, and Grendel was the result of their tryst. Beowulf premiered at Westwood, Los Angeles on November 5, 2007 and was released theatrically in the United States on November 16, 2007, by Paramount Pictures, with Warner Bros. Pictures handling international distribution. beowulf director's cut differenceswaterrower footboard upgrade. Series Comparison 8 episodes version . Even though things didnt look right, the sheer fantasy elements of The Polar Express and Monster House might just have pulled those chugging beasts through, but again weve seen a hundred sword and sorcery epics to know that what were looking at isnt real, and not by a long shot. Upon arriving, Beowulf becomes attracted to Hrothgar's wife Queen Wealtheow. Some other interesting aspects of the project are explored in The Art Of Beowulf (5:25), combining a look at the films admittedly impressive computer designed locations, including peeks at concept art and miniature approximations, with the historical research that went into their fabrication, both in real world textures and computer renderings. After Final Fantasy, Gollum and Kong, it just doesnt make sense that these supposedly technologically advanced crews are coming up with messes like this. Southern Methodist University's Director of Medieval Studies Bonnie Wheeler is "convinced that the new Robert Zemeckis movie treatment sacrifices the power of the original for a plot line that propels Beowulf into seduction by Angelina Joliethe mother of the monster he has just slain. Comparison Extended Blu-ray South Korean VHS. For a major theatrical movie, Beowulf comes to disc looking unexpectedly sparse. His defeat to her, as well as his bargain for prestige and glory, transmits that male power "not only comes from the feminine, but remains eternally subject to it. As the release of the director's cut showed, however, this ruined the film. Now Available: Tech Talk Podcast with Scott Wilkinson, Episode 19. [15], In order to restore those points, they offered their own interpretation for motivations behind Grendel's behavior and for what happened in the cave of Grendel's mother, justifying it by arguing that Beowulf acts as an unreliable narrator in the portion of the poem in which he describes his battle with Grendel's mother. Beowulf has a mistress, Ursula, but his tryst with Grendel's mother has left him sterile to both his wife and mistress. Ironically, I caught Cast Away on TV again recently, and just marvelled at the way Zemeckis coaxed out an almost award winning and highly emotional performance froma volleyball. [14] Avary had the idea to make Beowulf fight Grendel naked as a reference to Richard Corben's comic book Den, while also taking inspiration from legendary berserkers, who purportedly fought in battles while naked.[15]. thanks for this thread, makes me want to blind buy this title just based on PQ! The Origins Of Beowulf (5:12) is an odd one, namely because director Zemeckis admits how he never cared for the original poem. Well, lets stick with the violence for a moment. Although he calls this version "the producer's cut," it has been approved by the film's . Entdecke Die Legende von Beowulf - Director`s Cut (2008) in groer Auswahl Vergleichen Angebote und Preise Online kaufen bei eBay Kostenlose Lieferung fr viele Artikel! However much is completely new, theres definitely added blood in existing scenes and some shots have been replaced with more graphic versions. Again, the characters walk with a lifeless nature I counted roughly only four blinks between characters during the entire movie. A soundtrack was released November 20, 2007. I was hoping, towards the end when Beowulf has grown older, that we might even see a glimpse of a more Winstoned warrior, giving that casting decision some semblance of reason. (LogOut/ When it comes to Beowulfs personalities, theres nothing actually wrong with the vocal performances, just how theyve been translated visually. Beowulf (Director's Cut) [2007] Actors: Ray Winstone, Angelina Jolie, Anthony Hopkins, Robin Wright Penn, Brendan Gleeson Directors: Robert Zemeckis Format: PAL Region: 2 Number of discs: 2 Studio: Warner Home Video DVD Release Date: 17 Mar 2008 Run Time: 110 minutes Movie: Disc: The director then used a virtual-camera to choose camera angles from the footage which was edited together. Snyder has also shed a bit of light on the ending specifically by revealing that it features Babydoll singing, while his director's cut also takes a more direct condemnation of female objectification, though without the more on-the-nose voiceovers present in the movie - changes he said were pushed by the studio to make it more commercial. [26], Grendel's mother is represented in the film as a castrating, monstrous female who threatens masculinity. Ge o ff rey Ch a u ce r ( 1 3 4 3 -1 4 0 0 ) . Anthony Hopkins is entertaining (and sounding more Welsh than ever), and I enjoyed Alan Silvestris score. [10] Mark Vulcano, who had previously worked on VeggieTales and Monster House, served as Senior Character Animator for the film. The cast is a good one all perhaps being able to be grabbed for cheap because the shoot involved no extensive location shooting but theyre not the right people to be performing these roles physically. [10] However, the data being collected by the markers slowed down the studios' computer equipment and five months were spent developing a new save/load system that would increase the efficiency of the studios' resources. This unrated director's cut of the picture does not have much in the way of differences, as the picture runs 114 minutes versus the theatrical's 113. Wiglaf finds the golden horn in the sand and sees Grendel's mother give Beowulf a final kiss as his burning ship sinks into the sea. Hrothgar's adviser, Unferth, offers Beowulf his sword Hrunting to slay Grendel's mother. [24][25] In turn, Grendel's mother remains immortal and young, and through her offspring she proves capable to wield herself the robbed phallus. (1h54'10'') (by: mahu371) TR Turkish #10. urielejh Aug 17, 2016 @ 10:27am. Change). They even came up with a new term to describe the better-than-mo-cap technique that would translate each and every nuance of the actors movements into the computer rendered realm, performance capture. Please refresh the page and try again. While Id have been quite content to see much more of this kind of footage (a feature-length documentary is called for, essentially, to really get a grip on whats being attempted), the rest of the featurettes focus on individual elements. As with keyframe animation, some shots have just been blocked initially, without facial movement, offering a cruel comparison to the finished film and begging the question of if they forgot to add the required data to the faces in some of the finished scenes too. In his 1998 collection of short stories, Smoke and Mirrors, the poem Bay Wolf is a retelling of Beowulf in a modern-day setting. When Grendel's mother appears, Beowulf throws her the golden horn, but she refuses it and the dragon attacks Beowulf's castle, threatening Wealtheow and Ursula. The screenplay plays fast and loose with the original poem, but Gaiman and Avery have justified this and its mostly pretty good. The cassette box features a drawing of Wayne and O'Hara and claims to be "authorized by the estate of John Wayne." . Frederik Willem de Klerk was Staatspresident van Suid-Afrika . Which one you should pick is an opinion that's up to you. Of course Beowulf does have a more impressive literary pedigree than, say, Bwana Devil. The original version ofSuperman IIwas started by Richard Donner, but completed by Richard Lester, who opted to focus on a more comedic version of Superman. For example, Grendel is described as half-man, half-demon. What a difference. Comparison R-Rated Unrated. [55], However, there were also positive academic reviews. but there's also scenes that will make you go "OHHH ****!!". RELATED:Ridley Scotts 10 Best Movies, According To IMDb. Directed by the legendary Francis Ford Coppola and starring Marlon Brando, Martin Sheen, Robert Duvall, Harrison Ford, and a young Laurence Fishburne, Apocalypse Now is a war film that tells the story of Captain Willard's mission into Cambodia to kill a renegade colonel. This is metaphorized by Beowulf being seduced in her womb-like cave, where his sword strike magically fails at harming her body. [2] The project eventually went into turnaround after the option expired, to which the rights returned to Avary, who went on to direct an adaptation of The Rules of Attraction. To promote the film, a novelization of the film, written by Caitln R. Kiernan, was published in September 2007. [15][26] The film still underline the irresistibility of female power, as even Wiglaf, who had been shown to be abstinent from lust in contrast to his partners, is hinted to be similarly seduced by Grendel's mother. Renaissance also benefited from performers that understood the mo-cap process and didnt use not to berate those performers work actors per se. So kids were playing kids, adults played the adults, and Kathleen Turner played the title monstrous house hell bent on eating anyone who set foot inside the front door. They don't have to know where the camera is. JavaScript is disabled. Again as with Transformers the process of making the movie is more involving and fascinating than watching the movie itself, and its clear that the crew enjoyed themselves. [24][25] While Beowulf embodies phallic power through his physical strength, recurrent nudity and usage of a sword, all those prove useless against her, as she symbolically emasculates him by subsuming his phallus into the feminine power. Acknowledgments Proem: Postmodernism (Again) and The Jeffersonian Vision in Steve Ericksons Arc dX are excerpted from my address at the 2005 Kyoto American Studies Summer Seminar, Heteroclite Historiography: Representations of the Past in Contemporary American Fiction, in Proceedings of the Kyoto American Studies Seminar, August .