Certainly any of you who paid attention in school know the story of Beowulf and Grendel. Or rather the ultra-long poem… rather than straight out narrative. You should be familiar with King Hrothgar’s need for a champion to defeat the horrible monster Grendel. I imagine most of you stayed up many nights glued to the pages as you read of the ultimate warrior Beowulf and his great battle with the beast. A battle that would change Beowulf’s life forever. I would hope that every line of the poem is ingrained in your mind after all the money your parents paid to keep you in school. Ah well… at the very least you remember hearing the name Beowulf in passing. One person who made himself familiar with the tale was director Robert Zemeckis, who decided that he was not only the right guy to bring it to life… but the right guy to bring it to ultra-realistic life. That’s right, with the mix of computer animation and motion capture technology Zemeckis opted to create THE definitive version… that also breaks new ground in technical virtuosity. And if any of you were lucky enough to capture “Beowulf” in IMAX 3-D, your sense are probably still reeling from the experience. Translating that to the small screen is another matter, however.

Paramount recently released “Beowulf” on DVD, in the hopes it might capture the imagination of home bound audiences and I’d have to say they almost accomplished the feat. When my copy pf the DVD arrived, I immediately popped it in to see if I would be as blown away by the animated visuals as I was in the theatre. With all due respect to the makers of the film, I’d have to say it was a little less enthralling. This is not to say that it is not still a visual feast, but I guess that trying to re-create the power that comes from the sheer size of an IMAX screen is impossible. Thankfully I have a 65” screen TV and it still made my jaw drop in awe of the incredible animation.

Of course, a film cannot live by good animation alone. The story, as well as the performances, needs to be just as good… if not better. This is the case on both fronts, making “Beowulf” quite the experience, even at home. Knowing that the actors were not just required to turn in voice work made their performances even more impressive as I had to imagine what they were required to do physically to create the characters. One thing that was a little disconcerting however was seeing these animated characters looking like such strong surrealistic versions of themselves, much like seeing the animated Tom Hanks in Zemeckis’ earlier “The Polar Express.” It was like my eyes were trying to reconcile with my mental images of the actors and throwing it into overdrive. It took a lot of getting used to. Well, except in the case of Ray Winstone who really doesn’t look like Beowulf or Crispin Glover, who certainly doesn’t look like Grendel.

Paramount’s DVD offers up a few special features which again, made me appreciate the work that goes into a project like this, especially the 20-plus minute ‘making of’ featurette which actually shows the actors and their motion capture suits. It also offers a chance to see the actors acting and how the final scene looked. You’ll also find a few other featurettes that focus on the design of the film’s creatures, the creation of the main character, some of the concept designs for the film and even a little history lesson from a Beowulf expert. Finally there are a handful of deleted scenes, which are as interesting to see in their unfinished form as they are for the little bits of story they present.

“Beowulf” is an experience as much as it is a movie. But make no mistake, it is not for the kids. This Unrated version it is even darker and more violent. Not too mention the scene where Beowulf fights Grendel… in the buff. Even though items are strategically placed in order to keep from seeing ‘little Beowulf’ (which was a bit reminiscent unfortunately of “Austin Powers”), it is still not for the little ones.

Directed by: Robert Zemeckis
Starring (the voices of): Ray Winstone, Angelina Jolie, Anthony Hopkins, Robin Wright Penn, John Malkovich
Extras: Deleted Scenes, The Making of Beowulf, Designing the Creatures of Beowulf, Creating the Ultimate Beowulf, The Art of Beowulf
Specifications: Widescreen, Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Digital 2.0
Studio: Paramount
Release Date: 2/26/2008
Region 1
MPAA Rating: Unrated
Website

We'll give Beowulf a B.