Beowulf is a 1999 film loosely based on the
Anglo-SaxonOld English , also called Anglo-Saxon, is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written in parts of what are now England and south-eastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century. What survives through writing represents primarily the literary...
epic poemAn epic is a lengthy narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation. Oral poetry may qualify as an epic, and Albert Lord and Milman Parry have argued that classical epics were fundamentally an oral poetic form...
of the same nameBeowulf is an Old English heroic epic poem of unknown authorship, dating as recorded in the Nowell Codex manuscript from between the 8th and the early 11th century, set in Denmark and Sweden...
. Unlike most film adaptations of the poem, this version is a science-fiction/
fantasyFantasy is a genre that uses magic and other supernatural forms as a primary element of plot, theme, and/or setting. Many works within the genre take place on fictional planes or planets where magic is common...
film that, according to one film critic, "takes place in a
post-apocalypticApocalyptic fiction is a sub-genre of science fiction that is concerned with the end of civilization either through nuclear war, plague, or some other general disaster. Post-apocalyptic fiction is set in a world or civilization after such a disaster...
, techno-feudal future that owes more to
Mad MaxMad Max, the first movie of the Mad Max franchise, is a 1979 Australian dystopian action film directed by George Miller and written by Miller and Byron Kennedy. The film, starring the then-little-known Mel Gibson, was released internationally in 1980. Its narrative based around the traditional...
than
Beowulf." The film was directed by Graham Baker and written by
Mark LeahyMark Leahy was the candidate for the New Democratic Party in the 2006 Canadian election in the riding of Ottawa—Orléans in Ontario, Canada.Leahy has lived in Orléans, Ontario for over 10 years. He is a bilingual, local business owner who has run a government communications, design and software...
and
David ChappeDavid Chappe was best known as the screenwriter who began the bidding wars of the late 1980s with his script Gale Force. David was also a novelist, photographer, screenwriting instructor, story editor, artist, and pianist.- Early life :David Chappe was born in Flatbush, Brooklyn moving to...
, and comes from the same producer as
Mortal KombatMortal Kombat is a 1995 action film directed by Paul W. S. Anderson that was based on Mortal Kombat series of fighting games. The movie was filmed in Los Angeles and on location in Thailand....
, which also starred Lambert.
While the film remains fairly true to the story of the original poem, other plot elements deviate from the original poem (
HrothgarHroðgar, Hrothgar, Hróarr, Hroar, Roar, Roas or Ro was a legendary Danish king, living in the early 6th century.A Danish king Hroðgar appears in the Anglo-Saxon epics Beowulf and Widsith, and also in Norse sagas, Norse poems, and medieval Danish chronicles...
has an affair with
Grendel's motherGrendel's mother is one of three antagonists in the work of Old English literature of anonymous authorship, Beowulf . She is given the name "Enchidna" in some texts....
, and they have a child together,
GrendelGrendel is one of three antagonists, along with Grendel's mother and the dragon, in the Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf . In the poem, Grendel is feared by all but Beowulf.-Story:The poem Beowulf is contained in the Nowell Codex...
;
Hrothgar's wifeWealhþēow is a legendary queen of the Danes in the Old English poem, Beowulf, first introduced in line 612.-Character overview:...
commits
suicideSuicide is the intentional killing of one's self. Many dictionaries also note the metaphorical sense of "willful destruction of one's self-interest"...
).
Plot
The setting is a post-industrial looking castle that defends the border of an unnamed kingdom. It is terrorized by a demon, Grendel, who kills the castle's defenders one by one from the inside. Fighting his way through a garrison that guards the castle because of their superstitious belief that anyone who comes out will spread darkness into the world and prevents them from coming out or going in, Beowulf, a powerful warrior, offers his help to the castle's occupants. Hrothgar, who is king of the castle, welcomes his help.
Hrothgar has a daughter named Kyra. Another important character is Roland who is probably the strongest soldier of the castle. Roland is in love with Kyra, but she does not love him back. It also becomes clear that once Hrothgar had a wife who committed suicide after Hrothgar had an affair with another woman. This woman was an ancient being who originally lived on the location where the castle is now. They had a child, Grendel.
Beowulf and Grendel fight, and they wound each other, but both recover.
Later Beowulf and Grendel fight again. Beowulf cuts Grendel's arm off with a retracting
cestusA cestus is an ancient battle glove, sometimes used in pankration. In effect, it is the classic world's equivalent to brass knuckles.The Latin word caestus is derived from verb caedere, meaning "to strike"...
. After this, the castle celebrates, as they believe Grendel has been slain. Kyra declares her love for Beowulf and he returns her affection. Kyra tells him that she killed her previous husband after he abused her. Beowulf tells her that his mother is human and his father is
Baal' is a Northwest Semitic title and honorific meaning "master" or "lord" that is used for various gods who were patrons of cities in the Levant, cognate to Akkadian Bēlu...
, "God of darkness, Lord of lies". This explains his tremendous fighting prowess.
While Kyra is with Beowulf, all the other people in the castle are killed by Grendel's mother (and possibly Grendel). Beowulf kills Grendel by stabbing him and then kills his mother by stabbing her and cutting a fire vent placed in front of her, causing flames to engulf her and consume the castle. Beowulf escapes the falling castle with Kyra. The castle is destroyed, with Beowulf and Kyra the only survivors.
Cast
- Christopher Lambert
Christophe Guy Denis Lambert , known as Christopher Lambert, is an American-born French actor. He is best known for his role as Connor MacLeod, or simply "The Highlander", from the movie and subsequent movie franchise series of the same name...
as Beowulf
- Rhona Mitra
Rhona Natasha Mitra is an English actress, model and singer, sometimes credited as Rona Mitra.-Early life:Mitra was born in Paddington, London, England, the daughter of Antony Mitra, who is a cosmetic surgeon, and Nora Downey. She has an older brother, Jason Wath Mitra, who is two years her...
as Kyra
- Oliver Cotton
Oliver Cotton is an English actor, known for his work on stage, TV and film.After training at the Drama Centre London, he has worked extensively at the Royal National Theatre playing in many productions including The Royal Hunt of the Sun, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Much Ado About...
as Hrothgar
- Götz Otto
Götz Otto is a German actor known for his very tall stature. He is 199 cm tall and is often characterised by bleached blonde hair in his films....
as Roland
- Vincent Hammond as Grendel
- Charles Robinson
Charles S. Robinson is an American television actor who has been performing since the 1960s.Robinson's credits include appearances in The White Shadow, Flamingo Road, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Touched by an Angel, and Antwone Fisher. Robinson was cast in the role on Newdell in the NBC comedy...
as Weaponsmaster
- Brent Jefferson Lowe as Will
- Roger Sloman
Roger Sloman is an English actor. Born in the Harlesden district of London, he has performed in dozens of television and film appearances since the late 1970s...
as Karl
- Layla Roberts
Layla Harvest Roberts is an American model and actress. She was Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Month for its October 1997 issue. Her centerfold was photographed by Stephen Wayda.-Early and personal life:...
as Grendel's mother
- Patricia Velasquez
Patricia Carola Velásquez Semprún is a Venezuelan actress and fashion model.-Early life:Velásquez, the fifth of six children, was born in Zulia, Venezuela to a Venezuelan father of Native and Spanish descent and a mother who came from the Wayuu tribe...
as Pendra
Reception
Critical reaction to the film has been mixed. Danél Griffin of Film as Art said the film "understands that liberties must be taken with the poem's characters to create a more cinematic experience, and there are moments that, even in its liberties, it reveals a deep appreciation for the poem, and a profound understanding of its ideas. There are other moments, however, that seem so absurd and outlandish that we wonder if the writers, Mark Leahy and David Chappe, have even read the poem." Griffin added that "Lambert is certainly effective," but concluded that "clever ideas aside, the film is unfortunately mediocre at best. The set design and some of the revised storyline are both stupendous, but the overall experience makes for poor cinema."
Beyond Hollywood's review said that "genre films don’t get any sillier than [this]", but called the film "above average." The review praised the film's "energetic action" and said that it "excels in set design," but added that "the techno [music] is pretty annoying." Calling the film "a cheesy post-apocalyptic update of the ancient tale," Carlo Cavagna of About Film praised the film's action scenes but felt that Lambert and Mitra had no chemistry.
Nathan Shumate of Cold Fusion Video Reviews also praised the film's action scenes, but felt it used all its good ideas in the first half, "leaving most of the rest of the movie to die of attrition." Shumate added, "That’s not to say that there are no effective scenes to be had, [but they] certainly can’t carry the full 90-minute running time." [...] Perhaps it’s truly impossible to come up with a definitive film version of this epic. But I wouldn’t want to make a judgement on that simply due to this attempt’s mediocrity.
Soundtrack
- Jonathan Sloate - Beowulf
- Front 242
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- Religion (Bass under siege mix by The ProdigyThe Prodigy are an English electronic music group formed by Liam Howlett in 1990 in Braintree, Essex, England. Along with Fatboy Slim, The Chemical Brothers and The Crystal Method, as well as other acts they are pioneers of the big beat electronic dance genre which achieved mainstream popularity in...
)
- Pig
Raymond Watts is the founding and sole member of the industrial music project PIG, sometimes written as
....
- No One Gets out of Her Alive, Jump the Gun (Instrumental)
- Gravity Kills
Gravity Kills is an American industrial rock band from Jefferson City, Missouri.The band was formed in 1994. They had their first hit single with "Guilty" from their album Gravity Kills. Appearances on the soundtracks for Mortal Kombat , Seven, and Test Drive Off-Road also helped bring exposure...
- Guilty (Juno ReactorJuno Reactor are a musical and performing act known for the cinematic fusion of electronic, orchestral and global music. Central to the project is Ben Watkins, and his collaborations with a constantly changing ensemble of musicians from across the world, including percussionist Mabi Thobejane from...
remix)
- Juno Reactor
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- God is God
- Fear Factory
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- Cyberdyne
- Laughing US - Universe
- KMFDM
KMFDM is a German industrial rock band led by founding member Sascha Konietzko. They have sold over 2 million records worldwide.KMFDM was founded in Germany on February 29, 1984 as a joint effort between Konietzko and German painter/multi-media performer Udo Sturm to perform for the opening of an...
- Witness
- Lunatic Calm
Lunatic Calm were a UK-based electronic music group formed in 1996. Despite a wide-ranging sound palette, the group was best known for their high impact, industrial-tinged big beat compositions.-History:...
- The Sound
- Junkie XL
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- Def Beat
- Urban Voodoo
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- Ego Box
- 2wo
2wo was an industrial metal band formed by former Judas Priest lead singer Rob Halford as side project after the break-up of his first solo project, Fight.-Band History:...
- Stutter Kiss
- Spirit Feel - Unfolding Towards the Light
- Mindfeel - Cranium Heads Out
- Frontside
Frontside and backside are surfing, skateboarding, snowboarding and Aggressive Inline Skating terms that are used to describe how a person approaches an obstacle or performs a certain trick...
- Dammerling
- Praga Khan
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- Luv u Still
- Anthrax
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- Giving the Horns
- Monster Magnet
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- Lord 13