[Mike Capanelli]

Here you go. I cant wait for it to be released.

http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000F4P...51-8575549

I've followed this movie thorugh it's production and just cant wait to see how it all turned out.

Blessings

[Carl Goff]

I'll wait on it to show up in the U.S. webstore.

[Mike Capanelli]

[Felix Thieme]

Well, it *is* playing in the US the friday after next, at least in my neck of the woods.

[Mike Capanelli]

[Patrick Kelly]

I just finished watching this one and I have to say, it's one of the most interesting movies I've seen in quite some time. Unlike many movies in this genre, the props don't outweigh the story, ie. Beowulfs sword doesn't become a character in itself, ala movies like Conan. In spite of being a lover of swords I think this is a good thing. The arms and armor are pretty well done for a cinematic endeavor and evoke the feeling of the period pretty well. (Except for the god-awful leather scale stuff. It's okay for what it is but it doesn't belong in a movie depicting this era.)

The films creators took the tack that all legends are based on fact. They've tried to illustrate the story in a realistic fashion, and many aspects of the poem have been incorporated into the movie in this fashion One has to be a bit familiar with the poem to appreciate the finer points of how they've done this but it is very interesting. In one scene one of Beowulfs men, obviously the company bard, is sitting with a group of children reciting a portion of the poem glorifying the previous nights battle in the meade hall (where B. and company get the snot kicked out of them by Grendel). He's going on and on about brave and mighty B. when the B. himself walks up, shoos the kids away and basically says , "will you stop that sh*t." It's an interesting way to incorporate legend into realism.

The tone of the film is a bit dark and gloomy and the production really seethes mood and atmosphere. I'm afraid this is one of those nitch movies where one has to be a fan of the literature or the era to appreciate it's subtleties. If one expects another Lord of the Rings or some big epic production you'll be disappointed as this is a more cerebral movie than most of its kind. The Icelandic settings are really very striking in their stark beauty as well.

All in all I found it to be a very interesting movie, perhaps not pulse pounding with action and effects but one you had to think about and pay attention to while you were watching it. I like it.

[Michael Edelson]

While I'm not a big fan of the original Beowulf, I watched this movie and loved it. It was extremely well made with a terrific story that actually got me interested in learning more about the poem. I actually spent a few hours reading an online copy and comparing it to the movie, looking for common ground. The events of the poem are quite faithfully rendered in the story, but there's a lot more happening around that basic plot.

[Steve Maly]

We watched it last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. It has a decent plot, good writing, good acting, and enough depth and drama to keep the wife interested. I particularly enjoyed Stellan Skarsgård's performance as Hrothgar. I liked the take on Grendel, and he turned out to be a creature with some depth, not just another mindless killer. Didn't care much for Sarah Polley's thoroughly American accent in the context of the setting, not that Beowulf's thick Scottish accent was appropriate either, but I found it more tolerable. I agree with Patrick that the weapons were not the main focus, but were ever-present. It gives us sword dorks something to look at! While the armor wasn't historically perfect it was visually interesting, and it was refreshing to see (overly-decorated?) spectacle helms in a Viking flick and no horns on the helmets! The armor was plausible and consistent and didn't mix eras and cultures (no Gladiator or King Arthur gaffs in this one--at least watching the first time through!). After some the the tripe that I've sat through in the "historical movie" genre lately, I found this to be a refreshing and enjoyable movie.

[Patrick Kelly]

I agree Steve, although I'll give Sarah Polley a break becuse of her red hair, something that's a chink in my armor.

This is actually a pre-viking age story dealing with proto-viking, migration age age cultures. As such the helm decoration is fairly accurate in it's coverage as nearly all surviving specimens of that era are fairly elaborate. The only criticism I can make in that reagrd, other than the leather scaley stuff, is that there may have been too much of it. I can see Beowulf and perhaps his right-hand guy having mail byrnies and fancy helms, but not everyone.

[Jean Thibodeau]

Oh, just a detail but Sarah Polley is Canadian. So, although her accent can be argued with, it is generic " North American " sort of the neutral news anchor voice: Actually a lot of " American " news anchors are actually Canadians.

That the thing with Canadians we have been taking over the U.S. for decades and passing " American " !

William Shatner ...... Canadian Michael J. Fox ........ Canadian Oh no, another conspiracy theory: " The truth is out there ! And it's Canadian.

O.K. getting back to the movie: It's a Canadian / Icelandic co-production I think and the small budget combined with good actors as well as a will to stay true to the original poem is one reason why it didn't turn into a " Braveheart " mishmash !

I sort of like Braveheart by the way, but staying a little closer to real history could have made for a much more interesting story.

[Steve Maly]

[Patrick Kelly]

The fact that the scale was leather really wasn't the issue. The fact that they had it on at all was. There's absolutely no basis for anything like that in this era. There's the position that some lamellar armors were used. How common they were is open to debate, but that leather scale stuff was just ridiculous and the pop-rivets didn't help. That was the only quibble I really had with the entire thing though.

I don't get too caught up in the accent issue. I love how americans can gripe about accents not being authentic yet not have a problem with a movie like this where everyone has an american accent, most of the time they don't even notice it. I find it just as amusing as someone who tells me, "I don't have an accent". We all have them, we just sound like everyone else we're around most of the time. Sarah Polleys Canadian/North American accent stood out but no more than Gerard Butlers Scottish one, as well as a few others there. Some of them were so heavy you lost a bit of the dialogue, that was the only issue I had with that. Minor things all in all though. I'm glad this movie got made and I wish it had received more recognition as it's a bit more original than recent productions of a similar vein.

[Randall Moffett]

I would guess their accent is all but lost to the known world today from what I have studied. There are even issues over how to pronounce things in Old English. I guess basically splitting this into two camps more or less. I doubt people from either end of the pond have what would be an accurate accent for the era so I would not let that get you down,whether they are american,canadian,english, norwegian or martian.....

I will try getting in to see it if I can.

Patrick, is there really no evidence for leather armour in this era? I seem to recall some possible sources that there was? Perhaps I miss read it as I just stumbled across this post and just now read it all? I agree they should have used at least some mail though, very sad they did not as it looks so good when real mail is used in movies, even my non-medieval period friends think so.

RPM

[C.L. Miller]

I concur with the general consensus of this being an extremely worthwhile, although still flawed, film. The attention to detail is extremely refreshing; the atrocious leather scale aside, it's very clear that the filmmakers were willing to listen to their consultants, resulting in a finished product which knowingly references and plays with elements of both the original poem and with history. As an example, the giant's sword with which Beowulf kills Grendel's mother it is clearly modelled after bronze-age "antenna" swords, though this particular example is huge in size. I also felt the depiction of the Danes' introduction to Christianity to be well handled; conversion at this early date and in this remote area is portrayed as being a largely utilitarian matter ("Old gods not protecting your mead-hall? Try ours!") carried out at the hands of the lone souls brave or, as in this case, crazy enough to venture into pagan territory. The multiple accents are indeed a bit jarring, but the performances are good and one quickly adjusts. Also of note is the contemporary vocabulary used - although this may strike some as being unnecessary or inappropriate, I felt that it was handled with great care and did an excellent job of depicting the spirit of the people and of the times.
Although there are several points with which I take issue, I feel that the film's major failing was an unwillingness to commit either to a wholly historical or wholly mythical narrative. What is actually presented is something of a hybrid, with the majority of the film coming down on the historical side of things.
All in all, worth seeing for the film itself and as what I feel is the "best yet" depiction of the Germanic migration age.

[Mike Arledge]

I liked the movie a lot, and all armour issues aside, it was a whimsical and fun movie about the oldest known work in the english language. Neil Gaiman is porducing a seperate movie about Beowulf coming out next year.

You just gotta love all the times they run out of the hall to find Grendel has fled!

[David Jackson]

I really enjoyed this movie as well. It seems to feel more "true" then films like Arthur or Thirteenth Warrior. The innaccuracies in armour, history and story pulled me out of those ones. The leather scale, which I know is wrong didn't bother me as much as gladiator or conquistador armour on vikings. Most of the armour for Beowulf was done by Valentine armoury who certainly know their stuff when it comes to historical accuracy. The leather scale was from another commercial armour supplier, Inner Bailey I belive, and it is there basic off the shelf offerings. Maybe the art director didn't find plain mail all that exciting to look at.
Apart from armour I really liked Stellan Skarsgard's character and Gerard Butler ( I like Scottish accents), Sarah Polley not so much. On the whole it's a pretty good film.

Dave J

[Mikko Kuusirati]

[Edward Hitchens]

I also enjoyed the Beowulf film very much. One of its features that I was especially delighted with was the filmmakers' use of the natural landscape of where they were filming (Iceland?), as opposed to ruining the background with unimpressive CG effects (problems that plagued the Harry Potter and the Pirates of Caribbean films). I bet doing so also decreased production costs. Whether or not this film will be considered a classic like Braveheart or Spartacus remains to be seen, but I thought it was fantastic.

[Garrett Hazen]

hey guys, i just thought i'd jump in for a second. actually, next year, someone is making a new beowulf movie. i thought that might be of interest. you can look up 2007 movies in wikipedia and it will tell more about it.

[Roger Hooper]

FWIW, MRL is now selling a movie tie-in Beowulf outfit - helmet, armor, sword,tunic pants - http://www.museumreplicas.com/webstore/Search...ia=beowulf