Beowulf (1999)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Beowulf |
| Original title | Beowulf |
| Country of production | USA , UK |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1999 |
| length | 95 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 16 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Graham Baker |
| script |
Mark Leahy David Chappe |
| production |
Gregory Cascante Lawrence Kasanoff |
| music |
Jonathan Sloate Ben Watkins |
| camera | Christopher Faloona |
| cut | Roy Watts |
| occupation | |
| |
Beowulf is an American - British fantasy film released in 1999 . The film of Graham Baker is a screen adaptation of the epic hero poem Beowulf .
In addition to the fantasy and science fiction character in the foreground, there is a generous interpretation of the original, which differs from the film adaptation in some scenes. So has z. B. King Hrothgar an "affair" with Grendel's mother, from which Grendel himself emerges. In contrast to the poem, Hrothgar is here Grendel's father.
action
One of the first shots shows an industrial-looking castle defending the border of an unspecified kingdom. This castle is haunted by a monster called Grendel. Initially, every night it kills a different resident who is within the walls. Later, when the hero Beowulf, who is fighting his way through a siege ring, reaches the castle, the monster kills more irregularly and finally also during the day. The troops besieging the castle believe that the evil from the castle is spreading into the country and are on hand to prevent this from happening. Beowulf makes the breakthrough and is welcomed by Hrothgar, who rules the castle, as a further welcome fighter (quote from Hrothgar: "It's not safe with us.", Quote from Beowulf: "I'll take the risk."). Still, Beowulf is viewed with a healthy amount of suspicion.
While Beowulf rides into the castle, he is inspected by the soldier Roland and the king's daughter Kyra, among others. Roland loves them, but Kyra develops a noticeable interest in Beowulf as the film progresses. Flashbacks show that the former queen committed suicide and King Hrothgar had an affair with an unknown, young and very attractive woman. This is actually an ancient creature that originally lived on the land on which the castle now stands. With her, Hrothgar has a descendant: Grendel.
Beowulf and Grendel fight each other, both injured but recovered from those injuries.
Beowulf and Grendel later fight again. The hero succeeds in severing one arm from the monster, which he presents to the other comrades-in-arms as a trophy. Then everyone celebrates, believing that Grendel is defeated; in addition, the arm is hung high on a rope in the courtyard, whereupon the besiegers of the castle believe that the monster is dead and leave. Kyra comes into Beowulf's room and “rewards” him for his deed. She confesses to him that she killed her former husband when he was repeatedly intrusive under the influence of alcohol. Beowulf tells her that his father is Baal, ("the god of darkness, the lord of lies"), which explains his enormous powers and his ability to regenerate quickly.
While Kyra is staying with Beowulf, all other residents of the castle are killed by Grendel's mother (and possibly also by Grendel). Beowulf first kills Grendel with a sword and then his mother with a torch, after she has turned into a monstrous monster (which is possibly said to represent the pure form of the ancient being). Kyra and Beowulf flee the exploding castle and are the only two survivors. In the end Kyra wants to stay with Beowulf, but the latter warns Kyra "that it is not safe with him." Then she replies, "She is taking the risk."
Differences to the heroic saga
- In the heroic poem, Grendel's mother is described as an ugly sea witch, while in the film she is portrayed as a seductive young woman
- Beowulf's 14 companions do not appear
- It only deals with the first part of the saga
- In the legend, Hrothgar is not the father of Grendel
- In the legend, Beowulf is not the son of Baal
Trivia
The film is being produced by Threshold Entertainment and Lawrence Kasanoff, who previously produced the Mortal Kombat film, in which Christopher Lambert also stars. The intro is almost a copy of Mortal Kombats, with the "logo", the writing and the techno music. The project was originally awarded a budget of $ 25 million. However, according to Lambert, only $ 3.5 million was pledged. In Germany the film was marketed on VHS from November 15, 2000 .
Reviews
Danél Griffin (Film as Art) wrote that the film “understands that certain incisions have to be made in the characters in order to achieve a better cinematic experience; and that there are moments [...] during which a deep connection with the original legend is recognizable as well as a good understanding of their ideas. "
"However, there are other moments that seem so absurd and unusual that we wonder whether the scriptwriters Mark Leahy and David Chappe even read the saga . " Griffin added that “Lambert is certainly effective, but unfortunately, for all its intelligent ideas, the film is mediocre at best. The design of the set as well as some elements of the revised plot are huge, but the overall impression shows rather poor cinema ” .
“The attempt of a knight epic with techno echoes, based on the oldest West Germanic heroic poetry, handed down from the eighth century. The film goes to work with such epic seriousness that every hint of humor and irony is driven out of it. "
"Bizarre miracle weapons, plump necklines, casual sayings: very loosely based on the old English Beowulf legend from the eighth century, the cheap production filmed in Romania produces just about everything that trash fans enjoy."
Web links
- Beowulf in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Beowulf with rotten tomatoes (English)
- Beowulf in the online film database
Individual evidence
- ↑ imdb.com
- ↑ uashome.alaska.edu ( Memento of the original from July 19, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Beowulf. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ↑ tvspielfilm.de
