- GRENDEL'S MOTHER BEOWULF
- Measures 7 inches at top of head; articulated at neck, shoulders (ball and hinge joints), elbows, wrists and waist. Stands on 4-inch wide by 3½-inch deep base.
- Originally released in 2007 - Retired / Out of Production
- From McFarlane Toys
- Ages 14+
BEOWULF & GRENDEL - DVD MovieThe otherworldly landscape of Iceland lends an appropriate touch of dark fantasy to this modern retelling of
Beowulf, the oldest epic poem in the English language. Gerard Butler (
The Phantom of the Opera) brings the right balance of physicality and world-weariness as the Swedish hero Beowulf, who travels to Denmark to fight the monstrous troll Grendel (Icelandic superstar Ignvar Sigurdsson), which has been plaguing the house of King Hrothgar (Stellan Skarsgård, buried under a mound of prosthetic hair). However, what transpires is not a battle between! good and evil, but a convoluted mystery of sorts, with Beowulf playing the detective who discovers that his foe is more human than monster, and Hrothgar less wronged innocent than catalyst for his own downfall. Director Sturla Gunnarsson succeeds in pulling this legendary story from the dust of academics by contemporizing the dialogue (Andrew Rai Berzins has an excellent ear for hard-bitten palaver), and his visuals are nothing less than striking, but the film attempts to be both monster movie and melancholy drama, while never quite satisfying the requirements of either genre. Regardless, the quality cast (which includes Sarah Polley from Dawn of the Dead as a sharp-tongued witch with a connection to Grendel) and some well-handled action sequences should hold viewers’ attention even when the unnecessarily complex plot does not.
--Paul GaitaStudio: Starz/sphe Release Date: 11/06/2007 Run time: 103 minutes Rating: RThe otherworldly landscape of Iceland lends an a! ppropriate touch of dark fantasy to this modern retelling of Beowul f, the oldest epic poem in the English language. Gerard Butler (
The Phantom of the Opera) brings the right balance of physicality and world-weariness as the Swedish hero
Beowulf, who travels to Denmark to fight the monstrous troll Grendel (Icelandic superstar Ignvar Sigurdsson), which has been plaguing the house of King Hrothgar (Stellan Skarsgård, buried under a mound of prosthetic hair). However, what transpires is not a battle between good and evil, but a convoluted mystery of sorts, with Beowulf playing the detective who discovers that his foe is more human than monster, and Hrothgar less wronged innocent than catalyst for his own downfall. Director Sturla Gunnarsson succeeds in pulling this legendary story from the dust of academics by contemporizing the dialogue (Andrew Rai Berzins has an excellent ear for hard-bitten palaver), and his visuals are nothing less than striking, but the film attempts to be both monster movie and melancholy drama, while n! ever quite satisfying the requirements of either genre. Regardless, the quality cast (which includes Sarah Polley from
Dawn of the Dead as a sharp-tongued witch with a connection to Grendel) and some well-handled action sequences should hold viewers' attention even when the unnecessarily complex plot does not.
--Paul GaitaThe otherworldly landscape of Iceland lends an appropriate touch of dark fantasy to this modern retelling of
Beowulf, the oldest epic poem in the English language. Gerard Butler (
The Phantom of the Opera) brings the right balance of physicality and world-weariness as the Swedish hero
Beowulf, who travels to Denmark to fight the monstrous troll Grendel (Icelandic superstar Ignvar Sigurdsson), which has been plaguing the house of King Hrothgar (Stellan Skarsgård, buried under a mound of prosthetic hair). However, what transpires is not a battle between good and evil, but a convoluted mystery of sorts, with Beowulf playing ! the detective who discovers that his foe is more human than mo! nster, a nd Hrothgar less wronged innocent than catalyst for his own downfall. Director Sturla Gunnarsson succeeds in pulling this legendary story from the dust of academics by contemporizing the dialogue (Andrew Rai Berzins has an excellent ear for hard-bitten palaver), and his visuals are nothing less than striking, but the film attempts to be both monster movie and melancholy drama, while never quite satisfying the requirements of either genre. Regardless, the quality cast (which includes Sarah Polley from
Dawn of the Dead as a sharp-tongued witch with a connection to Grendel) and some well-handled action sequences should hold viewers' attention even when the unnecessarily complex plot does not.
--Paul GaitaIn the age of heroes comes the mightiest warrior of them all, Beowulf. After destroying the overpowering demon Grendel, he incurs the undying wrath of the beast’s ruthlessly seductive mother who will use any means possible to ensure revenge. The ensuing epic bat! tle throughout the ages, immortalizing the name Beowulf. Academy Award® winner director Robert Zemeckis tells the oldest epic tale in the English language with the most modern technology, advancing the cinematic forum through the magic of digitally enhanced live action. A stellar cast is led by Ray Winstone ("The Departed," "Sexy Beast") in the title role. Joining him are Academy Award winner Anthony Hopkins as the cursed King Hrothgar, John Malkovich, Robin Wright Penn, Brendan Gleeson, Crispin Glover, Alison Lohman and Oscar Winner Angelina Jolie as Grendel’s mother.Spectacular animated action scenes turn the ancient epic poem
Beowulf into a modern fantasy movie, while motion-capture technology transforms plump actor Ray Winstone (
Sexy Beast) into a burly Nordic warrior. When a Danish kingdom is threatened by the monster Grendel (voiced and physicalized by Crispin Glover,
River's Edge), Beowulf--lured by the promise of heroic glory--comes to rescue! them. He succeeds, but falls prey to the seductive power of G! rendel's mother, played by Angelina Jolie... and as Jolie's pneumatically animated form rises from an underground lagoon with demon-claw high heels, it becomes clear that we're leaving the original epic far, far behind. Regrettably, the motion-capture process has made only modest improvements since
The Polar Express; while the characters' eyes no longer look so flat and zombie-like, their faces remain inexpressive and movements are still wooden. As a result, the most effective sequences feature wildly animated battles and the most vivid character is Grendel, whose grotesqueness ends up making him far more sympathetic than any of the mannequin-like human beings. The meant-to-be-titillating images of a naked Jolie resemble an inflatable doll more than a living, breathing woman (or succubus, as the case may be). But the fights--particularly Grendel's initial assault on the celebration hut--pop with lushly animated gore and violence. Also featuring the CGI-muffled talents of Anth! ony Hopkins (
Silence of the Lambs), Robin Wright Penn (
The Princess Bride), and John Malkovich (
Dangerous Liaisons).
--Bret FetzerJohn Grigsby reveals that the English had a mythology and a vibrant pagan religion as rich and complex as that of the early Celts, of which only a few precious fragments remain. One such fragment is a Dark Age poem that tells of the deeds of a monster-slaying hero Beowulf, who frees the feasting hall of a Danish king from the twelve-year tyranny of a creature named Grendel. Grigsby's conclusions will revolutionize the way we think about the ancestors of the English. He explains how they came to England from Denmark and Northern Germany and how human sacrifice was central to their religion. He shows how the memory of the forceful suppression of this sacrificial cult in the 5th century AD lies behind the seemingly fantastic deeds of Beowulf. His discovery will restore the poem to its rightful place as a national epic.Int! roduction gives a short history of the Old English language.
The classic tale of courage and honor. In the Great Hall of Hrothgar, King of the Danes, the warrior Beowulf, son of a Swedish King, wages battle with the monster Grendel.
Introduction gives a short history of the Old English language.
The classic tale of courage and honor. In the Great Hall of Hrothgar, King of the Danes, the warrior Beowulf, son of a Swedish King, wages battle with the monster Grendel.
The otherworldly landscape of Iceland lends an appropriate touch of dark fantasy to this modern retelling of
Beowulf, the oldest epic poem in the English language. Gerard Butler (
The Phantom of the Opera) brings the right balance of physicality and world-weariness as the Swedish hero
Beowulf, who travels to Denmark to fight the monstrous troll Grendel (Icelandic superstar Ignvar Sigurdsson), which has been plaguing the house of King Hrothgar (Stellan Skarsgård, buried under a mound of prosthetic hair). However, what transpires! is not a battle between good and evil, but a convoluted mystery of sorts, with Beowulf playing the detective who discovers that his foe is more human than monster, and Hrothgar less wronged innocent than catalyst for his own downfall. Director Sturla Gunnarsson succeeds in pulling this legendary story from the dust of academics by contemporizing the dialogue (Andrew Rai Berzins has an excellent ear for hard-bitten palaver), and his visuals are nothing less than striking, but the film attempts to be both monster movie and melancholy drama, while never quite satisfying the requirements of either genre. Regardless, the quality cast (which includes Sarah Polley from
Dawn of the Dead as a sharp-tongued witch with a connection to Grendel) and some well-handled action sequences should hold viewers' attention even when the unnecessarily complex plot does not.
--Paul GaitaIn a legendary time of heroes, the mighty warrior Beowulf battles the demon Grendel and incurs th! e hellish wrath of the beast’s ruthlessly seductive mother. ! Their ep ic clash comes to the big screen in Beowulf, directed by Oscar winner Robert Zemeckis. The grand and powerful score is by Alan Silvestri, Oscar nominated for Forrest Gump and The Polar Express, Grammy® winner for the latter and nominated for Back To The Future and Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and a manytime BMI and ASCAP Award honoree. Highlighting the score and soundtrack album is "A Hero Comes Home," performed by the critically acclaimed Idina Menzel (RENT, Wicked).For sheer over-the-topness, this soundtrack takes the cake in 2007: You'd be hard-pressed to find a more bombastic piece of music than "Beowulf Main Title"… until you reach, oh, "What We Need is a Hero," for instance, or "I Did Not Win the Race," or "Beowulf Slays the Beast." Pounding, relentless, swaggering, Alan Silvestri's score explodes out of the speakers, all crashing tympani and supersized choirs. Fittingly for the tale of a battle between a mighty warrior and a rampaging monster, this is movie music on a ! goofily epic scale--halfway between
Carmina Burana and Rammstein. Three songs interrupt the demented flow (although "raging torrent" would be a better word than "flow"). Actress Robin Wright Penn performs "Gently as She Goes" and "A Hero Comes Home," two ballads in soothing, medieval-type arrangements. Idina Menzel (
Wicked) reprises a different version of "A Hero Comes Home" at the very end: Good thing she's a belter, because a meeker interpreter would have vanished under the catchy power-ballad arrangements.
--Elisabeth VincentelliBased on the legendary 8th century epic poem, Beowulf follows the triumphs and trials of the legendary Norse warrior as he battles mythical beasts, including the monstrous Grendel. GRENDEL'S MOTHER BEOWULF - Measures 7 inches at top of head; articulated at neck, shoulders (ball and hinge joints), elbows, wrists and waist. Stands on 4-inch wide by 3½-inch deep base.
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