Beowulf

[winterbadger]

Between these reviews and it being written (in part) by Neil Gaiman, I might actually change my mind and give this a try.

http://www.strangehorizons.com/reviews/2007/11/beowulf-comments.shtml
http://network.nature.com/blogs/user/henrygee/2007/11/19/bigging-up-beowulf
http://www.christianitytoday.com/movies/reviews/2007/beowulf.html
http://www.catholicnews.com/data/movies/07mv233.htm

Comments

[wolfette]

honestly, if you're not expecting a word for word visual transcription of the poem, the movie is very good. worth seeing for the 3D alone.

[magaidhbhan.livejournal.com]

Mm.

You've probably read my opinions of it on my own blog, so I won't reiterate -- and don't get me wrong, I definitely think you should see it if you're so inclined -- but I feel like I should warn you of one thing.

I'm a big fan of Neil Gaiman, but he reeeeeeeally disappointed me on this one. I thought that the script was the weakest part of the thing -- some of the lines just made me want to crawl under the icky popcorn-and-soda-sticky chair cringing.

It's interesting; it's an interesting idea, and it's thought-provoking. But did I like it? Meh.


But yes. Do see it! Then we can get your side of it, too! :)

[winterbadger]

Among other things, I've just read his 'alternate' (at this point probably third or somethingth) Beowulf story in Fragile Things (titled The Monarch of the Glen and introduced as written partly because he love the north of Scotland--gee, did I read that one first?), which makes me curious to see what he did with the film version. But I consider myself warned..

[janewilliams20.livejournal.com]

I was standing next to a poster for Beowulf the other day. It had some butch-looking guy in armour on it. So I took a closer look, and my first thought was "butted mail, not rivetted, wrong for the period". My second was to do with the very odd shoulder guards he was wearing. Possibly this says more about me than it does about the film, though.

[winterbadger]

Well, given that Beowulf is fiction, I think it would be kinda hard to assign a specific period style to it (unless one were to pick Reniassance Milanese parade armour or Warhammer 40 Imperial power armour). :-)

[janewilliams20.livejournal.com]

It was written in about 1100 or so, and set in the sixth century. Most of the people named in it are actual historical figures. Wikipedia gives a pretty good overview.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beowulf

And for either the period it was set, the period it was finally written down, or any point in between, mail would have been rivetted. At least the film doesn't have it knitted, but this isn't much better.