1. Reflect on the movie Beowulf vs. the Epic of Beowulf. If no particular thoughts come to mind, answer my questions. Did you prefer one over the other? What do you think was the message in each version? Why do you think so many changes were made in the movie?
2. Read through other people's posts and respond to at least one other person's comments.
The movie was pretty different from the epic of Beowulf. I thought the poem was better. I think they changed the story so much in the movie was to capture the audience and make the audience more engaged.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your last statement about keeping the audience engaged. The director of the movie Beowulf had to make some trade-offs of using certain plot points for entertainment and dramatic purposes. It did take away from the fluidity of the story in the movie, but overall there were a lot of things to excite the audience.
DeleteI agree with you in that they changed the story to make the audience more engaged. However, I myself believed the movie version was better, as it made Beowulf flawed in some way, along with more personality and characterization of Grendal and his mom. The poem's story would be cliched in today's standards after all, being too predictable.
DeleteI agree the poem's story was a lot better and that the movie's purpose was to make the story more engaging for the audience.
DeleteI think many changes were made in the movie to keep the story interesting and not borning (the text is pretty boring, with just 3 of the same Hero's journey). Instead of having 3 stories like in the book, the movie flows as one consistent story that is looped together. All the characters (Grendel, Grendel's mother, the dragon) shows up in the movie without being repetitive.
ReplyDeleteI personally prefer the movie version over the book version just because it has interesting plot twists, and together the whole story made more sense than the book. Each event is chained to the other instead of just reading 3 separate stories.
I thought the whole idea of the movie was that it was repetitive, though? Grendel's mother traps heroes in a never-ending repeating cycle that seems unbreakable no matter what. So much so, that even Beowulf, who set out to break this cycle, failed when Wiglaf appeared to have fallen for Grendel's mother. In a way, the epic also had every event chained together. Grendel's death led to a battle with his mother, which ended in Beowulf's victory, giving him the glory and treasure to become king of Geatland, leading him to a battle with the dragon, leading to his death.
DeleteThe movie Beowulf, when compared to the Epic of Beowulf, vastly differs story-wise. The epic is based around the hero facing many trials as he eventually faces one too great, dying in battle. The movie, however, creates the image that Grendel's mother is a seductress who has turned many people into kings with her powers just so that she could have a son, of which all of her sons end up coming back to haunt their fathers. It paints Beowulf as morally grey rather than the infallible hero of the epic.
ReplyDeleteAgreed, rather than making Beowulf this "perfect" human being, the movie makes Beowulf flawed, which is more acceptable in present day society.
DeleteI felt that the movie was an interesting twist on the epic poem of Beowulf. I thought that using CGI to represent all of the characters allows the story to come more to life, however at the time (2008), CGI wasn't as great as it is today, so it was a little weird seeing everything animated that way. The movie definitely had to appeal to a larger and different audience than the original poem did, so that's why they made some changes to the plot, such as adding more depth to the relationship between Beowulf and Grendel's Mother, and not so much about the details of the poem that wouldn't have been exciting or dramatic enough in the movie. There were definitely different messages in each version as well, the epic being about just Beowulf going through the motions of being an epic hero, while the movie focused on the dishonesty of Beowulf with Grendel's mother.
ReplyDeleteI agree, the movie really lost the original idea of Beowulf illustrating the pagan values and instead really focused on trying to gain an audience. The CGI really made it weird for me because sometimes it seemed like a real actor while other times the same character was obviously CGIed.
DeleteOverall plot wise, one cannot and should not rely on the movie to understand the Epic Beowulf. It fails to incorporate the real values of the Epic and just takes the story and makes it into an entertaining film. Dishonesty is not a pagan value and is not in the Epic, but it is in the movie. This shows that whoever produced the movie did not intend to go off the actual Epic.
I agree the movie did have to meet the demands of a greater audience and if the movie just went through the motions of being a hero there would be no interest for either the movie or the poem. And the use of CGI did make the poem more interesting to view as to see the actors they they roled as the main characters in the epic as well as the movie.
DeleteI agree the movie was catered towards a different audience. I thought the CGI was a great appeal for people that do not normally read this type of literature to expose themselves to new things. I felt the messages were also changed for this purpose of appealing to different people.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteI completely agree with Clarence. It felt really awkward watching the animated characters and sceneries--they seemed real, but not quite. Felt as if i were in virtual reality. Like I wrote in my original post, I also believe that the movie was made so a large audience would enjoy watching, compared to that of Beowulf where a smaller range of people would be interested in continue reading. However I disagree with you on the scenes with Beowulf and Grendel's mother being associated with the main message of the movie. I believe they included that setting to make it more interesting and attractive for a certain group of people.
Delete1. The 2007 movie version of Beowulf was very different the Epic. One of the writers of the screenplay (Neil Gaiman) is also an author of his own literature, which would inevitably lead to differing characteristics of certain personalities and the script. Many aspects, such as Grendal's mom not being slain or being hostile to Beowulf, have been changed to spice it up, rather than being a direct adaptation that is highly predictable. I believe that I find this movie more interesting that the Epic itself, as it arranges the script around to make it less cliched in today's standards.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. The writers and directors of the screenplay changed the movie too much. It was changed so much that at some points in the story I could not connect the epic poem and the movie. And, the thing about Grendel's mother not being killed is an interesting point. I do think she was not killed because of her "prettiness" and appeal to Beowulf. This made the movie more interesting to the movie watchers. I like your comment about how they changed the script to adapt to today's standards. It makes sense for the author to do this just so his movie can be more popular, and up to date with today's society.
DeleteI prefer the epic more than the movie because it was a better story than the one in the movie. The message compared to the epic was completely different though, which the theme of the epic was dark versus light and the movie was more of Beowulf did what he did for "glory". They changed a lot of the story in the movie and it didn't really make sense to me of what the message was but I thought it was changed to make it long enough to be a movie and to make it more dramatic.
ReplyDeleteI agree, a lot of the changes were made just so it would be an interesting movie that people would want to watch it. Most of the changes didn't really make sense and didn't relate back to the major themes.
DeleteOverall, the movie and epic had a similar storyline, but by the end, there were several differences in the movie that were not depicted in the poem. First, Beowulf becomes the king of the Danes instead of returning to the Geats. Another major event was when it was revealed that Grendel was the child of Hrothgar and Grendel's mother. This really surprised me since the epic did not reveal many characteristics of Grendel's mother. In the movie, however, Grendel's mother was portrayed as almost goddess-like, seducing every king. Lastly, Beowulf had a more human-like quality in the movie when compared to the original epic. Described as a hero, Beowulf was almost invincible. Personally, I prefer the Epic over the movie because many details can be overlooked or changed just to fit the budget/screenplay of the movie.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ethan in the fact that many details in the epic are overlooked in the movie. In the epic we don't know who Grendel's father is, but in the movie it is Hrothgar, and Grendel's mother is very seductive, and godesslike, but in the epic, she is a evil villan. THe epic and movie don't follow each other, and in the end, the epic poem is better, because it portrays the true facts, and gives better detail, and justice to the story.
DeleteThe movie and the Epic had similarities, but the overall plot was different. Beowulf is the king of the Geats in the Epic while he is the king of the Danes in the movie. The movie revolved around the idea of the "horn" being the king's curse with Grendel's mother never dying. I think that the movie changed the plot to this because it is more entertaining and interesting to today's audience. Although the Epic is good, the movie had a better connection and theme to make it into a real movie plot. The cliffhanger at the end of the movie where Wiglaf encounters Grendel's mother makes the audience question whether or not the cycle of the king's curse will repeat again. This kind of ending is more appropriate for a movie than an ending like in the Epic where Beowulf is just buried and burned.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was really interesting how they produced the movie with a weird CGI effect of the characters. In the part where Grendel's mother first appears, it was obvious that a real person actually played that part. However, when Grendel's mother comes back at the end when Wiglaf sees her, it is clear that she is CGI, not a real actor. Maybe due to the budget? Overall, the movie was good for a "movie," but a poor adaptation of the actual Epic. Especially with the weird CGI/actors, the movie looked a bit amateurish.
David Kim's final rating: 6/10
Yeah I definitely agree with you David on the fact they just changed the story line to make it more entertaining. I didn't even think about how Wiglaf might continue the cycle with Grendel's mother that's a really interesting point.
DeleteI also enjoyed the movie more than the epic. The storyline for the epic is extremely simple. It basically revolves around three main battles. The movie plot was more complex, but still simple to enough to keep track of who's who.
DeleteI agree. I believe that the director decided to skew the plot as such to appeal to a larger audience, as a movie that is extremely similar to the epic, with Beowulf just repeatedly killing different monsters, may seem repetitive and even a little boring. To create a villain that would not be defeated and curses that the characters had to overcome as a result of their own sins would be much more interesting. As regards to the ending, I think it would still have been possible to create an ending similar to the epic and have it be appropriate for a movie. There in uncertainty within the Geats after Beowulf dies and Wiglaf becomes king, and the movie could portray that.
DeleteI agree that the CGI is strange, and I wonder why the director decided to use it. I think it would probably have been due to budget issues, because it would be difficult to film all of the monsters using live-action. I would have preferred live-action, however, because the CGI initially felt cartoonish, which undermined the desired effect.
DeleteWithout a doubt the movie and the epic are completely different, to me the creators of the movie just saw an opportunity to take advantage of the fact that no one had really made a Beowulf movie out of it. The Epic poem and the film have so many key differences that really effect the story and it all begins with Grendel's mother and how she sleeps with anyone that is a king. First with Hrothgar making Grendel than With Beowulf making the dragon or whatever that was. One thing I really liked about the film however was the use of the golden dragon piece I think it was a really nice symbol and how it would always somehow come back to Beowulf overall I enjoyed watching the movie because it was entertain but I feel they should have stuck to the epic more.
ReplyDeleteI agree the the plot of the story seemed more centered around the thought of generating as much revenue as possible rather than educate the viewers about the story of beowulf.
DeleteWhen I first saw this movie I was initially disgusted. Hrothgar was portrayed as a drunk old man rather than a wise king, and his relationship with his wife wasn't loving at all. But then the more I watched, the more confused I got. How come he banged Grendel's mom when in the book he cut her head off? I guess the significance of the golden dragon horn is that it is a symbol of the curse of Grendel's mother. It passed on from Hrothgar to Beowulf and finally to Wiglaf, who I think will probably die after the movie ends. In the epic Grendel is depicted as this unmerciful and unrepentant monster, but in the movie he seems to be just as frightened as the soldiers he's killing. Overall it's really not a bad movie, but it wasn't interpreted in a way I did not expect.
ReplyDeleteImagine if the movie just followed the poem's plot with no deviations, though: Beowulf shows up and kills Grendel. Then he shows up and kills Grendel's mom. Then he slays the dragon and dies. The end. It would make for a pretty dry movie. I think the filmmakers were trying to find a way to make this epic poem interesting to audiences, because the story of heroes killing monsters has become so old and overdone in the thousands of years since the story of Beowulf was first told.
DeleteHey Daniel! Your point made about how the characters were portrayed quite differently from what we had expected. I also like your point made about how the golden horn could be a curse passed on from King to King. I find it interesting that the horn could be a calling to Grendel's mom to curse the life of the next King. In the film, Hrothgar was presumed to be the father of Grendel and Beowulf was the father of the dragon. Both were presumed to be seduced by Grendel's mother and the ending scene of Wiglaf and Grendel's mother (as Wiglaf holds the horn) , seems that Wiglaf too will fall under the "curse".
DeleteI preferred the movie over the poem, because the plot was a lot more complex than the classic "hero beats monster." The poem's message emphasized the importance of loyalty and keeping one's word, while the movie explored multiple themes like temptation and loyalty more deeply. This made characters like Beowulf more dynamic and interesting as a result.
ReplyDeleteI think so many changes were made in the movie because the unaltered poem version of Beowulf would be pretty boring on the big screen. In addition, there's a huge 50 year gap in the plot that disconnects the encounter with Grendel's mother and the encounter with the dragon, which would leave audiences confused. By capitalizing on the interpretation that Beowulf was an unreliable narrator in the poem, the filmmakers were able to introduce a plot with more twists and turns to keep audiences engaged, while bridging the 50 year gap in the story.
I preferred the book over the movie, since it was more realistic and reflected Anglo-Saxon culture better. In the movie, the central message was the curse of falling to temptation. Hrothgar and Beowulf both tried to kill Grendel's mother, but instead they both got seduced. Their children, Grendel and the Dragon, respectively, terrorized the city and Heorot, and killed many. Had instead they killed Grendel's mother or simply not fallen to temptation, the city would not have been in trouble. In the book, the main message was courage and bravery. Every villain was killed, and killed with honor and courage. The fights were fair, and bravery and honor was respected. Changes were made to reflect the modern era. Nowadays, movies are judged harshly, and a movie in which a hero just repetitively kills different monsters wouldn't get high ratings. With a villain that never gets defeated and a more complex story line, the movie would have a more diverse audience as well as higher ratings.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the epic revealed a more ideal representation of the Anglo-Saxon culture. Beowulf was given a more vulnerable image as he falls for Grendel's mother. I like how you give the movie credits for attempting to change the overall storyline in order to produce a movie that people will not become bored of. The repetition of the battles might have made the movie worse if they did not change it.
DeleteThe movie Beowulf vs the actual epic have many differences in them. They may have the same characters and settings to them but they have many different details and plot lines in them that they differ from each other. Some of the major parts such as the death of Unferth at the beginning of the epic are changed, in the movie he outlives Beowulf even when he almost burned alive from the dragon in the movie. I prefered the actual epic poem over the movie because of the way the poem went it made sense of what was going on and had a reason for everything that went on in the story. I think the message in each version is very different. In the epic I believe that the message was to leave a legend to live off of. But in the movie I feel like the whole time Beowulf was lying to everyone and just needed to get something off his chest and he did when he died, he told Wiglaf the truth and he saw her with his own eyes in the ocean (Grendel's mother). I think so many changes were made because of how many situations you can make from the plot line of Beowulf it is very simple the tale of a hero, and it can be changed very easily to gain the viewers attention, especially a old epic poem such as Beowulf.
ReplyDeleteThe movie Beowulf made many changes to the characters of the story when compared to the original Epic of Beowulf. In the epic poem, Wiglaf never made his appearance until the part of the story, but in the movie he is seen arriving to the mead hall along with Beowulf. Unferth never made an appearance in the second part of the story, but in the movie he is seen getting attacked by the dragon. There were also many changes to the plot of the story. Grendel's mother did not die in the movie, which made it somewhat eccentric but more interesting. In the movie, Hrothgar states how Grendel was his curse and is most likely due to the fact that Hrothgar slept with Grendel's mother, making Grendel Hrothgar's son. It is also the reason why Hrothgar was so suspicious of Beowulf claiming that he killed Grendel's mother. Once Grendel dies, Hrothgar says that he is free from the curse, and gives up the throne as king. Beowulf did the same thing that Hrothgar did, and as a result made him king and gave him a son which was the dragon. Overall, the story of the movie had a little more character to it despite the extreme changes it made. The epic poem felt too straight forward in the plot, but I still prefer the original story because it is the first version of the story that I read.
ReplyDeleteAlthough the movie was very different from the original poem, I appreciate the movie for what it was trying to portray. In the poem, Beowulf is described to us as an almost "perfect" hero, and his deeds, actions, and everything is right. In that sense, Beowulf is almost like a god who the people worship for his great deeds. In the movie, although the screenwriters took the liberty to change the story, they showed Beowulf more like a man, and showed us his flaws as well as his heroic qualities, which made me appreciate Beowulf's story more. The epic's message was to portray to the reader what a perfect hero looks like, and while the movie did they same, they made Beowulf more of a hero by showing his mistakes.
ReplyDeleteI do not prefer one over the other; both movie and epic are so different, I enjoyed seeing both and comparing and contrasting the differences between them.
I think the screenwriters changed the story to fit our society's vision of a hero today. During the Anglo-Saxon times, a hero was a brave warrior who killed beasts, was loyal to the king, and boasted about his strength and accomplishments. Today's idea of a hero is someone, who despite mishaps, perseveres to the end and will accomplish their goal, no matter what the sacrifices. This is evident in movie, because Beowulf sacrifices his life to save Queen Wealtheow and Ursula. In the poem, we don't see evidence of Beowulf being a hero in today's terms.
Overall, I enjoyed both the poem and the movie, and the way each portrayed what the idealistic hero was well done.
I agree with you that Beowulf is too perfect in the poem. But I actually like the poem more than the movie. In the movie, there are too many weird relationship between Grendel's mother and Beowulf, and the relationship between Grendel's mother and King Hrothgar.
DeleteThe movie definitely changed the vision of the hero to fit what they look like today, and I also agree with the fact that you said Beowulf was more flawed in the movie.
DeleteI thought the changes made to the movie were quite odd, and I prefer the original story. Some of the aspects of the story don't make sense anymore after the changes that were made to the movie. For example, Wiglaf appearing in the beginning makes it irresponsible for the kingship to be passed to him, because he has aged with Beowulf. I also didn't understand why the relationship with Grendel's Mother was changed so drastically; Beowulf killed her in the story but in the movie he had a child, which ended up being the dragon, with her. Another change was Wealtheow's portrayal - she was completely different in regards to her relationship with both Hrothgar and Beowulf, and she wasn't respected as much as she was in the original version. I was confused as to why Hrothgar "passed her on" to Beowulf along with his kingship. Perhaps some of these changes were made to make the movie more interesting, because Beowulf is an old story, and that fact alone may push people away.
ReplyDeleteYeah, i agree with your last point, that Beowulf is a really old story and that fact alone might mush ppl away. So then the changes in the movie also make sense.
DeleteI also agree with your point when you say that there was a change in relationship with Grendel's mother. I found it quite bizarre. This made the audience think that Beowulf wasn't a good king because he lied to his people.
DeleteIn the movie, the plot changes dramatically from the original story as it portrays all the characters in a softer way. For example, by making Grendel look less demonic and more silly, it appeals better to younger audiences. When writing the movie, the script writers probably favored revenue and audience appeal over how accurately the story was portrayed. I would prefer to read the epic over watching to movie because the movie really made the story seem more like a joke rather than a serious epic poem. Overall however, the message of both stories stays relatively the same. A story about a hero who creates a legacy while he is still young, and eventually dies at the end while trying to save his kingdom.
ReplyDeleteI agree, I also prefer the epic over the movie because of the changes made in the movie were too extreme. But overall both provide the idea of Beowulf being the one hero to save the kingdom.
DeleteI agree that making Grendel more silly does appeal to a younger audience but the movie also contained many violent scenes and inappropriate scenes such as the naked Angelina Jolie. The movie has many scenes with gore such as Beowulf ripping out the dragon's heart. I believe the intention was not to make the movie more appealing to the younger audience
Delete1. The movie Beowulf included less characters and events than the Epic of Beowulf. In addition,many elements are different, including the characters, setting, and even storyline. Often, I read a book and then watch the movie and it is often kind of dissapointing when the movie turns out different from the book. But at the same time, there are probably reasons for the differences. I usually prefer the written version to the movie because I read it first, and because of the language and diction used. When I read it my mind has its own interpretation to the language, action, characters, and settings. I realize that it isn't always easy to create a film based on the expectations goes on in someone's mind. I liked the storyline of the original epic more because it seemed to have less elements. In the movie, Beowulf became king at Heorot probably so that there is only one setting, which makes it easier to create. From the movie, I get the idea of cycles of sin- what Hrothgar did and then what Beowulf did. On the other hand, I liked the movie and animation effects from the movie.
ReplyDeleteDisagree with the animations effects, but yeah, adding in the cycles of sin was pretty interesting. But overall, the changes in the movie seem to take away from the original plot too much...
DeleteThe movie Beowulf was completely different than the Epic poem. While there were many, many differences between the two, one that particularly stood out to me was the lack of Christianity in the movie, which is seen throughout the poem. In the movie, the danes are all Pagan, and when Unferth asks Hrothgar is they should start praying to Christ, he immediately says no. Another important alteration of the poem was Grendel's mother and the place she lived in. While in the book she is described as being a descendant of Cain along with Grendel, and living in a dark, swampy, horrid place. However, in the movie, Grendel's mother is portrayed as very beautiful. This changes Beowulf's entire relationship with Grendel's mother. Instead of being a hero and killing her, he instead sleeps with her, leaving her with a son, and goes back to the kingdom pretending that he killed her. This shows Beowulf to not be the true hero he is shown to be in the poem, ruining the meaning of an Anglo-Saxon hero. This being said, I still enjoyed the movie because of its more complex plot line, and the way it showed that your past will always come back to haunt you. However, I can't say that I liked the movie more than the poem because of how different they are and the different messages they have.
ReplyDeleteI think that the movie and the poem had fundamentally different messages, and I personally preferred the poem. However, I understand what the movie was trying to convey: it focused on the theme of monstrosity. Grendel and the Dragon are not evil beings of the Devil focused on the destruction of a benevolent mankind, they are the direct product of the flaws of men. This theme is a reflection of society; all great leaders have some sins in their past, none of them are the idealized heroes that the poem seems to depict. Sooner or later, these sins will come back to haunt them. For me, the most interesting theme in the movie was the idea of a flawed narrator. The scops who sang Beowulf would have glorified his deeds, and thus, they cannot be trusted. There is a myriad of opportunities in the poem for exaggeration or misdirection; and after watching the movie, I began to think about the events of Beowulf in an entirely different light. However, there were many aspects of the movie that I disliked. I did not like their portrayal of Grendel as a childlike, pathetic creature whose only motivation for attacking Heorot was a hearing disorder. I felt that there could have been a much better analysis of Grendel's character and motives. I also felt that rather than humanizing the monsters of Beowulf, Grendel's mother dehumanized them. Portraying her as a creature whose only function was to seduce heroes and create monstrous archenemies for the heroes overly demonizes her and robs her of the more virtuous persona she has in the book: that of a vengeful mother. The movie was an entertaining, action-packed rendition of the source material, but could have been much better.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI think that both the movie and the poem had different aspects/ changes of Beowulf. The movie flowed very easily than the poem. I think I liked the movie version because it gave more details what Beowulf did to achieve fame than that from the poem. I think there were many changes because to engage people from audience and to seem interesting. I think that in both the movie and poem versions, the message was that every person and creature have his/ her fate and whether God protects you or not.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Sohini. I also believe that the movie gave more detail on Beowulf's society which made the story more appealing to the audience. However, I don't believe that the message was just on whether God protects you or not. I believe that the message was that to become a good thane, one would need to have courage, fame, and loyalty. Overall, I would also prefer the movie over the poem.
DeleteI agree with you that the movie version was more detailed and less open-ended to interpretation than the poem was. The movie provided a more concrete example of Beowulf's climb to fame and glory. However, I also think that the movie showed Beowulf as extremely flawed, whereas the poem rarely explicitly states so.
DeleteI preferred the movie instead of the Epic because of the simple fact that it was a movie and I didn't have to read anything. In addition, the story line was different. I think they did that on purpose because the story in the movie was more interesting than the story we read. Having the movie being made from the context of what happened in the epic poem could have resulted in a boring film. One key difference is the fact that Grendel's mother never died in the movie, whereas in the epic poem she did. This ultimately made the story more interesting in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteOn the contrary, after reading the poem, for me it made the movie seem very strange. I was not expecting most things to happen in the movie the way they did and that overall made me more confused when watching the movie. I also liked the fact that it was a movie and I did not have to read anything, but after reading the poem, some of the plot seemed injected into the movie for entertainment's sake. I agree that they changed the movie to make it less dialogue oriented and more action oriented, but I liked the poem better regardless.
DeleteI felt that the movie Beowulf vs. the Epic of Beowulf was a lot more different than my expectations. First of all, I thought it was strange that the characters appeared in the movie at different points compared to the Epic. For example, Wiglaf and Unferth are not introduced at the same times as the poem. Also, I felt that the original focused more on the details of the events in the plot, while the movie tried to fit the general idea in. I think a lot of these changes were made in the movie because it wanted to incorporate more action into the film rather than slowly building up to a fight. Overall, I preferred the reading over the movie, because I was able to understand the plot of the poem better.
ReplyDeleteI agree, I didn't expect what the movie had in store. The plot of the poem was much simpler and easier to understand than the movie's, but I feel like the movie gave the story a little more depth to engage the audience more. I still feel that the movie was more interesting, but for simplicity I agree that the poem was better.
DeleteThe poem Beowulf and the movie had major differences. In the epic, Beowulf is a character that kills all his opponents, and he is a hero. In the movie, Beowulf does not kill Grendel’s mother. Instead, Grendel’s mother gives him an offer for him to become king and peacefully rule the land, as long as she had the Golden horn. Also, the dragon and Grendel’s mother are completely unrelated, and the dragon could not become a human like form in the poem. I think this was done because the movie needs to connect and be condensed for the watchers to quickly grasp the situation, otherwise, the movie may have been too long and uninteresting. The part where Grendel’s mother pops up in the ocean next to Beowulf leaves the watchers with a cliffhanger, which makes people wonder what would happen next allowing the producers to possibly make a sequel. Also, another interesting thing about the movie was Hrothgar. Hrothgar is presented as a drunk irresponsible king; while in the book, the king seems much more wise and respectable. The king also gives his throne to Beowulf right before he commits suicide which does not happen in the epic. I think that the entire movie revolves around Grendel’s mother because Beowulf is essentially controlled by her. She has the option to take away Beowulf’s fame and honor, but because they made an agreement Beowulf becomes king immediately after their deal.
ReplyDeleteChanges are always made when a film based on a book is created, and some of these alterations in Beowulf went way beyond what was indicated in the poem. In the poem, Grendel's mother is supposed to be repulsive and demonic. Yet, in the film, to get a famous actress and attract a larger audience, the mother is covered in gold and portrayed as attractive and provocative. The film also intensified all the characters to create a more dramatic plot, such as making the dragon Beowulf's son and showing Hrothgar commit suicide.
ReplyDeleteOverall, the movie was more enjoyable and easier to pay attention to than the poem, which is the filmmaker's ultimate intention. The animation and music created a much more gripping atmosphere than the Epic could.
It was for plot and overall message purposes, but Grendel's mother felt very out-of-character and lost some of her motherly characteristics, because it felt like she cared a lot less about her son in the movie. Despite that, she did appear caring of Grendel and let out an anguished wail when he died, but that didn't feel like it made sense to me due to how she just replaces him with a new son.
ReplyDeleteThe way the movie decided to make Beowulf imperfect and with flaws was interesting...but it felt like his characterization could use more work. Like, it felt too sudden when he gave in to Grendel's mother. Before that scene, he was mostly portrayed as an ideal brave hero, and there was nothing "hinting" at the possibility that he was going to succumb to the enemy's temptation. And more importantly, during the scene itself, he just stood there not saying or doing anything while Grendel's mother paced around him and whispered stuff; it didn't really show what Beowulf was thinking or his internal struggle between temptation and making the right choice. So that just felt kind of "Whaaaat...?" The whole time, I was convinced he was going to suddenly attack and kill her while she was pacing around him, like retaliate in a "I would never give in to you!" way, but then suddenly, scene transition; no he didn't. (And adding on to my first paragraph, Grendel's mother just lets Beowulf take Grendel's severed head and bring it back to show off, like...whaaat...)
In the movie, Beowulf has no successor, either. Wiglaf was old as ****. I feel like it would have been cool to have a successor in the movie, especially with its ending, to foreshadow a battle between the successor and Grendel's mother to finally put an end to things.
The battle with the dragon was surprisingly intense and action-filled; I enjoyed that. The part where the dragon keeps trying to attack the two women felt a little drawn out. Dragon turns into naked gold dude when he dies; WTH was that? Looked cool in his dragon form, though.
Also, Wiglaf's judging look at the end.
In the movie Beowulf, many changes were made. A major change is that in the poem, Beowulf kills Grendel's mother; however, in the movie, he does not kill her and instead she lures him to stay with her. Beowulf goes back to Heorot and lies about killing Grendel's mother. Also, in the poem, a thief steals the dragon's treasure, which makes the dragon destroy the nearby village. However, in the movie the dragon is the son of Beowulf and Grendel's mother, and wants to kill Beowulf. Beowulf ends up killing the dragon but Wiglaf finds out about Beowulf's affair with Grendel's mother so Beowulf doesn't die with honor and nobility. I think that the changes were made to the movie because it makes the movie more appealing and relatable to modern day. The poem's plot is very straightforward and if it was the same as the movie's plot, fewer people would have watched the movie. Also, in the movie, they used famous actors and Grendel's mother is attractive, which makes people want to watch the movie.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your notion that the movie was made to appeal to a wider audience, which favors simple entertainment. I believe the movie was indeed adapted to become more relatable to modern day because it does attract a larger audience, which makes the movie more money.
DeleteI agree with Sandra with saying that the director used a famous actress being Grendel's mother. In the movie, Grendel's mother tried to lure Beowulf into her lair. But, B. killed Grendel's mother. Another change I see is that Beowulf kills the dragon and Wiglaf finding out about Beowulf's affair with G.'s mother.
DeleteI think the movie strayed very far from the text. However, I felt that the movie was more interesting than the epic. The way the epic made the story was very straight forward, there were no twists and turns. After reading the text I imagined Grendel very differently from the movie. I also thought that Wiglaf and Hrothgar would look different too. Wiglaf seemed too old and Hrothgar was too fat. I think the movie was adapted to make it more appealing to modern day viewers. In the movie Beowulf does not return back to Geatlands, instead he stays with the Danes and becomes their king.
ReplyDeleteI agree, the movie changed a lot of the original story but in the end was more entertaining. I also agree that the interpretations of the characters seemed a little off. Grendel seemed more human and less scary. Wiglaf was also too old and fat but his role was also completely changed from the epic since he does not kill the dragon in the end.
DeleteI definitely agree with your comments the movie did seem to be very modern. I feel like the fact Beowulf did not return to the Danes made it easier for the audience members who havent read Beowulf to follow along with the story.
DeleteI prefer the epic poem over the movie, because the poem goes into more detail, and gives you a clearer picture. The movie strays from the details of the book. In the poem, Beowulf doesn't have a son with Grendel's mother, and actually kills her This distorts the story, passing on the curse from one person to the next, with the golden dragon's drinking horn. Beowulf also doesn't become king in Denmark, he becomes king of the Geats, and the dragon isn't his son. I feel like the movie was changed from the book, to make it more attractive for people to watch. They put Beowulf as a super strong attractive man with a 6 pack, and Grendel's mother as a very pretty woman. This isn't consistent with the facts of the poem, but makes it so that people will watch the movie more.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the movie strayed very far from the book. However, I think Beowulf's character was portrayed correctly. In the poem he is described as strong. I felt the movie conveyed this correctly.
DeleteThe film comparatively to the book is much more action oriented rather than interaction. The book focuses on the characters rather than their actions. I prefer the book because it is less like an action movie. The film seemed to portray Beowulf as flawed like everyone else, while the book portrays him as the perfect hero. The message of the film was humility, while the book's message was a hero's quest. The film may have made changes because the book might have been somewhat dry and full of talking if it was converted into movie form. The film made the action sequences more thrilling, having Beowulf ride the dragon and put people in danger instead of fight it in the cave alone with Wiglaf. Wiglaf's role is much different in the film, being much less involved in the fighting. He plays the role of the sidekick that is benched for most fights instead of the brave warrior he turned out to be in the book.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you said. I thought it was interesting that you talked about Beowulf being a flawed hero in the movie because it wasn't even something I'd thought about. I agree with what you said about why the changes were made as well.
DeleteI also agree with you Benjamin. I think that it showed a more Hobbesian theory about the nature of men that all of them are selfish. I think it was an idea that was somewhat shown in the poem, but the movie just added a lot more evidence to show the greed inherent in the warriors.
DeleteI prefer the Epic of Beowulf over the movie Beowulf because I read the Epic first. Having read the Epic first, I have the tendency to judge the movie based off the Epic. The message in the Epic was about having warrior morals of bravery, courage, generosity, and strength. The message in the movie was about the dangers of secrets. I believe many changes were made for the movie in order to make the movie more interesting and appealing for a wider audience, which does not often think deeply about the content. The movie was made to attract attention and provide fun entertainment.
ReplyDeleteI agree on the point the reading the book first gives tendency to judge the movie. Also same with the point on making changes on the movie to make it into entertainment/catching attention.
DeleteI felt that the movie form of Beowulf was very liberal in the amount of changes they decided to do. Normally I don't mind when these changes are made for book to movie conversions, but in this case I felt that the movie Beowulf was significantly worse than the Poem version. With all of the changes with Grendel's mother to basically be a succubus to Wiglaf not really doing anything at all to the entire removement of the dragon's lair, I felt that much of what the poem was trying to convey was lost by the movie.
ReplyDeleteOn a surface level I suppose it makes sense to make things interesting as the plot otherwise would be fairly basic, but I felt that there were other better options available for the directors to take, instead of making the movie a bad fan fic.
I agree that the movie form of Beowulf was more liberal and changed many parts to the movie. I also agree that the movie was worse than the Poem, but that would be based off of a person's personal preferences. For example, the production actually received a lot of positive feedback for its excellent animation and visual presentation. However, since the both of us are probably more interested in the literature and historical side of Beowulf, we may prefer the representations of values produced in the epic over that of the movie.
DeleteI believe that Beowulf the movie, had the message that Beowulf was a great and highly respected hero in Heorot and there was no duality to Beowulf’s character in the movie. Whereas in the epic of Beowulf, we saw Beowulf’s duality in the sense that he was shown to be greedy and wanted fame. I prefer the book, as it went in depth with the characters and the plot. I believe many changes were made in this movie because they wanted it to be appealing towards the audience by making the characters different than how they were in the book.
ReplyDeleteBy comparing the original Beowulf and the movie, the movie has multiple aspect of the message from original changed. One of the major reason for this is christianization. Unlike original Beowulf, on the movie edition the representation of Christianity was emphasized as Unferth being a priest. In addition, although Grendle's mother was killed in the book, in the movie she was not kill, and also continued on as a representation of a sin. Unlike the original book where the message was heroism and being royal, movie had more of a sin representation to dramatize the scenario. I personally feel that original Beowulf is better than the movie edition, as it portrays Angelo-Saxons accurately with more logical action/scene in the story.
ReplyDeleteThe movie for Beowulf had drastic differences compared to the poem. One of the major changes was that Grendel's mother wasn't killed and bears Beowulf's only son. When Beowulf goes back, he lies that he kills her and Hrothgar has a pep-talk with him. Another difference was that Grendel was the offspring of Grendel's mother and Hrothgar. Another change was that Wiglaf went to defeat Grendel with Beowulf and is supposedly only a few years younger than Beowulf. In the poem, Wiglaf was only supposed to appear when Beowulf went to defeat the dragon. Another change was that the dragon was Beowulf's son getting revenge on him. I think that these changes were created to have a twist in the plot making the audience think more and become interested in the movie. The movie made Beowulf seem dirty and a liar instead of a great hero that defeats monsters. Maybe at first when defeating Grendel, Beowulf was an amazing hero. But soon when he goes to fight his mother, he becomes lured by her beauty and falls for her. The movie made this poem become questionable as by whether or not Beowulf was really heroic, or just plain dirty.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your comment, I think my hat the plot twists were definitely there for more interest from the audience but at the same time shows Beowulf in a more different, negative light.
DeleteThe Poem Beowulf is most definitely different from the movie. I know that the directors probably altered the plot line because the epic's is too straightforward (kill Grendel, kill his mother, kill the dragon, then get killed) which would make for a really boring movie. But the way Neil Gaiman changed the plot took away many of the themes that make Beowulf a memorable epic to begin with. In the epic, Beowulf is a thane who searches for glory, seeks the best for his people, and stays loyal to his ideals which makes him the epitome of what Scandinavian culture strives. The movie version, however, twists his character so that he strays from his ideals and sleeps with Grendel's mother instead of killing her and that in turn causes the dragon to attack Heorot (or something about stealing a horn from her, I'm still not sure how that works). I admit, the plot twist adds a lot of interest to the movie, but it completely destroys what Beowulf's character stands for which is loyalty and strength.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you because I think that the movie destroyed Beowulf's character and made his seem extremely different from the poem. In the poem he is a heroic character and is looked up to by the Anglo Saxon people. However, this movie questions the story by making the audience think more about whether the story is true or is it twisted in the way how the movie described it to be.
DeleteI think the movie was more of what I thought Beowulf was before I read the actual poem. I went into reading Beowulf thinking that Beowulf would be going on an epic journey while slaying monsters. However, the story was pretty straight forward and not as exciting as I thought it would be. The movie on the other hand was filled with excitements and action which made the poem more enjoyable. Although the movie changes some aspects of the story, it does a good job of keeping the important original plot while making the story a lot more interesting
ReplyDeletei disagree with your feelings on Beowulf. the movie did not remain true to the original plot. 2/10
DeleteI agree, the epic was a lot more objective but the movie added more to the characters and the plot. I feel that the movie wasn't changed too much but the movie added elements that only enhanced the original story.
DeleteI liked reading the Epic Beowulf more than watching the movie because in the poem we could appreciate the language more through recognizing kennings, which would help us understand the characters more. I think many changes were made in the movie because it needs to be visually stimulating, and it can't rely on symbolism and literary techniques to entertain the audience with. If the movie displayed exactly what was in the book, it would be harder for people who have never read it, to understand the author's overall message. For example, when Beowulf told Unferth about the time he swam across the sea and competed with Breca, the movie showed Beowulf getting distracted by a pretty mermaid--this gave the audience the message that the men are desperate to brag, even if they do it by telling half of the truth. If they would have left it as it was in the book, the audience might not have interpreted it that way.
ReplyDeleteI agree, I feel like the book was more enjoyable to read and the changes in the movie don't reflect the messages from the poem. I think the movie implied a lot of things that the audience might interpret in many different ways. Overall, I find the movie to be alright by itself, but I would not connect the movie with the poem because their messages are too different.
DeleteThe movie and the poem are extremely different. I found the movie more interesting and entertaining than the original text because it was a more connected story. The movie connected all three monsters in a way that pulled the audience into the movie more. This movie portrays Beowulf as a much more vulnerable character, making him more relatable. In the poem Beowulf seems like a very powerful and man and there are not many flaws shown. In the movie Beowulf is portrayed as more of a regular guy that made a mistake. The movie seems to have a much stronger message than the book because Beowulf has to face the lies and mistakes he has made, in the poem it feels like he just dies because he is too old and weak to face the dragon, the movie portrays Beowulf's death as more of a sacrifice making it more compelling to the audience.
ReplyDeleteThe movie Beowulf was an over dramatized version of the epic poem. The movie was made to mimic the story of the epic poem, but I believed it failed to give the right messages out. The movie had more drama and more scenes with women to make the story more appealing. Although this technique worked and made the story more interesting, it made all the other events that actually occurred in the book seem trivial. The epic poem had many symbolic images that were not reflected in the movie. The message of the movie was simply a heroic story, which does not match the message of the epic poem of loyalty and heroism. The most significant change to the movie was the fact that Beowulf did not kill Grendel's mother. This shocked me because this was one of his major successes in the story, but it all got erased for the movie purposes. The movie was not an accurate representation of the epic poem, and new readers to the story of Beowulf would not be able to comprehend fully of how brave and courageous Beowulf actually was. I prefer the epic poem better because it seemed more realistic and less like a made-up fantasy story simply for entertainment. The movie is also not very straightforward about many things. Wiglaf getting the next crown was confusing me because he did not help Beowulf fight the dragon. I was confused on why he chose Wiglaf because Wiglaf's bravery did not show through in the movie.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the movie adaptation of Beowulf did not give the right message of the story. It did not portray Beowulf as the hero he was supposed to be, and made his sexual attractions a real problem throughout the whole film.
DeleteI agree, the original message that the author of the poem Beowulf is lost, because the movie shows Beowulf as flawed, but the poem shows all his Anglo-Saxon values. There were a lot of dramatic changes, but I guess it needed to be changed to gain the interest of movie-watchers.
DeleteObviously the movie Beowulf and the epic Beowulf were extremely different, however that's not necessarily a bad thing. I think that the plot of the epic would have lent itself very badly to a movie, since it lacks the conventional format of that a successful movie has. It has a poor introduction and no real conclusion or satisfying ending. I think that the changes that were made in the movie could have been done better, but they were much much better than no change at all. The movie and the epic were so different that aside from having characters with the same names as in the book it might as well have been two different stories. Aside from the bare minimum of plot structure the movie takes almost nothing from the epic, and the central plot makes each of the episodes of the epic much more coherent. Relating each of the fights of the monsters with each other made the movie much easier to follow, and the idea of Beowulf being the father of the dragon was interesting. Ultimately the director made the right choice in not staying true to the original epic.
ReplyDeleteHey Evan, I think you are right. For the purposes of the movie, the choice to make Beowulf human did work out in the end, and the added twists did flesh out the characters a lot more than in the book where they are rather two dimensional
DeleteI agree. The epic would not have made an interesting movie to viewers. It was a bit too predictable with not much dynamic change. The movie adaptation made it much friendlier to a faster paced live audience.
DeleteThe movie Beowulf started off faithful to the the original epic, but as the movie progressed the changes it made to the original plot were very clear. The first noticeable change was how Beowulf killed Grendel, as he used a door to rip off the arm, not his own arms. Additionally, he did not end up killing Grendel's mother, but instead had a child with her. This is another major change in the plot, as all of Grendel's mother's children are the monsters Beowulf fights. Finally, the fight with the dragon took place in Heorot instead of the dragon's den, and there is no treasure involved. I feel like these changes made to the plot were interesting and made the plot more interesting, especially the idea of how Grendel's mother creates all these creatures. The idea that Grendel is the son of Hrothgar explained many of the story's unknowns, such as who is Grendel's father and why Hrothgar wouldn't have a son. It really surprised me that Beowulf followed the same path as Hrothgar, as I expected him to kill Grendel's mom. However, it still remains faithful to the original, in which Beowulf did only bring Grendel's head back, which actually sounds strange because one would expect Beowulf to bring back the mother's head as a sign of accomplishment. Finally, the fight with the dragon involved no treasure at all, which seemed strange, and Beowulf was buried by being burned on a boat. Overall, the movie made quite a few changes to the plot of the epic, but it still produced a very appealing story of a hero.
ReplyDeleteThe movie Beowulf is totally different from the book. In the movie, Grendel is the son of Grendel's mother and King Hrothgar, and the dragon is the son of Grendel's mother and Beowulf. Beowulf did not kill Grendel's mother but killed Grendel and his son, the dragon. In the epic poem, Beowulf returns to his homeland and becomes the king of the Geats, but in the movie, King Hrothgar suicides and Beowulf becomes the king of Denmark. I think the author of the poem makes Beowulf a perfect man and hero, but the movie shows Beowulf's imperfect side, and states that Beowulf is a human, he is not perfect. I prefer the epic poem than the movie, because the poem is more straightforward. Unlike the movie, the poem does not have any weird relationship between those characters.
ReplyDeleteThe first that came to mind after watch the movie Beowulf is why it was so different. I didnt understand the purpose of making the name for the slave Cain as it didnt serve any purpose. Also how did cain age like 10 years and Beowulf 50 and Wiglaf like 0. The whole curse thing with Grendel's mother was also very interesting. Grendel was Hrothgar's son, and the dragon was Beowulfs, and their son is the cause of their demise. But yet at the end of the movie, Beowulf seemingly fondly touches his dragon son. His son was also in human form, which begs the question, "Could the monster have a happy relationship with his father?" Why was the son so dedicated to causing pain to Beowulf. The Poem's plot was very simplistic, whereas the movie differs from the original storyline and adds a lot of miscellaneous details that make it confusing to understand.
ReplyDeleteWhile the ending did make up for the atrocious beginning, I still felt that the movie completely ruined the characters involved. In the books, Beowulf is essentially the perfect Anglo-Saxon man: Noble, courageous, strong, generous, and boastful. No challenge, not even fighting two supposedly invincible monsters is too much for him. He is a great and just king who is beloved by his subjects and generous to his thanes. That is the Beowulf of the book, the perfect guy. The Beowulf in the movie on the other hand, is a human, with some of Beowulf's trait. AN imposter with the same skin, but he is flawed. He crushes on the Queen, he defies his king, he is intimate with a monster, and then lies about killing her. He is still strong and courageous, but he is not noble, and his greed for gold and power is greater than his sense of justice. While this is a more human and realistic picture, that is not the point. Beowulf is supposed to be perfect, like the gods. Untouchable by his enemies and revered by his comrades. He is meant to be a shining beacon of what we can become, the pinnacle of human achievement according to Anglo-Saxon views. Beowulf is supposed to be perfect, but the movie portrays him as a flawed, but still great mortal.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you on how the film defiled the greatness of Beowulf that is written in the epic. I feel that the producers completely missed the point of Beowulf as they were more focused on making the film appealing to viewers and generating revenue rather than capturing the true characteristics of Beowulf the hero.
DeleteMovies and books/poems always have significantly different approaches. In a movie, in order for the director to attract a large audience and attention base, he/she will alter what was originally in the book in order to make the audience satisfied. Many of the audience today enjoy the concept and theme of love between a man and a woman. In order to satisfy the audience, the director makes Grendel's mother, who was originally portrayed as a demon, into an extremely provocative woman. The director portrays Grendel's mother as if she was the only one in control, the only one who knows of the hero's weakness. Since the very beginning of the movie, Beowulf's eye contact with Wealthow also provides evidence that the director was trying to integrate relationships into the movie, something that was not originally displayed in the poem. By using famous actors and actresses in the movie, Beowulf can easily attract more audience than following the classic version.
ReplyDeleteI agree how the connection between Wealthow and Beowulf was portrayed, which provides a different approach to Beowulf the movie.
DeleteI agree with your point that the director uses romance to keep the audience interested, also shown with his mistress.
DeleteI agree with the fact that the movie tries to satisfy the audience. It's kind of sad that they have to do it through making a woman attractive, though.
DeleteI feel that in the movie, Beowulf was portrayed as someone who is beyond only wanting fame and glory and as someone who actually cares about others and how they feel. In other words, Beowulf was more objective in the book than the movie. He is also, in my opinion more likable in the movie as a person. The last fight with dragon seemed better in the movie as well. It was a fitting fight for him because there's a huge climax of flying with the dragon and going underwater rather than just being bitten by the dragon which fits his "glorious" reputation. So overall, the movie did do the book justice and on top that had a better plot.
ReplyDeleteIn comparison to the book, there are many distinctive changes made in the movie. First of, the three monsters are connected to each other, and have Grendel's mother as the main cause overall. Also, Beowulf becomes the King after Hrothgar, and thirdly, never kills Grendel's mom, instead has a child with her, who comes as the dragon to kill him. I think these changes were made so the overall plot makes more sense and is connected. It also helps keep the audience engaged throughout. Personally, I preferred the movie since it was more connected instead of three different events. In addition, it was different how Grendel's mom, the monster, was portrayed attractive, which gives a different outlook on the movie compared to book. I especially liked how Grendel's mother was the main villain and got revenge, but also continues to do so through Wiglaf.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you! I find it interesting that all three of the monsters are connected, since I never thought of it that way before. I also honestly prefer the movie a lot more because there seems to be more action and connections I can make. I was really surprised when I realized Grendel's mother have complete control over everything, but I think that just makes it different in a good way!
DeleteMovies and book always have significantly different approaches. In a movie, in order for the director to attract a large audience and attention base, the director will often alter what was originally in the book in order to make the audience satisfied. Many of the audience today enjoy the concept and theme of love between a man and a woman. In order to satisfy the audience, the director makes Grendel's mother, who was originally portrayed as a demon, into an extremely provocative woman. The director portrays Grendel's mother as if she was the only one in control, the only one who knows of the hero's weakness. Since the very beginning of the movie, Beowulf's eye contact with Wealthow also provides evidence that the director was trying to integrate relationships into the movie, something that was not originally displayed in the poem. By using famous actors and actresses in the movie, Beowulf can easily attract more audience than following the classic version.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your statement that movies and writing require different approaches. The two sets of audiences each one targets look for different elements and so usually you will see a difference between the book version and film version of any writing.
DeleteI thought that the movie is quite different from the poem. Although it has the same characters and the same general concept, the plot was altered a lot for the movie. Personally, I prefer the poem over the movie because I feel that movie may have been modified more than it needed to be. The message in the poem is that a hero is someone who is very brave and loyal and truthful to his kingdom. In the movie, although Beowulf is brave, he is showcased as a hero even when he isn't loyal and truthful. The change in the plot in the movie changed many of the messages given in the poem. I think the changes in the movie were made purely for commercial reasons. In order for the movie to gain commercial success, retelling the poem as is would make the movie very boring. So in order to get the audience more interested in the film, I think the movie makers decided to change the plot.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree on your point regarding Beowulf having a hypocritical persona when compared to the poem. In the poem he is perceived as a hero that upholds honor like no one else. Whereas, in the movie, his character is degraded, showing a more negative side of him. Like you said, this was done in order to make it a commercial success as it adds in a mystery component, different to the staple good wins over evil plot.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIn the movie version of Beowulf, there were a lot of plot twists that were added that gave it a new level of depthness, that in my opinion, made the movie a lot more interesting. Where in the poem the story is very simple, where a warrior just kills three monsters and characterized as a hero. However, the movie changed the story so that Beowulf only kills two of the three, and instead of killing Grendel's mother he instead sleeps with her. The consequence of that being that the dragon is Beowulf's son. The movie also allows a lot of interpretation to the viewer, because ideas like sleeping with Grendel's mom will make you the next king, she can not be killed, and that the Dragon is kin to Beowulf made me surprisingly a lot more engaged in the . Overall, I enjoyed the movie more than the poem due the added back stories the producers of the movie put in.
ReplyDeleteI think there were a lot of changes in the movie, mostly to keep the audience interested. They made it so rather than being the perfect hero that he originally is, Beowulf is weak and unable to stop Grendel's mother's reign of terror over the kingdom. This is very different from the original story, but I think it's interesting how the ending is similar. In the book Beowulf's people are hinted at being destroyed by outside forces and in the movie the ending suggests that Wiglaf, too, will fall for Grendel's mother's charm and continue the birth of monsters who will eventually come back to kill the people.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your point that the film gave Beowulf weaknesses. The film tried to add depth to Beowulf's character rather than just having a classic hero.
DeleteI thought it was interesting how the movie had so many significant differences in the plot. A lot of these differences contribute to an interpretation of the poem. For example, when Beowulf went to the cave to kill Grendel's mother, he instead decided to make a deal with her. Also, no warriors accompanied Beowulf and Wiglaf when they went to the Dragon's Lair. One of the less obvious observations I made was that in the movie,Grendel acted a lot like a baby, with his way of speaking and walking. I also found it interesting how Hrothgar and several of the warriors were characterized as creeps, who were disrespectful to the women in the story.
ReplyDeleteI agree, there were many significant differences in the movie that completely changed the feel for it. The biggest change in my opinion was how none of the men accompanied him to kill the dragon because that was such a big part in the novel and they did not include it at all during the movie.
DeleteMovies and book always have significantly different approaches. In a movie, in order for the director to attract a large audience and attention base, the director will often alter what was originally in the book in order to make the audience satisfied. Many of the audience today enjoy the concept and theme of love between a man and a woman. In order to satisfy the audience, the director makes Grendel's mother, who was originally portrayed as a demon, into an extremely provocative woman. The director portrays Grendel's mother as if she was the only one in control, the only one who knows of the hero's weakness. Since the very beginning of the movie, Beowulf's eye contact with Wealthow also provides evidence that the director was trying to integrate relationships into the movie, something that was not originally displayed in the poem. By using famous actors and actresses in the movie, Beowulf can easily attract more audience than following the classic version.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the epic poem, Beowulf, I realized that there were many different ways that the reader could interpret the story. The poem is so simple that the true intentions of each character is unclear and in the movie, the director probably pulled his own interpretations of the poem into the plot. For example, I personally think that the sins that were shown in the poem are explained more thoroughly in the movie. Sin of greed is shown a lot more in the character of Beowulf. Beowulf in the poem fits the Anglo Saxon "hero" a lot more than the one in the movie. But, I do think that Beowulf died an honorable death despite the mistakes he made during his life in the movie.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the psychological issues of greed for fame and power are expressed more in the movie. However, doing so turned the poem's depiction of a great hero into a lying, insecure, and unstable king.
DeleteYeah, I thought what you said was completely true. I love how different readers can easily interpret a story a different way and then present it to the new audience in that unique way. The movie director used the book as a platform to create his own version of the story that kept viewers like me hooked until the end.
DeleteNormally the storyline between the movie and the book only has small alterations, but in Beowulf the plot was completely different. In the poem, Beowulf just goes around slaying dragons and is pictured as infallible. The plot in the movie was much more interesting because they showed the flaw in Beowulf. By making Grendel's mother attractive, the storyline was a lot more captivating because she seduces every man she encounters by showering them with promises.
ReplyDeleteI also really liked how they give a larger role to the queen, Wealhtheow, because she was able to display how the world of royalty worked. She went from one man to another, in the matter of seconds. When she was older, Beowulf didn't really find anything special about her so he has affairs with the younger girls.
The ending was a bit odd. I understand it was supposed to be a cliff-hanger, but I wish they had given us a bit more. Was Wiglaf going to fall into the trap of Grendel's mother or just give her the cup and walk away, leading a successful kingdom. Is this a never-ending cycle?
I think he movie and the poem are completely different. In the poem Beowulf is portrayed as strong, brave and loyal and kills all the monsters without fail. It is very straightforward. But the movie was probably changed to add more depth and plot twists to make it interesting. In the movie grendels mother is beautiful and allures the Kings, causing Them to have sons with her and cause all the trouble. This shows the bad side of man and sin compared to the poem.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching and reading Beowulf, I realized that they have many differences between each other. There were many situations where it was very unexpected. For example, it was implied that Grendel is Hrothgar’s son and the Dragon is Beowulf’s son. It was also unexpected when Beowulf got seduced by Grendel’s mother because in the book, he killed Grendel’s mother. Instead, he left Grendel’s mother’s lair without having her killed. If I had to choose from either the movie or the book, I would prefer the movie’s storyline because it was interesting to see all the unexpected plot twists. Throughout both the movie and the book, I believe that they have the same message -- that a good thane had to be someone that shows courage, fame, and loyalty. I think many changes were made in the movie, so the producers can gain a larger appeal to the audience. Another reason is that it could be because the movie wouldn’t have too much repetitiveness, killing one monster after the other. After watching the movie, I was very confused about the ending. Why did they keep staring at each other like that? Is the same thing going to happen to Wiglaf? Will he fall in another one of Grendel’s mother’s trap just like Hrothgar and Beowulf? Overall, I really liked both of the stories from the movie and the book; however, if I had to choose one, I would recommend the movie for others to see.
ReplyDeleteThe messages the two different interpretations give are different. I believe the book is to tell the story of the ideals of heroism, while the movie discusses the seduction of fame and power. I prefer the written version because a tale specifically about heroic elements is more appealing to me. I believe the movie adaptation resulted from the need to appeal to a wider audience, add more meaning, and lengthen the story to fit the film requirements.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your definitions of what the movie and book were trying to accomplish, however I actually liked the movie version. I didn't really want to spend an hour and a half learning about the heroic values that the Anglo-Saxons held, but having a whole romantic subplot made added an extra layer that made the movie more interesting to me.
DeleteI think the movie and the book are completely different. The book portrays Beowulf in a more positive light. Beowulf is seen as the epic hero and as someone who only does good. However, in the movie they show him as a flawed man. For example, they show him attracted to the queen which did not really happen in the poem we read. Also, when we read the poem, it was said that Beowulf returns to his own kingdom where he is celebrated. In the movie, he stays with the danes and king Hrothgar suicides. I feel like the movie was just meant to be more dramatic so that people who didn't read the book would still be interested in watching it. The implied fact that the dragon is the son of Beowulf and Grendel's mom implies that Beowulf not only didn't kill Grendel's mother, but that he also slept with her. I think that is kind of messed up and it completely changes the meaning of the original story. The story we read was about his adventure being an hero and I feel like this movie was more about all his mistakes. Overall, the movie was weird and while it was interesting, I don't think it really has much to do with the poem we read in class.
ReplyDeleteI preferred the movie over the book as there was much more action, love, and a more complex plot versus the book which was too straightforward. I feel like there were so many changes from the book into the movie because they had to make the movie sell. Adding in Angelina Jolie as Grendel's mother is so that people would actually want to see the movie. I feel like the movie's messaged was to show how lying and deceiving will comes back to haunt you and it also showed the importance of being loyal. But because of the more intense plot I would actually prefer watching the movie rather than reading the story.
ReplyDeleteI agree somewhat that both the epic and the movie were rather uninteresting, but still I would have preferred the movie to follow the plot as close as possible. I do agree though that the changes were made to make the film more dramatic along with the star actors/actresses to get people's attention.
DeleteI think that the movie and the epic are so different that they could be should be seen as separate plots. The weird plot twist with Grendel's Mother was definitely not how I interpreted the poem. The poem's plot was very simple and straightforward. On the other hand, the movie's plot was more modern, and they added more depth to the characters. They made Beowulf was less of a hero, made Hrothgar a drunk, and gave much bigger roles to Weathlow and Wiglaf. Also, the film is much more gory which is probably to add drama and attract modern audiences. I thought both the poem and film are interesting in different ways. They should be read/watched as their own unique story because trying to tie one to the other is confusing.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with this Amanda! I also feel that the movie and epic were very different from each other, in the characters and focus as well. The movie created depictions of characters that I didn't imagine at all, reading the epic.
DeleteI agree with you since they really changed so much of the plot that the central message (one of heroism) is changed. I also think they changed the emphasis on the characters, especially with the romantic relationship with Wealhtheow.
DeleteI personally like the movie a lot better then the poem. The visuals were a lot easier to understand and left viewers in suspense. Even though the movie and the poem were slightly different, the movie kept me a lot more engaged then the poem. I loved the play on Hrothgar being Grendels dad and Beowulf being the dragons dad. I feel like that whole add on really kept the movie a lot more appealing for the modern viewers. In a way, it was like an episode of Maury. Overall, I really liked watching the movie. Even though the movie doesn't have a big play off symbols, it's visuals help make up for it. The one downside to the movie was that they didn't paint Beowulf the way the book painted him. In the book, Beowulf bragged a lot more. In the movie, they seemed to tone it down a lot. Overall, I prefer the movie over the book.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with this Karthik! I felt that the everything was changed from the poem in order to make the movie more enjoyable, which is why I felt very engaged as well. However, one thing I didn't enjoy was the lack of Anglo Saxon culture in the movie, which I felt was a very integral part to the story of Beowulf.
DeleteI thought that the poem was heavily misinterpreted by the movie. It turned the message from a very black-and-white one in the poem of the value of strength, courage, wisdom, loyalty, and faith into one that is full of grey. Beowulf goes from being an infallible hero in the poem to someone who makes mistakes that lead to the ruin of his own people and ultimately himself, showing the ills of the side of himself he sought to conceal. I personally enjoyed the movie more, mainly because the conflicts in it are much more believable and there is a clear story in it, something which the poem lacks. Many parts of the poem, such as where the dragon came from or what his purpose is, as well as why Grendel hates mankind so much, are left unexplained or up to the reader to decide. The movie at least answers some of these questions, making the dragon the son of Beowulf who seeks to destroy his father's kingdom, and Grendel, despite his reason for hating humanity being left unclear by the movie, is still portrayed in a much more human fashion than simply being an evil, disgusting murderer.
ReplyDeleteThe story line was clearly changed a lot. These changes were made most likely to be more interesting to viewers, but it comes off as generic and boring. For instance the subplot of Beowulf and Hrothgar's affairs with Grendel's Mom was probably added just for the sake of having the romantic element. Maybe the director thought having the father-son thing would make the fights more intense. The movie is a disappointment for people that enjoyed Beowulf the poem, who were probably hoping for a proper visual adaptation of the epic.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you comment about the movie. The director may have added the alternate storyline to attract viewers, but in truth, it just made the story of Beowulf more unrealistic and boring.
DeleteI agree, some of these changes were unnecessary, and would've been better if they followed the book. Although I understand why he made Grendel's mother attractive, it is generic, and seems like it was added just for the romantic element that captures audiences attention.
DeleteI prefered the poem over the movie. There were many differences between the two and the movie just did not seem to capture the same elements. I think many of changes were made to the movie because they wanted to make it more funny. Some parts were more interesting in the movie such as when they killed the dragon, it was quite a crazy battle but it was different than how it happened in the book. By the movie not having the warriors who were too afraid to fight the dragon it changed one of the themes of how cowardness and selfishness affects everyone. Something that the movie did not change was how cocky Beowulf was, he boasted very often and was very proud of all of his accomplishments.
ReplyDeleteVery nice analysis Jeffrey.
DeleteIn the movie, Beowulf is not the perfect hero he supposedly is in the book. He is attracted to promises of wealth, power, and control in the film, similar to how he is lured by the notion of fame in the poem. It is very different to see Grendel as the son of Hrothgar and Grendel's mother, but it also explains some of Grendel's more human characteristics. There is also the implication of the dragon being Beowulf's son (in the movie), as Beowulf tells Wiglaf (which Wiglaf seems to dismiss as an old man's ramblings) of lies and such. The ending is a cliffhanger and it allows the audience to reflect on whether if Wiglaf is seduced by Grendel's mother just as Hrothgar and Beowulf were before. I preferred the movie version as the plot twists made the story so much more engaging.
ReplyDeleteI agree, the plot twists in the movie made it interesting! By making Grendel's mother be a seductive, beautiful woman rather than a hag, as she is described in the book, the story changed from the depiction of a so called perfect man (as in the epic) to a normal, flawed person. Beowulf's mistake of allowing himself to be overcome by Grendel's mother's beauty engages the audience more in this day and age, since now in society, the idea of a hero is one who makes mistakes but fixes them later on.
DeleteThe movie was definitely very different from the book. It seemed like the movie was made to entertain people and keep them engaged, not to convey the story of the oldest English poem known. It was based on the topic, but deviated too much with unnecessary action, plot twists, and romance. The poem Beowulf conveyed the universal idea that good is triumphant over evil. The movie completely shatters this idea and instead conveys the idea that men are easily conquered by women. I feel that anyone who is watching the movie, because of curiosity of how the poem would look in action, is going to be disappointed. Personally, even though the book was slow and boring, it was something that you could expect from the time period.
ReplyDeleteI believe the Epic of Beowulf followed the same storyline as Beowulf, but adapted it based on the director's interpretation of the story. For example, my personal opinion of Hrothgar was a strong, faithful king. From the movie, Hrothgar was unfaithful and somewhat greedy. Also, I did not understand all the artistic choices made in the film like Hrothgar falling off the edge of the castle or Grendel's or making sure Beowulf did not kill Grendel's mother. Though Beowulf had an encounter with three monsters, many details changed from the book to the film adaptation. Though I do not understand all of it, I believe the details were changed to add more dimension to the plot and even make the story flow smoother. In the book Beowulf defeats two monsters who are related then one completely different one. In the movie, Beowulf stays in the same kingdom and deals with the monsters from the same descent, and it becomes a simpler story to follow. With all this, I prefer the book because it was more straightforward and portrayed Beowulf as a real hero.
ReplyDeleteWhile I do agree with your opinion that some changes have been made from poem to movie, I do not think that the two versions still even follow the same storyline. The idea is the same, but so many aspects have been changed or added, such as the warriors' "relationships" with Grendel's mother and the ending where Grendel's mother takes Beowulf and his ship at sea. I personally attribute all of the alterations to the need to make the poem more sensational and appeal to the average person for Hollywood success. Most likely, the director was able to interpret the poem in a similar way to most of us, but purposefully chose to embellish it. As you said, the book is more straightforward, which is great for reading but usually not favored in movie plots. Also, I thought that it was interesting how you thought that the changes implemented in the movie made the plot flow more smoothly. Personally, I thought that the changes made the plot more confusing. In the poem, I felt that each battle was pretty straightforward. In the movie, the battles were intermixed with other events and feelings like unfaithful relationships. I can see where you are coming from though, because the additions in the movie did make the plot more interesting, which can definitely contribute to feeling that the plot flows in a smoother fashion.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletemmm mmmm mmm. I see, but in the book, Grendel is not related to Hrothgar and Beowulf doesn't cut off Grendel's mother's head. Instead, Beowulf cuts off the head of Grendel's dead body. I do agree with the idea that the movie is adapted to be more appealing to the modern audiences. We like to see the intense battle scenes and plot twists in the movie while the book is focused on the heroic deeds and story of what Beowulf did and what he represented.
DeleteOften in the film version of a book, directors make slight alterations to capture the audiences attention. However, in this movie, the director made a lot of changes, arguably too much, in the end the resemblance to the book was so minimal it seemed like it was adapted from a completely different book. I think some things they should have kept the same was Hrothgar's wise and kind spirit, showing us what a true king is like. I also think they should have kept Grendel's fight scene more similar to the book, because that was an iconic moment where Beowulf proved himself as a mighty hero that was able to stop this monster before it got to the other warriors, it was a showcase of strength and nobility that I think they took away. I dislike the ending of the movie because it's basically telling us that this whole thing will repeat again, however in the book, it really tells us just how important Beowulf is to his kingdom, and it was more sentimental. Although I understand why some of these changes are made, I prefer the book version of Beowulf over the movie because it showcases anglo-saxon values very well.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your point Rebecca. I definitely did not expect the director to alter the story this much. But all the alterations also made it more interesting. The director probably thought that the poem did not have enough content to write a good script out of. The alterations definitely was a hook for me to keep watching to see what the ending was going to be. The book was pretty interesting, but I thought that the movie was easier to understand.
DeleteAs the movie and the epic have completely different storylines, the main characters have different personalities than when perceived after reading the book. My perception of Beowulf had completely changed as I started to regard him as less than a hero after his affairs. The fact that Beowulf had an affair, even after he marries Wealtheow, leads me to believe that he is perhaps a strong man with a mind that is no different from Hrothgar. The storyline regarding Hrothgar and Beowulf's involvement with Grendel's mother places her as a greater evil than Grendel ever was. In the epic however, Grendel was notorious for his actions, while his mother was one that killed as part of her revenge and grievance for her son. Furthermore, the movie also places the dragon beneath Grendel's mother as she commands the dragon to attack Beowulf and Heorot. The symbolism of women in the film is much greater, where as in the epic, women are shown as inconsequential. I think that the script was written in this format because of the entertainment that it would provide. Beowulf is tale that reiterates the normalcy of the classic good vs evil concept. In order to enhance the storyline, thrillers such as the cliffhanger ending of Wiglaf holding the horn for Grendel's mom, Hrothgar committing suicide and so forth. Purely from the entertainment standpoint, I would pick the movie over the book as there is a bit more depth and mystery added to the storyline.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the movie made Grendel's mother a greater antagonist than Grendel himself. She was much more involved in the entire plot and was connected to all of the other antagonists in some way. I think the producers/directors liked the idea of having a female antagonist and believed it would be more interesting for viewers. I would also pick the movie over the book, but I have to say that the two were so incredibly different.
DeleteI feel like the storyline of the movie was way more interesting than the book. There were very interesting plot points, like Beowulf having a child with Grendel’s mother. The story also showed the very sexual nature of the poem with Beowulf trying to seduce the wife of Hrothgar, Wealhtheow. This was different because she did not have that much significance as a character in the book, and in the movie, she was very important. I don’t remember Ursula, Beowulf’s love interest in his later life, being in the book either. These differences really spiced up the story and kept me engaged. I think that the movie also does a good job of explaining how Hrothgar knows so much about Grendel. This was not very clear in the book, but the movie made it known that Grendel is the son of Hrothgar. Another surprising twist was the fact that the dragon was the son of Beowulf. These disconnected plot points in the book were masterfully interwoven into a cohesive plot in the movie.
ReplyDeleteThe epic poem Beowulf and the movie with the same name had basic similarities, but also differences that made and broke the film. The poem of Beowulf is much more hero oriented, with mostly action based in which Beowulf fights off demons and dragons, and has no flaws up until his death. However, the movie Beowulf included another aspect to the story, romanticism. There is a relationship between Beowulf and Wealtheow, Beowulf and Grendel's mother, and Beowulf and his mistress Ursula, all of which did not appear in the actual poem. This is all based on the audience, as Beowulf the poem contains such a simple and cliche plot, the director added a few more elements in the plot to create more conflict and to better relate the characters. The romanticism is also added because the director realizes thats what the audience wants, and it was something that was not important during the writing of Beowulf. Personally, I enjoyed the movie, as I felt it was easier to visualize and masterfully connected the plot together, with the characters brought toghether better.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree. In the book, Beowulf is seen as a hero that can do no wrong. However, in the movie, there is definite shame that Beowulf feels in his actions. This can be seen when Unferth talks about "the sins of the father" after encountering the dragon. This makes Beowulf a much more dynamic character than what we saw of him in the book. Generally speaking, the characters had much more depth and the characteristics were shown in their actions more than their dialogue. The story was well put together logically as the movie fills the gaps that the book leaves. The cycle of the kings having a child with Grendel's mother is left ambiguous as it is not clear when Wiglaf will continue it.
DeleteI liked the movie better than the poem. I've seen some people saying that the movie is rather a satire of the poem, and it definitely feels like something like that. The movie had a lot of twists and turns, and the connection of the kings to the monsters, and the repeating cycle, seems interesting and meaningful. I guess it fits the idea of the price of power. Also, I enjoyed the humanization of the monsters.
ReplyDeleteI preferred the Epic because of the culture that it brought up As one of the first English literary pieces that ever existed, I could feel the Anglo-Saxon values such as heroism and glory, while the movie was heavily based on action and gore. Although for the average student who prefers visual scenes filled with battle and violence the movie would be preferable, from an objective standpoint the epic was more educational and had less holes that were leftover. After the epic, I felt like I understood what happened with each character and I understood the concept of "fate" that protruded for all the characters. However, this was not present for me in the movie. The changes were mainly made to satisfy viewers who had a shorter attention span or were more into images instead of using their own imagination.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you. I think that the differences between the audience made much of the difference that was evident between the two mediums. The characters of Beowulf and Hrothgar were much more rounded out and smoothed in the story, whereas the movie tried to cram too much into too little and made the characters feel a little fake with more problems.
DeleteI found the movie more entertaining than the book because there is so much left out in the book on what exactly happens during the big fight scenes. I also really liked how the movie made Beowulf out to be kind of greedy and more human like while the book made him seem like something higher than a man. Another part that made the movie so much more interesting was the fact that Hrothgar made Grendel and then Beowulf made the dragon. ALthough it isn't in the story, that really makes the story interesting.
ReplyDeleteI agree the movie provided us with an image of each character that helped us better understand them. I also agree that the movie was more entertaining. The movie provided jokes and satirical songs and phrases to help lighten the mood of the story.
DeleteMmmm mmm mmm that's a really interesting perspective. I also concur that the movie was a lot more interesting knowing that Hrothgar made Grendel and Beowulf made the dragon man.
DeleteThe movie and the book do not even have the same storylines. I liked the epic much more than the movie, because the movie was too much created just to suit the audiences of today, with more action, romance, and betrayal. The movie made the characters more three-dimensional, portraying more than just one or two qualities, making them not purely good, but flawed and fallible. In addition, the movie makes the monsters seem less evil and more just misunderstood. There is much more sexuality and romance in the movie as well, which I didn’t particularly like. I didn’t like the Beowulf in the movie either. I feel like with the new character traits that are shown of Beowulf in the movie he has become a different person, and is not the same Beowulf in the original story. I also feel that while Beowulf in the epic was described as courageous and powerful, the Beowulf in the movie just felt arrogant and foolhardy. I feel that the largest difference between the two is the intended audience, which resulted in large changes. I enjoyed the epic more than the movie.
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting to see that the movie was a lot more suspicious of Beowulf's claims, and focused a lot on how unreliable he is (where reality differs from the story told), while with the Epic we have to just take the poet's word for it. It also seemed clear that the three independent parts from the epic wouldn't translate well into a movie form, as they needed some way to tie them together. Having the kings be the fathers of their own demons, and having that story line of Grendel's mother run through the three parts, did this very well. I personally prefered the movie for this reason, because it felt like one complete story rather than three similar, somewhat repetitive, episodes.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your statement; I think that adding Beowulf's flaws and making him seem vulnerable made the movie seem a lot more fleshed out than the poem. I also like how the movie brings all the characters into one story instead of spreading them out across three similar episodes. The fact that Grendel's mother still lives in the movie also provides it with an air of mystery, unlike the epic, where Beowulf dies a hero after slaying the evils of the world.
DeleteI agree with your statement about the movie being more direct as in terms of the poem. If those three independent sections that make up the story were added to the movie itself, the movie would be very long. I would say that some of the events in the story were quite repetitive, but in a way, this redundancy would make it easier for readers to understand. For example, when you stated how Grendel's mom was mentioned throughout the three sections of the novel, I feel that this technique is a way for the reader to know how the character changes throughout the novel from time to time. However, this is what lacks in the movie itself, since the movie I believe only mentions the characters personality as permanent instead of growing or changing as the plot gets further.
DeleteIn my opinion, the poem better reflected the values of Beowulf and the Anglo Saxon times than the movie did. For example, in the poem, the settings played a huge role in defining a lot of the characters and the way that they are perceived. However, in the movie, there are no signs of that. This is extremely evident with the Mere, because the movie combines it with the dragon's barrow. As a result, the movie ruined the setting aspect. I think that the movie had so many different changes compared to the poem so that the story seemed more interesting, and would gain more viewers. Another big difference between the poem and the movie is Beowulf himself. In the poem, he is a noble man, who will do anything to get rid of the monsters. However, in the movie, he surrenders to Grendel's mother due to her immense beauty, and he is seen as a human being with actual flaws, something that was hard to find in the poem. Overall, the poem reflected more Anglo Saxon values, but both were enjoyable.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the poem did a much better job of showing how characters followed Anglo-Saxon values. In the poem, Beowulf was a perfect warrior who demonstrated his courage on multiple occasions. However, in the movie, Beowulf is a much more flawed character, and can be held responsible for the damage committed by the Dragon. However, I also believe that the movie's depiction of Beowulf is far more realistic than the poem's. In the poem, Beowulf has no flaws, which is obviously unlikely. The movie did a better job of showing how even the greatest warriors and leaders can be severely flawed characters.
DeleteThe movie was very different from the epic. For example the ending of the movie was very different from the poem in the sense that it ended with Wiglaf staring Beowulf's mother down. I liked the movie better because it helped put the sections of the poem together. It was easier to understand what happened and it provided a good description of the characters involved.
ReplyDeleteThe movie was interesting, with many more plot twists than the poem. The fact that Grendel's mother never dies, and that the other two monsters are both children of the protagonists gives quite a different feel than the poem. This twist shows the viewer that the protagonists created their own problems. Instead of destroying Grendel's mother in the first place, Beowulf instead sleeps with her and ends up creating the dragon. Later in the movie, it is revealed that Grendel's mother was originally Hrothgar's problem, and that when Beowulf meets her, Hrothgar is finally rid of his curse. These differences lead to the movie being much more dynamic and unpredictable than the book and therefore more appropriate for a faster paced video audience.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteI agree with the points you brought up. I also thought the dynamic change with Grendel's mother made the story more interesting and unpredictable. The connection between the monsters and the kings brought a new aspect to the movie which I thought was unique and cool. I felt like this movie didn't have to be titled Beowulf, because the characters and story were drastically different.
DeleteI liked both the movie and the epic, just in different ways. The movie was definitely made with a modern perspective of entertainment in mind; the scandalous relationship between Beowulf and Grendel's mother and the result of Hrothgar and Grendel's mother both appeal to audiences looking for more drama. However, the original epic focuses primarily on Anglo-Saxon values and the importance of Beowulf's stoicism and courage. By Beowulf giving in to the temptation of Grendel's mother, his characterization diverges from his original perfection where he can do no wrong. I liked that the epic constantly focused on the poetic verse of kennings. The kennings, a huge cultural aspect to Beowulf, helped me to understand the significance of characters and different roles they had. On the other hand, the movie was driven by amazing digital animation. If I had to choose, I would say that the movie is better than the epic.
ReplyDeleteThe movie was quite a surprise, even though it had the same name and base characters. While the epic barely described the monsters, Grendel was very clearly shown in the movie, having slimy characteristics and also controlling blue flame. It was actually quite disgusting, but probably made the movie more appealing to certain viewers. The movie added a lot of depth to the story, revealing greed and pride in Beowulf himself. Instead of Beowulf being an incredible hero, he secretly had a great weakness in the movie and was a fraud. Grendel's mother brought a big twist in the story, since she was a seductress and also was the mother of the dragon. It was quite interesting how the movie tied in characters, making the slave that stole an item from the dragon actually Unferth's mistreated slave, and making Hrothgar the father of Grendel. Altogether, the movie is quite different from the epic in many aspects, but these characteristics do make it more engaging and entertaining than the epic. It also is much more gory and disturbing.
ReplyDeleteI thought that the movie was very very different from the poem. The movie totally changed up the story line in order to make it more interesting. There were lots of unexpected twists and the script writer tried to make love lines. Like the part where Grendel was actually Hrothgar's son was totally unexpected.
ReplyDeleteThe poem seemed very bland compared to the movie. There weren't a lot of imagery and it doesn't seem like the characters interact with each other a lot either.
Overall, the movie was more understandable than the poem so I guess that's what makes the movie seem better.
I thought that the movie was far more interesting than the epic. The epic was very predictable, and only showed the greatness of Beowulf. All of his fights against the monsters were victories, and he was a great king as well in the epic. In the movie, however, a new side of Beowulf was shown. We got to see that he is a flawed character who lied about his victory against Grendel's mother, and committed the same errors as the preceding king, Hrothgar. He is the reason why the Dragon eventually attacks the Danish people. In the movie, Beowulf also reflects on his victories against other clans and mentions that it was not war, but a slaughter. The way the movie ends also suggests that the cycle of kings fathering monsters will continue, which foreshadows success for a certain period of time before pain and suffering return for the Danes. This is different from the epic's projection of the future, where Wiglaf warned that the other clans would perceive Danish thanes as weak for not supporting Beowulf in his fight against the Dragon.
ReplyDeleteI agree, I appreciate how the movie turned Beowulf into a deeper and more flawed character. The poem is about his epic deeds and achievements, so of course it's going to paint him in nothing but a glorious and perfect light. Understandable. But for a movie and a modern audience, that would simply make him look like a Gary Sue. Instead, the movie changes it a bit to make him more human, a more realistic and relatable character.
DeleteI prefer the epic poem over the movie. I believe that the very main message of the epic was the value of bravery, meanwhile the message in the movie was good vs evil (this is a theme in the epic as well, however I saw more of it in the movie rather than the epic). I believe they made various changes in the movie for people from wide ranges of ages can enjoy the movie(kid-funny to sexual) and relate better to the scenes.
ReplyDeleteI think that the major difference between the movie and the poem was the way the movie was made to be a lot more "hollywood like." In the poem, beowulf's life and battles are fairly straightforward and blatantly gory. There is not much romance or extravagant fantasy scenes. Instead, Grendel, Grendel's Mother, and the dragon are all evil and ugly monsters that must be slayed. The movie really changed Grendel's Mother by making her seem beautiful and almost appealing to Beowulf. She was still clearly evil, but certainly not ugly or demonic in the standard way. At the end of the movie, Grendel's Mother made another appearance, which surprised me. Instead of burying Beowulf after his death as was done in the poem, the movie sent him out on a burning ship. To signify the sense of looming danger that the poem suggested after Beowulf's death, Grendel's Mom overtook the dead Beowulf and his ship. I think that this was necessary to uphold the Hollywood like aspect of the movie. The ending in the poem is not interesting and thought provoking enough. Overall, I think that the poem and the movie are very different, and this is due to Hollywood's need to embellish all stories and make them more stimulating for the audience. The movie was more interesting to me for this reason, but I think that the poem had a lot more substance in terms of overarching themes and questions like fate, Christianity, and youth vs. old age.
ReplyDeleteThe movie had significantly different changes from the poem Beowulf. I feel the primary reason for the changes in the movie was to make it more attractive to the audience. The romanticized version of Beowulf would attract a wider audience that an immediate interpretation of the poem. However, much of the values and characteristics of Beowulf are altered in the movie. The fight between Beowulf and Grendel's mother shifts from a simple battle between good and evil to something more complicated. The poem of Beowulf is such that it is open to many different interpretations, and I believe that the relationship between Beowulf and Grendel's mother in the film is one such interpretation. I do think that the poem is better because it lets the readers interpret the story in anyway they want, instead of the movie, which almost forces romantic aspects of the story onto the audience.
ReplyDeleteThe movie and the epic were extremely different. The film included dramatic plot changes to make it more exciting and mature for viewers. For example, in the poem, Grendel is not the son of Hrothgar and Grendel's mother, and the dragon is not the son of Beowulf and Grendel's mother. Also, Beowulf completely strips in order to make the fight against Grendel equal, a detail that was never mentioned in the poem. Another thing I noticed about the movie was that it showed what the Anglo-Saxon women were like. The poem does not say much about the social status of women in Anglo-Saxon culture, but the movie suggests that they were greatly oppressed and objectified. The final difference I noticed was Beowulf's character as a whole. While he is supposed to be quite civil, courageous, and moral, I found his character in the movie to be very savage and egotistical. He is not the perfect hero that the poem suggests, because he is unfaithful and tempted by lust.
ReplyDeleteThe movie and the Epic were very different. I personally preferred the Epic because the poem provided more background information and ideals of the Anglo Saxon Culture. I could see how the movie tried to interpret the poem, but the way they characterized Grendel and his mother made me dislike the film. The directors probably wanted to make it more engaging and that is why they changed the film. The film certainly had more women in it and there was more romantic relationships, while the poem barely talked about women. The battle between the dragon and Beowulf was also completely different. The film was a little too bloody and violent for my taste but it did keep me engaged. In the poem, God was a big part of the story, and the movie completely ignored the importance of God when remaking the script. I understood why the directors made those changes, but I personally did not enjoy them.
ReplyDeleteI also dislike the way they characterized Grendel and his mother. When I was reading them, I imagined them to be different than how they were depicted in the movie. Also, the movie was a bit too bloody and violent for my taste as well, but I guess the jump scenes really got its watchers engaged. I feel like with the poem, there were a lot more depth and values embedded while in the movie, it focused a lot on only Beowulf as a hero.
DeleteI think the movie was much more sensationalized than the epic. It placed a lot more emphasis on romanticism, such as with Wealhtheow, Ursula, and even Grendel’s mother. This is meant to appeal more to the general audience, rather than a “boring” plot where Beowulf doesn’t even have a wife. I didn’t like how in the film, they tried to link all the characters together through far-fetched relationships such as Grendel being Hrothgar’s son or the dragon being Beowulf’s son. While it may add more dimension, it mainly comes off as being a little ridiculous. All in all, I prefer the epic over the film because it places more importance on the values that the audience can learn, rather than a sensationalized appeal.
ReplyDeleteThe movie version of Beowulf had the same characters as the poem Beowulf but with different qualities. I preferred the movie version because it did not depict Beowulf as the perfect warrior, which made it relatable. Although I did not like the numerous romantic relationship Beowulf had, I thought it made the story more entertaining than the poem. I liked the movie version of Grendel's mother more, because she corrupted Heorot by seducing the kings. I also liked the added plot element of Grendel being Hrothgar's son, and the dragon being Beowulf's son. These added backstory made the story more entertaining, but it also made the overall message of the story different.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteA rather different movie compared to the poem. I'm pretty conflicted on the remaking of Grendel's mother into a sort of seductress. On one hand it's sort of like typical movie whatever stuff with the weird sexualization of female characters, on the other hand it's an interesting twist for a 1.5 millenia year old poem. I guess the whole situation with the monsters being the children of Hrothgar/Beowulf does add much more conflict and depth into the story. If you'd turned the poem directly into a film as it is, it'd be sort of boring since it's just Beowulf killing monsters over and over and just a really simple plot (even if there is a bunch of symbolism and themes).
ReplyDeleteAlso at least Grendel's mother's form is apparently a glamour and not what she actually looks like. We do see hints of her true monstrous appearance earlier on. You get a few points for not going down the really bluh road, producers.
I agree that its very off putting to have Grendel's mother spawning monsters from heroes. It does seem to be made to appeal more to the American public than stay true to the poem. I think Beowulf was supposed to be a Scandinavian folktale about being heroic and what separates heroes and monsters and it seems that the movie is supposed to be more dramatic.
DeleteI think that the movie was a valid interpretation of the poem however in terms of a faithful recreation of the poem, the movie falls short. The movie seems to offer a much more cynical view on Beowulf as a flawed hero despite the intention of the poem seeming to be about a warrior that was the epitome of Scandinavian virtue and someone to aspire to be. Furthermore the humanization of monsters was somewhat off putting as the monsters I feel were supposed to be embodiments of behavior that was seen as egregious and how easily it is for a hero to become a villain. Finally Wiglaf was supposed to be much younger than Beowulf from what I understood, not an advisor who went with him since Grendel. That I felt detracted from the purpose of the dragon. All in all, while I personally disagree with the movie's interpretation of Beowulf I see the merit of the movie and feel it was accurate and enjoyable enough
ReplyDeleteI prefer the epic poem over the movie. I believe that the very main message of the epic was the value of bravery, meanwhile the message in the movie was good vs evil (this is a theme in the epic as well, however I saw more of it in the movie rather than the epic). I believe they made various changes in the movie for people from wide ranges of ages can enjoy the movie(kid-funny to sexual) and relate better to the scenes.
ReplyDeleteI think the poem is better than the movie itself, because the ending of the movie was a bit unclear for me. I think that Wiglaf in the movie is a bit more dramatic and serious to Beowulf. However, in the poem where he supportive to him in a less rude manner. Wiglaf doesn't seem to take the soldiers to help fight off the dragon, but instead he alone tries to help Beowulf from danger. However from the story itself, both he and his soldiers went to fulfill Beowulf's quest to slay the dragon. I actually haven't seen much of the movie, but I believe the message that the movie carries is to question one's motive and to try your best to regret every mistake that was taken. In the movie version, Wiglaf was confused at the very end when he had seen the boat sink to the ocean. This was possibly because the dragon had reincarnated into a different entity which looked like a woman. She then began to become close to Beowulf and with her mighty power, burned the ship itself. Wiglaf then looked from a distance and found out that there was possibly a woman looking at him, but he felt that the moment was bizarre. However, I believe the message of the poem is not to question people's motive, but do what you are told according to society. I do not know if this is correct, but the reason that there were a lot of changes from the movie and the poem itself is because the poem has some unclear meanings towards why characters behave in a particular manner in a particular situation. I think the makers of the movie wanted the story to be more direct.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I prefered the Epic of Beowulf over the movie because the book allowed more imagination while the movie extrapolated a lot of ideas, such as Grendel being the son of Hrothgar and the dragon being the son of Beowulf. I imagined Grendel and his mother to look different than depicted in the movie. In addition, there were a lot of parts in the movie that was different from the book, and I was surprised at a lof of the differences. For example, Beowulf becomes king of the Danes and not the Geats, as he does not return. In addition, Wiglaf was not a young warrior at the end of the scene and was with Beowulf since Grendel.
ReplyDeleteOne of the reasons why there were a lot of changes is to make the story flow more smoothly. For example, the dragon who hoards the treasure for 300 years in its cave turns out to be Beowulf’s son, who obviously did not live for 300 years. However, the main reasons why there were a lot of changes made in the movie was to reflect a contrasting type of an idea: Beowulf is not the “hero” that everyone makes him out to be. Beowulf, like the rest of mankind, has a lot of flaws. To reflect this flaw, Beowulf is attempted to have sex with Grendel’s mother, a beauty. And because of this mistake, Grendel’s mother gives birth to a new son, the dragon, who destroys Heorot and the Denmark (in the movie)/ Geatland (in the poem).
I also thought that Grendel and his mother would be depicted differently than how they were shown in the movie. They seemed more like magical beings rather than just monsters (except Grendel....). I think they portrayed Beowulf as a vulnerable human being to help the audience relate to him more, since they can't relate very well to the perfect hero in the poem.
DeleteI prefer the movie adaptation of Beowulf over the epic. Although the movie diverged from many aspects of the poem, the general theme of bravery and heroism is still present. In the movie adaptation, Beowulf is portrayed as a man with flaws rather than a divine entity, and he admits his sin of accepting Grendel's mother's offer to Wiglaf. The dragon, instead of being a 300 year old guardian of treasure, is instead portrayed as Beowulf's offspring with Grendel's mother. This drives a more personal connection and intertwines the characters of Beowulf more closely with each other; Grendel and the dragon are both offspring of the mother, who seduces kings and warriors to destroy the hall of Heorot. Although Beowulf is vulnerable in the movie, he is still portrayed as a hero, killing both King Hrothgar's, as well as his own, sins. In his death, Beowulf is finally relieved of his mortal sins and ascends as a noble warrior of Geatland. Although the movie had many differences from the book, I personally preferred the movie because, in addition to more interesting and action packed scenes, the movie intertwines all of the characters together and puts together a much more interesting and dynamic story.
ReplyDeleteGreat ideas! I also prefer the movie adaptation, mostly because it had a better storyline than the book, and gave a lot more background and context than the book. Additionally, the movie delved deeper into each character's personalities, and the audience feels closer to the characters than just reading the book.
DeleteI think the movie was very different from the book. In the movie Grendel is Hrothgar's son and the dragon man is Beowulf's son. Also in the movie, Wiglaf doesn't slay the dragon like the book depicts it. Instead of killing Grendel's mother, Beowulf makes a dragon man with Grendel's mother. The ending of the book was confusing as well, because Grendel's mother and Wiglaf just stared at each other. All in all the book provides a more detailed story, while the movie provides a story that's more appealing to an audience.
ReplyDeleteThere are some significant differences between actual Beowulf book and the movie adaptation. First of all, in the movie, Grendel is depicted as Hrothgar's son, and the dragon is depicted as Beowulf's son. In the book, the details are vague as to the parents of the two monsters, but the movie chooses a possibility. Additionally, the movie changes the actual fights to be different from the book. When Beowulf fights Grendel, instead of using his bare hands to rip off Grendel's arm, he uses a chain and a door. Instead of killing Grendel's mother, he has a baby with her. Also, he fights the dragon outside Heorot instead of inside the dragon's lair. Another big difference is that Wiglaf is a character since the beginning of the movie, unlike the book. Wiglaf is also old by the time Beowulf fights the dragon, not young like the book mentions. Last but not least, the book ends with Beowulf being buried and sailed heroically away, while the movie ends with the audience being reminded of Beowulf's sin with Grendel's mother, and Wiglaf and Grendel's mother have a staring contest.
ReplyDeleteI found the ending (Wiglaf and Grendel's mother staring at each other) to be very interesting as well. The same situation happened to Beowulf in Grendel's mother's cave, and likely to Hrothgar when he was a younger man. I feel like the scene implies that history is doomed to repeat itself, each brave thane falling to their hubris and greed, being promised glory by fathering a demon that will grow to be their undoing.
DeleteI found the main and most interesting difference between the the movie Beowulf and the Epic of Beowulf to be the presence of character drama. In the story Beowulf, physical strength is shown to be the main force in each one of the hero's conflicts. Beowulf is always righteous and right, no matter the situation. While the "macho" aspect exists in the movie Beowulf, the concept of romantic heroes and flawed characters is explored much more. Beowulf's greed and desire for glory leads him to be seduced by Grendel's mother. Hrothgar is an oblivious drunk who (although loved by his people) is hated by his wife. Due to this character nuance, the heroes of the story are forced to mature and develop, leading them to learn lessons (like Beowulf learning that his greed was not worth the cost of his life, friends, or kingdom) instead of simply knowing the right course of action (like Beowulf in the epic).
ReplyDeleteThese imperfect heroes were added to the movie Beowulf to feed the modern viewers' desire for a non-linear plot with twists and turns. To today's public, watching a movie that is a direct translation of the epic of Beowulf would prove boring, given its predictable eventualities (killing the monsters) and lack of character nuance or development. While 800 AD society mainly valued physical strength, modern moviegoers crave more character drama and mystery, hence warranting the movie's changes in the character's story arcs.
I personally prefer the epic better than the movie of Beowulf. The poem is much more straightforward while the movie left open ends to the story. Also, Beowulf was interpreted very differently in the movie, most likely to keep the audience entertained. The movie director's interpretation of Grendel surprised me the most; the poem only described him as an outcast and a giant so I was not expecting him to look so disfigured and disgusting. The poem focused more on the culture of the Anglo-Saxons while the movie was more for entertainment, which would explain the various romantic relationships and magical-like qualities of the characters (Grendel, Grendel's mother, etc.).
ReplyDeleteI agree with the fact that the poem is more straightforward. I personally did not like how they interpreted Grendel and how they made him a disfigured human. The movie was engaging but the poem was much more refined. The movie made it like a typical action movie. Almost none of the Anglo-Saxon values were expressed in the movie. So I also like the epic better than the movie.
DeleteThe movie of Beowulf and the epic of Beowulf both have drastic differences but still portray the same heroic beowulf. In the movie, Beowulf stays in Denmark to rule after Hrothgar who commits suicide. He does not end up killing Grendel's mother but produces a child with her who returns as a golden man who shape shifts into the fire breathing dragon who terrorizes Denmark. In the epic, Grendel's mother's head is severed and Beowulf returns to Geatland to rule his people. I prefer the epic's ending of Grendel's mother's death when he returns to Peatland. It shows Beowulf under a more brighter light of how he does not abandon his homeland and that he still cares for the Geats. Grendel, in the movie, seems more scared and jealous than he is angry and jealous. In both the epic and the movie, Grendel still terrorizes the people of herot but is still killed by Beowulf. The movie presented Grendel in a more childlike and timid character as to the epic where as Grendel was seen as a horrendous and terrifying monster.Grendel's mom never ends up dead in the movie. The movie also shows romance and love triangles between the kings, queen, and maidens. Overall, the movie and epic side by sound are completely different from each other. I like how the movie is more dramatic and the side stories between characters added more personality to the characters. The ending of the movie did confuse me because Wiglaf was crowned King and as he walks along the beach, he spots Grendel's mother seducing him slowly into the water. Does he realize that Beowulf lied about the death of Grendel's mother or is he in awe of her beauty. Does he even realize that she is Grendel's mother?
ReplyDeleteI personally prefer the poem over the movie; the poem better represents the ideal Anglo Saxon hero whereas the movie changes some of the facts to make the film appear interesting. Some of the major differences in the film version that I noticed are: Grendel is the child of Hrothgar and Grendel’s mother, Grendel’s mother is depicted as a pulchritudinous object rather than an abhorrent monster, Hrothgar commits suicide, and that Beowulf rules the Danes, not the Geats. Another thing that I notice is that the poem portrays Beowulf as this majestic, godlike being whereas the film portrays him as nothing more than a strong man. In the movie, it almost feels that Beowulf is only good at close combat.
ReplyDeleteWhile I do understand your reasoning, I personally prefer the movie. Some of the differences you mentioned made many of the characters more interesting. In addition, Beowulf is depicted as a character with flaws instead of a strong man who could do no wrong, which makes him more three-dimensional, in my opinion. Without those differences, the characters felt generic with Hrothgar being the wise king, Beowulf being the noble hero, Grendel being a savage beast, etc.
DeleteThe movie was not a very faithful adaptation of the original poem. But does that make a bad movie? Not necessarily. First, let me explain a few differences. While the poem mostly focuses on Beowulf as a hero, the movie establishes him as a flawed character. One example of this is shown in the flashback about the swimming race with Brecca. In the poem, Beowulf's word of besting sea monsters is taken for truth. In the movie, however, the flashback establishes that he is not the hero his boast makes himself out to be, as he is pulled under and seduced by a mermaid. Also, in the movie, Grendel's mother is not the feral demon that the poem depicts her to be. Instead, she is very seductive and entices men like Hrothgar and Beowulf to sleep her. Both men ended up having Grendel and a dragon, respectively, for children. The changes made in the movie were likely made to make the plot more interesting, as making a direct adaptation of the poem will make the movie a boring mess of cliches and generic characters. The changes made in the movie also establish a very ambiguous ending wherein Wiglaf and Grendel's mother stare at each other before the screen fades to black. Will the curse that afflicted Hrothgar and Beowulf be continued, or will it finally be broken? In the end, that is up to the audience to decide.
ReplyDelete