Preview

Evaluation of Beowulf Movie 2007

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
866 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Evaluation of Beowulf Movie 2007
The Story of Beowulf: the manuscript versus the movie (2007)
The tale of Beowulf is one known by both individuals and literary scholars both far and wide. Scholars believe it to be the oldest Anglo-Saxon poem to have survived the times. After the discovery of the story of Beowulf, it has since be translated and adapted to connect with different languages and cultures. The popularity of the story has spread beyond the written world as well. Many different adaptations and performances have been done over many years. There have been live action plays, screen plays, and movies made about the popular story.
In this assignment, the original written story of Beowulf is analyzed and compared with the movie adaptation that was written by Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary. Also, it was directed by Robert Zemeckis in 2007. After analyzing both works, many differences and some similarities have begun to take shape.
The first and foremost thing that stuck out the most was the overall difference of theme. The original poem was based upon a strong religious tone of Christianity. The poem’s theme, focused on one of the most important aspects of Christianity, the battle between good and evil. The movie completely abandoned this main theme and instead took on a more science fiction theme. The movie was very sexual in nature and took on the theme of highlighting the shortcomings of mankind. The poem was the exact opposite in this aspect and tried to show the greatness of mankind through their faith in Christianity. It was also very obvious in the movie that the people responsible for making it, did not take the role that Christianity in the story of Beowulf, seriously. An example in the movie is was Hrothgar’s attitude and personality was a drunkard and womanizer. Where as in the poem, he gave thanks to God for sending Beowulf to save his kingdom from the clutches of Grendel.1
Another difference that stuck out was in the movie was the origins of both Grendel and the dragon that


Cited: Anonymous. Beowulf. Translated by Francis Barton Gummere. Unknown: Print. 20 Feb. 2015. Avary, R., Gaiman, N., & Zemeckis, R. Beowulf. Paramount Pictures. (2007): Film. 20 Feb. 2015.
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Dbq Causes of Revolutionary War
    • 710 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Dbq Causes of Revolutionary War

    How does the engraving tell a different story from the above description of the Boston Massacre?…

    • 710 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Beowulf vs 13th Warrior
    • 410 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Beowulf vs 13th Warrior

    The most obvious difference between the two is the name of the heroes and their battling strengths. In the poem, Beowulf, the hero is known as Beowulf and has extraordinary strength whereas in the movie, The 13th Warrior, he is known as Buliwyf who has nothing other than regular human strength. Another difference occurs in the in how the beasts are portrayed. In the poem the main beasts name is Grendel, and in the movie the beast is known as the leader of thousands of other beasts. In Beowulf the hero only has to take on two beasts, Grendel and Grendel’s mother, in contrast the hero in The 13th Warrior has to take on thousands of beasts. When it came to the battles against the beasts, Buliwyf’s men fight alongside him against the thousands he had to take on, whereas Beowulf’s men took off except for one who stayed and fought by his side. In the poem, Beowulf kills Grendel by ripping off his arm and later returns to kill Grendel’s Mother. In contrast to the poem Buliwyf stabs the leader of the beasts to death after killing the leader’s mother.…

    • 410 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    13th war
    • 913 Words
    • 4 Pages

    13th war

    The plot of the epic poem Beowulf and the film The 13th Warrior differ greatly compared to each other. In Beowulf the main character, Beowulf set sail to the Danes land in order to defeat a monster named Grendel. In the film, the character that represents Beowulf, Buliwuf, sets out to defeat a race, not a single monster and its mother, the race of Wendols. The character defeats Grendel in the poem; but he does not defeat all of the Wendols in the film on the first attack. The character Buliwyf then defeats the Wendols on the second attack, where they kill the ‘mother.’ Both characters have to defeat a dragon, or ‘fire serpent.’ In the epic poem, Beowulf is not poisoned until he is scratched by the dragon. In the film, Buliwyf gets scratched by the mother. The characters go through turmoil; they fight for life and limb, and battle forces they did not even know existed. The plot of the story changes between both poem and film to accompany the story line and keep the reader interested; even though the main characters are different and they have different names, the whole plot as the same general idea, just in a different sequence.…

    • 913 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Depiction Of 'Grendel In The Film Beowulf'
    • 1297 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Depiction Of 'Grendel In The Film Beowulf'

    Many books subsist that have been made into films to go along with them, but they somehow never genuinely thoroughly match. In today's society, Beowulf and Grendel (Gunnarsson), the movie integrated material to relate it to a more modern audience. Engenderments companies predicated the way they make their movies on the way society accepts things and on the cultural views of their audience. For example, in Beowulf (Heaney) the apes Beowulf subjugated the “demon monster”, Grendel just for glory. In antithesis, the film Beowulf was more compassionate and cared to ken what they Danes had done to upset Grendel for him to optate to kill their people. Not only did characters differ from the epic to the movie, but many incipient ones were withal introduced.…

    • 1297 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Epic Poem: Beowulf
    • 55 Words
    • 1 Page

    The Epic Poem: Beowulf

    As the epic poem Beowulf involves arms getting ripped off, heads being decapitated, and monsters being slayed, the movie Beowulf has more of a detailed, twisted view. Reading and watching Beowulf presented multiple differences. Although Grendel and the other monsters were just known as villains in the written version, the movie included more symbolic characters.…

    • 55 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Response To Beowulf '
    • 343 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Response To Beowulf '

    Beowulf (1000 A.D.) is an epic poem, written by an unknown author and tells the story of Beowulf quest to defeat Grendel and save his people. The author develops his theme of the story by setting the stage for the story and portraying a conflict, which are Beowulf and his needs to defeat Grendel to save his people. The author does this to show reader show difficult of a task it will be for Beowulf to defeat Grendel, in order to save his people. The author creates an objective relationship with his readers by telling the story from third person, giving insight into the mindset of each character and allowing the reader to interpret the poem with his or her unique perspective.…

    • 343 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Beowulf: Poem Analysis
    • 575 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Beowulf: Poem Analysis

    In conclusion there were many changes to the epic poem, Beowulf. Hollywood will change the original stories and poems to a movie that people will watch and actually like more than reading the book. Hollywood did this to make it more appealing to different audiences. The good versus the evil was made present in the movie. Personal relationships were made more complex, a way to get more people interested in watching the…

    • 575 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Compare And Contrast Beowulf
    • 460 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Compare And Contrast Beowulf

    There are a lot of differences the two stories have to one another. In the book King Hrothgar seems as if he would be more put together and a gentleman but in the book he is a drunk and messy man. In the book they make Grendel react to the word of God and that is what angers him and makes him want to kill and destroy the hall. In the movie he attacks because the loud music hurts his ears, and that makes him shrink if it gets too loud which is how Beowulf was able to cut off his arm and kill Grendel in the movie. Another difference that was very noticed was that in the movie Grendel’s mother is very sexy and seductive and she convinces Beowulf to sleep with her and have a child and he will have all power and the whole Kingdom of Denmark, which is what had happened to Hrothgar too. Which means that Grendel was actually Hrothgar’s son that he created when he was seduced by Grendel’s Mother when he went to kill her. In the book that never happened, he actually killed Grendel with the sword that Unferth had given him. The movie added a lot of different details to make the story much more interesting and adding a sexy monster definitely grabbed the people’s attention. Especially if Angelina Jolie played Grendel’s Mother's…

    • 460 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Grendel Vs Beowulf Essay
    • 817 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Grendel Vs Beowulf Essay

    Several differences can be seen throughout the old-English Beowulf (Heaney) and the modern-day film Beowulf and Grendel (Gunnarsson) due to the cultural difference between the Middle ages and Modern time. More details entered the film to appeal to a more modern audience that requires reason and details. The old English poem held no use for complexity to tantalize the reader. Additions that add complexity to Grendel’s character in Beowulf and Grendel include backstories and new characters.…

    • 817 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Beowulf Book And Movie Comparison
    • 1055 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Beowulf Book And Movie Comparison

    For over thousands of years, a poem has been told and has been passed on through generations of families. This poem is called Beowulf. Beowulf is an old Anglo Saxon poem that got told throughout many years by scops and would be accompanied by a lyre. It was very famous and would be told often at different places where there were a lot of people. This poem is one of the first to be told in the old-english language. However after various years of being told it finally got written down. But recently, there have been various movies that have been produced that tell the poem of Beowulf, the warrior who fought bravely against monsters. In the Beowulf movie and poem, there are similarities and differences in the comportment of a hero, gender roles, and in the role of religion, which reveal themes that reflect both Anglo Saxon and modern societies.…

    • 1055 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Beowulf's Accomplishments
    • 387 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Beowulf's Accomplishments

    Beowulf is possibly one of the oldest remaining long poems in Old English and is commonly cited as one of the most important works in Old English literature. It was written in England sometime between the 8th and early 11th century. Throughout Beowulf’s quest to conquer evil he shows bravery, super human strength, while risking his life for the greater good of society.…

    • 387 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Grendel's 'Good Vs. Evil In Beowulf'
    • 926 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Grendel's 'Good Vs. Evil In Beowulf'

    Beowulf is a hero that fought a monster that no one else could defeat. He is a warrior from Scandinavia and the poem is mainly about “good versus evil.” Beowulf, a strong, loyal and brave warrior that wants glory and fame amongst the other warriors. Fighting a monster named Grendel. Once, he heard about the monster, he sailed to Herot to tell Hrothgar that he will kill the monster Grendel as he boast about his previous successes, such as fighting and killing sea creatures. But in the movie, it shares a lot of similarities and differences. For example, is the characters themselves, they have different characteristics from the movie and poem. And, this poem has a lot of information that discusses about the significance of the Anglo Saxons. In…

    • 926 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Religion In Beowulf
    • 1427 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Religion In Beowulf

    It has some differences, but then some things in common as well. Religion is a part of the poem, movie, and as well real life. Beowulf is one of the types that doesn't care about faith or anything having to deal with Christianity. He thinks that he is fine the way he is and thinks that baptism won't give him protection. Beowulf is the opposite of the characters and is not going to deal with religion. Unlike other characters who have their faith and believe in God. Culture makes a huge impact on a person’s belief and makes them who they are. We see how it's like for Beowulf and Wrathgar in the movie. They both have different thoughts, feeling, and opinions about religion and other as well. Along with an addition to the characters in the movie it kind of shows the different cultures of each person and as well if they are Christians or not. It emphasizes their beliefs about things that happen. Culture is very important in the way a person thinks and believes in their…

    • 1427 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Gender Roles In Beowulf
    • 863 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Gender Roles In Beowulf

    Have you ever read a book that you really enjoyed? And then you watch the movie only to find that the directors decided change it up a bit, well in the Beowulf poem and movie, there were many similarities and differences that we can explore. The Beowulf poem is one of the oldest told stories in the world, the poem was originally told verbally by the Anglo-Saxon scops and not translated until much later, and was altered in some ways. The poem told of a brave, honorable, loyal and truthful hero who travels across the sea, to rid the land of monsters and creatures. He gloriously slayed all the monsters and died an honorable death after slaying a dragon. In the Beowulf movie and poem, there are many similarities and differences in the gender roles,…

    • 863 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Beowulf Changes
    • 434 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Beowulf Changes

    Although the 2007 film Beowulf, produced by Robert Zemeckis, was inspired by the Old English epic poem by the same name, the writers, Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary, altered the story in several ways to fit the big screen. Three of the most notable changes in the screenplay are the monsters, Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon.…

    • 434 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics