10
I
Beowulf movies
man.-
sca:ry mo:ns:ter s:to:ry is :to keep your monsters clouded in mystery; a secret
:to
on modern movie makers.
(GRENDEL IN BEOWULFI
Grendel is one of the three monsters that feature in the Old English poem Beowuli We are introduced
to Grendel as an "ellengaest" [bold spirit! who has spent the last twelve years harassing the hall of the Danish king Hrothgar, devouring anyone who spent the night there. A Geatish hero, Beowulf, arrives to save ihe day. After a long batile, Beowuli rips off Grendel' s arm and the monster, mo·rtaliy wcmn.aea.
returns to his home in the swamp and dies.
A a a monstrous man or a hi- pedal dragon; what exadly is Grendel? The nature of Grendel is a matter of scholarly debate and the various soluiions offered on cir- cumstantial evidence. The poem itself reveals very little about the monster; at one point the
simply confesses that Grendel is
ic nat !an enemy, I do not know what kind!.
Throughout the poem, Grendel is described by
,...""',..,""'.,..1~""' terms, such as "grimma gaest" [grim
"feond !enemy of and "man-
sca~a" [vile ravager), and his physical description leaves much io be desired. At first we only learn that "him of eagum stod ligge gelicost leoht unfaeger"
!from his eyes issued a distorted light, most like a flameL that he drinks human blood and eats their bodies whole. It is only after Grendel is defeated that we learn a little more about him. The Danes re- port that he was wretchedly shaped like a man and very ·large:
pcet hie gesawon
mearcstapan moras
ellorgcestas. ocera oaer wces, gewislicost gewitan meahton, I
idese onlicnces; ooer earmsceapen I on weres wrestmum wrreclastas I
nrefne he wces mara ponne renig man
I pone on geardagum
foldbuende. No hiefreder cunnon,
!that they had seen two such massive ... ,_ ... ,.,. ...
ers of no-man's land haunting the moors, spirits ; one of them was, as they most ... :t
were able to discern, of the likeness an; the other one wretchedly shaped, of a man, trod in the tracks of an he was larger than any other man; in yore the earth dwellers named him
did not know
Whatever be, what oecoJrnes
in poem, we never father is. We do learn that and his mother are descendants like "eotenas ond ylfe ond orcneas, gantas" [ogres, elves, ores and
In short Grendel is a
unknown and different The BeowuU
have realised that the omission of de:scrip!JLVe details was an effective narrative
would stimulate his audience :to oarnc:lpl..l.l.t:::
Beowulf has been brought to the
oc<:a~nOilS.l Each movie has
mystery in its own, unique way.
BEOWULF
MOVIES)
screen on six
In Grendel Grendel Grendel (198It an ·ani- ma±ed musicaL Grendel is as a slightly cte·ore!ss.ed. green crocodile or, a dr,aaon without wings. The film Beowulf (1999) features Chris- iopher Lambert as Beowulf who battles GrendeL a muddy ogre of saris, in a 'post-apocalyptic ... ,....,...,,,..- feudal future'. In The ]Jih Warrior (1999), the Viking hero Buliwyf takes on the WendoL a group of bear- skin wearing native Americans. Beowulf & Grendel (2005) depicts Grendel as an oversized, hairy hu- man, who hits himself until his forehead bleeds. In the 3D animation Beowulf (2007}_ Grendel
fhe few of the 2007 film.
a J.U..LLJ.J.J., ... a:da:p1,ahon
Beowulf and some have argued that film is an unsuited medium for the early me?feval epic poem
as long as modern movie ·makers feel that
bedroom scenes to their modern audience.
Unlike the Old English poem, none of these movies can be called d huge success in terms of cultural impact .. and popUlarity. ·When it comes to· effective storytelling, is "a hideously disfigured troll-like creature wifh su- there is still . a .lot we .can per human strength". Finally, in. the m·ovie Ouila:iJ.der learn from the .literature (2008), Kainan (a man from ·another planet) crashes proQ.u.ced. over a thousand his spaceship in an eighth-centU,ry N?!W~gkrnlake
and, accidentally brings along
an .
alien, known as the Moorwen. The Moorwen takes on the role of Grendel· and is ·best described ·as a fluorescent reptile:..;like tiger with . various tentacles at the end of its tail.Aside from making the monster's. appearance explicit, some. movies also try to. make . their audi..;;
ence sympathize for the creature by adding motives for his vicious attacks on the Danes. In .. Grendel
Grendei Grendel the monster is a misuhderstood intellectual that wants to be friendswith the buffoon- ish Danes, who him his monstrous appear- ance. Beowulf & Grendel opens with a scene where the young Grendel· (a bearded baby!) witnesses. the murder of his father by the Danish In OuJ- lander, we learn that the Moorwen is only trying to avenge Kainan for having tried to colonize its home planet
The films Beowulf (1999) and Beowulf (2007) go one step further and even solve the problem· of Grendel' s parentage: Grendel turns out to be the monstrous offspring of Hrothgar, the king of the Danes. His vicious attacks on Hrothgar' s hall thus become payback for a fatherless childhood. Far
ro,., ... ,...., .. :ror~ from the original poem, the only advantage
of this approach appears to be the of a rea- attractive actress for the role of Grendel's mother. While ihe poem describes her as a "brimw-
[sea-wolfl and an "aglaecwif [monster-wile!, the 1999 film featured Layla Roberts, a former playmate, and a naked 3D animation of Angeliria Jolie was
years ago.
Thijs Porck
The 13th J:"Varrior (1999)
Ourlander (:~008)
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