Written by Jonathan Klotz | Published
Angelina Jolie made waves in the 1990s when she showed it all in multiple films, a trend that continued into the early 2000s and her rise in popularity. None of these scenes were as bizarre and inexplicable as the time she played Grendel’s mother Beowulf.
Jolie admitted that it wasn’t until she sat in the theater and watched the film that she realized the character would not only be a scaly lizard monster, but would look exactly like her. It’s the strangest choice director Robert Zemeckis has made in a strange film that could not have been made today. It’s so unique that if you haven’t seen it, it’s worth your time.
Bring the classic poem to life
Beowulf He adapted the classic Old English poem that most people know from high school English class and, by its nature, don’t fit well into the structure of a big Hollywood movie. Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary wrote the script over the course of 10 years, aiming for it to be dark and gritty. This is appropriate as Avary worked on it Pulp Fiction With Quentin Tarantino. When Zemeckis took over and decided to turn it into an animated film instead, he instructed the pair to go wild and write scenes that would cost a million dollars a minute in live action.
Switch to using advanced motion capture and rotation Beowulf to a live cartoon that resulted in a budget increase from an estimated $25 million to $150 million ($228 million when adjusted for today’s inflation). Unlike some films where you can’t believe that much was spent, the actors’ shocking real-life versions show exactly where the money went.
Angelina Jolie wasn’t the only star who was stunned by her appearance in the film, as Ray Winstone, who played Beowulf, couldn’t believe how much the character resembled him if he were a six-foot-six-inch, eight-muscled Viking. Absolute value. The arrival Star Alan Ritchson was used as the body model for the character.
Angelina Jolie thought that as Grendel’s mother, she would more closely resemble the classic monster rather than being portrayed as a succubus, but she still loved the role and enjoyed being an evil, strong woman in a male-dominated society a decade earlier. mischievousR. Grendel, brought to life by Crispin Glover, who worked with Robert Zemeckis for the first time since Back to the futureIt looks like a giant corpse. The battle between Beowulf and Grendel is more exciting on screen than it ever was when read aloud by bored sophomores, and it remains the most brutal battle Zemeckis ever filmed.
Studios wouldn’t make Beowulf today
Beowulf It benefited from perfect timing, arriving just as 3D was taking off in theaters, and studios were willing to take a risk. “Weird” is one way to describe the film, but “experimental” is another, as Zemeckis took a big swing with this film, and thankfully, it works out in the end.
The film grossed $196 million at the box office, but eventually became profitable thanks to its DVD release. Over the years, it has become more than just a cult classic, and continues to receive praise for its high-quality animation work, which holds up even decades later.
We are now in an era where Hollywood studios are risk averse, remakes seem to be the only thing to do, and established franchises and superhero films receive huge budgets, making… Beowulf A great breath of fresh air when directors could be as creative as they wanted. If you’ve never seen it BeowulfOr it’s been so long you’ve forgotten how groundbreaking it was, it’s available to stream on Max today.