|
   Before the autumn of 2007, reference to Beowulf would send teens running in a fit of frenzy from English Lit class. The thought of being assigned the task of reading the epic, ancient poem, let alone dissecting each verse for meaning, was downright painful to the majority of students. I was the exception to the rule. I actually enjoyed exploring the world of misunderstood monsters, heroic (and not so heroic) figures, and of course any poem featuring a dragon, not only piqued my imagination—it held it captive. Over the years I have retained my love for ancient mythological history, yet, even now, I fully understand why many of my fellow classmates considered (and still regard) Beowulf as a painfully dull read. That is why I find it rather ironic that the same people who were forced to study the written word, have willingly flocked in droves, to plunk down their hard earned dollars, for the digitally enhanced live-action feature...based on the same poem. The script's origins were born within the bards retelling of the Old English epic, Beowulf. The events surrounding the lengthy poem are set in sixth century Denmark and Sweden, and revolve around the kingdoms of the Geats and the Danes. The ancient tale has been translated over the centuries, and like all storytellers, Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary translated their version of the poem with a fair amount of rewriting of history. Yet, their version of the legendary folktale, provides a logical and coherently integrated connection, that links the gaps within the original mythological storyline. Beowulf, is not your run-of-the-mill animation—in a world of cookie-cutter action adventure theatrical productions, Beowulf is truly unique in both the storyline and filming. In an innovative conservation of resources, the lead actors were sequestered in a rather small (for Hollywood standards) interior boxed set, and filmed entirely in performance/motion capture garb.   Pre Production and Final Image of Angelina Jolie as Grendel’s mother ©Warner Bros. Pictures  In an interview junket, John Malkovich (Unferth) discussed the performance capture procedure from an actor's viewpoint, "You come in the morning and they put a transparent mask on your face. They draw on a grid-like pattern and put on the sensors, paying attention to the eye and mouth area. Then you have a kind of bicycle helmet with all sorts of electrodes and gizmos attached. You put on a sort of wetsuit and gloves, which are also covered with sensors. The whole thing wouldn’t take much more time than a slightly involved make-up procedure. You get used to it quickly. To tell the truth, I never even thought about it after the first day†  John Malkovich as Unferth ©Warner Bros. Pictures  As to the reason for the decision to use performance capture in the making of Beowulf, producer, Jack Rapke explains, "Because [Beowulf] is a mythological fable, the demand for photo reality was not as paramount as it might be. Using this process gave us the opportunity to cast whoever we felt was the perfect actor for each part. So, for us, it was the best way to get over certain hurdles and do a lot of things which would have been impossible in a traditional live action format." Compared to The Polar Express, released in 2004 (also directed by Robert Zemeckis), the performance/motion capture technology for Beowulf has advanced by unbelievable strides. The main characters, especially the faces of King Hrothgar (Anthony Hopkins), and Beowulf (Ray Winstone), were uncanny in their resemblance to their real-life counterparts. Every line, age spot, and inflection of Anthony Hopkins' face was eerily realistic.   Ray Winstone as Beowulf and Anthony Hopkins as King Hrothgar ©Warner Bros. Pictures  Although the CG imagery in Beowulf was light-years away from Toy Story (or even Beowulf's "performance capture" predecessor, The Polar Express), technically it fell miserably short from the computer generated image of Gollum, in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Undeniably, in the main characters' close-up scenes, Beowulf rises to amazing heights of ingenuity. Yet, there are also moments where the animation quickly sinks to the depths of downright silliness. There is no comparison between the flawless recreation of Tolkien's Gollum, to the amateurish blob of the Beowulf monster, Grendel.   Gollum ©New Line Cinema verses Grendel ©Warner Bros. Pictures  Throughout the movie, the animation fluctuated from pure perfection to downright sloppiness. Many of the crowd scenes appeared as if a novice CG artist had opened Poser 4 (for the first time), and had rendered and animated the figures with no attention to detail. The majority of the characters were stiff, and displayed awkward movements. Also, there has been a great debate surrounding the "dead soulless eyes," of even the main characters. I, however, found the eyes to be very lifelike and filled with realism. It was the hair that I felt was extremely plastic and Poser-4ish. With only wisps of stray hair moving occasionally, and only on the main characters. The lack of movement was very disconcerting, especially when the majority of outdoor scenes were shot either near a raging sea, or on a windy tundra. I also pondered why the animators paid such little attention to the texture maps, especially of the horses. I am tempted to send Imageworks' head animators a Renderosity Marketplace gift certificate, to purchase realistic horse hides for their next CG adventure. It is impossible to not compare Beowulf to last year's mega hit, 300, although it is akin to comparing apples to bananas. However, both stories were based on ancient myths, drenched in real history. While 300 had the perfect blend of live-action, supplemented by spectacular computer graphics and extraordinary attention to even the smallest detail. Beowulf was fully animated, yet it lacked the attention to detail that was so prevalent in 300. Another personal bone of contention...the actors in 300, actually worked for their six pack abs, while Ray Winstone's body was "cut" totally by the CGI animators. Although both movies were bloody epics, 300 managed to remain intrinsically beautiful. The same cannot be said for Beowulf.   Beowulf verses 300 ©Warner Bros. Pictures  As to the action...true to all epic, ancient adventures, the combat scenes were bloody, and at times downright silly. During the second brutal battle scene, Beowulf strips to his skin to battle the beast Grendel; so that man and monster would be equally matched. The silly part surrounded Beowulf's nudity, or the ridiculous attempts at hiding the character's genital region. The logical, and easy fix to the PG-13 rating, would have been to simply adjust the camera angle, and to shoot above the waist when full-frontal shots were necessary. Instead, the director strategically placed a variety of objects (erect swords [pun intended], scenery, and an assortment of extra cast members' body parts) to cover Beowulf's groin. Which resulted in the audience breaking into unveiled snickers to loud guffaws, all causing the suspension of disbelief to evaporate. The sloppy directing and editing of that one pivotal scene reduced the movie from a serious venture to a slapstick B-movie. Going back to the PG-13 rating. Please keep in mind, that although Beowulf is a fully animated film, it is not a children's cartoon movie. The first half of Beowulf is laced with sexual innuendo, as well as nudity...both male and female. The entire movie is excessively violent...with a kill count that equals the bloody, yet brilliant Spartan battle, in last year's epic 300. Is Beowulf flawed? The easy answer would be, at times, yes. Beowulf has its inconsistencies, yet overall it is well worth the cost of a movie ticket. If only to experience the ground-breaking CG technology, and the innovative translation of an ancient poem. For those who managed to squeak through academia without being forced to study Beowulf—it definitely would be worth the viewing—especially in IMAX 3D.   Beowulf, Conception to Final Production ©Warner Bros. Pictures  • Beowulf—Official Movie Site copied, printed, or reproduced in any manner without written permission.  Get
to know industry leaders and professionalsas they sit down and talk candidly with Contributing Columnist, Dee-Marie. |
December 10, 2007
Please note: If you find the color of the text hard to read, please click on "Printer-friendly" and black text will appear on a white background.
|
|
||||||
|
||||||
|
|
Comments