Beowulf: Movie Analysis

Throughout the years, Hollywood has transformed many original texts. The story of Beowulf was written in about 1000 AD, it is an Anglo-Saxon traditional poem that depicts heroism. Beowulf was an outstanding warrior has slain many monsters. He traveled to relieve the king of the Danes, Hrothgar, of his troubles by battling a monster named Grendel as well as his terrifying mother. In the original text, Beowulf is perceived as a true hero of the Geats and Danes. The film, directed by Robert Zemeckis, displays Beowulf's heroism as a problem rather than a solution. Although the film follows the same storyline as the poem, they have different themes of courage, different depictions of Beowulf, and the difference in appearance of Herot. Although there are many differences, there are multiple similarities.

One of the most important differences between the film and the poem is the theme of Beowulf's courage. In

the film, they display Beowulf's enemy, Grendel, as an innocent, depressed creature. Grendel was depicted as childlike monster who was deeply disturbed by the happiness and noise lingering from the men in Herot. “ A powerful monster, living down in the darkness, growled in pain, impatient.” (Beowulf 5) After growing impatient, Grendel traveled to Herot and began killing the Danes while they were asleep. After Beowulf finally arrives to relieve Hrothgar, we get to see Beowulf's true courage. This is depicted in both the film and the original text. Beowulf made an honorable decision to fight Grendel without weapons to keep the fight fair “ My lord Higlac might think less of me if I let my sword go where my feet were afraid to.” (Beowulf 12) Beowulf has a lot of faith in himself to fight Grendel armour less and weaponless. By this point, us as readers and viewers get the opportunity to see the first sign of courage Beowulf has.
Another major difference is in the character of Beowulf. The poem portrayed Beowulf as flawless, honorable Anglo-Saxon hero. However, in the movie he possessed a flaw that would change the story’s course over time. His love of women completely changed the tale. In the poem, Beowulf battles Grendel’s mother, who was portrayed as a hideous hag, and killed her. In the movie, Grendel’s mother is a cartoon version of the beautiful Angelina Jolie. Beowulf gave into temptation, which resulted in him fathering her child. This is when Beowulf’s flaws become apparent. Instead of killing her, he negotiated gold, specifically, a golden horn for secrecy and no further attacks on Herot. By not killing Grendel’s mother, Beowulf just lengthened her reign. She was still there to disturb the people as well as the king. She had an abundance of power over the land until someone could overcome the urges and temptations she brought upon them. Many years pass before Beowulf's new kingdom gets hit by turmoil.
Beowulf must slay the dragon that has come back to destroy Herot because of the missing gold piece.

In the film, the gold piece is the only thing protecting Herot from further attacks. The film suggests that this dragon is Beowulf’s offspring, who wants a revenge. These two versions of Beowulf have two key differences. In the text, Beowulf fought the fire-breathing dragon along with Wiglaf helping. The dragon’s throat had been slit which caused his death. In the movie, however, Beowulf rips out the heart of the dragon while hanging on to the dragon. This was a far more warrior-like and a more heroic way to finish off the dragon and then die. Ripping the heart has a greater sense of heroism. Thus, the movie had a more heroic ending. Beowulf and the Dragon, end up both dead in the poem and film. In the film, Beowulf and the dragon end up dead together on the beach by the last scene. Although Beowulf ended the chaos in his kingdom, he died as a folk hero of all the Danes and Geats. The theme the film ends with shows a major difference between the original

poem.
In the film, directed by Robert Zemeckis, it displays Beowulf's heroism as a problem rather than a solution. Although the film follows the same storyline as the poem, they have different themes of courage. The film shows Beowulf as an extremely dishonest leader and gives many viewers the impression that he isn't a true hero to his kingdom but actually the problem. While both the film and poem have a very similar storyline, the small acts Beowulf portrays gives the film and poem two totally different themes.
In conclusion, there are many more similarities and differences in the text and film of Beowulf. Although, each and every similarity and difference create various sides of the story which allows much more room for discussion.