Beowulf

Beowulf /Beowulf USA (c) 2007 Shangri-La /Paramount. P: Steve Bing, Jack Rapke, Steve Starkey, Robert Zemeckis. D: Robert Zemeckis. SC: Neil Gaiman, Roger Avary - based on the epic poem (ca 700-1010). DP: Robert Presley. 3-D digital animation based on the real-life models of Ray Winstone (Beowulf), Robin Wright Penn (Wealthlow), Anthony Hopkins (Hrothgar), Charlotte Salt (Estrith), Sebastian Roché (Wulfgar), John Malkovich (Unferth), Crispin Glover (Grendel), Brendan Gleeson (Wiglaf), Chris Coppola (Olaf), Angelina Jolie (Grendel's mother), Alison Lohman (Ursula). 113 min. In English and old English. Released in Finland by Sandrew Metronome Distribution Finland, with Finnish /Swedish subtitles by Timo Porri / Janne Staffans. Viewed in 2-D (no 3-D release in Finland, there being no Real D cinemas or IMAX 3D cinemas in Finland) at Kinopalatsi 8, Helsinki, 1 December 2007. A photorealistic digital animation based on the old English-Nordic-Germanic saga, this is a new accomplishment in the trend of Final Fantasy, The Polar Express, and (parts of) 300. The technique is called motion capture. It is a Pagan, pre/Christian story about curses and dragons and Viking honour, set in what are now known as Denmark and southern Sweden. From a technical viewpoint it is state/of/the/art. The audience *especially the females( had a good laugh when views of the the nude Beowulf\s family jewels were blocked *in a tradition established in Mario Bava\s Diabolik, parodied in the Austin Powers films(. The nude Angelina Jolie\s natural beauty was stylized in classical sculpture fashion, abstracting her most intimate feminine details. The great film/philosophical question> no, this animation is no more humanly convincing than Final Fantasy and the rest. A stylized drawing and painting *say, Mowgli in The Jungle Book( can be more lively in animation than 3D photorealistic motion/capture. The visual look of the film is bleak and deathly.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beowulf