Search - Beowulf on DVD

MPAA Rating: R Content Advisory: Violence, Adult Situations, Profanity, Sexual Situations Movie Release: 1999 DVD Release: 10/17/2000 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Audio Tracks: English Subtitles: English SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 33 mins Studio: Dimension Members Wishing: 1 Genres: Science Fiction, Sci-Fi Action, Creature Film

The epic eighth-century poem of Saxon lore gets moved into the Scandinavian future in this science fiction adaptation of Beowulf. Here, Beowulf (Christopher Lambert) rescues a damsel in distress, Pendra (Patricia Velasquez), who is being menaced by two men with large swords and bad tempers. Beowulf hears tell of Grendel, a force of evil that feasts on the flesh of warriors of Hrothgar (Oliver Cotton), who are holding their ground in the Outpost. Before long, Beowulf finds himself doing battle with Hrothgar's daughter Kyra (Rhona Mitra), Hrothgar's master of arms, Roland (Goetz Otto) and even Grendel's mother (Layla Roberts). Patricia Velasquez appeared in Beowulf shortly before she filmed her showy turn in The Mummy, while Layla Roberts's resume includes an October 1997 appearance as Playboy's Playmate of the Month. Beowulf was completed and released in Europe before another version of the same story hit the screens, Disney's The 13th Warrior (aka Eaters Of The Dead). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Christopher Lambert - Beowulf
Rhona Mitra - Kyra
Oliver Cotton - Hrothgar
Götz Otto - Roland
Layla Roberts - Grendel's Mother

Graham Barker's film version of Beowulf (very loosely inspired from the original poem) comes to DVD with a widescreen anamorphic transfer that preserves the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1. The English soundtrack is rendered in Dolby Digital Stereo. There are no subtitles, but the soundtrack is closed-captioned. Supplemental materials include the trailer, and a making-of featurette. This is a solid release from Disney/Buena Vista that will likely appeal more to fans of films starring Christopher Lambert than English scholars. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide