Cardon - Beowulf

Overall I was not impressed with Beowulf, whether it is on screen or in print. Adding to my dislike of the story, Robert Zemeckis (the director) chose to do the entire movie in CGI (computer generated imagery). Someone in favor of CGI may argue that it adds to the mythical aspect of Beowulf’s story, but to me it makes it look like one of those low budget Barbie movies that go straight to DVD. Seeing as how we are to pick only one scene from the movie to enhance (I would enhance the whole damn movie) I would have to go with the fight scene between Grendel and Beowulf. For starters, Beowulf fights naked. That decision was clearly not thought out. Due to Beowulf being naked, his movements are very rhythmic/poetic in order to hide his genitalia, which makes him appear stupid in what is supposed to be a badass fight scene. If they would have chosen to put a loincloth or something over Beowulf’s manhood, then perhaps the fight could have been choreographed properly, rather than looking like a routine for ribbon dancers.

In the picture split into two of Beowulf, the image on the left is what I will analyze in regards to mise en scene. The dominant is the sword that is lodged in the ground. Conveniently it is placed directly in front of Beowulf’s private parts, which suggests something about Beowulf himself. The lighting key is rather high coming from bottom to top. He is lit to look like a great hero rising from the darkness. In the frame we see all of Beowulf except his feet, so it is a long shot but the sword is in the foreground. The camera is slightly tilted up to give him the grand appearance.