DVD: Beowulf Director's Cut

I recently picked up the Director's Cut of Beowulf on DVD.

First off, I hadn't been totally sure that this film was completely animated. From previews I had seen, I always assumed digital effects were used, as in other epics like 300 or Troy, just not as effectively blended with live action. This distracted me as I started watching but I get to that.

The DVD menu is pretty standard quality for this type of film, showing clips in a designated area while you navigate the options. I always check the setup options first, to make sure the commentary and subtitles are off, and to make sure the sound is set to English. I know the one time I don't do this, the movie will start dubbed in Spanish with French subtitles, so its a habit I am happy to have.

The movie starts, and as I said, its animated. The easiest comparison to make is with the Shrek franchise. This isn't a bad thing, since Shrek is a very well animated series of films.

As opening progresses, it quickly becomes apparent this is not going to be like Shrek. Blood and violence is the forefront of this tale, and I was happy to see it wasn't dulled down. (I don't want to spoil any of the movie so I'll keep out the details.)

The film goes on telling a story that could easily be stretched to the length of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The action scenes are generally smaller than I hoped, and the story progression is kinda jumpy, which leaves you not caring much about some of the vital characters. So when the movie ends, I was looking for more.

Now, I go in search of the deleted scenes. Maybe they will contain the bits of the story I remembered from my 9th grade reading assignments? To be blunt, no. They didn't. The deleted scenes are recorded dialogue played over the very basic polygon renderings of the unfinished characters and scenery. Very disappointing.

Then, I browsed the "Art of Beowulf" and watched the featurettes (one on the making of, and another on designing the creatures). Altogether, they were a adequate at best.

Pros:

The DVD is organized nicely, making it easy to find what you are looking for.

The movie is very well animated.

Nude, but nippleless, animated version of Angelina Jolie.

Cons:

Deleted scenes would have been fine as audio only.

The movie was too short and choppy (Imagine Jaws going from the first attack to the final battle with no indication of what was going on in between).

Nippleless, animated version of a nude Angelina Jolie.

Verdict:

-The average DVD buying person can probably skip this one. Rent it, if you really want to see it.

-DVD aficionados should skip this one too, since a super extended Collectors Edition will probably come out eventually.

-Fans of epics, or Beowulf in general, might want to try renting the 2005 movie Beowulf & Grendel. I haven't seen it, but it's live action, looks much more promising, and Gerard Butler (who starred in 300 the following year) plays Beowulf.