Every now and then, my husband and I get a chance to go see a movie together. It is rare for all necessary forces to come together...the man is in town, I am not in the middle of a project, the children are caught up on homework and can take care of themselves for the evening. Now, it is EXTREMELY rare to have all this fall in place AND for there to be a movie we both want to see.
When this happens, we are elated at the alignment of the stars and rush headlong into the theater....often without "due diligence." And all too often, we regret it. Such was the case Sunday evening.
We both wanted to see Beowulf....he, because it would be action-packed.....I, because it is a glorious piece of literature. Ahhh....a rare meeting of brute force, intellect, poetry and honor.
Well, LET ME TELL YOU, in addition to being very poorly executed - shoddy acting combined with odd, jerky, King-Kongish-like animation - every shred of glory and honor was stripped from this story and replaced with crude humor and debauchery. I never imagined such thorough deconstruction possible. We should've done our homework.
We didn't make it all the way through...we didn't even make it halfway through. Don't waste your time and money.
Do yourself a favor: Get a copy of the Irish poet, Seamus Heaney's translation and read it! (that's Sheemus Heeney) Or better yet...get the audio CD of him reading his own translation. You'll see what I mean. It's beautiful.
Here is the opening paragraph:
"So, the Spear-Danes in days gone by
And the kings who ruled them had courage and greatness.
We have heard of those princes heroic campaigns:
There was Shield Sheafson, scourge of many tribes,
A wrecker of mead-benches, rampaging among foes.
This terror of the hall troops had come far.
A foundling to start with, he would flourish later on
As his powers waxed and his worth was proved.
In the end, each clan on the outlying coasts beyond the whale-road
Had to yield to him and begin to pay tribute.
That was one good king."
That was from memory (one benefit of teaching...is learning!), so don't compare the line breaks to the book...they may not be right. But DO read Heaney's version. It's the best. Period.
4 comments:
Redeem yourselves and rent, or better still check out from the library, a copy of Kenneth Branaugh's direction/production of Shakespeare's "Henry V," where the English battle the French at Agincourt (1415).
It's even better if you have (or look up online and print out) a copy of Shakespeare to follow along with as you watch. What an incredible monologue Henry delivers to charge his troops with their duty! (NOTE: If you don't know the outcome of this historical battle, don't spoil it by reading ahead.)
IF your interested, Shakespeare's "Henry V" text is at:
http://www.william-shakespeare.info/act4-script-text-henry-v.htm
Battle scene is Scene IV. Henry's charge comes about two-thirds way through, beginning with:
KING HENRY V
"What's he that wishes so?
My cousin Westmoreland? No, my fair cousin:
If we are mark'd to die, we are enow
To do our country loss; and if to live,
The fewer men, the greater share of honour.
God's will! I pray thee, wish not one man more..."
Isn't that from the "St. Crispian's Day" speech? That is such a powerful speech!
Our blockbusters don't carry the Branaugh version! I may end up just ordering it online, because I've wanted to see it for a long time.
Thanks...and you of all people should know that I have multiple copies of Shakespeare! Duh.
(My post: "you're" not "your")
Yes, St. Crispin's Day. I figured you probably had Shakespeare, possibly even know who he really WAS! But, since you don't (didn't??) like computers, I thought I'd give you a link to the text, anyway--just in case!
As for the movie itself, unfortunately it's not available on DVD (©1989), but you possibly could make your own from a brand new VHS.
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