EP Review: Beowulf, Grendel, and Beowulf
Translation by Seamus Heaney .
A Novel by John Gardner .
A Film by Robert Zemeckis .
Reviewed by Jonathon Sullivan.
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Sullydog,
Enjoyed the craft and content of your review! Thanks!
Have you played Reiner Knizia’s boardgame adaptation? “Beowulf: The Legend” (2005) recreates the actions of Beowulf’s companions while following the plot of the novel. Yeah, my first thought was “boring” – what fun is there in recreating a series of linear events?
Knizia’s auction mechanic presents players with subtle and delicious choices, ensuring unpredictable individual outcomes. Weighing the artwork, design, and gameplay, I rate the game a 7 out of 10 (slightly higher than middle-of-the-road enjoyment, but not astounding).
It is an interesting model of how one can faithfully represent a linear story while offering players something to do – tense somethings. If you haven’t seen it or played it, look it up on http://www.boardgamegeek.com for reviews, discussion, and dozens of photos.
Vince
You mentioned that Beowulf was composed for the entertainment of anglo-saxon Christians. There is some controversy here. It was written down by anglo-saxon Christians, but many believe the original story was pre-Christian and that the Christian elements were introduced by the monks who first wrote it down and/or translated it.
Thanks, this review inspired me to read/listen to the classic ”Beowulf”, thanks it was a awesome listen, and does it make anyone else wonder if this was one of Tolkien’s sources of inspiration? Just curious…
I loved the Christopher Lambert version, it’s a great post-apocalyptic version of the story. it’s not a direct telling of the story, and that’s a good thing, the story is good, but it doesn’t quite translate to the modern day. Just my 2cents of course.
And what of Michael Crichton’s adaptation of the Beowulf saga in “Eaters of the Dead’? I see this as the antithesis of great science fiction. Instead of presenting plausible predictions of things that may occur, Crichton presented a very plausible scenario that could explain the real nature and basis of a very old legend. Well, okay most of the legend, the dragon is a little tough to explain away. Could a last couple of Neanderthal proto-men account for Grendel and his “mother”? This idea works for me. Most legends have some roots in real events. Why not the oldest recorded epic saga…?
I was gonna say “Don’t forget The 13Th Warrior, also a Beowulf adaptation, which was very nice as a movie, although it went pretty far from the original story.”
Then I noticed that the movie was called Eater of the Dead in the USA. Anyway, you made me very curious about the Grendel book.
Keep up the great work, guys!