This is the longest of the six featurettes on the 2-Disc Director's Cut DVD of Beowulf, with a running time of 24 minutes(extended slightly by the Easter Egg with Malkovich that plays automatically once this has played in its entirety... am I the only one who got a "weird hidden camera and pretty creepy" vibe from it? Anyone?). It consists of behind-the-scenes footage, interviews, clips of the film and pre-visualization. With a sort of feel of a production diary, this is a tad short on amusing anecdotes, but if you're interested in learning more about the technology they used, it's pretty solid. Every actor is running around in spandex with, and surrounded by, bright neon colors, and you get to briefly see how they manage to mo-cap two performances interacting with one another even though they aren't in direct contact on the... "set". It's no wonder they had "existential crises", as is remarked in this. Christ, the very *props* are eye-sores, color-wise. This is well-edited, and the pace is good. Everything is explained fairly well(with that said, if this is the first big FX pic where you get the tools behind it described, you may not understand everything). There is a little moderate language in this. I recommend it to anyone who wants to know how they accomplished making the movie. 7/10
2 Reviews
Behind the world of Beowulf lies the realm of Tron
Chip_douglas26 August 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Never before has there been a greater difference between the look of the material on the first and second disc of a major motion picture such as there is on the Robert Zemeckis' Beowulf directors cut edition. I don't want to make any cheap references to the director's famous time-traveling trilogy, but after being immersed in the dark ages of Denmark during the film, all the behind the scenes footage transports the viewer to a futuristic 'Tron' 'like world where everything has bright neon colors, the actors wear spandex and have spiderweb grids on their faces. It reminds me of the making of that other special effect laden film who's trailer also capitalized on the presence of Angelina Jolie: 'Captain Sky and the Soldiers of Tomorrow' (I think that was it). That is apart from the fact that there is absolutely no sign of Mrs. Pitt to be found anywhere on the entire second disc. Sure, there are a few clips from the finished film and we hear her voice (also from the film) but those hoping to see Angelina in one of the aforementioned skin tight diving outfits with a thousand points of light attached to her face and body (which isn't really as sexy looking as it sounds anyway) will be severely disappointed. Still, Robin Wright Penn is there, and it's a lot of fun seeing Ray Winstone and Anthony Hopkings prance around in those outfits.
Now I've been a follower of Ray Winstone's work since Robin of Sherwood, but just in case anybody thought the man looks the same in real life as his character Beowulf, another big shock is in store. Winstone himself puts it best when he walks up to camera and mentions being six and a half feet (in the picture). Together with the actors, we are given a brief explanation of how the film was shot, inside a big warehouse was a stage set up known as 'The Volume', and here the actors got to play around in their silly outfits with day-glow wire frame props (all build so that light could shine through them). Before and after each take, all the players have to strike a 'T-Pose' (this expression is heard a lot over the course of the disc) so that the 12 cameras has an idea where they their performances begin and end. This proves to be necessary when we catch a glimpse of what the camera's pick up: a jumbled mish mash of colored dots. Luckily each item has a bar-code and color identification or else they'd never make out which is which.
Although Robert Zemeckis promised Winstones and co a cozy 9 to 5 shooting schedule, the actors actually had to be in the make-up trailer at 6 am in order to get all the dots and sensors applied to their faces. As far as Bobby Z is concerned, this is the ideal way of filming: he gets through entire scenes which would normally take at least a day to prepare and shoot in less than an hour. Then there's a 15 minute break (counted off by a big stop watch on the wall) to change the sets. We follow uncredited actor Sebastian Roche (who plays the storyteller during the celebration of Beowulf day in the film) around the complex being scanned all over (this is shown in greater detail in one of the shorter segments elsewhere on the disc) and get to see Anthony Hopkins (also uncredited but not needing an introduction) all dressed up as his character Hrothgar posing for reference pictures. So it turns out they did make the costumes after all to give the actors a sense of what they should be imagining they were wearing during shooting. This is a segment of the documentary where we really could have used some shots of Angelina Jolie. On the other hand, even though this is supposed to be the 'uncensored' and 'unrated' Directors Cut DVD, everything which could possibly be a little bit naughty or offensive gets pixelated, including a urinating horse (yes, they also used real horses in The Volume) and some early CGI footage in which some of the characters are without clothes and hair.
Nearly everyone we meet, from the production team to co-writers Neil Gaiman & Roger Avery do an impression of 'commander and director' Robert Zemeckis at one point or another. The exception being Crispin Glover, who despite his reputation comes over as the most normal and self composed person on set. We even see him wearing a suit and tie while discussing his character. Of course he does get to go berserk in The Volume when he's playing Grendel, tearing through foam rubber walls and tearing 50 per cent scale dummies apart with his bare hands (their limbs being attached with Velcro). Next it's Ray W.'s turn to fight the 12 feet tall Robo-Grendel. Notice that Big Bobby Z. is swinging a chain with a 'concrete block' attached to it above his head like a real pro. Gaiman also chimes in to say that he thought the idea of using old English might be a bit too far-fetched, but Zemeckis ensured him he wanted to do it, preferably without subtitles. He's really in his element in this digital realm.
Near in the end there's a surprise visit from original motion-capture star from The Polar Express: Tom Hanks, complete with that much derided 'Da Vinci Code' haircut. Tom does his best to crack jokes to all concerned. And suddenly we've arrived at the last day of shooting and everybody is giving the director one last round of applause, including Big Z. himself. Cut. T-Pose.
8 out of 10
Now I've been a follower of Ray Winstone's work since Robin of Sherwood, but just in case anybody thought the man looks the same in real life as his character Beowulf, another big shock is in store. Winstone himself puts it best when he walks up to camera and mentions being six and a half feet (in the picture). Together with the actors, we are given a brief explanation of how the film was shot, inside a big warehouse was a stage set up known as 'The Volume', and here the actors got to play around in their silly outfits with day-glow wire frame props (all build so that light could shine through them). Before and after each take, all the players have to strike a 'T-Pose' (this expression is heard a lot over the course of the disc) so that the 12 cameras has an idea where they their performances begin and end. This proves to be necessary when we catch a glimpse of what the camera's pick up: a jumbled mish mash of colored dots. Luckily each item has a bar-code and color identification or else they'd never make out which is which.
Although Robert Zemeckis promised Winstones and co a cozy 9 to 5 shooting schedule, the actors actually had to be in the make-up trailer at 6 am in order to get all the dots and sensors applied to their faces. As far as Bobby Z is concerned, this is the ideal way of filming: he gets through entire scenes which would normally take at least a day to prepare and shoot in less than an hour. Then there's a 15 minute break (counted off by a big stop watch on the wall) to change the sets. We follow uncredited actor Sebastian Roche (who plays the storyteller during the celebration of Beowulf day in the film) around the complex being scanned all over (this is shown in greater detail in one of the shorter segments elsewhere on the disc) and get to see Anthony Hopkins (also uncredited but not needing an introduction) all dressed up as his character Hrothgar posing for reference pictures. So it turns out they did make the costumes after all to give the actors a sense of what they should be imagining they were wearing during shooting. This is a segment of the documentary where we really could have used some shots of Angelina Jolie. On the other hand, even though this is supposed to be the 'uncensored' and 'unrated' Directors Cut DVD, everything which could possibly be a little bit naughty or offensive gets pixelated, including a urinating horse (yes, they also used real horses in The Volume) and some early CGI footage in which some of the characters are without clothes and hair.
Nearly everyone we meet, from the production team to co-writers Neil Gaiman & Roger Avery do an impression of 'commander and director' Robert Zemeckis at one point or another. The exception being Crispin Glover, who despite his reputation comes over as the most normal and self composed person on set. We even see him wearing a suit and tie while discussing his character. Of course he does get to go berserk in The Volume when he's playing Grendel, tearing through foam rubber walls and tearing 50 per cent scale dummies apart with his bare hands (their limbs being attached with Velcro). Next it's Ray W.'s turn to fight the 12 feet tall Robo-Grendel. Notice that Big Bobby Z. is swinging a chain with a 'concrete block' attached to it above his head like a real pro. Gaiman also chimes in to say that he thought the idea of using old English might be a bit too far-fetched, but Zemeckis ensured him he wanted to do it, preferably without subtitles. He's really in his element in this digital realm.
Near in the end there's a surprise visit from original motion-capture star from The Polar Express: Tom Hanks, complete with that much derided 'Da Vinci Code' haircut. Tom does his best to crack jokes to all concerned. And suddenly we've arrived at the last day of shooting and everybody is giving the director one last round of applause, including Big Z. himself. Cut. T-Pose.
8 out of 10
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