When the camera was invented, painters had to move away from realism to compete, but the camera’s rule may turn out to be short-lived. Since 1937, when Walt Disney created Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs – or perhaps even earlier, when Winsor McKay depicted the sinking of the Lusitania-artists and painters have been working to represent reality on their own terms, and in the past decade or two, their inroads in contributing to motion picture storytelling have been substantial. At the moment, they still fill a supplementary role, but with greater and greater frequency, movies are being developed where the role of the painter exceeds the role of the cinematographer. It is fitting that Paramount’s Beowulf Director’s Cut(UPC#097361323145, $30), a significant example of what the future holds in store, is an adaptation of a defining work in English literature-much in the way that Snow White was. The story of a warrior whose deeds of glory in killing an ogre are compromised by both the reality and legacy of his actions, the film utilizes animation not just for its spectacular action sequences, but to render entirely its setting and costumes, and even to manipulate its performances. While actors participated in the film’s staging and blocking, their images have been altered (the pudgy Ray Winstone plays the svelte, muscular hero), so that even when a shot, such as a closeup of a face, looks completely real, it isn’t. The 2007 Robert Zemeckis feature was released in theaters in 3-D, a presentation format that home video has yet to replicate in all but its crudest forms, but as simply the 2-D feature that appears on the DVD, the film is still a highly exciting and entertaining experience-the final battle with the dragon is hold-your-breath dazzling-and one that is enriched by its pointed exploration of archetypal forces. Will animation someday overwhelm visual storytelling entirely? Like the conclusion to Beowulf, the vanquished may not entirely disappear, but nothing will ever be as it seems.

Both Director’s Cut and the standard theatrical release run 114 minutes, so the differences amount to a few extra-gory moments here and there, and an extra touch of licentious behavior. The picture is presented in letterboxed format only, with an aspect ratio of about 2.35:1 and an accommodation for enhanced 16:9 playback. The picture transfer is precise at all times, and crisp even during the darkest sequences. The 5.1-channel Dolby Digital sound has some good separation effects and a reasonably strong dimensionality. There are alternate French and Spanish tracks in 5.1 Dolby, optional English, French and Spanish subtitles, a trailer, 10 minutes of deleted scenes that, along with supplying a little more background detail for the characters, give the viewer a chance to grasp the interim animation steps, and 43 minutes of excellent production featurettes, which talk about the story (and explain the more complicated aspects of the plot), the casting, and how the film was executed. After the artwork, scale models and storyboards were completed, the cast members dressed in jumpsuits and their faces were inundated with dots. They gathered in a gymnasium-sized soundstage and, without worrying about lighting and other matters, played out the drama and fighting stunts in just a few weeks (the horses had a harder time keeping their dots on). Get used to it. Someday, most movies are going to be made this way, the upside being that naturally talented artists and painters, people with vision and imagination, will always be gainfully employed.

March 21, 2008

– by Douglas Pratt

Douglas Pratt’s DVD-Laser Disc Newsletter is published monthly.
For a free sample, call (516)594-9304 or go to his website at www.DVDLaser.com

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