The Weirdest Fantasy Movie Ever Made Starring Angelina Jolie, And She Didn't Know She'd Be In It

Posted by Jonathan Klotz | Published 1 hour ago

Angelina Jolie made waves in the 1990s when she bared all in many movies, a trend that continued well into the face and height of her popularity. None of these scenes are as strange and inexplicable as the moment he plays Grendel's mother Beowulf.

Jolie admitted that it wasn't until she was sitting in the theater and watching the movie that she realized that the character was not going to be a scaly lizard monster and, on the contrary, she was going to be exactly like herself. It's a weird choice made by director Robert Zemeckis in a weird movie that wouldn't be made today. It's so unique that if you haven't seen it yet, it's worth your time.

Bringing Classical Poetry to Life

Beowulf it's adapted a classic Old English poem that most people know from their high school English class, and by its very nature, it doesn't lend itself well to the plot of a big Hollywood movie. Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary wrote the script over the course of 10 years, aiming for it to be darker and darker. That's fitting as Avary goes Pulp Fiction and Quentin Tarantino. When Zemeckis took over and decided to make it an animated film instead, he ordered the couple to “break down” and write scenes that would cost a million dollars a minute to do live.

Switch to using motion capture and conversion Beowulf for the live-action cartoon brought a budget increase from an estimated $25 million to $150 million ($228 million adjusted for inflation today). Unlike other films where you can't believe how much money was spent, the shockingly realistic versions of the characters make it clear where the money went.

Angelina Jolie wasn't the only star who was surprised by her appearance in the film, as Ray Winstone, who played the role of Beowulf, couldn't believe how much the actor looked like him when he was a six-foot-eight Viking with eight packs. abs. Shortcut star Alan Ritchson was used as the character's physical model.

Angelina Jolie thought that as Grendel's mother, she would be more like an ancient monster instead of being portrayed as a succubus, but she still loved the role and enjoyed being a badass, powerful woman in a male-dominated society ten years ago. Maleficentt. Grendel, brought to life by Crispin Glover, who worked with Robert Zemeckis for the first time since Back to the Futurehe looks like a gangster corpse. The battle between Beowulf and Grendel is more exciting on screen than it ever was for bored sophomores and is still the most brutal battle Zemeckis has ever filmed.

Studios Would Never Make Beowulf Today

Beowulf it benefited from having the right timing, arriving just as 3D was taking off from theaters, and studios were willing to take a risk. “Strange” is one way to describe the movie, but “experimental” is another, as Zemeckis took a big swing with this film, and thankfully, it worked in the end.

The film grossed $196 million at the box office but turned a profit thanks to its DVD release. Over the years, it has become a cult classic, and is still praised for its high-quality animation work, which holds up even decades later.

We're now in an era where Hollywood studios are risk-averse, and it seems that only remakes, established franchises and superhero movies get big budgets, making Beowulf a pleasant atmosphere from which the directors can create as they wish. If you haven't seen it Beowulfeven if it's been a while and you forget how it all started, it's available to stream on Max today.