What's the Difference between Beowulf the Book and Beowulf the Movie?
| In the Book |
In the Movie |
Beowulf
|
Beowulf
Portrayed by: Ray Winstone
|
Hrothgar
|
Hrothgar
Portrayed by: Anthony Hopkins
|
Wiglaf
|
Wiglaf
Portrayed by: Brendan Gleeson
|
Unferth
|
Unferth
Portrayed by: John Malkovich
|
Grendel
|
Grendel
Portrayed by: Crispin Glover
|
Grendel's mother
|
Grendel's mother
Portrayed by: Angelina Jolie
|
wiglaf
|
wiglaf
Portrayed by: Brendan Gleeson
|
Wiglaf
|
Wiglaf
Portrayed by: Brendan Gleeson
|
Dragon
|
Dragon
|
Hrothgrar
|
Hrothgrar
Portrayed by: fre
|
| In the Book |
In the Movie |
|
The dragon is angered when an unnamed thrall steals a flagon from its treasure hoard, for which it emerges from its barrow lair and burns down a Geatish village. |
The dragon attacks after Unferth's slave Cain finds Hrothgar's dragon cup near a moorland and brings it back to Heorot. |
|
Beowulf brings eleven men with him to face the dragon. When the beast attacks, all but one, Wiglaf, flee into the forest. |
Beowulf and Wiglaf travel to Grendel's mother's cave, where Beowulf enters alone. As the dragon flies back to Heorot, it is met by a group of bowmen who attack it.
|
|
Beowulf initially fails to slay the dragon, but is spurred on when Wiglaf stabs below the dragon's head, where Beowulf finds his dagger strong enough to harm the beast. |
Beowulf is aware of a weak spot on the dragon's neck from a story told to him years before by Hrothgar. He slays the dragon on his own. |
|
The poem ends with Beowulf being burned at a pyre, with a barrow being built near his resting place as a monument. The dragon's treasure hoard, rusted and useless, is buried there as well, and the Geatish people fear attacks from the Scylfings and Frisians once the news of Beowulf's death spreads. |
Beowulf is placed on a boat with some treasure and burned at sea. In the last moments, it is revealed that Grendel's mother survived, and hinted that she may take after Wiglaf next.
|