Bewitched by 'Beowulf'

What does

Beowulf

have in common with brussels sprouts?

You

know

the eighth-century epic is culturally nutritious, but boy, is it hard to get down - especially since it's written in Old English, which is unintelligible to modern readers.

Some lit majors whine that

Beowulf

, which was composed between 700 and 750 by Anglo-Saxon bards and is considered England's first masterpiece, is boring, lame. Un-sexy.

Try telling that to Angelina Jolie, who sexes up the saga plenty with her scene-stealing, if unintentionally comic, turn as a super-seductive, nude dragon lady in Robert Zemeckis' $70 million

Beowulf

, which opens tomorrow.

Jolie isn't the only Tinseltown bookworm besotted with the poem. There's been a tidal wave of

Beowulf-

ania over the last two years, including

four

movies; a concert DVD featuring a recital of the poem; and a new opera directed by Julie Taymor.

Oh, and let's not forget Ubisoft's Beowulf: The Game!

Beowulf

recounts the exploits of a preternaturally strong hero from Geatland (southwestern Sweden) who is tested by three dread foes.

He first travels to Denmark to prove his heroism by vanquishing the evil Grendel, who has been killing and eating Danes for a dozen years.

Beowulf then squares off against Grendel's mum (Jolie in Zemeckis' film), who seems miffed by her boy's demise. A half-century later, Beowulf, who is now king of Geatland, sacrifices his life to defend his people from a dragon.

John Vickrey, an expert in Anglo-Saxon languages, said the poem has endured because it's such an archetypal tale about the hero, "who teaches us that each of us must conquer our fear of death."

So it's a classic. But why is it such a hot property?

To Sister Elaine Glanz, a medievalist at Immaculata University in Chester County, the reason is not too hard to fathom. She said it's natural that filmmakers would turn to

Beowulf

after the success of

The Lord of the Rings

. (

Beowulf

, it so happens, was a J.R.R. Tolkien favorite.)

Glanz said the poem is also a known quantity, since "at some point most people encounter it in high school or college."

But, like many academics, she complained that current appropriations of

Beowulf

"don't do the poem any justice" because they play fast and loose with the text.

Glanz's objection rings true of

Grendel

, a Sci-Fi Channel TV flick that premiered in January. Its director, Nick Lyon, concedes that the $1.4 million film, which featured such anachronisms as crossbows equipped with scopes and exploding arrowheads, "takes great liberties with the poem." But, he said,

Grendel

should be taken as a thriller about one of "history's first superheroes . . . geared toward 13- to 18-year-old boys," and not a literary adaptation.

Scott Wegener, on the other hand, insists his forthcoming film,

Beowulf: Prince of the Geats

, remains faithful to the poem

, presenting all three segments in proper order.

Ironically,

Geats

contains one spectacularly gratuitous departure from the text: It portrays Beowulf as the son of an explorer from a tribe in southern Africa known for its pacifist philosophy.

"The poem doesn't explain why Beowulf never raises his sword against another human being," Wegener argues.

Is it ever possible to be completely faithful to a story? Musician Benjamin Bagby said an element of reinterpretation has always been a necessary and welcome part of storytelling.

"The creativity is not only in the making of a story but in the reshaping of the telling each time it [is] performed by" storytellers - or reiterated in films and other media.

Bagby has firsthand experience: He has staged a performance piece reconstructing how ancient bards recited

Beowulf

using the original text and a period harp.

Beowulf

is especially open to reinterpretation because it contains numerous unanswered questions: For instance, while we're told about Grendel's mother, we know nothing about his father.

Beowulf & Grendel

, an impressive Canadian production from 2005 that stars Stellan Skarsgård, Gerard Butler and Sarah Polley, makes much hay of the fatherhood issue. It opens with a scene (not in the poem) showing a happy kiddie Grendel playing with his loving dad. That world is shattered when the Danish king Hrothgar (Skarsgård) and his men hunt down and kill Pa Grendel - merely because he creeps them out.

Director Sturla Gunnarsson said he wanted to "demythologize" the poem.

"Once you put Grendel in the natural world, it's much more reasonable to assume his hatred of Hrothgar and the Danish people stems from a blood feud, which is how things were actually settled back then," Gunnarsson said.

The Icelandic-Canadian filmmaker said he sees Beowulf as "a story about how we make monsters" by demonizing people we don't understand.

Zemeckis'

Beowulf

, which will put off some fans with its surprisingly cartoonish look, boasts a sophisticated, literate screenplay. Written by Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary, the film is a self-conscious meditation on the nature of myths. It asks why some stories can't help but falsify the events they try to convey.

Gaiman, who is best known as the author of the classic

Sandman

comic book series, said he wanted to present a more resolutely

human

Beowulf - warts and all - by exposing the space between Beowulf the man and Beowulf the myth.

The Beowulf we meet in the film is as flawed and as vain as regular folk - even though he's

also

a brave hero.

Gaiman and Avary also exploit questions about parentage, by suggesting that Hrothgar, Beowulf, Grendel, Grendel's mother and even the dragon are related to one another, which sets up a whole series of Oedipal struggles.

This "unified field theory of

Beowulf

," as Avary humorously calls it, shows that every one of the conflicts in the story arises out of a series of father-son rivalries.

An issue brussel sprouts never have to deal with.

The films

Beowulf

(2007) Robert Zemeckis' $70 million epic; a smart, literate script marred by cartoonish visual style. Out tomorrow in area theaters.

» READ MORE: www.beowulfmovie.com

Grendel

(2007) Sci-Fi Channel's low-budget entry is a B-list creature feature for teens. DVD due in 2008.

» READ MORE: http://princeofthegeats.com

or

» READ MORE: www.nicklyon.com

Beowulf

(2006) Singer Benjamin Bagby re-creates how ancient bards recited the poem; with period harp. DVD from Koch Vision ($29.99).

» READ MORE: www.bagbybeowulf.com

Beowulf & Grendel

(2005) Sturla Gunnarsson's superior, irreverent take on the tale. Stars Stellan Skarsgård, Gerard Butler, Sarah Polley. DVD from Anchor Bay ($14.98)

» READ MORE: www.beowulfandgrendel.com

Wrath of Gods

Documentary about the making of

Beowulf & Grendel

. DVD available through Web site ($24.95)

» READ MORE: www.WrathOfGods.com

Beowulf and the Anglo-Saxons

Documentary tracing the history of the poem and the tribes who produced it. DVD from Arts Magic ($14.95).

Beowulf

(1999) Christopher Lambert in passable horror; departs from poem. DVD from Dimension ($14.99).

The game

Beowulf: The Game Ubisoft's video game is based on the Zemeckis film. For Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. Information at film's main site:

» READ MORE: www.beowulfmovie.com

Useful books

Beowulf: A Dual-Language Edition

Translated by Howell D. Chickering. Anchor ($15.95)

Beowulf: A New Verse Translation

By Seamus Heaney. (Bilingual edition) W.W. Norton ($13.95)

Beowulf: An Illustrated Edition

Heaney's text; illustrations chosen by John D. Niles, who includes a superb essay about

Beowulf

and visual arts. W.W. Norton ($24.95)

The Beowulf Reader: Basic Readings

Edited by Peter Baker. Includes J.R.R. Tolkien's famous essay about the poem's significance. Routledge ($33.95)