World News B #8 December 7th, 2007

Beowulf First Page

Uploaded by litmuse on 13 Dec 05, 12.14AM JST.

1. Write about these two movies:
1. Beowulf
2. The Golden Compass

2. Write in MS Word, spell check, then upload to your blog. On your blog, add links to people or places. You can also add photos, but ALWAYS give credit (say where you got the photo from, who took the photo, and add a link back to the original).

3. Answer all these questions:
1. What or who is Beowulf?

The mightiest warrior in the age of heroes.

2. What is this movie based on?

It is based on the Old English epic poem of the Beowulf.

3. When and where was Old English spoken? (from when until when?)

Old English was spoken in parts of what are now England and southern Scotland between the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century.

4. What does Old English look like? Find a photo on the Internet.

See here: http://english3.fsu.edu/~wulfstan/110v.jpg

5. What does Old English sound like? Find a sound file on the Internet

I found the sound clips of “Readings from Beowulf”. See the link below:
http://faculty.virginia.edu/OldEnglish/Beowulf.Readings/Beowulf.Readings.html
(From the University of Virginia website: http://faculty.virginia.edu/OldEnglish/index.html)

See also: http://www.beowulftranslations.net/benslade.shtml

6. What is the story of Beowulf? (Who are the main characters? Where and when does it take place? What are the key events?)

In the age of heroes comes the mightiest warrior of them all, Beowulf. After destroying the overpowering demon Grendel, he incurs the undying wrath of the beast's ruthlessly seductive mother, who will use any means possible to ensure revenge. The ensuing epic battle resonates throughout the ages, immortalizing the name of Beowulf. (from Wikipedia)

Main characters:
Beowulf (a hero) portrayed by Ray Winstone
King Hrothgar (the king of Heorot) by Anthony Hopkins
Grendel (monster) by Crispin Glover
Queen Wealthew (Hrothgar’s wife) (the mother of Grendel) by Angelina Jolie
Unferth by John Malkovich

7. What happens to Beowulf at the end of the poem (not the movie)?

The battle sequence between Grendel's mother and Beowulf which leads to end with her death.

8. Who is the director? What other movie has (s)he directed? Have you seen any of them? If so, which one? Did you like it?
The director is Robert Zemeckis.

He has directed the following movies:
I Wanna Hold Your Hand (1978), Used Cars (1980), Romancing the Stone (1984), Back to the Future (1985), Amazing Stories (1986), Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), Back to the Future Part II (1989), Back to the Future Part III(1990), Tales from the Crypt (1991), Death Becomes Her (1992), Forrest Gump (1994), Contact (1997), Cast Away (2000), What Lies Beneath (2000), The Polar Express (2004) and Beowulf(2007).

I've seen the Back to the Future and the Contact. I liked the Back to the Future because it's full of thrills!

9. Who are the main actors in this movie?

Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, Robin Wright Penn, Alison Lohman, John Malkovich, Crispin Glover, Brendan Gleeson, and Angelina Jolie.

1. Choose one of the actors or actresses. What other movies has this person been in? Did you see any of those movies? If so, which one? Did you like it?

I chose Anthony Hopkins who appeared in the movies shown here: Anthony Hopkins
I liked him being in the movie, "Remains of the Day". He was kind of very quiet throughout this movie but showed his strong presence.

10. What is “The Golden Compass” based on?
“The Golden Compass” is based on a book titled “Northern Lights”.

11 Who wrote the original story? When?
Philip Pullman wrote the original story in 1995.

12 What is the story? (Who are the main characters? Where and when does it take place? What are the key events?)
The story is about a orphan girl, Lyra, who lives in a fantastical world where the dictator, Magisterium, threatens to dominate it. One day, Lyra’s friend kidnapped, so she starts her journey to save her friend.

13 Where is Oxford (UK)? Find a map.

multimap

world atlas

大きな地図で見る

14. How many colleges are there?
There are two universities in Oxford; University of Oxford and Oxford Brookes University.

15 Who is the director? What other movie has (s)he directed? Have you seen any of them? If so, which one? Did you like it?
The director is Chris Weitz. He’s directed American Pie, Down to Earth and About a Boy. Unfortunately, I have never seen any of his movies. I’ve heard a good reputation of “About a Boy” from my friends. I think I should see it!

16 Who are the main actors in this movie?
The main actors are Daniel Craig, Ian McKellen, Ian McShane and Sam Elliott.

1 Choose one of the actors or actresses. What other movies has this person been in? Did you see any of those movies? If so, which one? Did you like it?
I liked Nicole Kidman in “The Hours”. I loved it so I bought the DVD and even the bilingual script book after seeing it!

17 There is some controversy about this movie? What is it?

There is some controversy about religious aspects in this movie. In the Original book, the dictator Magisterium is depicted as a symbol of the Catholic Church. But in this movie, Magisterium represents all dogmatic giant organizations.