Customer Reviews

Beowulf and the Anglo-Saxons

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is a better than average educational video. It provides good background information on the culture of the Anglo- Saxons and the context of the Beowulf epic. Its best features are the recreations, the footage of the Sutton Hoo site and some of its treasures, and the actual recitation of some of the poem in the Old English ( very interesting to hear). The lecture that makes up the bulk of the narrative is of the type you might expect were you to attend a seminar at the Sutton Hoo site or some similar History for amateur enthusiast's event, but it is just enough material for a student starting to study this period or the poem. The only drawback is that the production company was obviously short on funds and towards the final third of the hour+ production, the visuals start to repeat- we see the same spinning helmet, the same burning lake, the same warriors tipping back the drinking horn once again-this is where my kids start laughing and go back to reading another book while I tell them to hang in there the material is worth it. But then, this isn't New Line Cinema, so you have to adjust your expectations. One especially good extra is the re-enactment segment. A representative of the society describes their efforts to rebuild a 10th C. Saxon Hall and this is very interesting and enough to tempt you to consider a trip across the pond to see it! All in all I would say this is worth your time- there isn't much out there on the subject and if nothing else will inspire the history/literature minded student to dig deeper!

I found this production to be poetic and educational. The opening which features the recitation in Wessex dialect is just one of the finest specimens of aural old english I've yet to hear. (But then, I don't hear that many.) It's an excellant critical presentation of Beowulf and and equally excellant presentation of the Saxon culture, it's life and times.
I do take a little issue with the neglect of the influence of Roman cavalry armour on the Sutton Hoo helmet. But, this is nit-picky on my part. I would recomend this for anyone teaching British literature, or world history, or just for your own edification...benefits will accrue! Add it to your curriculum today, integrate it into your lesson plans.
Gilbert Sarabia

DVD has some interesting information. It could serve as an introduction into the poem. It's not going to offer much new to anyone who's studied the poem or the history in much detail. I enjoyed watching it.

The video begins and ends with a reading of passages from Beowulf in Old English. This is not only an appropriate way of introducing the subjects covered - the poem Beowulf and the culture of the Anglo-Saxons which produced it - but also gives the viewer a sense of how distant that world is from ours in time.

I felt this video did an excellent job of integrating the story of the poem Beowulf with the culture that produced it. The DVD covers the story of Beowulf, an idealized dark age warrior, who faces epic struggles during his life. Many of these struggles are possibly metaphorical representations of the subsuming of pagan religions by Christianity. Beowulf is very much an "ideal" warrior in his conduct, his sense of honor and loyalty. The video covers some of the technical aspects of the poetic style in which it was composed. Credit is given to JRR Tolkien for being able to see the sophistication of the poem itself and its structure.

The video does a good job of chronicling the history and culture of the Anglo-Saxons, a germanic people, showing accurate representations of dress, feasting, the social bonds which held their society together as well as life in their villages and mead halls. The reenactments were generally good and useful in showing aspects of the culture that tie in to the Beowulf story.

The video touches on places like Sutton Hoo and the West Stow archeological sites to give the viewer an idea of what life was like during that period. It was both useful and enjoyable to see archeological finds and the artifacts which can tell us a great deal about the people who lived and were buried in these places.

The video was well made. The reenactments were good, the experts interviewed were able to explain aspects of the poem and the culture of the Anglo-Saxons in terms the layman can grasp and the 3-D effects were limited but well done. If you are a JRR Tolkien fan, you will find many tie-ins between Beowulf and other nordic-germanic legends highlighted in this DVD.

I enjoyed this DVD and it is the best I have viewed in regards to the Anglo-Saxon people and other Germanic peoples of Europe. It is informative and enjoyable. I give this DVD 5 stars.

I ordered this movie to show to my high school English class as a pre-reading activity for Beowulf. But when I opened it up to preview before showing it to my class, I realized that the sound quality was atrocious and that the narrator's voice was almost impossible to comprehend. There's no way this would ever hold their attention, and even with a reading guide they would just get frustrated and lost because it is so hard to understand what the man is saying. I wish I had never opened the package so that I could return it.

This DVD had the potential to be great... however, I simply could not understand a word the narrator was saying. OK, I may have understood the odd word, but trying to comprehend any sentence was next to impossible. Perhaps his accent was used to give some special feel to the DVD. The problem though, was that his accent was just too thick.

First off, I agree with most of the reviews about this DVD. The information is first-rate, and I found it to be fascinating. However, when I showed it to my English Literature Honors class, they had to fight not to go to sleep. Again, the information is first rate, but the narration is difficult to follow, rather quiet and droning.

I was very disappointed in this very short and not very informative film. As there could of been a lot more added to this film but was not. Like what was it like to live in Dark Ages? What was the food like? (It was I bet it was pretty bad to our tastes) How do you survive? (You pledge yourself to the local strong man) Why was it such a warrior culture? (Because the Legions had left and there was a power vacuum to fill) How did the church spread? What did Old English sound like (There is a very brief amount of it in the start of the film)and then how did it evolve to what we speak today. Also how was Sutton Woo excavated? Why were the items found there not explained to us? etc etc. Its a pity as it is a period of history that is really interesting and it deserves better!

looks good and maybe can be used in the classroom to prepare for reading the story and seeing the new movie

Beowulf is a myth character known in France, Scandinavia, England, and through the whole Anglo-Saxon world, like the later Robin Hood.
Berit.