A thousand years ago, peasants and kings were drawn to the epic and often heroic tales told by bards. Much like modern film audiences today, these often fantasized tales captivated their listeners and provided a microscopic insight into the culture of the medieval period. Today, there is no doubt that America in the 21st century is a vast and very different world from that of the early writers of British literature. However, nearly a thousand years after the original stories were written, American culture is still heavily influenced by these early Anglo-Saxon stories of heroism. Contemporary adaptations of these films combine these stories with the thrill of dramatic cinema and the modern ideals of Western culture to tame the overt epics of heroism and appear more "realistic" to the modern viewer. Grendel's attack on Herot in the 2005 film adaptation of Beowulf's epic, Beowulf and Grendel, seems a bit more pragmatic than the native text. Sturla Gunnersson, the film's director, modifies key qualities of the medieval characters of Grendel and Beowulf in order to portray them as more human versions of their ancient counterparts. The contemporary Grendel appears more like a warrior and less like a monster, while the contemporary Beowulf appears less heroic. The original text describes Grendel as nothing more than a monster, a descendant of Cain. Grendel is a product of punishment. He has few human qualities and seems more animal in character. It fights like an animal, mutilating its victims and eating their remains. He maintains no "honor code" of any kind and attacks his victims while they sleep. This early version of Grendel is depicted not only as being savage in nature, but also as being monstrous in appearance...... middle of paper ... the fight is not epic, the viewer sees no unimaginable skill when it comes to one or the other adversary. They are simply equal, both ultimately imperfect. The contemporary version of the first text is much more realistic. This removes the fantasy aspects of the text and creates a more rational version for the 21st century viewer. Today's audiences no longer respond to stories of "perfection and fantasy." In order to maintain the attention of today's viewers, the film had to tell the ancient tale while remaining grounded in reality. The film version of Beowulf depicts the story as a more practical historical tale than as a sensational fantasy epic. WORKS CITED Gunnarsson, S. (2005). Beowulf and Grendel [film]. Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MddPzFIZ9GM Heaney, S. (2008). Beowulf. (p. vii-260). London: WW Norton & Company, Inc...