BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

I did not get to experience this beautiful film when in its theater run, so anxiously awaited its release on blu ray disc with "baited breath" probably as untold numbers did also! Having not gotten to see it on the "real" widescreen, I was not sure how it would look on my 42" HDTV...but, not to worry folks if you also may be wondering...it is beyond gorgeous, it's Magnificent and must be seen! My second worry was "how is this going to work, really, as live action and cgi blended together, and how would it all sound as well? Again, it turns out as arguably the most beautiful Disney release for a great many years (wow huh?)!! The cast....practically takes your breath away when you see just how many time-honored and loved actors and actresses appear and delight with their presence and acting skills! Singing!...that's right, they are Singing, and Dancing, and pouring themselves into this most beautiful Disney marvel! ▪ Emma Watson as Belle ▪ Dan Stevens as The Prince / Beast ▪ Luke Evans as Gaston ▪ Kevin Kline as Maurice – Belle's father. ▪ Josh Gad as LeFou ▪ Ewan McGregor as Lumière ▪ Stanley Tucci as Maestro Cadenza ▪ Ian McKellen as Cogsworth ▪ Emma Thompson as Mrs. Potts ▪ Audra McDonald as Madame de Garderobe ▪ Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Plumette ▪ Nathan Mack as Chip ▪ Hattie Morahan as Agathe ▪ Adrian Schiller as Monsieur D'Arque ▪ Gerard Horan as Monsieur Jean Potts ▪ Haydn Gwynne as Clothilde ▪ Michael Jibson as the Tavern Keeper ▪ Ray Fearon as Père Robert ▪ Sophie Reid, Rafaëlle Cohen, and Carla Nella as the Village Lasses ▪ Jimmy Johnston, Dean Street, and Alexis Loizon as Tom, Dick, and Stanley – Gaston's henchmen. ▪ Zoe Rainey as Belle's mother ▪ Clive Rowe as Cuisinier ▪ Thomas Padden as Chapeau ▪ Henry Garrett as The King ▪ Harriet Jones as The Queen The cgi work is so believable it's unbelievable....(clever description intro, huh?) every character, article, etc., of cgi imaging is breathtaking in its beautiful, reality-fitting splendor from the computer artists! Was I delighted? Beyond what I could have possibly imagined.....I was thrilled and pleased throughout the entire film! The hype and trash heaped upon this movie because of ----'s performance was unfair and crossly wasted words and judgements! My God people get over it!!! Nothing was overtly presented nor was it out of place! So, folks, you can totally disregard the trash from those (quick to label and judge you-know-who's) that heaped judgement on this film at the time of its theater run and also below here in these reviews! Beautiful throughout, every aspect of it! Valuable, worthwhile entertaining film that will delight people of all ages (I resisted "children of all ages" here!). I loved this film tonight as I watched it in this initial blu ray disc release. I will most assuredly obtain it again when the 3-D version gets released as well as I am completely sure it will be worthy of this extra enhancement technical marvel! The extras here are awesome and so very pertinent although excised from the film. Some are screamingly hilarious! There is the music video "Beauty & the Beast" that was released concurrently with the films theatrical release, an interview with Celine Dion, and many of the actors and creative members involved with the film. A truly great presentation of film and extras making a truly generous package! One thing I will say, is that I am greatly jealous of those that got to see it in its I-Max presentation in the theater as no television view can recreate this sort of experience. You will not now or ever regret acquiring this masterpiece! ~operabruin

Beauty & the Beast movie review: Beyond amazing. Emma Watson was PERFECT for the part of Belle. Especially since she's really such a woman's activist in real life about education etc. She played Belle perfectly. Even singing 🎤 was on point. Back stories were amazing on both parties parts. I cried when they went through the book of his. It's a little different than the cartoon and of course it would be. All the best parts were included except I would have loved for Gastón to have finished that line: "do you honestly think she'd want you (he said that and I wished he would have said) When she could have someone like me?" Like Evans was PERFECT for the role of Gastón. In all the movies I've seen him in--serious, epic parts, the fact he played someone so self-indulgent and so narcissistic was amazing. He did really good at bringing Gastón to life. The other characters did wonderful. Kevin Klein was great as her father. Josh Gad as LeFou kind of seemed more sympathetic in the movie where as in the Disney animated movie he was all about Gastón and had no qualms of conscience of what happened to the father or what have you. Ewan McGregor as Lumiére. Sigh. I've always loved his movies. And why is it that he's the only one with a French accent? 😏 and the feather duster. No idea Ian McKellen played Mr. Cogsworth. Very, very great action by all. Now, as for Dan Stevens who played Adam/the Beast. I've never seen him in another movie but I think he was great for this part. Even as the east he was handsome. 😘 **SPOLIER** As for certain parts of the movie tht people have said we're upsetting. Yes, I understand that perfectly. The ending fight where the wardrobe redressed those thugs and one of them actually acted like he liked it as if he was maybe "queer". Liked cross-dressing. And the ending dance where that guy goes up to LeFou and starts dancing with him like a couple. One. In real life Josh Gas has a wife and kids. Idk about the other guy and honestly--it was a fleeting moment of the movie. I didn't really pay attention to that because hello! My eyes were concentrating on Belle & Adam dancing. And the father painting the scene. It was wonderful. And who really cares about those little parts? It did NOT take away from the movie. None whatsoever. **END SPOILER** Beautifully done and I would love to go see it again. Compared to the broughtbtoblife Cinderella which had only small amounts of magic and was more relatable I guess and not as much music as BATB but BATB is a movie of enchantment and magic. In a way I felt it was more of a musical in away but it made the movie all the better for it. It was grand and marvelous. I loved it. Can NOT wait for it to come out on amazon so I can watch it over and over. NOW THEY NEED TO MAKE A LITTLE MERMAID!!!! 😏😘😍

This was our blizzard movie.. granddaughter and wife wanted to watch it and both enjoy it very much..

Excellent movie.

Great dvd, love the movie

Since the plot is so well-known, I'll touch on details and minutiae that made this film more meaningful for me. Like many, many others, I loved the original animated version, but, still, it IS a cartoon. The difference in the empathy and emotion drawn forth by having human actors is amazing. I FELT Kevin Kline's aching sense of loss for his beloved dead wife; Belle's impatience at the constricts of living in a provincial village; Gaston's insufferable self-love, the Beast's anguish at the predicament that he KNOWS is of his own making, the castle's inhabitants grief and regret at not having helped the prince be a better person.. The settings recalled the real darkness of the original French fairy tale. The prince is a prisoner of his own arrogance, selfishness and anger, and the intricacies of the Beast's cursed castle show that so well, metaphorically: everything is entangled and entwined with sharp, brittle branches and dark, dark, dark. The scenes where Belle and he begin to interact to get to know each other become well-lit and brighter, as if the Beast is slowly letting go of his own destructive tendencies. The mob scene is truly horrifying, as I could feel the hatred that Gaston is whipping up, and the villagers so quickly fall for. The obvious "lessons" are here as well: appearances are not all there is to a person as well as (sorry, Lloyd Weber fans) love changes everything. The humor is still here, as is the wonderful score of the original. But the score is so much more lush and full, and the three new numbers enhance both the plot and the character development very well. The opening prologue shows in just a few minutes how shallow and self-satisfied the prince is. "How Do You Hold a Memory" is so achingly sad (and I'll be some imagineer at Disney had a fabulous time making the clock that Belle's father is working on). "Days in the Sun" could be about any regret of not grabbing every chance you can to learn about and/or live life as fully as your circumstances allow. And what can be said about "Evermore"? As many versions of this fairy tale as I've read and/or seen, nothing else captures the agony of the Beast's finally finding love and realizing that, for his beloved's happiness, he must give her up, knowing full well what that will mean to and for him. Yup, I cried. "Beauty and the Beast" has always been for me, the quintessential romantic fairy tale. This rendition captures all the romance, pain, love, and self-sacrifice that the best fairy and folk tales offer in explanation of the human condition. A couple of small details: some commenters have pointed out that Belle' favorite book is "Romeo and Juliet," a play written in the 1600s, and the fact that her mother dies some twenty years before of plague (probably the Black Death), which they assert happened in the mid 1300s. I have just finished listening to a set of lectures on the Black Death (available from The Great Courses), and that outbreak was neither the first nor the last outbreak of the plague. The plague (of which there were three variations) returned many times through out the centuries. Cases still appear today, in the US as well as other parts of the world.There are antibiotics now to stop it, but the symptoms are so little known/recognized and the disease so fast-acting that those who contract it often die before a correct diagnosis is made. The other comment seems to be that the library in the town is not well stocked with books. Historically, it wouldn't necessarily be: even though printing had been around for a century or so, books were still nowhere as readily available as they are today. As well, not many people in that town would be literate nor interested. Remember that Belle was harassed for teaching another little girl to read.

Nice quality and was delivered fast! Never bought a used DVD before but will from this place again!

look, I understand why remakes get hate sometimes, bc they are not as good as the original, or are unnecessary. as someone who didn't care to see a beauty and the beast remake, I loved this movie! why? because it was fun, colorful, the actors were great in it, and guess what? the animated one from the 90s itself was a remake. beauty and the beast had been a live action movie originally, and even that was based on a French fairy tale. also, once the 1991 Disney film came out, it became a broadway musical. honestly, once it became that, it had the right to be adapted to a live action film again, like any broadway musical has the right to. also, I've heard criticism about Emma's singing. if she was terrible, then I would understand why she gets hate. but here's the thing: her voice was simple, but it was lovely. literally, it had a sweetness to it that gave a person a feeling of ease. I actually liked hearing her sing. same with the beast. he's not a long-term singer, but he learned quite well and I loved hearing him sing evermore. the supporting cast were also excellent, from the actors playing the furniture to kevin kline and luke evans. it was a film that was also shot beautifully, was vibrant and the costume design was brilliant. also, I don't understand the criticism towards Emma's yellow dress. I think people have never seen the dress from the animated movie on an actress. in real life, on an actual female figure, that dress doesn't look good at all. it just looks great in drawings. this gown looked a great deal better in real life. also, what has to be understood about this remake is that there is a whole new generation who can enjoy this. I was a child when the 1991 came out, and it was a magical time for me. now this movie can do the same thing for the kids of this generation. besides, the 1991 film still exists and this new one doesn't override that one. it's still there for us to enjoy as is this one. the actors in this were great, so was the directing, etc. love this film.