La Belle Et la Bete

Great story. Great gift.

i happen to speak a bit of French but if you don't...THIS IS NOT THE DVD FOR YOU!! it is all in French and captions are only in French as well. love this movie but i would have waitied for English choices if it was shown not to be the case with this version. Import but worked fine on my laptop. arleen in new jersey

I bought this DVD because I wanted to see the movie again in French with subtitles. I'm glad this buyer had it for sale.

I love the Beauty and Beast story, Vincent Cassel, and Brotherhood of the Wolf. So I was eager to see this and a little worried it would be a letdown. Happy to say this is my new favorite rendition and even tops the Jean Cocteau and Disney versions which I also like.The overall dreamlike visuals and fairy tale feel is perfect. The beast looked great (arguably the trickiest and most important piece to pull off the movie.) Acting was great. Costumes were lovely although I found myself thinking most of Beauty's outfits looked as uncomfortable as they were eye catching. Special effects were good and really enhanced the story. I really liked the Beast's backstory woven into the main storyline --- those familiar with other fairy tales and Greek myths may recognize some familiar themes on broken promises there.On the downside, I felt too much time was spent on Beauty's initial family story that would have been better spent on showing us her growing relationship with the Beast at the castle. Also I did not care at all for the castle servant/gremlin/dogs. I just found them ugly and creepy. I guess it may be my preference for larger wolf-like dogs rather than squealing alien rats.I would say this is kid friendly although they did have a pretty hot (but fully clothed) bedroom scene with the Prince and his wife --- thank you, Vincent! et vive la France --- and a totally appropriate non-sexual nude seen with strategic angle cover up. Also, I prefer all my foreign films in original language with subtitles and kids may need to go for a dub or be ok with practicing fast reading and/or their French language skills.At one point this DVD was selling for about $40 and I had no idea if it would really play on a US player. So I took a chance off this listing and ordered it via an amazon seller for about half the price and thankfully it did play on a US player.

WOW! Fantastic movie! I was worried it might be a bit campy because it's not a Hollywood film, but it's not at all! It's high-budget and extremely well done.Early on, the storyline sticks very close to the original fairytale and then at the end it -- almost seamlessly -- kind of does it's own thing and it was masterfully pulled off. Not only did I enjoy this on its own merits AND as an adaptation, but it also made me even more excited for the upcoming Disney film -- because it'll be great if it's even HALF as good as this one was.Much better than the Faerie Tale Theatre version and MORE than on par with the 90s Disney one.Because I was confused as to if/how this would play on a region one player, since it's French, I will put in this review that this WILL play on your American player most likely. It plays both on my stepdad's playstation and on my mini-player, so it's standard format. You will have to fast forward past some dumb commercials before you reach the main menu, but it's not too bad and it's worth it.The seller did a great job. Item was in good shape, came when expected, and I enjoyed it immensely.

Wow, this movie is so beautiful in every way including the story and the amazing cinematography. The actors are all perfect for their respective roles. This movie is a MUST HAVE for any fan of fairy tales and love stories, and if you are such a fan then you’ll have to get this movie as an import. You can get it right here through a third party seller, or get it from Amazon themselves at http://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00QSO7VD6 . The DVD is the original French movie, but with English subtitles and plays on USA DVD players. BUT BEFORE YOU BUY THE DVD OR BLU-RAY make sure to check that it is Region 1, and check the language is French and that the subtitles are in English. This movie is age appropriate for anyone who is 18 and older. There is no bad language but there is one very tiny tiny scene where there is very minor nudity. Anyways, I love this movie very much and it is nothing like the one made by Disney. This is the type of movie that you can watch over and over again. And because they did such an outstanding job of this movie, I just wanted more and more of this movie – in other words I didn’t want this movie to end, and that is rare for me to say.

I can't tell you how excited I was when I first heard about this movie over two or so years ago. I waited patiently for it to become available in the United States. When I proceeded to purchase it I read so many reviews of people exclaiming it to be better then the Disney 'Beauty and the Beast' and other wonderful things about the movie. When I finally received it and watched it; oh my goodness! I don't know where to begin. This version of Beauty and the Beast was so intriguing, beautiful and captivating that I didn't want it to end! The storyline is so interesting and when it was finally revealed about how the beast ended up the way he was I was shocked and by the end of the film I sat back, a big grin on my face. Seriously if you enjoy fantasy movies You should get this it's defiantly worth buying. Also someone mentioned there is a small scene of nudity, they were right it's very small and the dubbed English is very easy to read while watching (my sisters don't watch foreign films and they were worried about that but they had an easy time following). So there are no excuses, get the movie!

I actually loved Christoph Gans’ videogame based film Silent Hill (2004) whether you loved or hated it there’s no denying it was visually stunning and full of atmosphere. So it makes me happy that he got to do his own adaptation because he creates an unbelievably beautiful film that sucks you right into this fantasy world.The way the relationship is handled is kind of problematic; Belle is extremely bitter towards the Beast most of the time, which is justifiable as he is rather unlikeable and forces himself onto her. The bitterness of the relationship was actually fun and refreshing to watch but it when it came to the romance it’s very difficult to see where any mutual respect originates and comes across as an afterthought. They do try to justify it with Belle seeing the Beast’s backstory in visions so that she could sympathise with him but that still doesn’t explain why she falls in love with him. The Beast in this also not a gentleman, in fact for the most part he is rather unpleasant throughout that he doesn’t develop like the Disney character. Another major flaw is the villain Perducas is pretty forgettable, he’s a gangster whom Belle’s brother owes money to and goes to the castle to steal from it. So he has no real direct connection Belle or the Beast and makes the climax of the film rather pointless.Despite being visually stunning, there’s some poor CGI in places particularly in the climax. The Beast is done well, while some of the close-ups of him were clearly CGI for the most part I thought it was prosthetics. Also I don’t care that they were CGI I loved the little dogs with the huge eyes.Despite the CGI, I can’t stress how grand this film looks. The design of the castle, interior and exterior has enchantment in every corner. It was clear Christoph Gans wanted create a whole fantasy world and let his imagination run wild. The costumes are amazing, it was kind of fun seeing Belle with a new dress every other scene. The use of colours are just breath taking, it’s like watching a painting come to life. The music by Peirre Adenot is also incredible that enhances the mystical environment.The Beast’s backstory was interesting and very different to what I’ve seen before; it’s both tragic and twisted. It helps show how turning into a beast is a fitting punishment and also why the castle is enchanted. It also makes the rose the picking scene make a little more sense, as well as being in character for this version of the Beast.Lea Seydoux puts in a great performance as Belle, making her likeable while giving her a strong backbone. Vincent Cassel is able to be intimidating with his voice while also giving him a subtle soft side.Like Cocteau’s 1946 film, it’s very flawed in it’s writing but its visual style and atmosphere makes up for it. The film itself was mostly received positively in France, which suggests the French are more accustomed to the art of it over the story logic.

My chief concerns with this film are that it has been padded out too much, making the original simple story confusing,especially towards the end - and the huge amount of CGI used unfortunately gives it a touch of Disney ( the twee dog - creatures) and detracts from its stylish and exquisite,if sometimes OTT, visuals.This apart it is a beautiful ,lush,haunting evocation, vividly imagined,with a subtle erotic charge between the Beast and Beauty of the kind that only the French do this well , just as it was evoked in Cocteau's version superbly between Josette Day and Jean Marais.In the Gans version it is clear between Cassel and Seydoux,both whom are bewitching, and I was disappointed that the story between them was not more explored,instead of so much focus on the backstory with the robbers and the complicated battle at the end with the stone giants etc. There does not see to be a moment when Beauty becomes aware that she loves the Beast - however the scenewhen she tries to escape across the frozen lake and he pounces and comes close to kissing her suggests it, as in the later one where she returns to her family wearing a flaunting red dress,perhaps showing that her passion had been awoken ( and virginity lost?) The mysterious atmosphere,the dream within a dream, the breathtaking visuals of the Beast's castle and the enchanted landscape,Beauty's exquisite dresses and the Beast himself truly conjures that place of magic that we carry within our own dreams and childhood memories offairy tales....the film does not,for me, eclipse the Jean Cocteau but is nonetheless the achievement of a magician.

Pathé's version very different. I don't recall any fuss being made about this one when it came out, at least in the Anglo-Saxon world, unlike Disney's and the girl from Harry Potter's versions. Missed Mrs Potts, and Belle's ballgown was not standard issue yellow, sacré bleu! Some material changes in the plot, probably truer to the original storyline though. The Pathé family's poster girl is a very convincing Belle, and the make-up and special effects really were rather good. At times the sound seemed a little subdued, but probably as I watched it on a laptop rather than a proper player. With a tale as old as time, and a fairly prosaic French script, subtitles are not de rigeur. Very pleased I accidentally stumbled across this movie I'd never heard of.

Stunning visuals, beautiful traditional story. Watching this is like reading a bygone book of fairy tales. Have always loved films by director Christophe Gans, Crying Freeman (1995) and Le Pacte des Loups/Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001). And Beauty & the Beast has always been my favourite fairy tale. This adaptation has fascinating conflicts between intense protagonists. The whole thing plays out as dreams within dreams. There are lovely moments of homage to Cocteau's and Herz's interpretations. Beauty's gowns are just fabulous with each colour corresponding to an episode and the landscapes are breath taking. Favourite scenes: Beauty and her father comfort each other in a quiet garden while their home and lives are being torn apart. When Beauty reaches Beast's enchanted kingdom for the first time, she arrives bedraggled and with scratched hands, a magic pool heals her. She will get her happy ending but not without a struggle and the ending has an untraditional twist to it I loved. Note: No English subtitles, but French ones. Useful for a second viewing.

Great movie interpretation of a classic story. Loved the imaginative way that it was filmed. Considering its popularity as a foreign film, it's a real shame that there were no English sub-titles but I manage to keep up with the story line even though I don't speak French!Good service from supplier.