Rent Beauty and the Beast (1978)

Freshening up an ancient tale - Beauty and the Beast review by TE

Excellent version of the Beauty and the Beast theme.

The aesthetic here is very much in the origional tradition of the darker 'fairy tales', much more Angela Carter than Walt Disney. Czech New Wave films are always well worth watching and range from sassy comedies to insightful political allegories. And then there is the strain of inventively filmed borderline horror fables, like this one.

Transfers to blu-ray do not always seem to work well when a film's predominant lighting is very subdued. This is an unfortunate feature of this disc, but it doesn't detract from the engaging energy of the overall experience.

Hugely gothic. - Beauty and the Beast review by NP

It’s difficult to get past the opening scenes of close-ups of animal abuse, but at least that sets the tone for this very dark and murky adaption of the famous story. They say the acting life can be very glamorous – it certainly isn’t the case here. No CGI safety-net, the performers attached to this story certainly seem to suffer for their art in a variety of uncomfortably cold situations.

It’s good when horror films bring some new locations into their stories, but equally, it’s always worth it to revisit the vast crumbling lairs of traditional settings, and that is done really effectively here; the story is given the most impressive horror treatment. Creatures hide in shadow – you only know they’re there when you see a rolled eyeball or a moving, inhuman talon. There is enough of a fairytale quality to this to appeal to the inner child, and there are moments when the eyes will moisten! It’s all accompanied by wonderful, sepulchral music, and directed like a hugely gothic TV film. My score is 8 out of 10.