La bella e la bestia

Every now and again, I'll pull out this movie for a trip down memory lane. True, it was low budget and John Savage never has appealed to me as a male romantic lead, but scenes of it were always so beautiful, taking inspiration from the 1946 classic La Belle et la bête. Not to sound like a sap, but there is a part in this movie that I always thought was wonderfully done. During one of the songs, Beauty is pretending to dance with her dream prince, meanwhile, in another room, Beast (who is actually her dream prince unbeknownst to her)is pretending to dance with Beauty. For a second she reaches out like she can feel him standing in front of her. For a B-Children's movie, I thought that was cool.

I have always loved Farie Tales, and this is my all time favorite, and I have them all. "The Frog Prince" with Aileen Quinn and Helen Hunt. "Puss N' Boots" with Christopher Walken. "Hansel and Gretel", "Rumplestiltskin", "Snow White", "Sleeping Beauty", "Pinnochio". A couple of those are done by Farie Tale Theatre, but I love the Cannon tales more than anything on earth. With Rebecca de Mornay singing, I never would have imagined she could btw, it's astounding. The cinametogrophy is great, and the script is wonderful. I'm 19, and even my father willingly watches this with me. He says, and I agree, that it just seems so real... and he's not that kind of guy at all!!! John Savage is the most terrific beast I could imagine... other than in the French movie "Beaute et Le Bete" or whatever it's called *lol*. It's an even better version than the Disney Cartoon, which is also one of my favorites. I hope that whoever sees this film on sale buys it (and sends it to me, I need a not worn out one!!!) and cherishes it forever!

While the 1946 Jean Cocteau and 1991 Disney versions are superior films of the timeless fairy tales, Cannon Movie Tales' 1987 adaptation is very worthy and one of the better Cannon Movie Tale films.

Beauty and the Beast (1987) is one of their best-looking films, Cannon's films were always made on a low budget but Beauty and the Beast is one of the few where it is not so painfully obvious. The film's very beautifully photographed, the sets are surprisingly lavish and atmospheric, especially the gardens and the castle is like a magisterial character in itself and from personal opinion Beauty and the Beast is the Cannon Movie Tale film with the best costume design, here being one of the highlights rather than a flaw. The music is quite good, not as memorable as the score and songs in Disney's version but they stand just fine on their own and fit well into the film. The incidental music is charmingly whimsical, and while only If You See With Your Heart stands out as truly great out of the songs (Wish for the Moon is also lovely, but not quite as emotion-filled) they're all listenable and do nothing to hinder the story.

The story of Beauty and the Beast is a timeless one, and while there are changes the basic details are intact structured faithfully and the enchanting spirit is too. Pacing is steady and controlled, very like the pacing of the fairy tale's story itself, the film doesn't suffer at all from trying to make a short story seem longer (a problem that The Frog Prince and especially The Emperor's New Clothes had) and the ending is very emotional. Beauty and the Beast's chemistry has a subtle intensity and a real poignancy too. It's nicely directed, allowing the story to breathe while still keeping its momentum and it does nothing to make the magic any less impactful. Rebecca De Mornay radiates innocence and beauty, and plays Beauty charmingly and touchingly, showing herself to be a quite decent singer too. John Savage shows very good chemistry with her, and is similarly very good as the Beast, giving off a scary but also tragically tormented figure and aided by good make-up.

While there is not a lot here actually that is wrong in Cannon Movie Tales' version of Beauty and the Beast, there are a couple of not-so-good areas. The two leads come off very well but the supporting roles are stockly written and overplayed, the siblings resort to quite embarrassing mugging and Beauty's father has rarely if ever been more unsympathetically portrayed. While Savage really impresses as the Beast, he is rather wooden as the Prince, which is not entirely his fault actually because Beast has always been a juicier and more interesting character which gives more scope to do much with the role. The writing does avoid being too cheesy and cloying and it is decent writing for a Cannon Movie Tale film, but can get a bit stiff in places especially in the early parts before Beast appears and when Beauty and the Beast are not on screen together.

All in all, there are some really beautiful things here, and of the Cannon Movie Tale films their version of Beauty and the Beast is one of their best. 8/10 Bethany Cox

I adored this movie the first time I saw it when I was 16. I love fairy tales and especially like movies that try to stick to the original story. These stories have been around for hundreds of years before Disney and there are different versions of each in different countries. The sets and costuming of this version are beautiful. (All though some obviously date the film to the late eighties) Rebecca De Mornay is fantastic as the gracious loving creature that can love even a beast. The way that this is filmed it almost feels as though you are the proverbial fly on the wall, or the statue with eyes. I think it is a wonderful way to get kids interested in something besides cartoons.

Good live action adaptation of the classic story. Rebecca De Mornay is perfect as the wholesome kind-hearted Beauty who lives with her wealthy father and grown brothers and sisters. As in Cinderella, Beauty's siblings require Beauty's constant help in doing even the smallest of chores. She is not unhappy and is able to tend to her family's needs with little effort, however she does wish to have some time of her own. The family goes broke, moves to the country, and Beauty is just as happy poor as rich. Her father stumbles across the Beast's castle and escapes imprisonment by having Beauty stay in his place. The Beast and castle are not unlike the Disney stage version, however there are no dancing silverware or clocks here, but the statues come to life. As a musical the songs are embarrassingly terrible by anyone's standards. The on-location sets are authentically colorful, charming and European. There are enough changes in the plot to keep one interested as to what exactly will happen next. Ultimately the film is saved by a wonderful performance by Rebecca De Mornay who simply melts hearts, sings like an angel, and warms the cold corners of any castle.