BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (2017) MOVIE NEWS & REVIEW

beauty and the beast (2017) movie

Genre              |   Fantasy

Classification   |   PG

Running time   |   129 minutes

Released         |   23 March 2017

cast

Emma Watson ... Belle
Dan Stevens ... Beast
​Luke Evans ... Gaston
Josh Gad ... LeFou
Kevin Kline ... Maurice
Ewan McGregor ... Lumière
​Ian McKellen ... Cogsworth
Emma Thompson ... Mrs. Potts
Nathan Mack ... Chip
​Stanley Tucci ... Maestro Cadenza

director

Bill Condon

writer

Stephen Chbosky ... (screenplay by) and
Evan Spiliotopoulos ... (screenplay by)
 
Linda Woolverton ... (based on the 1991 animated film "Beauty and the Beast", animation screenplay by)
 
Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve ... (based upon the original tale by) (uncredited)
 
Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont ... (based upon the original story revision by) (uncredited)

cinematographer

Tobias A. Schliessler ​

music

​Alan Menken ... (score by)

film editor

Virginia Katz

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box office result

Worldwide             $1,263,521,126 ​ 

Australia                 $​​​​36,309,005

North America        $​​​​504,014,165

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the best dialogue

Agathe: Once upon a time, in the hidden heart of France, a handsome young prince lived in a beautiful castle. Although he had everything his heart desired, the prince was selfish and unkind.
Cogsworth: Master, it's time.
Agathe: He taxed the village to fill his castle with the most beautiful objects, and his parties with the most beautiful people.

LeFou: [singing] No one's slick as Gaston, no one's quick as Gaston / No one's neck is incredibly thick as Gaston / For there's no man in town half as manly / Perfect, a pure paragon / You can ask any Tom, Dick or Stanley / And they'll tell you whose team they prefer to be on! / Who plays darts like Gaston? Who breaks hearts like Gaston? / Who's much more than the sum of his parts like Gaston?
Gaston: [singing] As a specimen, yes, I'm intimidating!
LeFou: [singing] My, what a guy, that Gaston!

Beast: You could stay here. You could be happy.
Belle: Can anyone be happy if they aren't free?

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (2017) MOVIE IMAGES

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BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (2017) STORY SYNOPSIS

​Belle (Emma Watson), a bright, beautiful and independent young woman, is taken prisoner by a beast (Dan Stevens) in its castle. Despite her fears, she befriends the castle's enchanted staff and learns to look beyond the beast's hideous exterior, allowing her to recognize the kind heart and soul of the true prince that hides on the inside.

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (2017) MOVIE REVIEW

Reviewed by Mark Geraghty   |   Review date 20 March 2017
​Pop Movee Rating ⭐⭐⭐

​Seldom do I start a review with a personal disclaimer, but in the case of the live-action adaptation, I must declare my position as a former Disney employee who worked for the Mouse House at the time when their animation resurgence of the late 1980s and 1990s had hit its peak. THE LITTLE MERMAID (1989), ALADDIN (1992), THE LION KNIG (1994) and BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (1991) ushered in a new era of animated classics that re-established the studio and, ultimately, created the platform that has helped the company become the entertainment powerhouse it is today. It was with more than a little trepidation that I took my seat for the preview screening a little over a week ago. Nearly twelve months ago, Jon Faverau’s live-action version of THE JUNGLE BOOK (2016) exceeded all my expectations. Could Bill Condon’s Beauty and the Beast equivalent come close to capturing the charm and romance of the 1991 Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise animated classic?

The short answer is no.

The live-action update doesn’t match its animated progenitor, but it’s not through lack of effort. In fact, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST tries so hard for the audience to like it that, at times, it comes off as shrill and tone-deaf. No better example of this is Josh Gad’s LeFou. In order to mine the humour of the relationship between Luke Evans’ Gaston and LeFou, Gad plays him as as a gay desperado, endlessly throwing himself at Gaston to no avail, oblivious to his narcissistic liege. If the story had been adapted to a modern day setting, Gad’s version of LeFou would have been relevant, but the film is an almost shot-for-shot remake of the animated movie, including its period setting.

Did Gad need to play LeFou as a stereotype?

Personally, I don’t believe he had to.

The other big problem the film has is Emma Watson. As a fan of the animated film, it’s hard to accept her as Belle. There’s nothing wrong with her performance; she does the material justice. What is difficult to accept is the hardness of her look compared to the animated Belle. For whatever reason, Anne Hathaway seemed to be a better option. Maybe she can’t sing…

So, is there anything to recommend this new version of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST? Well, of course there is. He film is far from a disaster. The performances are roundly entertaining, with the Beast’s cadre of transformed house servants providing the majority of the entertainment. Ewan McGregor, Ian McKellen and Emma Thompson lend their vocal talents to Lumiere, Cogsworth and Mr.Potts, with McGregor proving to be the standout of the trio. The highlight for him is the rousing rendition of “Be Our Guest”, THE musical number of the movie. Strangely, this sequence feels at odds with the other musical numbers in the film, as it looks and sounds decidedly-modern by comparison, featuring requisite razzle-dazzle and energy one would expect to accompany such an up-tempo song.

Huge effort is also made with the film’s production, with the lavish costumes and sets that resemble Tim Burton’s films on steroids! Academy Award nominated Production Designer Sarah Greenwood, will surely be in  contention for Awards season and it would be a brave person to bet against her taking home her first Oscar.

Beautifully constructed. Energetic in parts. A miscast Belle. BEAUTY AND THE BEAST is not the live action adaptation I had hoped for. Bill Condon’s decision to undertake an almost shot-for-shot remake, save for the new songs written by Alan Menken especially for this version, diminished my interest in the film from the start. Understanding that this was the production’s narrative choice, the basis for direct comparison to the 1991 film became all the more stark. It’s at this point the question of relevance wandered into frame and lingered until the film’s closing credits...

Does this film add anything to what is already known about Belle and her Beastly Prince Charming?

The answer is a resounding no.

Viewers will have to be beguiled by the style and accept that the substance is no greater than the sum of the parts. This won’t prevent BEAUTY AND THE BEAST from being a huge hit (as this weekend’s global Box Office numbers have already proven to an extent). Viewers will have to be satisfied that accepting being a guest this time around means you’ll be served up the leftovers from a previous banquet...

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST MOVIE (2017) USEFUL LINKS

​Beauty and the Beast (2017) - IMDb​
Beauty and the Beast (2017 film) - Wikipedia
​Beauty and the Beast (2017) - Rotten Tomatoes

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