Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Beauty and the Beast Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman February 13, 2017

Author Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve’s Beauty and the Beast has enjoyed several cherished film adaptations -- those that maintain the source story's historical timeframe in both animated and live action forms and those that modernize it -- but each version seems to miss out on at least one or more important element from the original tale, leaving viewers without a definitive straight-retelling of the original work. Director Christophe Gans' Beauty and the Beast, a 2014 French film, sticks closer to the details found in the original telling than most, offering a slightly more traditional take on the classic tale made famous by Disney's Oscar-winning masterpiece. Unfortunately, this film falls well short of capturing the spirit of the original tale, which says that true beauty is more than physical attractiveness, leaving it without the necessary overarching theme that ties the story together and makes it a true fairy tale.

As the film opens, a mother reads a story to her children that suddenly springs to life and reveals its characters as more than mere words on a page. Belle (Léa Seydoux) and her family are forced to leave the city after her father’s (André Dussollier) business sinks him into financial ruin. Yet Belle continues to thrive. Her innate goodness shines as she adapts to a life without finery and with much less fuss than her brothers and sisters who miss their past lives in the city. When news comes that all of Belle's father's fortune may not be lost, he returns to the city but becomes lost on the journey home, stumbling upon the Beast’s (Vincent Cassel) castle. Belle trades her freedom for her father's, and as she adapts to life in the castle alongside the Beast, the film begins to deviate from the original tale, offering a glimpse into the Beast's past and how he came to be the Beast.

While truer to the original tale in many ways, 2014's Beauty and the Beast falls well short in the most important part of the story: the romance. In the fairy tale, Belle (who is blessed with both inner beauty and good looks) grows to love the Beast as they spend time together in the castle. It's enchantingly depicted in a classic montage in the Disney animated film. In this film, there's barely a hint of their growing affection. They spend only a little time together, they argue a bit, and suddenly the Beast loves Belle enough to allow her to leave. After visiting her family, she returns to the Beast, in love with him and all but ready for happily ever after. Never is the relationship developed to satisfaction, never mind to the point that viewers feel not only the outer connection but, more importantly, the inner passions that drive the characters and the story in its final moments. The romance is much of what made Disney's version work so well. Audiences became attached to the characters, felt their evolving feelings, and understood the sacrifices and desires that were a result. Audiences that come to this variation of Beauty and the Beast expecting a finely developed love story, which is central to any telling, will likely walk away disappointed. Even the "past" love story that ultimately leads to the Beast's curse leaves much to be desired in terms of how it's developed and presented on the screen.

The film does offer an interesting blend of the original tale and the beloved Disney version while taking its own liberties with the source and adding in its own creations. For example, this telling adds a magical "golden deer" subplot and an odd take on the not-so-invisible servants that are a hallmark of the Disney film. Belle's family is larger and more fleshed out in this version, keeping with the original story, while the "storming of the castle" will be familiar to Disney fans, albeit as the movie takes rather giant strides in making the sequence its own. Technically, it's a quality film, presenting the Beast's castle with a sense of decrepit place that is itself something of a blend of juxtaposing elements: cold yet hospitable, barren but dotted by flashes of natural beauty. Costumes are attractively presented and period-complex (though sometimes seem to favor function over form) while the digital Beast effects present the creature with as much care as the film's midrange budget allows, handling even wet fur nicely enough.

Beauty and the Beast Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Beauty and the Beast is often a rather cold film, a bit visually unwelcoming and dreary. It's often contrasted against deeply saturated reds, whether rose petals or some of Belle's costumes. Color springs to life in a few more evenly and naturally lit exteriors where costumes and vegetation stretch the palette, but expect a predominantly cold color scheme that's more thematically accentuating than it is inherently vibrant. Details are good, particularly around the castle and various interiors where both woods and stone show fair surface texturing, but never the sort of intimate, tactile, authentic qualities exhibited by the finest transfers. Much the same may be said of faces and clothes. Even the most resplendent and texturally in-depth costumes lack that last little push of lifelike intimacy. Blacks are critical to the experience, and there's an occasional struggle to hold deep, particularly early on when Belle's father arrives at the Beast's castle. They do tighten up as the film moves forward. Flesh tones are slightly pasty. Light macroblocking is evident in a few places but no other major source or encode flaws are apparent.

Beauty and the Beast Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Beauty and the Beast boasts a pair of DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtracks, one in the native French and the other in a dubbed English. Both are similar, with perhaps a sight edge to the French in terms of openness, depth, and overall clarity. The track features no shortage of quality sonic moments, particularly where the low end is concerned. The film opens with crashing waves and a coming storm that pound the stage nicely, though certainly without the raw aggressiveness demonstrated in the top tracks with similar qualities. Much the same can be said for every low end engagement in the track. Whether gunshots (which do echo nicely about the stage) or massive footfalls late in the movie, the low end never reaches that level of punishing that its scenes seem to demand. Atmospheric effects are quite good, though, whether blustery winds swirling about the stage or dialogue reverberation through the expansive castle. The track rarely wants for greater openness and raw sense of space and place. Complimentary effects are arguably its strength, including little scuffles about the castle or eerie environmental effects outside of it. Music is pleasing, clear to satisfaction and well spaced along the stage, more up front than in the back, though. Dialogue is well defined and prioritized in both tongues, though the French, obviously, syncs to lip movement.

Beauty and the Beast Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Beauty and the Beast contains several interviews and the film's trailer. Both DVD and digital versions of the film are included with purchase.

• Interview with Director Christophe Gans (1080p, 19:32).
• Interview with Vincent Cassel (1080p, 14:53).
• Interview with Léa Seydoux (1080p, 9:02).
• Theatrical Trailer (1080p, 1:54).

Beauty and the Beast Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Beauty and the Beast falls well short of satisfying its core needs: exploring the relationship between its title characters. Their love seems sudden, convenient for the plot, explored with little, if any, sense of sincerity in the heart, never mind in the physical. The film does a fair job on the surface, blending elements of the original tale and various filmed versions while making many parts its own, sometimes to good effect, sometimes to not-so-good effect. But its failures outweigh its pluses, yielding, at best, a so-so adaptation that, with some work, could have stood as one of the definitive tellings. Shout! Factory's Blu-ray offers good video and audio along with a few interview supplements. Fans of the original work will want to see it, but fans of the Disney version and romantics will likely find it lacking.