This is a very, very different version of "Beauty and the Beast"--as so much of what I remembered about the story has changed. In this film it's set in Italy and the curse on the young Duke was caused by a long-dead sorcerer. And now the curse man must contend with a jerk that will stop at nothing to steal his throne. But it's the nature of the curse that is so different from what I expected--even more so than this silly political posturing and subterfuge. While the man DID become a beast, it only happened at night--like Princess Fiona from "Shrek"! And how does the film remind me of "I Was a Teenage Werewolf"? Well, the makeup looks like a third-rate version of this second-rate film. This certainly seemed nothing like the versions of the story from Jean Cocteau (1946), Hallmark (with George C. Scott in 1976) or the Disney version! Sadly, what also is different about this version is that it was very low energy--and way too dull considering how interesting the story should have been.
If the weirdness of the story were all, I could still have given this movie a decent score. After all, it is an old folk tale and there is no one definitive version. However, what's new is bad--not just the dullness of the story but the writing overall. There are too many scenes involving long exposition--a sign of very bad writing. This is when people talk not so much to each other but instead it's like a little speech only intended, clumsily, to explain the back story! In addition, again and again, the film never gets interesting or takes advantage of the plot. For example, if you do see the film, what if at the end the curse had not only left the Duke but then attached itself to the evil usurper? All in all, a film that kids will be bored to tears over and others won't particularly enjoy either. My advice is see the brilliant Cocteau and Disney versions....the George C. Scott one, unfortunately, is not available anywhere.
If the weirdness of the story were all, I could still have given this movie a decent score. After all, it is an old folk tale and there is no one definitive version. However, what's new is bad--not just the dullness of the story but the writing overall. There are too many scenes involving long exposition--a sign of very bad writing. This is when people talk not so much to each other but instead it's like a little speech only intended, clumsily, to explain the back story! In addition, again and again, the film never gets interesting or takes advantage of the plot. For example, if you do see the film, what if at the end the curse had not only left the Duke but then attached itself to the evil usurper? All in all, a film that kids will be bored to tears over and others won't particularly enjoy either. My advice is see the brilliant Cocteau and Disney versions....the George C. Scott one, unfortunately, is not available anywhere.