Reviews

Jean Cocteau's version of La Bele et la Bete has long been underrated as a film and a faithful adaptation of the classic story. Its costume design and art direction are something to be stunned at and marveled upon. His script, (though badly translated on video) is a well thought out piece that stands just as well as written word. Josette Day gives a powerful preformance as a selfless heroine for all times. The special effects may date themselves to the ignorant audiences fed on Star Wars and other such movies engorged with advanced technology. But they hold a quiet and effective charm rarely seen in films today. The dark mood and feeling of traditional fairy tales are brought to life with perfection. The dark and moody music and the theatrical emotion of fear and love brought on by the actors make it so. The film is a masterpiece by all means, which deserves a part on the top 250 list. Don't let this films audience be lost by foolish ignorance. Rent it today!

Movies like this bring the world together. A story of love, friendship and bravery. In a way all of Dorothy's problems must be faced by us too. Mind killing witches and avoiding cyclones, but to take on a new journey, a new turn in your life like it or not and the fact that with friends to guide you and the brightness of your soul, nothing can stop you. My childhood began and ended watching this film and its power still touches me deeply.

With the new generation of books like "Wicked" and comic books about an evil side of Oz, they've merely lost the entire point of the story and its meaning. Purity. Something simply stated but pouring out with wisdom. With these highbrow professors at there big universitys examining it as a political allegory are in my opinion, heartless, ignorant and prude. Oh! A man made out of tin! A talking scarecrow! NOBODY could have that big an imagination. YES THEY CAN! Someone with that gift should be revered, not dicsected. And to all of the people who ignorantly say "oh I hate this movie!" let me tell you something, you can't be skeptical about everything! To love a film like this, you must find the beauty of childhood in your heart, not like some college grad with a film degree. To all who love this film like me, I salute you.

Since the heyday of film, Lewis Carroll's book "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" has captivated directors. From the humorously bad silent treatments (One by Thomas Edison's Film Company I might add) to Walt Disney's failure of a picture which still captivates audiences for its trippy animation. In the suituation of Alice, it is not faith to Carroll's writing which was done in the 70's drab, dull adaptation starring Peter Sellers, but its taking the directors interpretation and a slice of what Carroll's work is about. Jan Svankmajer has done exactly that. Lewis Carroll's book in a nutshell, is a deeply haunting book. Written in the time of a strict, closed minded philisophical and cultural generation, we chillingly call the Victorian Era. In a time of strict parenting, Alice is an innocent victim even in her fantasy land. Being threatend by decapitation, pshycological torture and down right meaness. While Jan Svankmajer takes bottles of disgusting things, antique play toys, taxidermist animals and other odd things to animate with, he had indeed made the perfect Alice that the world deserves. 10 out of 10, Watch it, Please!

As an Ingmar Bergman fan this disgusts me. If Woody Allen wanted to put some dedication to him, fine but this man basically copies everything!!! Its like giving a famous sculptor a piece of stone and when he's done, he's copied Michaelangelo!!! What also disturbed me was that throughout the film he has no music and when the music plays at the party your ears literally screech in pain! I loved Annie Hall but basically I'm not a Woody Allen fan but I'm surprised this movie didn't throw his critical acclaim down the toilet.

Every frame of this film explodes with excellent acting, cinematography, music and art direction. I never thought I would see something so beautiful in a foreign film since Ingmar Bergman's work. This is by no means, an art film this is a human film, while holding an ethnic background these people portrayed in the film are all of us and is probably what we would call a fable on the cruelty of humanity. I'am disgusted to discover this film isn't on video or DVD in america. It seems as if its popularity has run thin since the 90's but this is a masterpiece people!