Cheap Beloved (DVD) (Oprah Winfrey, Danny Glover) (Jonathan Demme) Price

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Customer Reviews of Beloved

Loved Beloved
For those who did not understand or found it difficult to follow the story line of this hauntingly strange yet beautiful tale, I'm sorry for their loss. Had I closed my mind to this film after its first five minutes or because of the critics reviews, I too would have missed this powerful drama. Winfrey, Glover and the entire cast have my gratitude and respect for bringing Toni Morrison's story to film. Sethe, Paul Dee and Denver were wonderful strong characters. Beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder. My eyes beheld Beloved and found it a beauiful well done work of art. Like many, I allowed the critics to discourage me from the theater and almost ignored it completely.

The shock of several scenes depicting the horrors and cruelity of slavery wained after my first several viewings, but I continued to find the story powerful, sad, joyous, strange and hauntingly beautiful. I can't seem to get enough and have returned again and again. My purchase of this movie will be a great addition to my most selective library of films.

This film has stayed with me. I though it should be given a chance and have asked several friends who also passed it up to view Beloved just for their opinion. It seems more people than not truly enjoy this film once they give themselves permission to view it with an opened mind and look pass the five second dog scene. It's a shame Winfrey, Glover and the entire cast were so overlooked for their contributions. This film should be given a second chance. What do you think?

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Solid Acting
This movie is beautiful and painful to watch. It tries hard to live up to Toni Morrison's novel and succeeds in capturing many of the book's powerful images. The story's central characters are Sethe and Paul D., two ex-slaves from the "Sweet Home" plantation. Denver is Sethe's teenage daughter, the only of three (living) children who has not been driven away by the baby ghost in Sethe's house. Beloved is a strange young woman who comes to stay with the other three characters, stirring up memories of Sethe's horrible past. Acting awards go to Kimbery Elise as Denver and Thandie Newton as Beloved, who carry the movie with grace and strength. Denver is the movie's heart, and dares you not to look at her each time she crosses in front of the camera. Oprah Winfrey and Lisa Gay Hamilton do very well with the character of Sethe, portrayed at two different ages. Danny Glover is neither special nor offensive as Paul D. The story is easier to follow if you have already read the book, and might even then take more than one viewing to sufficiently grasp. The camera work is skillful, and the sets and costumes add very much to the film. Because of its style and three hour length, seeing this movie feels like watching a really good miniseries. It's an inspiring and artfully made film.

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Almost a masterpiece
It took me a long time to watch the movie Beloved due to the fact that it wasn't easily available in South Africa, I truelly enjoyed this movie and was really happy with the way it stayed true to the book which is one of my all time favourites, I've read the book so many times I even know most of the lines, I mostly was anxious to see the movie cos I wanted to see how they would manage to bring such a story to life, thankfully I wasn't dissapointed, the only problem I have with the movie was the casting of Danny Glover in the role of Paul Dee, I strongly feel that he spoiled the movie,they would have done better to cast another actor to the role, If you want to see poetry in motion(which I deeply believe the book is) then you have to watch this movie, Bravo to everyone(except Mr Glover but for whom I would have given this film 5 stars)who was involved in the making of this film. Well done for an outstanding protrayal of what I truely believe must have been the hardest novel ever to bring to life.