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Movies / On DVD / Beloved
Beloved

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Beloved (1998)

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Reviews Counted:66

Fresh:51

Rotten:15

Average Rating:7/10

Consensus: A powerful, emotional and successful film adaptation of the original novel.

Runtime: 2 hrs 52 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: With the startling, engrossing world of Beloved, director Jonathan Demme returns to the big screen following his Academy Award-winning work on The Silence of the Lambs and the emotional power of... With the startling, engrossing world of Beloved, director Jonathan Demme returns to the big screen following his Academy Award-winning work on The Silence of the Lambs and the emotional power of Philadelphia to craft a story of singular emotional impact. Academy Award nominee Oprah Winfrey stars with Danny Glover, Thandie Newton, Kimberly Elise and Beah Richards in this compelling story adapted from the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison. Beloved translates to the screen with its visceral daring intact, thoroughly immersing viewers in the haunting, haunted landscape of this story.

Oprah Winfrey, for whom Beloved is the ultimate labor of love, appears in her first starring feature film role since earning an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress in The Color Purple, with a performance of undeniable fearlessness. Winfrey optioned the rights to Beloved upon its publication and nurtured the project for nearly a decade, personally shepherding it to its current incarnation as one of the most anticipated motion picture events of the year.

Winfrey stars as Sethe, a woman of elemental grace and unspoken mystery. A figure of fierce determination, Sethe is a runaway slave struggling to carve out her own simple existence with her children in rural Ohio, 1873. Preventing her from achieving that, however, is the painful legacy of her former life, and the desperate measures to which she is driven to keep herself and her family from returning to it.

Danny Glover stars as Paul D, an old friend who comes to visit Sethe and whose understanding is tested by her household's shattering secrets. Kimberly Elise portrays Sethe's daughter, Denver, an embattled young woman who must free herself from the crippling grasp that her mother's choices have on her. And Thandie Newton is Beloved. As Beloved grows to become part of Sethe's family, her devastating presence threatens to destroy the delicate balance of Sethe and Denver's existence. [More]

Starring: Oprah Winfrey, Danny Glover, Thandie Newton, Kimberly Elise

Starring: Oprah Winfrey, Danny Glover, Thandie Newton, Kimberly Elise, Beah Richards, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Albert Hall, Irma P. Hall

Director: Jonathan Demme

Director: Jonathan Demme
Screenwriter: Akosua Busia, Richard LaGravenese, Adam Brooks
Producer: Jonathan Demme, Oprah Winfrey, Gary Goetzman, Edward Saxon, Kate Forte
Composer: Rachel Portman

[See More Credits]

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Release:

May 18, 1999

[DVD Details]
 
 
  • Beloved
  • Oprah Winfrey (THE COLOR PURPLE) and Danny Glover (LETHAL WEAPON IV, THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS) play the unforgettable lead roles in a powerful, widely acclaimed cinematic triumph from Jonathan Demme -- the Academy Award(R)-winning director of THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. On a difficult journey to find freedom, Sethe (Winfrey) is constantly confronted by the secrets that have haunted her for years. Then, an old friend from out of her past (Glover) unexpectedly reenters her life. With his help, Sethe may finally be able to rediscover who she is and regain her lost sense of hope. Also featuring outstanding performances from Thandie Newton (GRIDLOCK'D) and Lisa Gay Hamilton (TV's THE PRACTICE) -- you'll agree with critics everywhere who've hailed this landmark adaptation of Toni Morrison's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel as one of the year's finest films!
  • Source: Buena Vista Home Entertainment.
  •  
     
     
     

    Reviews for Beloved

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    41 - 60 (sorted by date)
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    A vivid, bewildering folk art quilt of shadows, memories, silhouettes, reflections and hallucinations.

    Full Review Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Duane Dudek
    Duane Dudek
    Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

    While watching Beloved, I could easily see one of the best films of the year within, but it ultimately let me down in its penultimate moments.

    Full Review Source: DustinPutman.com | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Dustin Putman
    Dustin Putman
    DustinPutman.com

    Within Beloved lies a great movie with a powerful message, but its impact is muffled due to the filmmakers' indulgence and lack of restraint.

    Full Review Source: NUVO Newsweekly | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Edward Johnson-Ott
    Edward Johnson-Ott
    NUVO Newsweekly

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Erik Childress
    Erik Childress
    eFilmCritic.com

    Has tough truths to tell about the differences between affection and possession, memory and nightmare, freedom and revenge -- truths that none of the performers involved shy away from.

    Full Review Source: eye WEEKLY | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Gemma Files
    Gemma Files
    eye WEEKLY
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Compuserve | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Harvey S. Karten
    Harvey S. Karten
    Compuserve

    Moves in leisurely fits and -- unencumbered by style or narrative complexity -- never loses its forward momentum.

    Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    J. Hoberman
    J. Hoberman
    Village Voice
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    The core of Beloved is Winfrey's brave, utterly convincing portrayal of the rough-hewn Sethe.

    Full Review Source: Rochester Democrat and Chronicle | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Jack Garner
    Jack Garner
    Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

    A powerful and disturbing motion picture!

    Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    James Berardinelli
    James Berardinelli
    ReelViews
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Demme succeeds uncannily well in bringing the novel's pulse to the screen.

    Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Janet Maslin
    Janet Maslin
    New York Times
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Although it's extremely well-acted and has a very powerful message behind it, this supernatural, Civil War-era drama is also overwrought and overly long.

    Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Jeff Vice
    Jeff Vice
    Deseret News, Salt Lake City

    The film's success lies mainly in its fidelity to its source: It never tries to avoid or sidestep the madness Morrison so bravely embraced.

    Full Review Source: Sacramento Bee | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Joe Baltake
    Joe Baltake
    Sacramento Bee

    It's heartfelt, praiseworthy and amazingly faithful to Toni Morrison's complex Pulitzer Prize-winning novel!

    comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Julie Hinds
    Julie Hinds
    San Jose Mercury News
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    An overlong misfire that has only flashes of staggering power.

    comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Kevin Maynard
    Kevin Maynard
    Mr. Showbiz
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    A first-rate adaptation!

    comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Lawrence Toppman
    Lawrence Toppman
    Charlotte Observer

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Cinematter | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Madeleine Williams
    Madeleine Williams
    Cinematter

    The performances of all the central and secondary characters match the passionate intensity of the film's behind-the-scenes collaborators.

    Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Marjorie Baumgarten
    Marjorie Baumgarten
    Austin Chronicle

    Unfortunately, this flick was so long, my spirit had long since left the building, enjoyed some smokes, played a round of golf, knocked back some brewskis, eaten a leisurely dinner, and slipped back into my body in time for the closing credits.

    Full Review Source: MovieJuice! | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Mark Ramsey
    Mark Ramsey
    MovieJuice!

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Movie Habit | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Marty Mapes
    Marty Mapes
    Movie Habit
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Matt's Movie Reviews | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Matt Easterbrook
    Matt Easterbrook
    Matt's Movie Reviews
     
     
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