"Die Schöne und das Biest" or "Beauty and the Beast" is a German small screen movie from 2012 and the title already gives away that it is an adaptation of the famous Disney animated movie. They made many many German television films on known fairy tales in recent years and this is just one of them. But while I love several of the others (the Brothers Grimm stuff for example), this one here had major flaws. One is that it runs for 1.5 hours and not one hour as they frequently do and there is definitely a problem with focus. The movie had some lengths I can't deny it and this is most disappointing looking at how many writers worked on it. The director is Marc-Andreas Bochert, a filmmaker who was nominated for an Oscar in the short film category. But his transition to full feature films is not working really, but I am not sure if he is the one to blame. First of all, I felt Cornelia Gröschel brought absolutely none of the charm and beauty that Belle brings in the animated film. About the beast, I was also not too happy about the looks, make-up and also the voice work by Maximilian Simonischek. The beast in this film never really makes the dangerous impression that it should, but just comes off as an uneducated brute at times. Add to that that the approach to the supporting characters in the Beast's house was underwhelming to say the least. Yes there is nothing wrong with creative freedom and changes resulting from that, especially as otherwise it could just turn into a lukewarm copy, but (yes there is a major BUT) the path they took here did not work for me at all, even if that's just subjective. "Beauty and the Beast" has been in talk recently again because of the new movie starring Emma Watson and I truly hope that one turned out better than the one we have here. It was certainly a missed opportunity and I do not recommend the watch. Pity.
5 Reviews
Several weak aspects turn this into a pretty weak adaptation
Horst_In_Translation11 March 2017
Warning: Spoilers
One of the most poetic treatments of this legend ever made
abigail-prohaska5 July 2013
Even if you live far away from the German-speaking regions I can only recommend you do everything to find a way of seeing this wonderful version of the Beauty and the Beast legend/myth. It has everything, most of all magic and romance yet with protagonists you can believe in, including the charismatic Beast - Maximilian Simonischek, and the lovely, yet down-to-earth Cornelia Gröschel. The setting is a mostly ruined castle in Austria, and is presented in pictures that impress the imagination so deeply that you can imagine no other version; there is also an emotional, evocative musical score to underline the heart-rending course of events. Maybe if you write to ZDF 2nd German Television you might be able to get a copy. Don't worry about the German, it'll go straight to your heart - we all know the story. You may miss some of the humour,but you will emote with the dramatic development of the characters, the tears, the suspense and the joy.
What about the Good Reviews?
hase_bn4 October 2020
Beautiful and full of romance!!
elfablanca8 May 2019
This is the best version of the beauty and the beast (live action) that I have seen. This movie is beautiful, full of fantasy, romance and very good performances.
It is the first time that I fall in love with the beast, because all the beautiful feelings are transmitted through his eyes and his way of acting ... (I wanna marry him and kiss him forever)!
It's a pity that I have not been able to get this film and that it is not so popular...
This version is a triumph for romance and fantasy!
It is the first time that I fall in love with the beast, because all the beautiful feelings are transmitted through his eyes and his way of acting ... (I wanna marry him and kiss him forever)!
It's a pity that I have not been able to get this film and that it is not so popular...
This version is a triumph for romance and fantasy!
After seeing the new Disney "Beauty and the Beast"
abigail-prohaska20 March 2017
Warning: Spoilers
I wrote a review a few years ago about this TV film - asking Anglophone viewers not to be put off by the German, since they would be missing one of the most magical and moving versions of the tale. After seeing the bloated new version by Disney I had to go back to it as a kind of cleansing process. There are also some coincidences in the handling of the story that make me think the US team must have been inspired by this German version, some of the more poetic details – not in the latest and to the 1991 cartoon version – in the Disney seem based on ideas in Marc-Andreas Borchert's wonderful film. The main theme of transformation through love is enacted with utter credibility and convincing emotion, so there is great suspense that beast may not survive after all, making it a thriller as well as a dramatic love story. It plays in glorious Alpine scenery in castles both ruined and splendid, the music by Stephan Maria Schneider very moving, the actors ideal, a complex charismatic Beast and beautifully down-to-earth beauty, elements of humour; I cannot praise it enough and beg all to see it as an antidote to Hollywood megalomania (by which I do not mean the brilliant 1991 cartoon version!).
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