Beauty Review

Initial Thoughts
The early 80s saw the creation of numerous great X rated films and the solidifying of sexually explicit films being comparable to, in many cases, the best low budget films of the time. Shaun Costello (under his Warren Evans pseudonym) created some of the finest and most unique X rated movies produced on the East Coast among them this simple, yet lavish retelling of Beauty & The Beast.

The Film
Innocent yet kind Beauty (Loni Sanders) lives a life of luxury in San Francisco with her two older sisters, Hope (Nicole Black) and Faith (Lauren Dominique) and their millionaire father who, as our story begins, is off on a business trip in NYC. Upon his return, he reveals terrible news to his three daughters: that he lost his fortune in a poker game and is now broke. Explaining that his only other option was to send Beauty to live for one year with the man to whom he lost, evil Mr. Martin Gross, he decided to spare his daughter and forfeit his fortune. Beauty however will hear none of it and, out of consideration for her family, agrees to live with the beastly Mr. Gross.
Here is the simple set up to this simple yet wonderfully charming take on Beauty & The Beast. What follows the aforementioned events is, as anyone familiar with the classic story on which this film is based knows, Beauty's slowly falling in love with Mr. Beast, realizing that he's not so beastly after all.
What Beauty, the film, might lack in substance it more than makes up for in heart and, above all, style. Set to soothing and almost rhythmic off screen narration, Beauty embodies the innocence and charm of a children's fairy tale, but never oversteps its effectiveness to mock the audience. Again considering the film's simplicity and ultimate predictability due to its commonly known source material, director Shaun Costello admirably keeps the film compelling throughout, primarily by employing outstanding visuals and surprisingly tight editing.
Masterfully lensed by Palo Coeli (the man also responsible for the outstanding cinematography in Costello's better known Pandora's Mirror), Beauty has the feel of a perpetual dream. Scenes are bathed wonderfully in red or blue light giving them an almost surreal quality. Combined with the archaic lyricism of much of the film's dialogue and Coeli's rich cinematography, Costello lets the mind wander while providing a feast for the eyes.
What's more is the outstanding musical selections which make up a good portion of the film's soundtrack. Known for his keen ability to rematch existing film scores (in particular Bernard Herman) to his own work, Costello almost outdoes himself with the wonderful mixture of lush classical and late 70s/early 80s synth rock which blast their way over the soundtrack.
While Beauty is a success in almost every technical area, as well as narratively, it sadly falters in one important way: the performances just aren't there. Perpetual early 80s supporting player Loni Sanders is cast here in, I believe, her only starring role, and while her readings are fine, they lack the full emotion that the words she's saying should hold. As for the rest of the cast, no one is bad, but no one is very good either. The acting is average which sadly brings the film down a bit.
That said, this thankfully isn't a film which relies in the least bit on heavy drama so while the average acting is a bit disappointing it does little to really hinder the enjoyment of the film as a whole. Nevertheless, it is a notable flaw. Thankfully it is really the only noteworthy flaw and otherwise Beauty is a wonderful and beautiful film which perfectly captures the ambiance of a simple fairy tale and the sophistication of a work of fine visual art.

A/V Quality
Presumably mastered off of an old Blue Video tape (as was the 90s VCA VHS release), the color is a bit less rich than this sumptuous film should be and the picture is soft and fuzzy. Sadly this is par for the course for how most 70s/80s hardcore films are treated on DVD and indeed on a film this beautifully shot it's a great shame. The film is also presented full screen. Costello said many times that he never had films shot assuming that they would be matted so a full screen presentation isn't necessarily the incorrect way to view this film, but it's still clear that DP Coeli did shoot with the thought of possible matting in mind so a 1.85:1 presentation wouldn't look half bad.

Cuts Warning
Thankfully, nothing that I know of has been cut from the film.

Extras
Zilch...Shocking, eh?

Who Will Like It
Those familiar with Costello's more famous films like Forced Entry, Waterpower, or Dracula Exotica may be in for quite a shock that 1. No one gets raped or murdered here and 2. that Jamie Gillis plays a NICE GUY (!!!), well kinda. This is still a must see for Costello fans as it marks one of the high points at the end of his directing career and is simply a joy to behold. That said, the film simple narrative might be a let down for those looking for the deep, tear jerker dramas of say Chuck Vincent or Anthony Spinelli, so I'll say view at your own risk. Even if you're not hooked by the story, the visuals alone ought to keep you going.

Who Will Hate It
As I kinda alluded above, the film is a bit slow and therefore probably won't sit with younger viewers used to MTV style cutting. Also as I've said throughout the review, the film is extremely simple so if you're looking for something deep and meaningful probably skip this one.