Belleza Prohibida (Import) [DVD] Billy Crudup,Claire Danes,Rupert Everett

Without knowing why, I was intrigued by this film from seeing it advertised. I consider myself thoroughly intrigued now I've seen it! "Stage Beauty" possess a magestic grace and effortless wit that even "Shakespeare In Love" did not possess. A riot of colours, rich fabric and make-up and a splatter of absorbing characters (not to mention the intelligent acting behind it) makes Stage Beauty one of the best films I have had the pleasure to see this year. The sets are glorious, the costumes quite exquisiste and there is a fresh humour in the script I haven't seen the like of since Moulin Rouge.the two leading actors. (Clare Danes and Billy Crudup) give a superb performance, particularly as Crudup would have been greatly challenged to find the awkward character of Ned in himself. Danes, of course, is quite on form and is truly excellent as Ned's dedicated dress mistress. A fresh, honest film about love, truth and the true meaning of beauty. Buy it.

I sat down to watch this thinking I would have an hour or so's worth of 'sugar' history, pretty but not that fulfilling. I'm pleased to say I was so wrong! This film is intelligent, entertaining and literally had me spellbound. The plot kept me riveted as it explored the ins and outs of English theatre and court intrigue and the performances are great. Clare Danes gives a great diva, but it is Billy Crudup who commands the film with an astonishing portrayal of a role often misunderstood by history, the male 'female' actor. I can't reccommend this film highly enough, if you like theatre, great plots, sumptious costumes, fantastic acting or simply a stunner of a leading man, give it a whirl. You won't regret it!

The film starts as a highly enjoyable period romp set in the world of 17th century British theatre. There is much fun to be had with Billy Crudup's character, the actor Ned Kynaston who is much celebrated for his performances of female parts on the London stage. Mr Crudup is just too delicious for words as the crossdressing actor in period drag. Claire Danes is Kynaston's dresser at the theatre, a young lady with acting ambitions of her own who secretly appears in women parts on a different stage. Kynaston learns of her secret during an evening party at the king's court which leads to the king legalising the appearance of female actors on the stage and thus seriously threatening Kynaston's career.From here on the film loses much its enjoyable tongue in cheek quality and becomes a rather too syrupy romance with a strange detour into method acting which somehow didn't work for me. And much as I love Claire Danes as an actress, I feel it's her rather more serious take on her role that spoils the fun. Or maybe it's that her character, besides being a bit too earnest even early on in the film, becomes rather boring altogether as the realisation comes that while she is the first licensed female actress on the stage, she is not a particularly good one. Her romance with Kynaston left me unmoved, almost puzzled.How I wished the two American leads had gone along with the excellent and mostly British supporting cast (Rupert Everett, Richard Griffiths, Tom Wilkinson, Edward Fox, Hugh Bonneville, Tom Hollander and others) who all seem to have a lot of fun hamming it up and overacting in a way that becomes an exuberant period romp instead of the ill-advised excursion into rather too modern for the period method acting techniques. Sadly, for me the second half lets the film down.The DVD I bought is in English and has subtitles for the hard of hearing as well as an audio description track for visually impaired audiences. By way of bonus material it includes a trailer, making of featurette and a (sadly very monotonous) feature commentary track with director Richard Eyre.

I have mixed feelings about the film, not because of the gender confusion/sexual identity that is being portrayed, but because I thought something was missing to make it better. What is clear is that Billy Crudup's performance is fabulous and very believable!

I didn't see that film at the cinema because of some bad reviews I had read! I should have gone! Anyway, now I have the DVD and keep playing it...I had never heard of Billy Cruddup before and I thought him amazing. His acting is unbelievably good and subtle!I quite like Claire Danes as well, though she is not as good, Tom Wilkinson is, as always, great and Rupert Everett is an effortlessly brilliant King!Don't miss it!it is so much more than well worth the watch!

One of those films you expect to be a reasonably enjoyable watch, only to find out you've found a gem of a film. Well worth a purchase even if you don't enjoy it as much as some, there's a good chance you'll still find it an entertaining hour and a half or so.

I despised this movie! I felt it was a complete insult to the monarchy of the time and to Nell Gwyn. It was just utterly awful. I knew it was a comedy but I was not expecting it to take the mick. I adore Charles II and the restoration period and have studied it for 15 years now. I hated this film so much I threw it away.

THERE SEEM TO BE A LOT OF FUSS GOING ON IN THIS FILM OVER NOT VERY MUCH,THE STORY TELLS ABOUT WOMAN FINALLY TAKING THE PART OF WOMAN ON THE STAGE,AND DISPLACING MEN,ONE MAN IN PARTICULAR.

Un film per intenditori!

Llego perfecta!! Muchas gracias!! Esta película es muy bonita, batalle mucho para encontrarla, no tiene subtítulos en español, pero si en Inglés y así es más fácil entender

I order this not knowing what I was getting. I was very pleasantly surprised. This is a great film. It address the introduction of women on the stage and what happen to the men that previously played those parts

La he viso cientos de veces y no me canso. La escena final del teatro es ... es ... apoteósica

Même si le film n'est pas vraiment historique, il n'en reste pas moins fascinant, et par le propos et par l'interpétation renversante de tous les comédiens. Ils nous entraînent dans une époque très marquée au niveau de la langue et visuellement. Tout est intéressant, depuis le théâtre de Shakespeare jusqu'au Roi, en passant par les costumes et les décors. Un très très bon film !