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Beloved
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Beloved (1998/I) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
5.5/10   3,792 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 21% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers (WGA):
Toni Morrison (novel)
Akosua Busia (screenplay) ...
more
Contact:
View company contact information for Beloved on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
16 October 1998 (USA) more
Genre:
Tagline:
The past has a life of its own.
Plot:
Based on the book by Toni Morrison, in which a slave is visited by the spirit of her deceased daughter. full summary | full synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for Oscar. Another 3 wins & 20 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(12 articles)
Cosby Honoured With Society Award
 (From WENN. 23 December 2009, 11:56 PM, PST)

The Notable Films of 2010: Part Two
 (From Dark Horizons. 16 December 2009, 3:18 AM, PST)

User Reviews:
An alarming, well-directed motion picture more (197 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Oprah Winfrey ... Sethe

Danny Glover ... Paul D Garner

Thandie Newton ... Beloved

Kimberly Elise ... Denver
Beah Richards ... Baby Suggs, aka Grandma Baby

Lisa Gay Hamilton ... Younger Sethe

Albert Hall ... Stamp Paid

Irma P. Hall ... Ella
Carol Jean Lewis ... Janey Wagon
Kessia Randall ... Amy Denver (as Kessia Kordelle)

Jude Ciccolella ... Schoolteacher
Anthony Chisholm ... Langhorne
Dorothy Love Coates ... M. Lucille Williams
Jane White ... Lady Jones
Yada Beener ... Denver aged 9
more
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

MPAA:
Rated R for violent images, sexuality and nudity.
Runtime:
172 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Thandie Newton's African first name means, interestingly enough, "beloved." more
Goofs:
Anachronisms: In the scene with a deer in the field, a car is visible driving by in the upper right hand corner. more
Quotes:
Paul D: You got two feet, Sethe, not four. more
Movie Connections:
Soundtrack:
Black Women - Wild Ox Moan more

FAQ

What happened to Sethe's husband, Halle? Why did he never show up?
Why did Sethe kill her children?
Why did Denver suddenly burst into tears shortly after meeting Paul D?
more
15 out of 15 people found the following review useful.
An alarming, well-directed motion picture, 19 April 1999
Author: Jaime N. Christley (j_christley@hotmail.com) from NAS Whidbey Island, WA

I found it difficult to understand the movie, and some of the dialogue, but it mattered little. I wish I'd read the book--perhaps I will, but I don't think so. A film must stand by itself, or it is not a film.

"Beloved" has long passages of greatness. First, it contains one of the best and most fascinating performances I've seen in years, given by Thandie Newton. She spent most of "Gridlock'd" in a coma, unfortunately, and that's the most notable role she's had until this one. Her first speaking (if you'll call it that) line is gripping, frightening, and amusing, and she plays a mental defective in a manner which I've never seen before. She has the loudest, rudest character, and many actresses would be put off by some of the things she must do throughout the film. However, our attention is also held by her quiet moments, as well as a few shots where the camera is content to gaze tranquilly into her beautiful eyes.

That camera is conducted with the supreme artistry of one of my favorite photographers, Tak Fujimoto, who was with director Jonathan Demme since the late '70s. Fujimoto is in love with earth and flesh tones here, but he also shoots his actors' eyes as if they were a part of the human body we'd never really noticed before, and wanted to give them the attention they deserved. It's a great approach to cinematography that pays off an infinite number of times, from the first major shot, of Sethe and Paul D reuniting (as Winfrey and Glover look at each other, they look not just into the camera, but directly into OUR eyes), to the last major shot, Jason Robards (God love him) staring in horror at a most unusual scene in front of Sethe's home.

This film is no "The Color Purple", with Welles-influenced camera angles and sacchirine-induced uplift. "Beloved" is a long, difficult, often off-putting film which doesn't really provide the big payoff at the end. This isn't necessarily good, but it isn't necessarily bad, either. Highlighted sequences include two truly remarkable sermons in the woods by Baby Suggs (Beah Richards--Oscar-nominated in '68 for "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?"), a horrifying opening which features the most gruesome use of animatronics to date, and the notorious flashback which explain what has haunted Sethe all these years, and who Beloved really is.

I compare this film with "The Thin Red Line". Both come from notable directors, are based on famous novels, used huge budgets, and were very long. Both films disappointed many, many people. Most importantly, however, they both had parts which were greater than the whole, occasional strokes of genius, and were made by men who took the art of filmmaking seriously.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Beloved (1998/I)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Terrible book, terrible movie. runagain
Was Beloved mentally impaired? katejane10
When Sethe urinated in the yard... gbruce-2
THIS was the Best Picture of 1998 xavrush89
It would have been more popular as a horror movie belanshar
Do Not Expect Easy Entertainment. ducklips
more

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