Product Details

• Actors: Zdena Studenková, Vlastimil Harapes, Václav Voska, Jana Brejchová, Zuzana Kocúriková
• Directors: Juraj Herz
• Writers: Juraj Herz, Frantisek Hrubín, Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont, Ota Hofman
• Format: PAL
• Language: German
• Run Time: 83 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• ASIN: B00004RVBG

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Panna a netvor -- dark, genius and underrated, June 7, 2011

By 

V "ErikAngelofMusic" (subterranean residence, circa 1880) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beauty and the Beast [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Czech title: Panna a netvor (original language)
German title: Die Jungfrau und das Ungeheuer

(excerpt from full review)

Panna a Netvor (PaN) is, put simply, the Czech version of Beauty and the Beast, but when most people think of the story of Beauty and the Beast, they usually think of one of two things: the light-hearted feel-good Disney musical romp or the instructive tale on how to find a good husband by Mme Beaumont. Panna a Netvor is neither.

It does follow the original story: the merchant loses his fortune, steals a rose and must send his daughter to the beast to repay him. There, she dreams of a prince, falls in love with the beast, and frees him. It sounds like any other version ever made. However, PaN takes place in a gritty bleak world where the people in it behave like beasts and wealth leads to misery. Even the scene which introduces the merchant opens on town life with animals being slaughtered.

The Beast (Netvor) is not a gentle soul waiting to be saved. The first time he is introduced, we see his claw tear at a woman's dress and then later learn that he's killed her. Beauty (Julie) likewise provides an unusual alternative. She's frightened that her beastly host does not exist, that she's imagining him, and doubts her own beauty, wondering if she's beautiful enough for him. But most unusual, she can be cruel, which gives her a dimension of humanity most versions do not afford.

Although Vlastimil Harapes (Netvor) and Zdena Studenkova (Julie) are brilliant in their roles, the supporting cast is not particularly strong. Even then, this weakness cannot make a dent in what makes this film remarkable.

Another feature of note: this film was made in 1978 in Czechoslovakia under Communist supervision. As such, the film is completely for the anti-glorification of material wealth, a true oddity in a story about a merchant who tries to regain his riches and an enchanted prince.

It is a rare occasion to come across a dark version of such a typically uplifting and pleasant fairy tale. Even the few that do exist lack capable actors, capable directors, and a sense of artistic vision. Between the chemistry of the performers and the unusual, sometimes disturbing romance on a backdrop of devastation and decay, there is a harmonious discord which somehow makes perfect sense. This film not only delivers a strange, dark, gritty tale with perfectly cast leads, but provides an intellectual journey both in terms of subtext and symbolism and provides a view of socio-politic effects upon a story which is shared by all cultures.

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