I stumbled upon "Belle" entirely by accident. It was a "sponsored" item on Facebook and caught my eye because of the "period setting" of the Bluray cover. I am a big fan of Jane Austen and British period drama so I was immediately drawn to it. After checking the trailer on Youtube and reading the reviews on Amazon and IMDB, I purchased the bluray sight unseen. I am very happy that I did. The story is inspired by the portrait of Dido Elizabeth Belle Lindsay and her cousin Elizabeth Murray. The portrait is currently housed in the Earl of Mansfield's seat in Scone Palace, Perth, Scotland, and was formerly attributed to artist Johann Zofanny. It begins with Captain Sir John Lindsay becoming acquainted with his daughter Dido, his illegitimate child with a former African slave Belle who has died. Capt. Lindsay takes Dido and places her in the care of his uncle, the Lord Chief Justice and Earl of Mansfield, and his wife Elizabeth. Lord and Lady Mansfield have no children and already have their young niece Elizabeth in their care. Elizabeth is the daughter of their nephew and heir David Murray, although she was left to their care by her father after he remarried. Dido and Elizabeth are raised together and become inseparable companions. They are both educated, accomplished and spirited young women (the latter much to the chagrin of their grand-aunt Mary). They are then thrown into the company and attentions of eligible young men, most notably James and Oliver Ashford. Their mother Lady Ashford sanctions the match for James and Elizabeth, assuming that Elizabeth is heiress to the Mansfield estate. In truth it is Dido who is the heiress while Elizabeth is a relative pauper, having been abandoned by her father. Younger brother Oliver forms an attraction to Dido.Read more › Belle is a hard movie not to love. It is a historical romance as well as a film about social justice. Through circumstances, Belle (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), a "mulatto" whose father was of some means, is raised at the manor of her great uncle Lord Mansfield (Tom Wilkinson). Lord Mansfield has raised his grand niece in a proper fashion, but is aware of "the nature of order" and keeps her away from company at former dining. She is raised as a sister with her cousin Elizabeth (Sarah Gadon), whose father has less means. Belle acquires an inheritance and suitors while Elizabeth's financial status puts her at risk of being able to marry into her rank. Elizabeth points out to Belle, that all women are property. Belle develops a mutual attraction for John Davinier (Sam Reid) a man beneath her in status, the lowly son of a vicar. He aspires to be an attorney. He is currently at odds with Lord Mansfield, the Chief Justice of the country. A court case concerning the sailing vessel "Zong" threw its cargo of slaves overboard claiming lack of supplies. The insurance company claims fraud and does not want to pay. The decision rests with Lord Mansfield, a traditionalist. The film was well done. It will be hard for the Academy to ignore this one, especially in an off year of films. I couldn't help but be drawn to that moment in "Lincoln" when they repealed slavery, the decision of Brown vs. the Board of Education, or even the passage of the Civil Rights Bill. Also a good performance by Emily Watson as Lady Mansfield and Tom Felton returns as a screen bad guy. Worth adding to the collection. Forget The Fault in Our Stars - here's a romance for all ages, complete with a strong moral core, a blazing humanism, a muscular feminism, and a tidy history lesson to boot. It's more than simply a little sister to 12 Years a Slave. Both are based on remarkable true stories; but while Steve McQueen's film depicted the Atlantic slave experience on the ground, Amma Asante's puts slavery, and the start of the end of slavery, in the long shot context of British legal history. In terms of setting this is as far removed as possible from Solomon Northup's Deep Southern hell, set in the stately rooms of a London society home whose servants are free and paid. The patriarch, William Murray (Tom Wilkinson), has an adopted daughter, Dido Elizabeth Belle (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), who is of an age where a lady would "come out" and find a suitor. Here the phrase has a double meaning: in "coming out", the Murray family are publicly acknowledging the existence of their exotic novelty. Reputation is everything, and the 1st Earl of Mansfield has everything to lose. The concurrent storylines concerning the potential marriage of Belle and the trial of the slave ship Zong are well-balanced, carefully avoiding crassness, with the former acting as a mirror against which the outcome of the latter is reflected. At times the film does succumb to the fallacious Hollywood notion that history has been defined by individual "Eureka!" moments. The sight of William overhearing an impassioned John Davinier (Sam Reid) spelling out the concept of equality is fanciful, although I suppose as a shorthand way of depicting changing attitudes it works. Are we to believe that William was ultimately swayed by the force of Davinier's love for Belle?Read more ›
Belle DVD release date announced for August 26, 2014. See the movie stats, trailer, movie poster and more. Dido Elizabeth Belle is the mixed-race daughter of ..
"Belle" is inspired by the true story of Dido Elizabeth Belle (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), the illegitimate mixed race daughter of a Royal Navy Admiral. Raised by her ..
See reviews & details on a wide selection of Blu-ray & DVDs, both new & used. 2014. Format: DVD. I stumbled upon "Belle" entirely by accident. It was a ..
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Belle [DVD]: Amazon.co.uk: Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Matthew Goode, Tom Wilkinson, Sarah Gadon, Emily Watson, Sam Reid, Miranda Richardson, Alex Jennings, Penelope Wilton, James Norton, Amma Asante, Damian Jones, Misan Sagay: DVD & Blu-ray
Gugu Mbatha-Raw delivers "a breakthrough performance" (Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times) in this "gorgeous must-see film" (Cori Murray, Essence) that's based on an extraordinary true story. Although Dido Elizabeth Belle (Mbatha-Raw), an 18th century English woman of mixed race, is raised in privilege by her aristocratic great-uncle (Tom Wilkinson) and his wife (Emily Watson), she is denied a proper social standing because of her skin color.