Search - Stage Beauty on DVD

MPAA Rating: R Content Advisory: Adult Situations, Adult Humor, Profanity, Sexual Situations Movie Release: 2004 DVD Release: 03/08/2005 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Edition: Restored/Remastered Audio Tracks: English Subtitles: English, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 49 mins Studio: Live/Artisan Total Copies: 5 Genres: Comedy Drama, Romance, Comedy of Manners, Period Film

The true story of two performers whose careers were changed forever by a shift in gender roles on the British stage comes to the screen in this adaptation of the play Compleat Female Stage Beauty by Jeffrey Hatcher. In London, in the latter half of the 17th century, Ned Kynaston (Billy Crudup) is a noted star of the legitimate theater with an unusual specialty -- at a time when it was considered unseemly for women to work as thespians, Kynaston specialized in female roles, and was described by one writer as the most beautiful woman on the London stage. With the help of his faithful dresser, Maria Hughes (Claire Danes), Kynaston can turn himself into a striking actress in front of the footlights, and is starring opposite Thomas Betterton (Tom Wilkinson) in a production of Shakespeare's Othello when, while still in costume after a performance, he is propositioned by theatrical impresario Sir Charles Sedley (Richard Griffiths). The sexually open-minded Sedley isn't discouraged to learn Kynaston is a man, but he is bitterly angered by the actor's flip rejection of his advances. Sedley takes revenge against Kynaston by hiring a gang of criminals to beat him up. With Betterton's production of Othello closed while the leading "lady" recuperates, Hughes sees an opportunity and stages an underground version of the play, casting herself as Desdemona. While she lacks Kynaston's dramatic skills, the daring of her appearance on-stage creates a sensation, and King Charles II (Rupert Everett), a noted theater buff, is so taken with Hughes that he declares women should play women from now on. But as Hughes' star rises, Kynaston's quickly falls, and he becomes a bitter, forgotten man. When the novelty of Hughes' gender wears off and her failings as an thespian become obvious, she turns to her former friend Kynaston, hoping he can teach her to be as good an actress as he was. Stage Beauty's supporting cast includes Ben Chaplin, Edward Fox, and Hugh Bonneville. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Billy Crudup - Ned Kynaston
Claire Danes - Maria Hughes
Rupert Everett - King Charles II
Tom Wilkinson - Thomas Betterton
Ben Chaplin - George Villars, Duke of Buckingham

Richard Eyre's gender-bending film about life in the theater, Stage Beauty, debuts on DVD with a widescreen transfer that preserves the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.78:1. English soundtracks are rendered in both Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby Digital Stereo. English and Spanish subtitles are accessible. Supplemental materials include a commentary track recorded by the director, a making-of featurette, and trailers. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide