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Dangerous Beauty
Dangerous Beauty
Actors: Catherine McCormack, Rufus Sewell, Oliver Platt, Fred Ward, Naomi Watts
Director: Marshall Herskovitz
Genres: Drama
R     1998     1hr 51min

No Description Available. Genre: Feature Film-Drama Rating: R Release Date: 6-NOV-2001 Media Type: DVD

     

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Movie Details

Actors: Catherine McCormack, Rufus Sewell, Oliver Platt, Fred Ward, Naomi Watts
Director: Marshall Herskovitz
Creators: Marshall Herskovitz, Arnon Milchan, Debra Lovatelli, Edward Zwick, Inigo Lezzi, Jeannine Dominy, Margaret Rosenthal
Genres: Drama
Sub-Genres: Love & Romance
Studio: Warner Home Video
Format: DVD - Color,Full Screen,Widescreen,Anamorphic - Closed-captioned
DVD Release Date: 10/27/1998
Original Release Date: 02/20/1998
Theatrical Release Date: 02/20/1998
Release Year: 1998
Run Time: 1hr 51min
Screens: Color,Full Screen,Widescreen,Anamorphic
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaDVD Credits: 1
Total Copies: 0
Members Wishing: 13
MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Languages: English, French
Subtitles: English, French

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Member Movie Reviews

K. K. (GAMER)
Reviewed on 8/23/2023...
Quite the hidden jewel with lots of stars in it. Not sure where Naomi Watts fit in but shes in it too if you are a fan! Based on an incredible true story with an unexpected ending. Pull out the tissues since this has its moments! A must watch!
Sharon F. (Shar) from AVON PARK, FL
Reviewed on 4/2/2023...
This is an excellent Renaissance piece, very well acted, and great storyline. Very sensuous and alluring without a lot of nudity.

Synopsis: The sensuous true story of the woman who defied convention in 16th-century Venice comes to the screen in the ravishing Dangerous Beauty. Beautiful Catherine McCormack plays Veronica Franco who, under the knowing tutelage of her mother (Jacqueline Bisset), becomes a courtesan to the rich and powerful. She'll pay a price. Veronica may have to turn away forever from the nobleman she loves. And she may stand alone when the Inquisition charges her wiles are witchcraft. Shot on Italian settings recreating Renaissance Venice, Dangerous Beauty is an sumptuous as it is passionate, a work of redemptive romance that fills the eye and the heart.
3 of 4 member(s) found this review helpful.
Pamela L. (Pam61) from PROVIDENCE, RI
Reviewed on 1/22/2008...
This movie has many of the things I like in a movie...drama, romantic love story, beautiful costumes, historical period, exotic locations. Catherine McCormack is definitely a beauty, and Rufus Sewell is very handome. Think of a great, passionate romance novel that's just come to life on the big screen! Women will enjoy this one, more than once!
5 of 6 member(s) found this review helpful.

Movie Reviews

TIMELESS MESSAGES WRAPPED IN A SUPERB ROMANTIC PIECE
Shashank Tripathi | Gadabout | 04/10/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)

"Imagine an *intelligent* romantic comedy with a beautiful female lead, set in Venice, with a wafer-crisp and witty script, plus some brilliant doses of worldly wisdom! Veronica (Catherine McCormack) is the kind of woman every man dreams of: a stunning beauty who's also literate and has a great sense of humor. But you see, it's 16th Century Venice, and Veronica has been pressed into service by her mother to work as a courtesan. If you're out of touch with that era's terminology, a courtesan was a prostitute with wealthy, upper class clients. So she's available to some men for some things, for a price. And she's permitted perks not available to other women, such as access to books.The love of her life, a man of position and stature, does not quite go in the sweet, sentimental manner she had hoped. After a time, she becomes accustomed to her job and uses it to her advantage and that of Venice, by entertaining the King of France sufficiently to convince him to provide much-needed ships at a time of war. However, her love for Marco just won't go away, even after he succumbs to family pressures and marries an appropriately positioned woman. That unhappiness is multiplied many times over when the plague strikes Venice, followed closely by the church's Inquisition. That's when we reach the film's climax. Yes, we'd like to have a deeper understanding of what makes Veronica tick; how she reconciled herself deep down to her un-chosen life situation. And it's sentimental, which might turn some off, but really isn't out of proportion to the story and its other strengths. The film presents a couple of very beautiful nuggets of wisdom: (1) There's a consistent moral thread that runs through every society from age to age and generation to generation, the tenets of which are established within parameters, and therefore subject to change; or more specifically, subject to a change in perspective. And that change can come very quickly -- veritably over night in some instances. (2) That there is also another constant that defines the human condition in any era -- that we will do whatever is necessary to survive. It is simply an undeniable, irrefutable basic instinct of the human animal. Moral tenets and survival, however, taken as properties are something akin to oil and water, and will mix accordingly. Being more often than not polar opposites, conflict is inherent and will ultimately surface at some point or other, the outcome of which is determined by the strength of whichever perspective is prevalent at the moment. And it is at such moments that we discover that life, like politics, can be a sordid, unpleasant affair; or at the other end of the spectrum, the greatest gift of all.This is a rare film, a smart love story that isn't saddled with an overly-predictable outcome. For that and its other assets such as dialog and captivating visuals of Venice, it comes highly recommended from me."
Spectacular
Amanda Goodwin | 03/06/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)

"A sumptuous love story set in Venice, this has remained my favorite film ever. The luxurious costumes, tender music, astonishing true story, and the breathless beauty of Catherine McCormack leave you mesmerized. This film did not do well at the box office, but that's because movie-goers like the big stars rather than the intellectual Oscar-contender. Based on the true story of Veronica Franco, a poetess and courtesan in Venice 1500s, 'Dangerous Beauty' tells of her decision to become a free and educated prostitute over an obediant, repressed wife, and what ensued when she fell in love with a man of title and estates. Marshall Herskowitz (dir.) exhibited his brilliant talent and McCormack artfully, and made it more entertaining than any Merchant-Ivory film. McCormack is definitely one to watch in years to come, and I hope we see her in more costume dramas, because she excells. 'Dangerous Beauty' (bad title) is one of the best, and once you see it for the first time, you'll want to watch it over and over again."
Bawdy. Decadent. Lavish. Threatening.
Jeffrey E Ellis | Naperville, IL USA | 05/24/2005
(3 out of 5 stars)

"Venice. The beautiful and voluptuous gem of the Mediterranean. A city like no other with her bawdy history of Courtesans, gentile society, and decadence.

Dangerous Beauty pits the lavish and indulgent life style of the fair city of Venice against the zealous tyranny of the "church" during the time of the Inquisition. Believing that God's wrath had been stirred by the public sinfulness of a modern-day Sodom, the church seeks to remedy the Plague by rooting out wickedness - including the liscentious life style of the courtesans.

But our heroine, brilliantly played by Catherine McCormack, bravely defends the traditions which allowed her to make a living in a society that shut the door on the aspirations of women. In the social system of the time, women either were born to wealth or married it. Anything less meant a life of servitude in the under-class.

At the root, this film is about power. A woman's power in this day, in this city, lay in her beauty or her birth.

Excellent performances, beautiful sets and scenery, acting talent galore.

The R rating is for nudity and sexual content."