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The Beach |  | Director: Danny Boyle
Actors: Leonardo DiCaprio, Virginie Ledoyen, Guillaume Canet, Robert Carlyle, Tilda Swinton
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Category: DVD
List Price: $14.98
Buy Used: $2.24
as of 9/9/2010 03:19 EDT details
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New (32) Used (39) from $2.24
Seller: goHastings
Rating:  253 reviews
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
Languages: English (Original Language), French (Original Language)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Region: 1
Discs: 1
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Running Time: 119 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.3 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: 024543001775
UPC: 024543001775
EAN: 0024543001775
Theatrical Release Date: 1999
Release Date: January 3, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
A hand drawn map & rumors of a communal Eden lead young travelers in Thailand off the backpacker trail to a forbidden archipelago with an exquisite be
Leonardo DiCaprio sought to distance himself from the purity of his character in Titanic, and his role in The Beach is in many ways a polar opposite. As Richard, a young American seeking to "suck in the experience" of freestyle travel in Thailand, he's a chronic liar, a pot-smoking hedonist, an amoral lover, and ultimately an unstable snake in a doomed Garden of Eden. This crazy descent might be expected from the filmmakers of Trainspotting, but The Beach is a movie without a rudder, venturing into fascinating territory, promising a stimulating adventure, and then careening out of control. After receiving a not-so-secret map to a secluded island from a stoned-out loony (Robert Carlyle, full of dark portent and spittle), Richard sets out to find the hidden paradise with a young French couple (Virginie Ledoyen, Guillaume Canet). What they find is a tropical commune existing in delicate balance with Thai pot farmers, and before long--as always--there's trouble in paradise. There's trouble in the movie, too, as DiCaprio is reduced to histrionics when the plot turns into a muddled mix of Lord of the Flies and Apocalypse Now, with shark attacks tossed in for shallow tension. Director Danny Boyle attempts perfunctory romance and a few audacious moves (notably DiCaprio's vision of life as a violent video game), but what's the point? Tilda Swinton registers strongly as the commune's charismatic leader, but her character--and the entire film--remains largely undeveloped, and pretty scenery is no guarantee of a laudable film. --Jeff Shannon
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 100
 Parable of Paradise of the Lost July 7, 2010
Jeff Farrow
THE BEACH held my interest, DiCaprio was quite good & Tilda Swinton fascinating in her characterization of a dominant & conflicted leader of castaways on a little bit of Paradise.
I'll attempt to make a few comments lacking plotline because that's more than covered on the main page & other reviews.
The movie can be seen as a cautionary tale of pseudo-religious cults based on hedonism, rejecting society for a too-good-to-be-true a-social escapism fueled by a charismatic leader and/or drugs.
In THE BEACH (a "hidden" Thai island) both elements are clearly featured. In an early scene the intrepid Eden seekers suddenly find themselves looking at acres & acres of growing ganga. I'm pretty sure it was the real thing because I found myself salivating at the very sight of it.
In the middle of the film Tilda banishes DeCapio from the group for revealing a map leading to the mystic Highland. When he asks what he's supposed to do, she ominously replies, "Get the map back." From this point on DiCaprio is alone & appears to be descending into madness. This I felt was going way over the top & overblown. It wasn't Dicaprio's acting so much as the script. Fortunately it got on track--well, nore or less--as the whole scenario escalated into violence.
In another banishment scene, the group can't take any more crying from a man dying of gangrene (they were too afraid to send him to a doctor least the location of their secret Paradise leak out.) Finally they remove him from the encampment and leave him out to die--much like certain groups used to "expose" unwanted babies.
The idea is that no matter how "perfect" a Paradise appears, it won't remain that way for long once humans arrive on the scene--and, yes, other people have commented on the fact that THE BEACH is like an adult version of LORD OF THE FLIES.
When the film ends, you're not entirely satisfied because for the exception of DeCaprio and to a lesser extent Swinton, the characterizations are too sketchy for any deep indentification or concern with what ultimately happens to them.
This brings to mind lyrics from Joni Mitchell's AMELIA:
"Where some have found their paradise,
Others just come to harm...
Amelia, it was just a false alarm."
 AMERICA'S CRITIC May 15, 2010
David R. Lingard (memphis tn)
I HAVE NO IDEA IF THIS IS BASED ON TRUE STORY BUT THIS MOVIE IS EXCELLENT LEO IS INCREDIBLE BUY THIS MOVIE IF U LOVE DRAMA DRUGS SEX AND EVERYTHING ELSE,,, THE BEACH DELIEVERS HIGHLY UP TO THE RANKINGS WISH I HAD A MAP!!!!!PURCHASE DONT EVEN RENT THIS ONE GO BUY IT!!!!!
 There is very, VERY little here... March 2, 2010
Andrew Ellington (I'm kind of everywhere)
When I saw `The Beach' for the first time I was ridiculously under whelmed. I don't remember what I was expecting, but it was nothing like what I thought it was going to be. I decided a while back to revisit the film, since I was young when I first saw it and figured that maybe my taste was the problem.
It wasn't.
`The Beach' has a brilliant premise and a lot of promise, but it fails to capitalize on any of that. You have a cast that includes some hot bodies (Virginie Ledoyen), some rising stars (Leonardo DiCaprio) and some established talents (Tilda Swinton). You have a director who has already established himself as a stunning and provocative visionary (his 1996 film `Trainspotting' is still relevant, poignant and unforgettable) and you have a foundation wrapped around a well regarded and loved novel (I need to read it, but I hear all sorts of wonderful things about it). Add to that a stunning location and you have the makings of a potential masterpiece.
So why does `The Beach' fall apart?
The film basically tells the story of a young and impulsive man named Richard who throws caution to the wind while backpacking in Thailand and decides to accompany a French couple (or they accompany him) in pursuit of an island. What he finds is an endless supply of pot and a group of islanders who live in a dangerous sort of harmony. Richard and his friends are adopted into the commune, but not without disturbing the unity and bringing about lots of problems and consequences.
There are moments of the film that work very well (like the shark attack) but there is so much of the film that just lacks any real punch, thanks to a surprising lack of character development. The film seems rather pointless, instead of really picking up on the social commentary that is waiting to be expounded on. Some ambitious novels cannot translate well onto the big screen. Maybe this was one of those novels.
The performances are decent at best, with only Tilda Swinton standing out as very good (and even she suffers from a lack of material). DiCaprio took a few steps back with this one. Even Danny Boyle, who is usually remarkable behind the lens, suffers from an inappropriately stimulated imagination. His most ambitious sequences are the ones that help tear the film apart. In fact, the whole videogame scene alone is enough to knock a whole star (or maybe even two) from the films overall grade. The cinematography is good, but it is far from outstanding, and it should have been considering the location. It is just sub par.
In fact, the film in general can be described as sub par; severely underdeveloped and forgettable.
An Underrated Adventure November 25, 2009
D. Millar (Washington, DC)
I know, I know, it's not the book. Guess what? No movie is. Standing on it's own, I think it's one of the more underrated adventure movies out there. It has some great actors/actresses from around the world (Virginie Ledoyen, Tilda Swinton)-- even Leonardo, who I don't normally like, is the perfect fit for a brash, somewhat phony but adventurous American. Fantastic, beautiful, on location scenery in Thailand: places I had been, that I had seen. It has great narrative from the book. A great haunting soundtrack (UNKLE, Moby, Leftfield, Underworld). It's also got a kind of innocent magic to it-- which, i can tell you from traveling, is true and real-- and then the loss of that magic, which is also part of the story. Give it a chance, forget what other people say.
 Weak November 15, 2009
David K
After 1/2 hour of watching I turned it off. It just wasn't my idea of interesting. Plus the fact that I'm NOT a pot smoker, so I couldn't relate.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 100
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