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| The Beach [2000] | ![The Beach [2000]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/415XWKB4ZQL._SL160_.jpg)
 enlarge | Director: Danny Boyle
Actors: Leonardo Dicaprio, Daniel York, Patcharawan Patarakijjanon, Virginie Ledoyen, Guillaume Canet
Studio: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Category: DVD
List Price: £19.99
Buy Used: £2.15
You Save: £17.84 (89%)
Buy New/Used from £2.15
Avg. Customer Rating:  (47 reviews)
Sales Rank: 3813
Format: Anamorphic, Pal, Widescreen
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Portuguese (Subtitled), Swedish (Subtitled), Danish (Subtitled), Hungarian (Subtitled), Polish (Subtitled), Icelandic (Subtitled), Finnish (Subtitled), Czech (Subtitled)
Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Media: DVD
Running Time: 115 minutes
Number Of Items: 1
Discs: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
EAN: 5039036004022
ASIN: B00004WA65
Release Date: December 27, 2000
Theatrical Release Date: February 11, 2000
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.co.uk Review
Leonardo DiCaprio sought to distance himself from the cloying wholesomeness 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 is 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 is trouble in paradise. There is 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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| Customer Reviews: Read 42 more reviews...
 Ok as a film. Poor as an adaptation November 16, 2008
You see, when a film is made of a book, you expect more than just some similarities. While we still have most of the Garland characters and the general pretense of a hidden community on paradise island, we lack the biting story to go with it. Imagine a 'Lord of the Flies' remake without the kids going kill crackers. This film has great cinematography, but lacks the moral fibre the book oozed. Shame really, as they knacked the beaches up while they filmed it too.
i wish i'd read the book January 17, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
ive heard eny good things about the book and i thought id watch the film first. I don't no about this film. there is something good and plausible about it nd it makes you want to believe that there are places no one knows exist but its also very unrealistic and the film doesnt cover all the topics it should. Parts of the film are left unknown to us and it doesnt do this film any favours!
Good January 9, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is the only film where Leonardo Dicaprio didn't irritate the hell out of me.
It's good, I think you'd really like this if you're a keen traveller as it's all about soaking up every experience and not following the same old tourist route.
I definately enjoyed this.
Game Over... June 19, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I wish this film was good, I really do, I want to like it so much it hurts, but the simple fact is, that for anyone who has read Alex Garland's stunning book, it will only serve to disapoint.
Dont get me wrong, its a decently made film, although the "Hollywood" elements were a little intrusive, but I cant help but think a more faithful recreation of the book would have been more apropriate. Here however, Danny Boyle (otherwise one of my favorite directors, and well known for his collaborations with the writer) has seen fit to erase entire characters, events and ideas from the plot altogether. Where the book was rich in subtle nuance and character development, the film is simplisic and the characters shallow and unrealistic.
While I have no problem with DiCaprio, I dont think he is Richard, and especially not as an American, the simple act of switching his nationality erases some of the most interesting examples of character chemistry in the book (namely the meeting with Zeph and Sammy) and for no visible reason whatsoever, you have to wonder why they bothered.
Other elements overlooked include the Vietnam references, central to which is the chracter Daffy, who rarely appears in the film, but makes regular apearances in the novel as Richard's 'Nam-obsessed alter ego and makes for some facinating insights into Richard's mind.
I also found the alteration of the dramatic ending to be a terrible anti-climax, as the original is the most cinematic part of the whole book, and the intentional visual references to the final scenes of "Apocalypse Now" where the tribesmen ritually sacrifice a cow, is stunning and as dramatic a conclusion to a story as I have ever read.
To be honest though, there are that many differences, that many alteration and omissions, that to list them would take far to long. At the end of the day, when you change the story this much, what you end up with is another story altogether, and in that sense it is a mediocre one, and frankly doesnt deserve the "based on the book" subtitle with which it has been adorned. Likewise, the book itself should be stripped of all references to the film, lest people watch it expecting anything other that aboslute mediocrity.
Moderate Adaptation of a Best Seling Novel April 10, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
The novel was a best seller whereas the film was a moderate success...just means that objectives were not fully met.Casting is OK with Di Caprio and Tilda Swinton well cast.The photography is breathtaking but the ending is very contrived.
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