''Beauty and the Beast'' (also known as ''Blood of Beasts'') is a 2005 film which is based on the folktale "

Beauty and the Beast ''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve, Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' ( ...

" and is set during the time of the Vikings.

Plot

Thorsson the king is falling ill and wants to make a pilgrimage to an island cursed by

Odin Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered Æsir, god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, v ...

. The island is home to a horrible beast. His daughter, Freya is betrothed to Sven one of Thorsson's greatest warriors. Freya tries to get an army together to go back and save her father, Thorsson (whom she believes to be alive) however, no one will join her, and Sven reminds her that he is now king and that she is betrothed to him. Freya and Ingrid go to the island alone to rescue her father, Thorsson. Eric steps forward and tells everyone they've all been acting like cowards. He also says he'll go and save the king's daughter himself if Sven does not dare. Sven who is unwilling to look like a coward, angrily agrees to send an army back to fight the beast and rescue Freya. Freya and the Beast begin to develop a friendship. Sven returns to the island with an army and confronts the Beast. Freya tries to stop them, by telling them the beast is not a monster. Sven does not listen to her, thinking the Beast has fooled her mind. Sven and the Beast fight and ends with Sven's archers shooting him. The warriors set the island afire and return home with Freya. The Beast journeys to Freya's home where Thorsson has recovered from his illness and is once again king. As the Beast holds the dying Freya in his arms, Freya's sacrifice breaks the curse and the Beast is Agnar once again.

Cast

Jane March Jane March Horwood (born 20 March 1973) is an English film actress and former model. Early life and education March was born Jane March Horwood in Edgware, London. Her father, Bernard Horwood, was a design and technology secondary school teac ...

as Freya *

William Gregory Lee William Gregory Lee (born January 24, 1973) is an American actor. Career His first prominent role was as Virgil on '' Xena: Warrior Princess''. He also played the character of Zack on the series '' Dark Angel'' (2000–2001). Lee has appeared i ...

as Sven *

Justin Whalin Justin Garrett Whalin (born September 6, 1974) is an American former actor and teacher. He is known for his roles as the teenage Andy Barclay in ''Child's Play 3'' and Jimmy Olsen in the American television series '' Lois & Clark: The New Adventu ...

as Eric * David Dukas as Agnar/Beast * Greg Melvill-Smith as Thorsson * Candîce Hillebrand as Ingrid

Production

The movie was filmed in both the United Kingdom and South Africa.

Reception

Scott Weinberg of DVDTalk notes that the DVD cover misleadingly looks like

Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's b ...

, and not "the Halloween-costumed lunatic combination of Beauty and the Beast and

The 13th Warrior ''The 13th Warrior'' is a 1999 American historical fiction action film based on Michael Crichton's 1976 novel ''Eaters of the Dead'', which is a loose adaptation of the tale of ''Beowulf'' combined with Ahmad ibn Fadlan's historical account of the ...

that it so painfully is." He says the film manages to be "so bad it's good" and suggests catching it on cable television, and concludes "But don't mistake that opinion for a hearty recommendation".

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Beauty And The Beast (2005 Film) 2005 films 2005 fantasy films 2000s fantasy adventure films 2000s monster movies 2000s romantic fantasy films British fantasy adventure films British monster movies British romantic fantasy films 2000s English-language films English-language South African films Films based on Beauty and the Beast Films set in the Viking Age South African adventure films South African romance films Sword and sorcery films Films directed by David Lister 2000s British films