Dangerous Beauty (1998) |
| Great movie. Kind of a chick-flick,
in that it's based on the actual diaries of a 16th
century Venetian courtesan (named Veronica Franco),
scripted by a woman, focusing on the story of a woman who
become a courtesan when unable to make a successful
marriage in Renaissance Venice. But the fact that it exposes the restricted opportunities for women of that time period doesn't mean that men can't enjoy it. I love it because it's a great yarn, told with real style. The wife and daughter were equally enthusiastic. A sweeping historical adventure with several satisfying twists, and a visual treasure in greens and golds. Faithful to the dress, manners, and social interaction of the time. Much of the dialogue is based on the diaries and actual contemporaneous documents. And the most unbelievable circumstances - the courtesan's bedroom diplomacy which alters the fate of Europe, and her subsequent rescue from the Inquisition - all really happened. If if the movie weren't good enough, beautiful Catherine McCormack takes off her clothes in this movie. Terrific actress, killer smile, and is she photogenic, or what? Impressive bosom as well. Someday, someone will explain to me why she is not a greater star. Exactly what is she missing? Consensus rating, about 3.2 stars out of 4. But the movie did only about $4 million at the box office in a very limited release. IMDB rating. 7.4 out of 10. The best review of this movie is actually the first user comment at IMDb (by "Aleatha"), which is exceptionally informative. Here's Apollo's review. Apollo rated it 76/100, Apollo users 85/100 |