Beloved (1998)

Based on the book by Toni Morrison, in which a slave is visited by the spirit of a mysterious young woman

Director:

Jonathan Demme

Writers:

Toni Morrison (novel), Akosua Busia (screenplay)

Stars:

Oprah Winfrey, Danny Glover, Yada Beener

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 3 wins & 23 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Yada Beener	...	Denver aged 9
Emil Pinnock	...	Howard aged 14
Calen Johnson	...	Buglar aged 13
Oprah Winfrey	...	Sethe
Beah Richards	...	Baby Suggs
Danny Glover	...	Paul D
Kimberly Elise	...	Denver
Jude Ciccolella	...	Schoolteacher
Kessia Embry	...	Amy Denver (as Kessia Kordelle)
Dashiell Eaves	...	Schoolteacher's Nephew
LisaGay Hamilton	...	Younger Sethe (as Lisa Gay Hamilton)
Tyler Hinson	...	Baby Beloved
Brian Hooks	...	Young Paul D
Hill Harper	...	Halle
Thandie Newton	...	Beloved

Storyline

After Paul D. finds his old slave friend Sethe in Ohio and moves in with her and her daughter Denver, a strange girl comes along by the name of "Beloved". Sethe and Denver take her in and then strange things start to happen...

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Plot Keywords:

f rated | spirit | farm | freedom | slavery | 

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Taglines:

The past has a life of its own.

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Genres:

Drama | History | Horror

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violent images, sexuality and nudity

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 October 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Beloved

Filming Locations:

Eckert James River Bat Cave Preserve, Mason County, Texas, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$80,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$8,165,551, 18 October 1998

Gross USA:

$22,852,487

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$22,852,487

Company Credits

Production Co:

Harpo Films, Clinica Estetico, Touchstone Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

172 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The farmhouse scenes were filmed in Fair Hill, Maryland, on park land along the Big Elk Creek (seen in the creek wading scene). Park Manager Ed Walls even had a bit part as the ferris wheel operator. The house was built for the movie, though it was convincing enough to fool park goers into thinking it was a real old farmhouse after the movie crew departed. There was no snow that year, so the winter scenes were fabricated with fake snow, plastic icicles, and shaved ice, all of which had to be vacuumed up from the fields once shooting was completed. During filming, the park office got a call from another Maryland park asking for advice on dealing with a another film crew. They claimed some kids wanted to film a movie, but they said they didn't seem to know what they were doing, and seemed to just be running around the woods with cameras. The Beloved ended up not being nearly as big of a box-office draw as The Blair Witch Project (1999)

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Goofs

Beloved wears contact lenses.

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Quotes

Baby Suggs: Over yonder, they do not love your flesh. Oh, my people... they do not love your hands. Those, they only use, tie, bind, chop off and leave empty! Love your hands! Raise them up, and kiss them.

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: Beloved/Happiness/Practical Magic/Love Is the Devil/The Cruise (1998)

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Soundtracks

Sethe's Lullaby
Written by Toni Morrison and Rachel Portman
Performed by Oprah Winfrey

User Reviews

A Beautiful Spellbinding Masterpiece

Even though 'Beloved' got mixed reviews, I thought it was wonderful. All the performances were amazing and Jonathan Demme did a wonderful job. I think the best performances were from Oprah and Kimberly Elise. Beah Richards was exceptionally good in her small role as Baby Suggs. I have studied slavery in the past, and I knew it was very brutal. But if you pair this move with 'Amistad' you get the real picture of slavery and how horrible it was. Another good performance came from Lisa Gay Hamilton as younger Sethe, because she exemplified the true spirit of the hopeful slave. I would not recommend to those who have a faint heart or who get squeamish easily.