Disc Details
Special Features:	Widescreen anamorphic format. Chapter selection. Featurette. Trailer and TV Spots. FOX film previews.
Video Format:	Anamorphic Widescreen (2.35:1) [SS-SL]
Languages:	English (Dolby Digital 5.1) French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
Subtitles:	English, Spanish.
Captions:	Yes
Casing:	1-Disc Keep Case

Lucy (Liv Tyler) is a virginal 19 year old girl on a quest of discovery. Her moody and free-spirited poet mother died. Lucy's father sends her to Italy to spend the summer with some artist friends of her late mother's. Lucy had visited 4 years before. During that stay, she had her first kiss. Lucy wants to experience lovemaking for the first time, but she is not sure who she is. While going through her late mother's journal, Lucy discovers that the man she knows as her father really isn't. Lucy was conceived in an olive grove in Italy 19 years before. The journal has hints about who her father is, but does not name him.

The list of suspects include Alex (Jeremy Irons), an author who is rapidly dying of an unnamed disease. Ian (Donal McCann) an Irish sculptor and painter who owns the Italian estate with his with his wife Diana, (Sinead Cusak). Carlo Lisca (Carlo Cecchi), a local war correspondent and playboy. While Lucy is busy ferreting out her real father, all the others at the estate are busy trying to get Lucy laid. Everyone is amazed that a girl her age is a virgin. This attention is very discomforting to Lucy. Lucy isn't a prude, she just needs to know who she is before she gives herself to another. Other guests at the estate include M. Guillaume (Jean Marais) a befuddled old art critic. Miranda (Rachel Weisz) who is Diana's daughter and her current lover, sleazy entertainment lawyer Richard (D.W. Moffett). There is also Christopher (Joseph Fiennes), Miranda's sister, and his friends Nicollo (Roberto Zibetti) and Ozvaldo Donati (Ignazio Oliva). Nicollo is the object of Lucy's lustful first kiss memories.

"Stealing Beauty" is deliberately paced but it doesn't drag. There were times when I feared the script would evaporate but fortunately the story lines all reached resolution. In these days of high tech blockbuster action films, one might become restless with a simple story line with real human characters. This is unfortunate because those with MTV video-length attention spans will miss a sweet and refreshingly positive humanistic tale. Liv Tyler is perfect as the young heroine. She has the body of an adult. Her spirit is churning at the bit to catch up with her physical self. She is gawky and graceful at the same time. It is no surprise that she casts a spell over all the other characters in the film. Some of the depth of character she brings to the role may be due to the similarities between the Lucy and her real life. Miss Tyler didn't find out that the man she thought was her father really wasn't until she was almost 10 years old. Only then did her mother reveal that Steve Tyler of the band Aerosmith was her father.

The lead actors are all excellent. Jeremy Irons brings just the right tough of dignity, pomposity and selfishness to the role of the dying author Alex. The best scenes in the film take place between Miss Tyler and Mr. Irons. Rachel Weisz is bawdy and vulgar in a fun way as Miranda. She is constantly trying to keep Richard away from Lucy. There is a scene in which Lucy is outside Richard and Miranda’s window as they have sex. It is hilarious as the couple is loud and talking nasty. Lucy the virgin wants to know what the fuss is all about, but she is waiting for the right time. Donal McCann and Sinead Cusak are also great as Ian and Diana. The photography and score are also excellent. I'd recommend getting the soundtrack album as well as the DVD.

Picture Quality: 10/10
Beautifully shot film. Lush Italian country side. Excellent transfer. Made me want to move there.

Sound Quality: 10/10
Great sound. I loved the songs chosen to accent this movie. Great music to get romantic by. Includes some Nina Simone! The stuff Bridget Fonda listened to in "Point of no Return."

Menu: 7/10
I didn't like the fresco style artwork used to illustrate the menu. Small gripe. Easy to navigate.

Extra Features: 3/10
Nice featurette. There are about 10 previews for other movies in FOX's chick flick collection.

The Final Word:
Not quite a vanilla DVD, but close. Very good movie by one of the true artists directing movies today. Not his best work, but very good. Reasonably priced by FOX. Worth the price of admission.

Rusty White