This Czech version of a classic fairy tale is a counterpart to Cocteau's black and white La Belle et la Bete, but stands on its own as a fully realized, full-color production, outstandingly acted. Real life medieval locations - an enchanted forest, a splendid manor house, a baroque castle in ruins - complement the timeless story presented here in all its psychological complexity but without moralizing. “It's all here: the dark and misty forest, the selfish sisters, the ambivalent father, and one of literature's truly odd couples, Beauty and the Beast. The ageless tale seems to be about everything all at once: virgin fear and virginal passion, greed and selfishness, paternal love and sibling rivalry, and the curious relationship between hunter and hunted.” --Peter Bonerz, Filmex '80