"Beauty and the Beast:-Jeanne Cocteau-1946
Yarders who have taken film courses, or who see films in an arthouse setting, may well have seen this film. I own the Janus Film (early Criterion) DVD. This is the version available for free streaming. Criterion did another re-issue in 2010. This has many extras, and a version with a replacement of the dialogue with singing. It becomes an opera. I haven't seen that version. I have problems with sound on the Janus version. I still use the subtitles. It has been pointed out that the subtitles often only approximate the French dialogue. My best example of this is actually in a written introduction which appears after the credits. The translation appears as: "Once upon a time..." The literal French is :"Il etait une fois...". That is more properly translated :"There was a time..."
The first appearance of this fairy tale in print is in a French novel in the late 17th century. A shorter version appeared in the second half of the 18th century. It is this version which Cocteau adapts. This is the version used even in early silent films thru Disney. A young girl replaces her father. In this particular version her father steals a rose to give to his daughter Belle. The Beast is going to put him to death, but he will allow the shipowner to live if one of his three daughters will come to the Chateau to take his place. Belle assumes the burden. She is initially frightened, but she masters her fears, and she becomes friendly with the Beast. The Beast allows her to return home to visit her family. She must return in a week. The wealth is coveted by her two sisters, her brother, and the young man, Avenant (Jean Marais) Belle loves. Belle returns and saves the Beasts life. Avenant is turned into a Beast. The Beast is turned into a Prince who looks like Avenant. He had been cursed; the curse is removed when Belle shows she loves him.
The eternal moral of this story is that you can't judge a book by its cover. The reaction to the film is exemplified by Marlene Dietrich's demand to give us back the Beast. Jean Marais played three roles: The Beast, Avenant, and the Prince. Cocteau deliberately made the Prince kind of a jerk. Avenant is the bad boy type that many young women fall for. If there is a hero in this fantasy; it should be Belle. Who brings out the inner good in the Beast? Who honors her obligations? Yet, it is the Beast who captivates.
I don't want to talk about the visual impact except to say that the special effects were considered to be brilliant at the time. The production was hampered by post war shortages. The costumes were state of the art; they were designed by Pierre Cardin of the coutoure house of Lanvin. The film was scraps; the cameras were old, and electric power was a some times thing. The Beast was constructed in such a way That Marais could only eat gruel while in costume.
The credits were written on a chalkboard. Which was erased between credits, talk about low tech. I felt that the film has not aged as well as some other films from that era. However, films in the 21st century have available techniques that were not even dreamed of then. This is an enormously influential film. In Europe the dominant movement was realism; this film makes no bones about being a fantasy. Disney thought about making an animated version for years before his version was actually made.
This remains a landmark film. Cocteau believed that fairy tales and legends reveal truths. The truths depicted in neo-realistic films are momentary. The truths of myths are timeless.
Yarders who have taken film courses, or who see films in an arthouse setting, may well have seen this film. I own the Janus Film (early Criterion) DVD. This is the version available for free streaming. Criterion did another re-issue in 2010. This has many extras, and a version with a replacement of the dialogue with singing. It becomes an opera. I haven't seen that version. I have problems with sound on the Janus version. I still use the subtitles. It has been pointed out that the subtitles often only approximate the French dialogue. My best example of this is actually in a written introduction which appears after the credits. The translation appears as: "Once upon a time..." The literal French is :"Il etait une fois...". That is more properly translated :"There was a time..."
The first appearance of this fairy tale in print is in a French novel in the late 17th century. A shorter version appeared in the second half of the 18th century. It is this version which Cocteau adapts. This is the version used even in early silent films thru Disney. A young girl replaces her father. In this particular version her father steals a rose to give to his daughter Belle. The Beast is going to put him to death, but he will allow the shipowner to live if one of his three daughters will come to the Chateau to take his place. Belle assumes the burden. She is initially frightened, but she masters her fears, and she becomes friendly with the Beast. The Beast allows her to return home to visit her family. She must return in a week. The wealth is coveted by her two sisters, her brother, and the young man, Avenant (Jean Marais) Belle loves. Belle returns and saves the Beasts life. Avenant is turned into a Beast. The Beast is turned into a Prince who looks like Avenant. He had been cursed; the curse is removed when Belle shows she loves him.
The eternal moral of this story is that you can't judge a book by its cover. The reaction to the film is exemplified by Marlene Dietrich's demand to give us back the Beast. Jean Marais played three roles: The Beast, Avenant, and the Prince. Cocteau deliberately made the Prince kind of a jerk. Avenant is the bad boy type that many young women fall for. If there is a hero in this fantasy; it should be Belle. Who brings out the inner good in the Beast? Who honors her obligations? Yet, it is the Beast who captivates.
I don't want to talk about the visual impact except to say that the special effects were considered to be brilliant at the time. The production was hampered by post war shortages. The costumes were state of the art; they were designed by Pierre Cardin of the coutoure house of Lanvin. The film was scraps; the cameras were old, and electric power was a some times thing. The Beast was constructed in such a way That Marais could only eat gruel while in costume.
The credits were written on a chalkboard. Which was erased between credits, talk about low tech. I felt that the film has not aged as well as some other films from that era. However, films in the 21st century have available techniques that were not even dreamed of then. This is an enormously influential film. In Europe the dominant movement was realism; this film makes no bones about being a fantasy. Disney thought about making an animated version for years before his version was actually made.
This remains a landmark film. Cocteau believed that fairy tales and legends reveal truths. The truths depicted in neo-realistic films are momentary. The truths of myths are timeless.