Beauty and the Beast (1946 film)
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| Beauty and the Beast | |
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| Directed by | Jean Cocteau |
| Produced by | André Paulvé |
| Written by | Jean Cocteau Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont |
| Starring | Josette Day Jean Marais Mila Parély Nane Germon Michel Auclair Marcel André |
| Music by | Georges Auric |
| Cinematography | Henri Alekan |
| Editing by | Claude Iberia |
| Distributed by | Lopert Pictures |
| Release date(s) | FRA October 29, 1946 USA September 23, 1947 |
| Running time | 93 min. |
| Country | France |
| Language | French |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Beauty and the Beast (French: La Belle et la Bête) is a 1946 French romantic fantasy film adaptation of Jeanne-Marie Le Prince de Beaumont's fairy tale. Directed by French poet/filmmaker Jean Cocteau, the film stars Josette Day as Belle and Jean Marais as both Avenant and The Beast. The plot revolves around Belle's father who is told that he must die for picking a rose from Beast's garden. Belle offers to go back to the Beast in her father's place. Beast falls in love with her and proposes marriage on a nightly basis which she refuses, having pledged her love to Avenant. Eventually, Belle becomes more drawn to Beast, who tests her by giving her a golden key, telling her that if she doesn't return it to him within a week, he will die of grief.
[edit] Plot
While scrubbing the floor at home, Belle (Josette Day) is interrupted by Avenant (Jean Marais) who tells Belle she deserves better and suggests they get married which Belle denies in order to take care of her father. Belle's father (Marcel André) arrives home announcing he has come into great fortune which he will receive the next day promising to return with gifts for his daughters when he returns including a rose for Belle. Belle’s brother Ludovic (Michel Auclair) signs a contract from a money lender allowing him to the ability to sue his father if Ludovic can’t pay up. At this time, Belle's father finds on his arrival that his fortune has not arrived so he returns home through the forest at night.
Belle's father gets lost in the forest and finds himself at a large castle whose gates and doors magically open themselves. On entering the castle he is guided by candelabra held by living human arms that extend from the walls that lead him to a dinner table where he falls asleep. Awakened by a loud roar, Belle's father wanders the castle's grounds where he plucks a rose from a tree which summons Beast (Jean Marais) who threatens to kill him for his theft. Beast then suggests that if one of Belle’s father’s daughters can take his place, he’ll live and offers him horse Magnificent to guide him back home to report the news. After explaining the situation to Avenent and the family, Belle says she will go take her father's place. On arrival at the front, Belle finds Beast, and promptly faints. Belle wakes in her room, where Beast invites Belle to dine with him tonight. At dinner, Beast tells Belle that she’s in command as well as that everyday he will ask Belle to marry him. As time passes, Belle grows more accustom to the Beast but continues to refuse marriage and confesses she misses her father. Beast grants her request to leave for a week and gives Belle two magical items: A glove that can transport her wherever she wishes and a golden key that unlocks Diana's Pavilion, the source of Beast's true riches.
Belle uses the glove arriving in her now bedridden father's room, where Belle visit restore him to health. Belle finds her family in much poorer wealth since she has left never recovering from Ludovic's deal with the money lender. Jealous of Belle's fanciful life at the castle, Belle’s steal her golden key and devise a plan to turn Ludovic and Avenant against Beast. Not wanting to have Belle leave again, Avenant and Ludovic devise a plan of their own to kill the beast, and agree to aid Belle’s sisters. At the end of the week, Magnificent comes with a magic mirror to retrieve Belle but Ludovic and Avenant find Magnificent first, and ride him to the castle. Belle finds the mirror and sees the Beast's sorrowful face in the reflection. Belle realizes she is missing the golden key as the magic mirror breaks. Belle uses the magic glove and finds the Beast in the courtyard near death of a broken heart. As this happens, Avenant and Ludovic stumble upon Diana's Pavilion. Feeling that their stolen key may trigger a trap, they scale the wall of the Pavilion. As the Beast dies with Belle, Avenant breaks into the Pavilion through its glass roof and is shot by a living statue of Diana and turned into a Beast. As this happens arising from where Beast lay dead is Prince Ardent (Jean Marais) who was formerly the Beast from a curse. Prince Ardent and Belle then fly away to his kingdom where she will be his Queen.
[edit] Production
This version adds a subplot involving Belle's suitor Avenant (also played by Jean Marais), who schemes along with Belle's brother and sisters to journey to Beast's castle to kill him and capture his riches while the sisters work to delay Belle's return to the castle. When Avenant enters the magic pavilion which is the source of Beast's power, he is struck by an arrow fired by a guardian statue of the Roman goddess Diana, which transforms Avenant into Beast and reverses the original Beast's curse. When the Beast comes back to life and becomes human at the end, he transforms into a Prince Charming with Avenant's handsome features, but without his oafish behaviour. Avenant is a probable inspiration for Gaston in the Disney adaptation, but is portrayed as a less malevolent character.
The score was by Georges Auric, and the cinematography by Henri Alekan. Christian Bérard and Lucien Carré covered production design. The film was made in black-and-white.
The film is notable for its surreal quality and its ability to use existing movie technology to effectively evoke a feeling of magic and enchantment. The set designs and cinematography were intended to evoke the illustrations and engravings of Gustave Doré and, in the farmhouse scenes, the paintings of Jan Vermeer.
In 1995, composer Philip Glass composed an opera version. In its initial incarnation the musicians and singers would perform the work on stage with a restored, newly subtitled print of the film playing on a screen behind them. In the original presentation, Belle was sung by the mezzo-soprano Janice Felty. The current Criterion Collection DVD offers the ability to view the movie while listening to either soundtrack.
Often considered one of the finest fantasy films of all time it, to some extent, inspired the Disney animated film of the same name.
American singer-songwriter Stevie Nicks wrote her 1983 ballad "Beauty and the Beast" after screening the film for the second time.
[edit] External links
- Beauty and the Beast at Allmovie
- Beauty and the Beast at the Internet Movie Database
- Beauty and the Beast at Metacritic
- Beauty and the Beast at Rotten Tomatoes
- Beauty and the Beast at the TCM Movie Database
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