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Beauty and the Beast (1946)
La belle et la bête (original title)
Directors: Jean Cocteau, René Clément
Writers: Jean Cocteau (dialogue), Jean Cocteau (screenplay)
Cast: Jean Marais, Josette Day, Mila Parély
Genre: Fantasy, Romance
Language: French
I liked it! I didn't think I would, but I did...It was a simple tale and sometimes those are the best. I'd never seen any version of Beauty and the Beast before, so I had no preconceived notions of what the story should be like. What struck me about this story is how similar it is to Cinderella.
After the movie I watched a 26 minute documentary from 1997 with the two lead actors, Jean Marais, Josette Day and the cinematographer Henri Alekan. It was neat because they talked about the spectral effects that gives the film it's other-worldly feel...and to me that's one of the highlights of the movie, the way it made me feel I was in this magic place that existed outside of time. I liked the way the Beast's kingdom was both paradise and nightmarish. A neat juxtaposition of heaven and hell on earth.
The sets in the movie, both Belle's house and the Beast's hidden kingdom, were amazing, because they weren't sets at all (at least not the exterior shots). I learned in the documentary they were real places that the director and cinematographer had found in France. The costumes and set decorations were a feast for the eyes and that's important to me.
And what can I say about Belle (Josette Day) she was very lovely! nice eyebrows too... (I don't know why I noticed that about her but I did)....The Beast was played by an actor who looked rather animistic, Jean Marais. He was well cast in his duel role in the movie. As the Beast I liked the look they gave him, the stripes on the forehead were a nice touch too. Kudos to the makeup artist.
I was never quite sure how Belle went from expecting to be killed by the Beast after she arrived, to coming to the living arrangement she had? It seemed like a scene was missing and should have came right after she arrives on the white horse.
Just one more thing, the director decided he wanted his film to look like a Dutch painting by Vermeer in the way the lighting and shadows looked. I think he succeed in that too. The score was perfect for the film as well.
+
Beauty and the Beast (1946)
La belle et la bête (original title)
Directors: Jean Cocteau, René Clément
Writers: Jean Cocteau (dialogue), Jean Cocteau (screenplay)
Cast: Jean Marais, Josette Day, Mila Parély
Genre: Fantasy, Romance
Language: French
"A beautiful young woman takes her father's place as the prisoner of a mysterious beast, who wishes to marry her."
I liked it! I didn't think I would, but I did...It was a simple tale and sometimes those are the best. I'd never seen any version of Beauty and the Beast before, so I had no preconceived notions of what the story should be like. What struck me about this story is how similar it is to Cinderella.
After the movie I watched a 26 minute documentary from 1997 with the two lead actors, Jean Marais, Josette Day and the cinematographer Henri Alekan. It was neat because they talked about the spectral effects that gives the film it's other-worldly feel...and to me that's one of the highlights of the movie, the way it made me feel I was in this magic place that existed outside of time. I liked the way the Beast's kingdom was both paradise and nightmarish. A neat juxtaposition of heaven and hell on earth.
The sets in the movie, both Belle's house and the Beast's hidden kingdom, were amazing, because they weren't sets at all (at least not the exterior shots). I learned in the documentary they were real places that the director and cinematographer had found in France. The costumes and set decorations were a feast for the eyes and that's important to me.
And what can I say about Belle (Josette Day) she was very lovely! nice eyebrows too... (I don't know why I noticed that about her but I did)....The Beast was played by an actor who looked rather animistic, Jean Marais. He was well cast in his duel role in the movie. As the Beast I liked the look they gave him, the stripes on the forehead were a nice touch too. Kudos to the makeup artist.
I was never quite sure how Belle went from expecting to be killed by the Beast after she arrived, to coming to the living arrangement she had? It seemed like a scene was missing and should have came right after she arrives on the white horse.
Just one more thing, the director decided he wanted his film to look like a Dutch painting by Vermeer in the way the lighting and shadows looked. I think he succeed in that too. The score was perfect for the film as well.
+