Cocteau's version of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST concerns Belle, played by Josette Day, who lives at home with her two mean sisters, a brother, and father. When the latter stumbles across the Beast's castle he is taken prisoner and told he will die unless he can sacrifice one of his daughters to take his place. Of course, the mean sisters balk at the idea and the old man figures he's old and ill and might as well be the one to fulfill the obligation. But the beautiful Belle slips out and assumes her father's place at the Beast's castle.
The visuals, influenced by Gustav Dore's illustrations, are striking even today, and this despite the many films that have mimicked their effect. In fact, some of the dreamlike moments play through in complete silence and feel completely fresh because of it (nowadays the obligatory musical score seems to permeate throughout). But the real star of the film is the Beast, played by Jean Marais (who also plays Belle's original suitor and the Prince at the end). According to Roger Ebert, it was Marlene Dietrich who held Cocteau's hand at the film's debut screening and who, at the stories resolution, called out toward the screen "Where is my beautiful Beast?" According to Pauline Kael that quote came from Greta Garbo. Either way, it fulfilled Cocteau's desire "to make the Beast so human, so sympathetic, so superior to men, that his transformation into Prince Charming would come as a terrible blow to Beauty."
Now that a restored 35mm print of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, distributed by Cowboy Pictures, is playing in limited theatrical engagements, Cocteau's work of art continues its life as intended, on the big screen at 1.33:1, in front of collective audiences again, proving that the French poet's notions of immortality were more than just a passing fancy.
Recently the Criterion Collection released BEAUTY AND THE BEAST on DVD (in a high-definition digital transfer made from restored film elements) with a dazzling array of special features. These include two commentary tracks (one by film historian Arthur Knight and the other by writer Christopher Frayling, an interview with cinematographer Henri Alekan, rare behind the scenes stills and publicity materials, the original opera written for the film by composer Philip Glass and many more extra features). To purchase a copy of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, go to TCM Shopping.
by Pablo Kjolseth
