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View Full Version : Beauty and the Beast original French version 1946


Fabbs
08-05-2010, 11:18 AM
Mrs. Maalox and other intelligent movie watchers,

Ever see this version? It's a trip!
Would have liked to have gotten more closure on the ending (book gives wayy more) but still all in all a good one. SFX also way ahead of it's time.

I've never seen the Disney version, I imagine it's fluffed up 10Xs more?
midnightpulp
08-05-2010, 02:13 PM
Mrs. Maalox and other intelligent movie watchers,

Ever see this version? It's a trip!
Would have liked to have gotten more closure on the ending (book gives wayy more) but still all in all a good one. SFX also way ahead of it's time.

I've never seen the Disney version, I imagine it's fluffed up 10Xs more?

Cocteau's masterpiece is indeed one of the greatest films of all time. Some of the best art direction and design you'll ever see in a film, regardless of era.
mrsmaalox
08-05-2010, 07:57 PM
I saw this one a few years back at a film festival, but I'd love to hole up with it and peruse it more carefully some time. I think the special effects are actually not up to par for the era, The Wizard of Oz pretty much set that precedent in 1939. But there is a unique look to the film, that as I recall, was a result of the lack of availability of good quality film in war torn France. It is very dream-like.

One thing that puzzled me about the film, was that the roles of the Beast, the Prince, and Avenant, the family friend who wants to marry Belle, were all played by the same actor. I have no idea why that would be, and the moderator at the screening only mentioned it in passing. It made me wonder if possibly there was some kind of connection in the original French fairy tale.

A few years ago, I read an interview with Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac and she talked about the lifelong obsession she had with that film and had achieved her goal of owning all the rights to it. I'd never been a fan of hers and found her whole "gypsy, princess, fairy" persona thing a bit hokey, but it all made perfect sense when I learned about her love for that film.

Good find Fabbs :tu