Fig. 1.

La Belle et la Bete Poster Art (1949)

BE AUT Y AN D T H E BE AST ( 1946)

Review By Adam Stone!

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Beauty and the Beast !1946" Review

La Belle et la Bte directed by Jean Cocteau and Ren Clment in 1946 is a romantic tale and has been adapted by Disney that made their own version of this beautiful film and taking many references from this film too. This film beautifully illustrates the desire for wealth and power, as well as the restrictions and constraints of love. showing that anyone can be loved, no matter how horrifyingly ugly they might be. This film was made just after WWII had finished, it could be suggested that this film was dedicated to the people left disfigured and damaged after the war. showing them that there is still hope of them finding love (if they havent already). It could also be dedicated to all the younger minds left disturbed after the war, as Roger Ebert states in his review Cocteau, a poet and surrealist, was not making a "children's film" but was adapting a classic French tale that he felt had a special message after the suffering of World War II: Anyone who has an unhappy childhood may grow up to be a Beast.[1] (Ebert, 1999) this is a very fair point, as many children during the war may have lost loved ones, which could be very devastating to a young child. The film begins with a tour of the family, showing the brother and his friend, the vile sisters, then moving on to Belle as she is being proposed to by her brothers friend. However it is worth noting that, before Avenant proposes to Belle, he is practicing archery and almost kills the vile sisters dog, which is ironic because he is killed by an arrow at the end of the film that turns him into a beast.

Beauty and the Beast !1946" Review

Fig. 2. La Belle et la Bete (1949)

it can then be noted that belle is seen cleaning the rather large house that she lives in despite the fact that her sisters are seen being carried around like queens. it can be argued that belle is kept as more of a prisoner at home than she is at the beasts domain. This point is illustrated perfectly when Avenant asks Belle to marry him as she explains; i must stay with papa. Following Belles father into the mysterious woods on his way back from a meeting, he stumbles across a huge and magical mansion that is full of incredible detail. the lights are lit magically and held by arms appearing out of the walls. this effect of candles being lit by themselves was generated by blowing them out and then running the film in reverse as he walked backward past them. The entire sequence was done in one long take and reversed[2] (IMDB). This is a perfect example of how Cocteau really tried to make his world as magical and beautiful as possible.

The mansion itself is incredibly beautiful despite the creepy faces that seem to watch your every move. This could suggest that the beast is trapped in the mansion a lot like he traps Belle in the mansion with him. This is further supported by the final scene that shows Avenant Climbing into the safe and getting shot by a statue that turns him into a beast, and as this happens the original beast is transformed back into a man. Maybe it was not love that turned the original beast back into a man, maybe it was due to the fact that the man-

Beauty and the Beast !1946" Review

Fig. 3. La Belle et la Bete (1949)

sion had found a new caretaker. The theory that the mansion is actually in control and the beast only acts as a caretaker is further supported by the fact that the original beast only offers death to Belles father after he picks the rose near the mansion.

Many people wonder why the person that plays Avenant (Jean Marais), also plays as the beast. it can be argued that this is done to show the 2 stereotypical types of man: there are; the vein, obnoxious, pretty boys with almost no sense of affection. And there is also the ones that might refer to themselves as ugly; but may turn out to be the more persistent, affectionate and adorable ones. The ending supports this by showing both types sprung together in a young prince (also played by Jean Marais), that wisps Belle off to a happy ending. Filled with meaning and technical thought, even Bosley Crowther from the New York Times states that The concepts are so ingenious that they're probably apt to any rationale.[3] (Crowther, 1947). This shows that anything can be interpreted from a film as rich as this one.

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Beauty and the Beast !1946" Review

Fig. 4. La Belle et la Bete (1949)

Bibliography

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(Fig. 1.) - La Belle et la Bte Poster Art (1946) [Poster] h t t p : / / m y t h i c a l m o n k e y. b l o g s p o t . c o . u k / 2 0 1 2 / 0 1 / k a t i e - b a r - d o o r awards-1946.html (Fig. 2.) (Fig. 3.) (Fig. 4.). La Belle et la Bte (1946) from DisCina. Directed by: Jean Cocteau and Ren Clment. [Film Still] [1] - Roger Ebert. (1999): BEAUTY AND THE BEAST [online] http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-beauty-and-the-beast-1946

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[2] - Anon, IMDB. (N/A): Beauty and the Beast (1946) Trivia [online] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038348/trivia?ref_=tt_trv_trv\

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[3] Bosley Crowther, New York Times. (1947): La Belle et la Bete (1946) THE SCREEN IN REVIEW [online] http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9B03EFD71E3EEE3BBC4C51DFB467838C659EDE

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Beauty and the Beast !1946" Review