La Belle et La Bête (1946) - Film Review.

La Belle et La Bête (1946) also known as Beauty and the Beast, is a film of extraordinary special SFX effects in the cinematic world in both set and character design; directed and written by Jean Cocteau with additional directorial help from René Clément. Together they were able to recreate an adaptation of a classic fairy tale – beauty and the beast originally written by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve (1740) and then remastered by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont (1756). (Fig. 1)

Fig. 1 (1946) Beauty and the Beast poster

Fig. 2 (1946) Beauty and the Beast | La Belle et la Bête (1946) – The Golden Age of Cinema

La Belle et La Bête (1946) appears to be set in the 16/18^th century France as suggested by the style of clothing the characters wear; this especially seen in the couture of Belle’s and the beast/prince; where the film shows the protagonists wearing elaborately made garments (Fig. 2) from neck ruffles, breeches, padded over shirts, bodices and skirts with the addition of jewels, embroidered designs and lace patterning. As stated by journalist James Travers (2000) “costume designs…are particularly striking, showing the influence of the Flemish grandmasters.” With this in mind it informs the audiences of the time when the film was set; due to its dated use costume design is a typical trope to what the upper class societies would of worn as they could afford such luxury materials such as silk and wool. Audiences of the time would of found this film to be a way to escape from societies problems as it was released a year after the end of World War Two (1945); finding comfort and solace in a 16/18^th century world in contrast to the misery and sombre moods of the time due to France finally regaining control of the country from German occupation that occurred soon after the evacuation of Dunkirk (1940).

Fig. 3 (1946) On the Making of Beauty and the Beast | The Current | The Criterion Collection

In “one of the most magical of all films” (Ebert, 1999) La belle et La Bête takes SFX makeups to the next level; as Jean Marais transforms into the hauntingly fantastical beast (fig. 3/4). With these eerie effects, audiences would be left in wonder and amazement as nothing to that scale was a common film element; creating a film full of “fantasy.. trick shots and astonishing effects” (Ebert, 1999). This similarly seen with the set designs where actors are embedded into the wall of the scenes; this visible in figures 5 and 6 where the candelabras move and follow guests as they enter the Beasts domain and likewise with the head busts within the surrounding fire place mantel, whose eyes follow the protagonists within the scene. This enables the sets to possess that of a living quality, suggesting that the objects in the Beast’s domain are just as alive as the magical powers residing in the Beast. With Cocteau’s “deeply disturbing” (Bradshaw, 2014) yet poetic style to convey a romantic fantasy he is able to show a “miraculously recorded dream” (Bradshaw, 2014) for adult spectators to submerge themselves into.

Fig. 4 (1946) Beauty and the Beast (1946)

Fig. 5 (1946) Beauty and the Beast (1946) | The Criterion Collection

Fig. 6 (1946) Beauty and the Beast | La Belle et la Bête (1946) – The Golden Age of Cinema

Despite all the splendour and whimsical nature of the La Belle et La Bête (1946), there is a dark underlying tone within the cinematic. Although subtle at first it becomes more prominent throughout the film; this being Belle showing an inclination towards Stockholm syndrome (where captives feel a sense of trust and/or affection toward their captors) this idea being seen from when Belle enters the castle, although willing is only under the provision that her father remains alive. Many Parisian audiences at the time may feel that they can relate in a sense as parts of France were forced under German control and citizens had no choice but to trust the French government so that their day-today lives cloud still co-exist with the war at large.

La Belle et La Bête (1946) is a film full of a whirlwind of emotions, “a poetic film made by an artist” (Ebert, 1999) whose SFX makeup designs has inspired and lead to other heavily based SFX makeup films such as Franklin J. Schaffer’s The Planet of the Apes (1968) and The Fly (1986) by David Cronenburg. Even before the creation of La Belle et La Bête (1946), Victor Fleming’s Wizard of Oz (1939) may have even spurred on how the Beast may appear since he shows a likeness to the cowardly lion due to how the Beast’s ears and ragged main appear.

Bibliography:

Ebert, R. (1999) Beauty and the Beast movie review (1946) | Roger Ebert. At: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-beauty-and-the-beast-1946 (Accessed 01/11/2019). In text citation: (Ebert, 1999).

Bradshaw, P. (2014) La Belle et la Bête – review | Film | The Guardian: Jean Cocteau's magical exploration of the fairytale is compelling and bizarre masterpiece. At: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/jan/02/belle-et-bete-review (Accessed 01/11/2019). In text citation: (Bradshaw, 2014).

Travers, J. (2000) French films.org: Review of the film La belle et La Bete (1946). At: http://www.frenchfilms.org/review/la-belle-et-la-bete-1946.html (Accessed 01/11/2019). In text citation: (Travers, 2000).

Illustration list:

Fig. 1 (1946) Beauty and the Beast poster [film poster] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038348/mediaviewer/rm3127736576 (Accessed 01/11/2019).

Fig. 2 (1946) Beauty and the Beast | La Belle et la Bête (1946) – The Golden Age of Cinema  [photograph] https://goldenageofcinemasite.wordpress.com/2016/08/27/la-belle-et-la-bete-1946/ (Accessed 01/11/2019).

Fig. 3 (1946) On the Making of Beauty and the Beast | The Current | The Criterion Collection [photograph] https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/17-on-the-making-of-beauty-and-the-beast (Accessed 01/11/2019).

Fig. 4 (1946) Beauty and the Beast (1946) [photograph] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038348/mediaviewer/rm519614976 (Accessed 01/11/2019).

Fig. 5 (1946) Beauty and the Beast (1946) | The Criterion Collection [photograph] https://www.criterion.com/films/177 (Accessed 01/11/2019).

Fig. 6 (1946) Beauty and the Beast | La Belle et la Bête (1946) – The Golden Age of Cinema [photograph] https://goldenageofcinemasite.wordpress.com/2016/08/27/la-belle-et-la-bete-1946/ (Accessed 01/11/2019).