La Belle et la Bête: Written in 1946 by Jean
Cocteau. This French Black and White movie is an enjoyment to watch. Being the
first in the creations of “The Beauty and the Beast” it’s clear symbolism of
romance and that beauty is only skin deep shows throughout the film “ Jean Cocteau'sBeauty and the Beast (1946) bluntly celebrates a love that
privileges interior beauty over external repulsiveness. Embodied by the titular
Beast, physical ugliness here is only skin-and-mottled-fur deep.”
[fig 1, the front cover of La Belle at la Bete
In the beginning of the film we see Beauty
waiting on her sisters while her father awaits shipment of goods to save their
home. This idea of two evil sisters is connected to the story of Cinderella by
Walt Disney (1950)
The idea of the sisters feeling higher than Belle, (and in Cinderella).
The father ventures out to obtain the goods from his ships to find they haven’t
returned. It is late at night but he decides to travel home anyway, the night
is foggy and dangerous so the father finds safety within the castle, the beasts
castle. He picks a rose for Beauty which upsets the beast and he demands that
he be killed. The father begs for forgiveness and the Beast demands a
replacement for his death, his daughter. Beauty takes the place but is treated
like a princess by the Beast, being asked every day to wed him till the point
when the curse is lifted and she accepts. The story line is pretty magical and
very love orientated.
[fig 2, Belle is asked to wed the beast]
This story influenced Walt Disney’s
recreation; 'Beauty & the Beast'(1991). Many points in
the theatrical version you see influencing the fairytale film by Disney, such
as the mirror, the rose and the ornaments being alive. “In this film, Cocteau
uses the mirror to allow the characters to see things happening in other
places. In his other works such as Orpheus, Blood
of the Poet, Les
Parents Terrible, and Les
Enfants Terribles he uses a mirror as a mode of transporting from
the real to the surrealistic worlds. Cocteau used the mirror for introspective
exploration".
[fig 3, bell is running through the castle]
Bibliography:(1) http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9B03EFD71E3EEE3BBC4C51DFB467838C659EDE&partner=Rotten%2520Tomatoes
Images:
[1] http://www.leninimports.com/jean_cocteau_la_belle_et_la_bete_gallery.html
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beauty_and_the_Beast_%281946_film%29
[3] http://lisathatcher.wordpress.com/2013/03/04/la-belle-et-la-bete-jean-cocteau-re-imagines-fairytales-film-review/
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