33° TORINO FILM FESTIVAL
JULIEN TEMPLE - MATTERS OF LIFE AND DEATH
LA BELLE ET LA BÊTE
by Jean Cocteau, René Clément (non accr./uncr.)
Country: France, Luxemburg
Year: 1946
Duration: 96'
Adélaïde, Belle, Félicie, and Ludovic are the children of a merchant who lost his family fortune. Despite their limited means, Adélaïde and Félicie are spoiled and vane, wasting the little money they have. Belle looks after the house and her beloved father, while Ludovic watches over her; he can’t stand his other two sisters and keeps Avenant away, the local heartbreaker who has his eye on Belle. One night, their father gets lost in the forest and stumbles upon a castle where he seeks shelter. He steals a rosebud for Belle, who had asked him for one, but the consequences are terrible: it unleashes upon him the anger of the castle’s only inhabitant, a man of beastly appearance that lives shut out from the world. He takes the merchant hostage and gives him a choice: pay for the theft with his life or with one of his daughters’. Belle feels guilty for her father’s misadventure and sets off for the castle.
Biography
film director
Jean Cocteau
Jean Cocteau (Maisons-Lafitte, France, 1889-Milly-la-Forêt, Francia, 1963) was a poet, painter, novelist, playwright, actor, screenwriter, and filmmaker. His involvement in some historical avant-garde movements (namely Dadaism and Surrealism) also contribute to elevating him as one of the most versatile and prestigious figures in 20th century French culture. Aside from Beauty and the Beast, he also wrote and directed The Eagle with Two Heads (1948), The Storm Within (1948), and Orpheus (1950). His work was highly appreciated the Nouvelle Vague, which considered him a precursor to its movement. Cocteau also deserves recognition for the play he wrote La voce umana and the novel Les enfants terribles, respectively brought to the silver screen by Rossellini in 1948 and Melville in 1950.
FILMOGRAFIA
Jean Cocteau fait du cinéma (1925), Le sang d’un poète (mm, 1933), La belle et la bête (La bella e la bestia, 1946), L’aigle à deux têtes (L’aquila a due teste, 1948), Les parents terribles (I parenti terribili, 1948), Orphée (Orfeo, 1950), Coriolan (1950), La villa Santo Sospir (cm, 1952), 8 X 8: A Chess Sonata in 8 Movements (1957), Le testament d’Orphée, ou ne me demandez pas pourquoi! (1960), Jean Cocteau s’adresse... à l’an 2000 (cm, doc., 1962).
René Clément
Cast
& Credits
regia/directors
Jean Cocteau, René Clément (non accreditato/uncredited)
soggetto/story
Jean Cocteau, Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont
sceneggiatura/screenplay
Jean Cocteau
fotografia/cinematography
Henri Alekan
montaggio/film editing
Claude Ibéria
scenografia/production design
Christian Bérard, Lucien Carrè
costumi/costume design
Antonio Castillo, Marcel Escoffier
musica/music
Georges Auric
suono/sound
Jacques Carrère, Jacques Lebreton
interpreti e personaggi/cast and characters
Jean Marais (la Bestia/the Beast, il principe/Prince Avenant), Josette Day (Belle), Mila Parély (Félicie), Nane Germon (Adélaïde), Michel Auclair (Ludovic), Raoul Marco (l’usuraio/usurer), Marcel André (il padre di Belle/Belle’s father)
produttore/producer
André Paulvé
produzione/production
DisCina
Jean Cocteau, René Clément (non accreditato/uncredited)
soggetto/story
Jean Cocteau, Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont
sceneggiatura/screenplay
Jean Cocteau
fotografia/cinematography
Henri Alekan
montaggio/film editing
Claude Ibéria
scenografia/production design
Christian Bérard, Lucien Carrè
costumi/costume design
Antonio Castillo, Marcel Escoffier
musica/music
Georges Auric
suono/sound
Jacques Carrère, Jacques Lebreton
interpreti e personaggi/cast and characters
Jean Marais (la Bestia/the Beast, il principe/Prince Avenant), Josette Day (Belle), Mila Parély (Félicie), Nane Germon (Adélaïde), Michel Auclair (Ludovic), Raoul Marco (l’usuraio/usurer), Marcel André (il padre di Belle/Belle’s father)
produttore/producer
André Paulvé
produzione/production
DisCina
