Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

I've been a fan of the story of "Beauty and the Beast" ever since I was a pup. Long before Disney, or even Linda Hamilton put their stamp on the story, I would read along to the story in my little books, sometimes with a VINYL RECORD that told me to turn the page to some chimes. There's something powerful in the story of love and redemption, despite appearances, that transcends language, culture and race, and is repeated over and over again in fairy tales, myths, and legends. The version we know the best is the French, which was written down by Mme. Marie Leprince de Beaumont. While much of Disney's version got it right, there are a few things that set the original apart. I'll get to that in a minute.

I personally think the Disney version is an excellent movie, easily my favorite of the "new" (i.e. Post-Little Mermaid) Disney movies, and probably my second favorite Disney Movie Of All Time after "Sleeping Beauty." It's currently out on IMAX, and my wife and I have been trying in vain to get to the theatre to see it...between her pregnancy and work schedule, and my work and school schedule, any time we have together is precious...we're still trying, but I don't know if we'll get to it.

Annnyway. Entertainment Weekly recently published their list of the 100 Must-Have DVDs, and the 1946 French Version of "Beauty and the Beast" or "La Belle et la Bete", directed by Jean Cocteau, was on it. And since it was one of about 10 movies on their list I hadn't seen, I decided to check it out. And it was beautiful. Epinions being the incomplete work-in-progress that it is, there was no listing for the 1946 version, so I'm tucking this into the French title, hoping that people looking for it will find my too-wordy review.

This is a very good movie. I don't really dig foreign cinema that often, but this one worked for me. It adheres more closely to the original storyline, which had even more magic and enchantment in it than the Disney version (the one I assume readers are most familiar with). Some key differences:

* There's no prologue explaining that the Beast is really a prince under a spell...an interesting point that makes our meeting the Beast much more horrific than in the Disney version.

* Belle has two beautiful, but vain and selfish sisters, Adelaide and Felicity. When their father, a merchant, goes traveling, they ask their father for a monkey (!), and gold...Belle asks only for a rose. When he gets the rose from a garden of an enchanted castle, it hits the fan.

* The castle is enchanted, and although many things are somehow alive, including the candelabra, mirrors, and the very pillars of the castle, they don't quite talk like Lumiere, Cogsworth, and Mrs. Potts. So Belle is much more isolated and lonely than she is in the Disney flick.

* Every day at 7:00, the Beast comes to Belle and asks her to marry him. It begins as frightening, but becomes sad, and eventually the tension becomes unbearable. We eventually know Belle wants to say yes...but will she?

This movie, like most tellings of Beauty and the Beast, is about trust. The Beast entrusts Belle with the five magical secrets to his power. A rose, a mirror, a key, a glove, and a horse are all key elements to his power, and he gives them, or power over them, all to Belle. His fate is in her hands. When her own plans are taken out of her control by her sisters and some of the boys back in town, we see the fear and the pain that it causes Belle.

The acting in this one is superb. Belle is beautifully (duh) played by Josette Day, and her beauty is unmarked by vanity. She's sort of a combination of Cinderella and Belle, and it works well here. The Beast is played by Jean Marais, and he manages to convey emotion under an enormous suit and mask that makes him part Chewbacca, part Wolfman, part Cowardly Lion...using just gestures, words, and his eyes. Marais also plays other roles in the movie, but if I told you who, it would be giving things away.

The filmmaking, including sets, photography, lighting, and effects, were wonderful. This was a pet project of Cocteau's for some time, and he not only directed it, but did the story treatment and the screenplay. He uses various effects for making the castle an enchanted one, and all of them were successful, in my opinion. There are also a few twists and turns along the way that I hadn't seen coming, and one in particular near the end that would have made the Disney version even better than it already is. But, unfortunately, I can't tell you what that is, because it surprised...actually SHOCKED me...and I thought I had all of the twists and turns mapped out before setting out on this journey.

I recommend "La Belle et la Bete" mostly for adults, because I think all of the reading and the pacing may turn off younger viewers. It's only a 90 minute movie, but it may be too slow and too black-and-white for your average Dick and Jane. Sally and Spot might dig it. If you do see this movie, I think you'll enjoy it, and it may bring new layers of appreciation to that "Tale as old as time."



Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening