Curse turns a handsome prince into a werewolf at night. A princess tries to help him, while his enemies plot to take his throne.Curse turns a handsome prince into a werewolf at night. A princess tries to help him, while his enemies plot to take his throne.Curse turns a handsome prince into a werewolf at night. A princess tries to help him, while his enemies plot to take his throne.
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Did you know
- TriviaLegendary make-up man Jack P. Pierce's final film.
- ConnectionsFeatured in 100 Years of Horror: Werewolves (1996)
Featured review
Beauty and the half-beast.
The legend spawned so many tales and so many movies it's hard to count them all;even a work such as "King Kong " is another variation on the theme.
In France ,the fairy tale "La Belle et la bête " (1945) was transferred to the screen by Jean Cocteau and René Clément. The poet/director took it to new limits ,he dramatically expanded the scope,and most of all,he wiped out an obsolete grating moral one found in the most famous French version by Madame LePrince De Beaumont Cocteau left the "moral " angle far behind magic,symbolism,surrealism and psychoanalysis while keeping the well-known denouement :only true love can defeat all the curses .
In the French movie,the curse was cast by an evil fairy ;Mark Damon is victim of a family heredity :he does his best au naturel (he matches Solomon in the carrots/cow affair),but is laughable when he turns into a beast ;in Cocteau 's black an white masterpiece ,Jean Marais had to endure a four-hour make up ,and the results ,even today,are stunning ;In this version, the make up is so cheap that it makes Mark Damon look like a vague ape ,or a young man dressed up for Mardi-Gras or a fancy dress ball ; the work must not have taken more than ten minutes .
Damon's curse ,unlike most of his colleagues ,is sweetened : it only happens at night , but it does not make things easier when you are about to get married (the Freudian side , which the late Bruno Bettelheim studied in his famous book "psychoanalysis of fairy tales" ?)The Belle is not a commoner ,like in most of the other versions, but a genuine lady.
Wicked cousin prince Bruno , who covets Eduardo's throne, tries to pit the people against their sovereign ;in Disney's version ,Gaston plays more or less the same role .The middle ages allow hints at sorcery .
In France ,the fairy tale "La Belle et la bête " (1945) was transferred to the screen by Jean Cocteau and René Clément. The poet/director took it to new limits ,he dramatically expanded the scope,and most of all,he wiped out an obsolete grating moral one found in the most famous French version by Madame LePrince De Beaumont Cocteau left the "moral " angle far behind magic,symbolism,surrealism and psychoanalysis while keeping the well-known denouement :only true love can defeat all the curses .
In the French movie,the curse was cast by an evil fairy ;Mark Damon is victim of a family heredity :he does his best au naturel (he matches Solomon in the carrots/cow affair),but is laughable when he turns into a beast ;in Cocteau 's black an white masterpiece ,Jean Marais had to endure a four-hour make up ,and the results ,even today,are stunning ;In this version, the make up is so cheap that it makes Mark Damon look like a vague ape ,or a young man dressed up for Mardi-Gras or a fancy dress ball ; the work must not have taken more than ten minutes .
Damon's curse ,unlike most of his colleagues ,is sweetened : it only happens at night , but it does not make things easier when you are about to get married (the Freudian side , which the late Bruno Bettelheim studied in his famous book "psychoanalysis of fairy tales" ?)The Belle is not a commoner ,like in most of the other versions, but a genuine lady.
Wicked cousin prince Bruno , who covets Eduardo's throne, tries to pit the people against their sovereign ;in Disney's version ,Gaston plays more or less the same role .The middle ages allow hints at sorcery .
- ulicknormanowen
- Aug 12, 2021
- Permalink
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- Release date
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- Also known as
- Die Schönheit und das Ungeheuer
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- Runtime1 hour 17 minutes
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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