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Poster:BFI,2012
LaBelleetlaBête
‘TheBeautyandtheBeast’hastobeoneofthebest‐knownanimatedfeatures
everreleasedbyWaltDisneyPictures.Fewerpeopleseemtorealizethattherewasmorethanoneversionofthisfairytaleinfilm.
‘LaBelleetlaBête’wasreleasedin1946,directedbyJeanCocteauwhowasa
surrealistandapoet.Cocteau,withtheaidofhistechnicaladvisor,ReneClement
andDirectorofphotography,HenriAlekancreatedauniquedepictionoftheclassicfairytaleaswaswrittenbyJeanne‐MarieLePrinceDeBeaumont.
Belleisoneoffoursiblings.Sheisthekindlyanddotingdaughterofhermerchantfather,whilehertwosisters,FélicieandAdelaidearegreedyand
materialintheirnature.Theirbrother,LudovicisawasteofspaceandhisfriendAvenantjustwantstomarryBelle.Lostinthefogonhiswayhomeonenight,the
merchantfatherfindshimselfatacastlewherehesheltersfromtheweather.As
itliftsthemerchantfindsagardenandmakesthemistakeofpickingaroseforhisdaughterBelle.TheterrifyingformoftheBeastarrives,demandingthathe
shouldpayforsuchactionswithhislife,orhandoveroneofhisdaughtersinhis
place.Inhearingherfather’splightonhisreturnandovercomewithguilt,Belletakesherfather’splace,leavinginsecretforthecastleofthebeast.Itisthenthat
beautymetthebeast.
Figure1&2:Theanimatedcandelabrainthedininghallandhallway(Bfi,2012)
‘LaBelleetlaBête’wasreleasedimmediatelyfollowingthehorrorsofWorld
WarIIanditofferedthegeneralpublicsalvationintheformofescapism.IntheverybeginningofhisfilmCocteaumakesarequestofhisaudience…‘ Iaskofyoualittleofthischildlikesimplicity,and,tobringusluck,letmespeakfourtrulymagicwords,childhood'sopensesame:"Onceuponatime..."Itisthisrequest and
Cocteau’sfantasticalproductionmanagementthathelpedtocreateafairytale
worldthatwasnotlimitedtotheentertainmentofjustchildren.Hemadeitaccessibletoall,ashasbeenobservedbyJamesTravers‘Cocteau’soriginalconceptionforthefilmwasarealisticrenditionofaclassicfairytale-notthekindoffluffynonsensewhichisaimedexclusivelyatchildren,butapieceofcinemaartthatmakestherealmofchildhoodfantasyappearreal,enablinganadultaudiencetorememberwhatitwasliketoseetheworldthroughachild’seyes.’(Travers,2010)Thisgentlepushingofolderaudiencememberstoremembertheirworld
intheirearlyyears,beforethedevastationofwarmayhavehelpedfurthertheir
escapism.
The‘unlikely’conceptoffairytalefilmsforadultshassincebeenreiteratedandis
becomingmorepopularinrecentyears,althoughoddly,theseviolentandgoryadaptionsareprobablyclosertotheoriginaluntamedstoriesaspointedoutby
ScottMeslowinhisarticleforTheAtlanticmagazine,‘FairyTalesStartedDark,GotCuteandAreNowGettingDarkerAgain’‘Whilesuchretellingsmayseemsubversive,they'reactuallythrowbacks,markingareturntowhatthesetalesoriginallywere—before,even,theBrothersGrimmgottheirhandsonthem.’(Meslow,2012)Theseretellingsmarkhowfairytalesarenotexclusivelyfor
childrenanymore.
Akeyfeatureinthisfilmisitssetdesign.Buriedinthebaroquefantasyofla
Bête’s(theBeasts)castleisanenchantinglybewilderingdepictionofmagic,asisdescribedbyMichaelMiller.‘WithdesignerChristianBerard,Cocteautransformsthearchitecturalspaceintoliving,breathingform.’(Miller,2002)Millergoesonto
describesomeofthemostprominentandmemorablefeaturesofthisfilm,particularlythehallwayofcandelabrathatnotonlyappeartolightthemselves,
butareheldoutbyhumanarmsfromthewalls(Figure1&2).Thissemi‐humanpresencewithinthe‘inanimateobjects’ofthebeast’scastlehavehelpedtocreate
asurrealbutcompletelybelievableessenceofmagic.Itcreatestheillusionthe
castleismoreofanorganismthatreactstothepresenceofhumans.
Forthemajorityofthefilm,theaudiencehasgrownusedtothepresenceoflaBête.Theyhaveunknowinglygrowntolikehistorturedcharacter,despitehis
faultsanddemeanor.Asaresultofthiswarmingtohim,thetransformationofthebeastintoabeautifulprinceispracticallyanticlimactic,althoughinthemost
cleverway.AsisdiscussedbyRogerEbert‘Odd,howappealingMaraisisastheBeast,andhowshallowandsuperficialheseemsasthepompadouredprince.EvenBelledoesn'tleapcheerfullyintohisarms,butlooksquizzicallyathernewcatchandconfessesshemissestheBeast.’(Ebert,1999)Thisslightrecoilofboththe
audienceandBelletowardsthebeastisakeymomentinthecreationofthisfilmanditrevealsjusthowmuchthefairytalehadcaptureditsaudiences;howithad
reduceditsviewerstothenaïvestatethatCocteauhadexplicitlyaskedforinthewrittenintroductiontohisfilm.
ItisauniquetakeontheclassicstorybutasBellesaysherself‐Itwilltakesomegettingusedto.
Bibliography-References
Travers,J(2010)LABELLEETLABÊTE(1946)http://filmsdefrance.com/FDF_La_belle_et_la_Bête_rev.html
(18/11/2012)
Miller,M(2002)SimpleTwistsoffatehttp://www.villagevoice.com/2002‐08‐13/film/simple‐twists‐of‐fate/1/
(19/11/2012)
Meslow,S(2012)FairyTalesStartedDark,GotCuteandAreNowGettingDark Againhttp://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/05/fairy‐tales‐
started‐dark‐got‐cute‐and‐are‐now‐getting‐dark‐again/257934/(19/11/2012)
Ebert,R(1999)BeautyandtheBeasthttp://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19991226/REVIE
WS08/912260301/1023(19/11/2012)
Bibliography-ImagesBritishFilmInstitute(2012)LaBelleEtLaBête
http://explore.bfi.org.uk/4ce2b6a59e27b(17/11/2012)