So once again, I must preface this blog entry with "I had no idea what the hell I was getting into...
I knew the general storyline - (never saw the Disney version but don't we all kinda know the story a bit) - but didn't know the director or jest of what forms the story would take. I guess Jean Cocteau was a painter, poet, writer and general artistic everyman who did 11 films - (this was his 3rd) and numerous poetry collections, theater, novels, etc...
At it's core, it's a fairy tale romance - so he has the source material of a 17th century version of the story
The thing is, the fairy-tale Romance - I don't do these so well, but the music and special effects stand out as a rather outstanding accompaniment to the story, which of course, centers on...well, do I need to even discuss the plot?
One of the intriguing things to me (and to others) was the ending. I didn't walk away with Happily Ever After in my mouth - in fact, it almost leaves me distrusting the guy the Beast turns into. Others have commented that the Beast is almost a more sympathetic character than the Prince that he turns into. Perhaps that is part of the tale when one does a movie three months after the fall of Germany and WWII.
The first half seemed to fly by but I thought the 2nd half dragged a but, but some great music and exterior shots make this a good viewing and the use of backwards filming on some shots makes for some great special effects
The extras are on this disk. (I watched the Criterion release, not the Art House one.) Of course, we have the usual extra audio commentaries, a couple documentaries and one on film restoration - One thing that stuck out here is a Phillip Glass composed audio track that turns the dialogue and music of the movie into Opera - that wasn't my thing but maybe others would like it. The little I heard made me think the music would be inferior to what was actually in the 1946 release
This will be the last entry for 2016 - see ya all in 2017 -
Pax
RB
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