Essay of Jean Cocteau's Beauty and the Beast (1946)

Ngozi Onyema
Film 3000
December 12, 2011
Film: Beauty and the Beast. La belle et la bête (original title)
TRT: 96 minutes
Language: French with English subtitles.
Date of film: 1946
Director: Jean Cocteau
Award: 1946 Won Prix Louis Delluc. Recipient: Jean Cocteau

The topic in film theory that this film “Beauty and the Beast” relates to is the surrealist theory. Surrealist cinema is a modernist film theory launched in Paris in the 1920s. Related to an earlier tradition of Dada cinema, surrealist cinema is characterized by juxtaposition, the rejection of reality, and a frequent use of shocking imagery. Developed in the early twentieth century, surrealism is an artistic and literary style which draws upon irrational imagery and the subconscious mind. Surrealist artists approach both art and life with aims to review and redefine accepted parameters of reality. Surrealists should not, however, be mistaken as whimsical or incapable of logical thought, rather, most surrealists promote themselves as revolutionaries. Surrealism opposes compartmentalization of experiences; surrealists often synthesize life with dreams. Surrealism can be defined as an ever-shifting art form. In his film Beauty and the Beast, Jean Cocteau uses the illusion of film to create magic, while the camera itself gives validity to what appears on the screen. The combination of orchestrated effects and the immediate presence of the filmed image creates just the type of atmosphere Cocteau desires: Belief in the reality of miracles, a fairy tale dimension in which anything can happen.

In the article “A Sense of Magic: Reality and Illusion in Cocteau’s Beauty and the Beast” by David Galet, David Galet talks about the surrealism in the film “Beauty and the Beast’. The simplest form of magic in the film is all trompe l’oeil: dematerialization, animation of inanimate objects, and transformation, as, for example, a magic necklace which turns in to burned rope in the hands of the wrong person. These tricks may merely grace a scene, though they usually add powerfully to the atmosphere. A second type of magic comprises the ordinary effects of the cinema: a breeze’s blowing leaves when there is no real breeze or an eerie glare from an arc lamp. A picture-book air hovers around even the house of the merchant, showing what period clothing and sedan chairs can do to enhance belief in a certain time, a certain place. The third sense of magic is a vague middle ground of cinematic effects and cinematic tricks, scenes that might be staged theatrically but would then lose most of their presence. The Beast himself is a good example of this form of magic: on stage, he would be a man in a beast suit, whereas in Cocteau’s film, he is huge, fearsome and believable. By extension, the magic functions as metaphor: man as a beast, man’s beastly nature. Many of the effects in the Beast’s castle are also semimagical, wherein the reality of the film creates belief in, for example, a human-arm candelabra. For the most part, these various effects are intermingled, though the film does exhibit a subtle progression. The article goes on to describe the esthetics of the film “Beauty and the Beast”. In the article “Cocteau’s Beauty and the Beast: The Poet as Monster.” By Michael Popkin, Michael Popkin talks about how the film was put together and the roles of the characters, the beauty and the beast. Michael Popkin compares Beauty and the Beast to the King Kong film. He also compares The Beauty and the Beast film to the written story and explains the differences. He seems to prefer the written story of Beauty and the Beast to the film.

The articles especially the one titled “A Sense of Magic: Reality and Illusion in Cocteau’s Beauty and the Beast.” By David Galef describes how this film “Beauty and the Beast” displays the surrealist theory. The article by David Galet talks about the magic in the film for instance when the merchant sits down to drink, a disembodied arm pours the carafe for him “close-up front of the dumbfounded Merchant as he looks, then drinks” (Script, p. 86). Just as the character on-screen is amazed, so is the audience, caught up in the close-up view. The appearance of the Beast, after the merchant has plucked a rose, is the next instance of magic. In this instance, the magic represents that intermediate area where film heightens an effect to a scene approaching the unreal. A disjointed arm moving of its own accord is magic; a swirl of leaves, where in real life there is no wind, is a weaker illusion. The Beast, in all his fearsome makeup, is close to a visual lie. An erect, talking Beast is magic, if only by the grace of film. In the article titled “Cocteau’s Beauty and the Beast: The Poet as Monster by Michael Popkin, Michael Popkin mentions how director Cocteau identifies with his monster. During the filming of Beauty and the Beast Cocteau suffered painful boils “in those places where the film compels me to torment an actor with hair and spirit-gum. Even physically Corteau’s favorite theme of the poet cursed with magic powers, and who is not appreciated until those powers have been destroyed. This film exhibits many instances of surrealism.

I can appreciate the film “Beauty and the Beast” and it’s special effects for the time it was released in 1946 but comparing the special effects in the 1946 film to films of today make the “Beauty and the Beast’s” special effects pail in comparison. But I can understand that in the same way some people hold a film like Avatar by Carl Cameron in such high esteem, I can see why this version of “Beauty and the Beast” is held so high. The film was more dark than fairy tale for me, almost to the point of horror. But I like the story and the surrealism. In reading the articles reviewing this film I also like the metaphors and symbolism that is present in this film and story. I appreciate this film for adding and improving on the surrealist film genre.

Bibliography:

Galef, David. (1984). “A sense of Magic: Reality and Illusion in Cocteau’s Beauty and the Beast” Literature Film Quarterly, Vol. 12 Issue 2, p96, 11p. Retrieved December 11, 2011, from Academic Search Premier


Popkin, Michael. (1982). “ Cocteau’s Beauty and the Beast: The Poet as Monster.” Literature film Quarterly, Vol. 10 Issue 2, p100, 10p. Retrieved December 11, 2011, from Academic Search Premier