Beauty and the Beast

Jean Cocteau's film of Beauty and the Beast (1947) is perhaps the best film of a fairy tale, the only possible competition being Jacques Demy's Peau D'ane (1970), influenced by the Cocteau film, with its handmade special effects and its star Jean Marais, who played the beast in Cocteau's film.  There have been many versions of Beauty and the Beast in literature, film and TV, including Ron Koslow's TV version 1987-1989,  of which I am rather fond and which has a beast that rides on top of subway trains to rescue his love and in turn is loved for himself.  In Cocteau's version Belle does love the beast for himself, in spite of his animal attributes; that love breaks a spell and turns him (back) into a prince and they fly together to his kingdom.

The story of beauty and the beast goes back to French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve in 1740 and Cocteau's film is a period piece, vaguely dated around that time.  Belle has two mean sisters who make her do all the work while they go about in their finery, bankrupting their father, who gets captured by the beast for stealing one of his roses on a return trip from a merchant. Belle gives herself up in exchange for her father and gradually grows to love the beast, his kindness and generosity quite different from the men in her village.

Certain elements of Cocteau's film turn up in the animated Disney version, including a talking door and mirror.  We recently saw the stage version of Disney's Beauty and the Beast, performed by a local Bay Ridge community theatre:  Jeff Sahama Productions in association with Ridge Chorale.  It was at The Saint George Community Center Theatre at 11th Avenue in Brooklyn.  I assume because it was the licensed "full-book" production it was the complete Broadway version, full of sentimentality fueled by insipid songs and turning Cocteau's poetic beauty of a film into a meretricious production, complete with poor sightlines and excessive amplification.  That being said, my six-year-old daughter loved the show:  for the story and for the humor and enthusiasm of its mostly amateur cast, especially Lindsey Zelli as Belle.  I do think director and choreographer Isabella Sirota and co-choreographer Gianna Sciortino (both students at Pace University) did a fairly good job with the choreography, all things considered.